August 22, 2011
Fellow Pilots,
Last week, your MEC made the difficult decision to turn down the Seniority Integration Agreements (SIA) that the Merger Committee reached with SWAPA and SWA management. While the MEC sincerely appreciated SWA management's efforts on the economic aspects of the agreement, MEC members, based on pilot input received, believe firmly that the seniority list itself could not be considered “fair and equitable” to our members. That seniority list resulted in an average loss of relative seniority of 22% for AirTran pilots and over a 30% loss of relative seniority for some of our pