AA Pilots to bid for Eagle positions?

[SF3CA]

FLOW-BACK MESSAGE: On Monday, March 22, APA President Captain John Darrah sent an e-mail message to all of the flow-back pilots at American Eagle regarding APA’s willingness to agree to the establishment of a mutual bid status exchange program that would benefit all American Eagle pilots. Captain Darrah subsequently shared the same e-mail message with all APA members yesterday.


Eagle ALPA MEC Chairman Captain Herb Mark agreed to present the issue to his board. As of this recording, we have not heard whether the ALPA Eagle MEC has agreed to this enhanced benefit for all Eagle pilots.


That’s it for today. Thanks for calling

Does anyone know what this about?

What does the APA have up it's sleve now?

 

[Skygod]

Complete bloody mess . . .

Captain John E. Darrah
APA President


Fellow Pilots,

Last week I received a phone call from Negotiating Committee
member First Officer Mickey Mellerski telling me that he had
received a phone call from a furloughed American Airlines pilot
who had accepted a flow-back position and was attending Eagle
indoctrination. First Officer Mellerski informed me that ALPA
Eagle MEC Chairman Captain Herb Mark had briefed the
indoctrination class.


I was briefed on what Captain Mark had said and can only
characterize many of his comments as inaccurate. Before I
respond to some of these inaccuracies, let me first provide some
background.


During our concession discussions last spring, APA agreed not to
exercise its rights to flow back into the Embraer aircraft under
certain circumstances in exchange for value toward our
concessions. In exchange, we agreed with management that we
would be able to bring the CRJ70 to American Airlines if we could
do so on a labor cost-neutral basis. We would also attain rights
to displace directly into some CRJ70 positions, which would have
resulted in approximately 80 to 100 CJ Captain positions being
available to furloughed American Airlines pilots. Also for the
first time, TWA pilots furloughed on or after May 1, 2003, the
effective date of our agreement, would be able to exercise the
provisions of Supplement W.


Shortly after our agreement, ALPA Eagle objected, stating that is
was a violation of the four-party agreement in Supplement W.
They stated that we must displace their pilots in reverse
seniority order according to Supplement W IV. B.

B. A furloughed AA pilot may displace

1. A CJ Captain, other than an Eagle Rights CJ Captain, who has
not been awarded a seniority number at AA, in reverse order of
AMR Eagle, Inc. seniority; and then

2. A CJ Captain who has accepted a position on the AA
Pilots Seniority List pursuant to Paragraph III.B.
above, or a CJ Captain who was previously
furloughed from AA, in reverse order of AA seniority.


Since the majority of CRJ70 Captains were senior to the EMB
Captains, ALPA Eagle stated that we must first displace their EMB
Captains who were more junior before we could displace any of the
CRJ70 Captains.


So, even though we had elected not to exercise our rights to the
nearly 400 flow-back positions on the Embraers, ALPA Eagle
objected based on the fact we would be acquiring approximately
100 CRJ70 Captain positions. Soon after the ratification of our
agreement on April 15, 2003, we began discussions with ALPA Eagle
in an effort to resolve this issue.


Beginning in May, previous TWA pilots who were furloughed were
eligible for flow back positions. However, Eagle management and
American management did not want to implement Supplement W for
eligible furloughed American pilots until they had a decision
from Arbitrator Kasher on a pending arbitration case. Kasher's
arbitration award, which can now be found on the APA Web Site
under "2003 Contract, Supplement W, Arbitration," determined what
positions furloughed pilots were entitled to be recalled into.


During May, June and July, we met numerous times with ALPA Eagle,
American and Eagle management and finally with Arbitrator Kasher
in an effort to reach a settlement, but were unable to do so.
Given that we were unable to reach agreement with ALPA Eagle,
American furloughees were then allowed to flow back to new
vacancies created as a result of new CJ deliveries. The first
group of furloughees to do so was the August 1, 2003 furloughees,
since they were going to be the most senior available for the
next CJ training class on August 18, 2003.


American furloughees were going to flow back into new vacancies
instead of displacing existing American Eagle Captains in order
to prevent disruption to the Eagle pilots currently flying those
aircraft. From our viewpoint, it made no sense for ALPA Eagle to
force us to displace their pilots when we did not have to. This
negatively impacted their pilots and we felt it would be
senseless for them to put their pilots through the unnecessary
displacements.


Since we were unable to reach agreement with ALPA on this issue,
on August 12, 2003, Arbitrator Kasher issued his ruling,
stipulating that new vacancies must first be proffered to
American Eagle pilots before furloughed American pilots could
displace into them. This meant that an Eagle pilot would be
trained on the new equipment and furloughed American pilots would
displace an existing American Eagle pilot instead, according to
Supplement W paragraph IV.


The Eagle representatives knew that we had received credit toward
our concession package and were trying to force us to have to
displace their pilots to receive any CJ Captain positions. They
also understood that the APA membership was very displeased about
having to take such significant pay cuts and believed that if
they forced us to have to displace their pilots, we would be
required to come up with additional concessions to pay for the
displacement costs. They didn't believe we could get the
membership to stomach any more cuts to come up with the
additional monies needed, and as a result we would not be able to
displace any of their EMB pilots and they would also keep all the
CRJ70 jobs—a complete victory for them.


At a Special Board of Directors meeting, we briefed the APA Board
of Directors on the status of the discussions and ALPA Eagle's
position. The Board of Directors gave the Negotiating Committee
a list of items it was prepared to use in exchange for the
additional cost. We then informed ALPA Eagle.


After receiving Arbitrator Kasher's ruling, we had to cancel the
flow-back classes that were scheduled in August because they were
for new vacancies, not displacements. We then began to schedule
pilots for training based on displacing current Eagle CJ Captains.


We soon found out some other reasons (besides being financially
punitive) why the Eagle pilots forced us to take what appeared to
be very negative stances toward their pilots by having us
displace them. There were several of their pilots who were
flying as CJ Captains at bases that they did not want to be
flying out of and they could not get back to another base unless
displaced. One of the ALPA representatives, a former MEC
Chairman, was one of these pilots. He had briefly attended some
of the meetings and we discovered that by forcing us to displace
Eagle CJ Captains, he would be able to get back to his home in
Miami. He was flying as an EMB Captain in BOS and commuting. He
wanted to get back to Miami and fly as an ATR Captain. Having us
displace him allowed him to get back home. While displacement
worked well for him, I was left wondering how many of the other
Eagle CJ Captains would be negatively impacted by their
leadership taking this position.


An even bigger issue soon surfaced when we were told that the
Eagle Saab fleet plan had changed, which changed the availability
of training capacity. We learned that ALPA Eagle had been
informed of this, but we had not. Therefore, ALPA Eagle was
making decisions based on entirely different information.


What ALPA Eagle had planned on was their training facility only
being able to handle 20 Captain training slots a month. Since
they had won the Kasher award, they planned on Eagle using all
the training slots on manning new deliveries, leaving no
available training capacity for furloughed flow-back pilots.
They knew management was not going to park new aircraft while
they trained American pilots to displace perfectly qualified CJ
pilots. In their minds, they had now successfully and completely
blocked American Airlines pilots from attaining any CJ Captain
positions for several years.


Learning this information, we approached management about finding
excess training for our furloughed pilots. Management confirmed
that training capacity was available and agreed to provide an
additional 20 training cycles a month for furloughed American
Airlines pilots. At a subsequent meeting, we informed the ALPA
Eagle pilots, who were completely surprised. Now American pilots
were going to actually displace their pilots—pilots we had
originally intended not to displace and pilots they thought they
had protected.


We were more than willing to come up with a compromise. The only
thing we wanted was for our pilots to have the ability to go to
Eagle out of seniority order so that pilots could bid for
specific bases, instead of being sent to a base they did not
want. ALPA Eagle would not give us an answer and they then began
to file grievance after grievance in an effort to stop our
proceeding with the displacement of their pilots.

 

[amcnd]

They want all there pilots at Eagle that call and complain that they are stuck in BOS or LGA on reserve and wnat DFW or LAX do top living there, to be able to trade with another pilot that wants BOS or LGA. Well this is what you got and you knew going into it. The APA has done nothing but lie to Eagle pilots. (will strike for one list ect..ect..) Its a quality of life thing for them. He needs to foucs on getting all AA pilots back to AA by offering early retierments. Most AA pilots I talk to would love to get out a couple years early.

 

[Skygod]

We informed ALPA Eagle that their position of forcing us to
displace their pilots made absolutely no sense, because all it
did was to create even more job opportunities for future
furloughees. When American first started furloughing pilots who
were eligible to flow back to American Eagle, we had
approximately 300 American Eagle pilots that could be displaced.
What ALPA Eagle has done is to actually increase that number. If
a CJ Captain is displaced, he or she has two choices: displace to
a turboprop Captain job and take a pay cut or bid one of the new
deliveries. There have been several pilots that have bid down to
a turboprop Captain position, but the majority of the displaced
Captains have bid the new deliveries. They are now eligible to
be displaced—again, since they had previously elected to be a
flow-through pilot. Each time that occurs, an additional
position is created for American furloughees. Today, we have
more positions available for furloughees than we originally had
when this disagreement began with ALPA Eagle.

ALPA Eagle continues to try to prevent American furloughees from
attaining any positions at Eagle. To date they have filed more
than half a dozen separate grievances, with each one filed in an
effort either to prevent or make it unappealing for American
furloughees to attain these positions.


On several occasions beginning as far back as last fall, we have
proposed to the ALPA Eagle representatives that we resolve some
of the grievances in return for a mutual bid status exchange
similar to the one we have at American to be used by furloughed
American pilots. As recently as March 8, 2004, ALPA Eagle MEC
Chairman Captain Herb Mark phoned me at APA and asked if I would
be willing to settle a grievance that is upcoming this week.
Captain Mark commented that the grievance to be heard this week
'would not impact any American Airlines pilots, so I shouldn't
have any problem settling it.' I told him I was willing to
settle it, and that I would even settle another grievance that we
had arbitrated last month that impacts 17 of his pilots.


But in return I wanted Captain Mark to agree to allow furloughed
American Airlines pilots to have the ability to use a mutual bid
status exchange for those furloughed American Airlines pilots
that wanted to trade bases. I said that this would have no
impact on any Eagle pilot and he should therefore be willing to
agree to it, just as I was willing to settle his grievances that
provided enhancements for Eagle pilots that did not impact
furloughed American Airlines pilots. He refused to do so.


Instead, Captain Mark wanted me to agree to allow the 402 pilots
that currently have seniority numbers at American, but are still
flying at American Eagle, the guarantee that they would
eventually flow through to American Airlines even after the
expiration of Supplement W and also to give seniority numbers to
every other CJ Captain who had not received a seniority number,
yet wanted to flow through to American Airlines. I told him that
unlike the grievances and the mutual bid status exchange, that
would have a huge impact on American Airlines pilots. He told me
that was his offer and he would not agree to offer mutual bid
status exchanges to furloughed American pilots.


So when First Officer Mellerski phoned me last week and briefed
me on what Captain Mark had said to the most recent furloughees
at the indoctrination class, I was obviously surprised.


Captain Mark made many misstatements, but most glaring were his
changes in position on several issues. First, Captain Mark
implied that it was APA that required furloughed American pilots
to only be able to bid certain bases, which is incorrect. Early
on in our discussions, ALPA Eagle made it quite clear that we
were required to displace their pilots in reverse seniority order
and that our furloughed pilots would be required to bid for the
positions based on seniority order and could not bypass an
opportunity to do so. Reflective of this position is ALPA's
stance that the May to August 2003 furloughees do not have rights
to bid an Eagle CJ Captain position since they did not displace
into positions in May through August. ALPA Eagle is stating that
these pilots therefore have no further displacement or recall
rights. If their position is that you as a furloughed American
pilot could have waited for a later opportunity to bid another
base, why are they objecting to the May through August group
bidding at a later date?


For the record, I am prepared as APA President to sign an
agreement immediately with ALPA Eagle MEC Chairman Captain Mark
that will allow furloughed American pilots to wait to receive a
base of their choice at a later date without impacting their
flow-back award. This could be implemented for the March
furloughees.


Another major distortion by Captain Mark is that APA had limited
the monthly training slots to 20. In fact, Captain Mark had
planned on furloughed American pilots receiving zero training
slots. It was only after our insistence that we were able to get
management to arrange additional training so that furloughed
pilots would be trained—something ALPA Eagle hadn't planned on.

Finally, mutual bid status exchange. Captain Mark said that APA
is not willing to settle two outstanding grievances as a trade
for mutual bid status exchange. He also said that Eagle
management was unwilling to offer mutual bid status exchange
except as a negotiated item. On Friday, First Officer Mellerski,
on my behalf, briefed the indoctrination class differently—that
APA was willing to settle the grievances and agree to a mutual
bid status exchange. Who to believe?


First off, you must understand you are an American Airlines pilot
and APA member. However, as defined by the Railway Labor Act,
ALPA now represents you. They bargain for you and are
responsible for your contractual rights. As long as you are
working at American Eagle, they are your bargaining agent. I can
no longer bargain for you. But what I can do is provide the
means by which ALPA Eagle can enhance your rights.


Captain Mark has said that APA and Eagle management are unwilling
to resolve this issue. On Friday I spoke with American Airlines
management and APA attorneys to craft a solution. American
management has agreed with APA and is willing to settle the two
outstanding grievances, the one being arbitrated this week and
the one that was arbitrated several weeks ago. Both of these
grievances strictly benefit Eagle pilots. Seventeen pilots will
be allowed to claim Eagle Rights and will not be in jeopardy of
being displaced by American furloughees, and two management
pilots will not be subject to displacement out of seniority
order. In return, I have simply requested that ALPA Eagle
implement a mutual bid status exchange for American furloughees.


Captain Mark has claimed that Eagle management will not allow
this. It is our understanding that Eagle management would agree
to this for American furloughees and would also be willing to
provide this to all other American Eagle pilots. If a furloughed
American pilot is based in Boston and wants to be in Chicago and
there is a furloughed American pilot in Chicago that wants to be
in Boston, they will merely trade positions. There is absolutely
no impact on any other American Eagle pilot since it is one pilot
for another and they are junior to all American Eagle CJ Captains
who were not former American pilots. Eagle pilots that were not
American furloughees will be able to do the same exchange amongst
themselves—in other words, a true win for all American Eagle
pilots.


I understand Eagle management's concern is the administration of
this process. APA has administered our mutual bid status
exchange for nearly a year without any complications. Since we
already have the programming and the procedures in place, APA is
prepared to handle the administration for furloughed American
pilots if ALPA Eagle does not want to be bothered. If they would
want to do it themselves, APA is prepared to share our program
with them. Captain Mark has an opportunity to enhance the
contract of all the pilots he represents. I can see no reason
why he wouldn't want to do so.


Therefore, in an effort to hopefully have some good come out for
all, I sent a letter to Captain Mark on Friday, March 19, 2004,
offering a settlement proposal by agreeing to grant ALPA their
two grievances in exchange for a mutual bid status exchange for
former American pilots. In addition, I'm willing to work with
Captain Mark to make the program available for all of
Eagle—former American furloughees and Eagle pilots alike.


It is my understanding that Captain Mark is presenting APA's
proposal to the ALPA Eagle MEC for their consideration. Should
the ALPA Eagle MEC see the true benefit for all Eagle pilots in
this proposal, we should be able to reach an agreement this week.
Please make sure to share your views on this issue with your
representatives.

Sincerely,


Captain John E. Darrah
APA President

 

[Skygod]

Even more blah blah blah . . .

March 19, 2004
BY FACSIMILE AND FIRST CLASS MAIL

Captain Herb Mark
Chairman, ALPA Eagle MEC
1001 West Euless Blvd., Suite 415
Euless, Texas 76040

Dear Captain Mark

I was informed that you spoke on Thursday to a group of March AA
furloughees beginning indoctrination at American Eagle. I
understand you told them that ALPA was willing to allow mutual
base exchange among AA furloughees at Eagle, and that you had
offered to APA that ALPA would implement such a mutual base
exchange in return for settling two ALPA grievances, FLO-403,
concerning Eagle Rights classifications, and FLO-603, concerning
out of order displacements for two pilots. You told the recent
AA furloughees that APA was blocking that settlement.

I am prepared to settle immediately with all four parties to
Supplement W, agreeing that ALPA may and will implement a mutual
base exchange among AA pilots at Eagle, in exchange for settling
the two above referenced grievances. The seventeen pilots on the
attached list, provided by ALPA, will be reclassified as Eagle
Rights pilots (even though ALPA only presented evidence on nine
of these pilots in the FLO-403 hearing). The displacement issue
will be settled on the terms previously endorsed by ALPA and
proposed to the APA. I attach that document also.

As you should know, FLO-503, concerning hardship classifications,
was previously settled among the four parties on the terms read
into the record of the hearing on that matter. I attach the
relevant pages from the transcript.

I understand that neither AA nor Eagle management would oppose
the implementation of a mutual base exchange, or this settlement.
All that is needed to allow AA furloughees at Eagle to reach
their desired bases through a mutual base exchange program among
such pilots is your signature on a settlement agreement.
Presuming you are willing to abide with your statement made to
the indoctrination class, I'm assuming you will agree immediately
and the lawyers can begin drafting. A base exchange program for
furloughed AA pilots will not prejudice, or even affect, other
pilots at Eagle; ALPA pilots will receive the reclassifications
they seek; and the seniority order displacement issues will be
completely resolved.

Sincerely,



Captain John E. Darrah
President, Allied Pilots Association

 

[vclean]

I'm so glad my sentence at Eagle ended when I was paroled.

Good luck to anyone who is still in the pokey, or is interviewing to join the mess.

 

[SF3CA]

I feel the love!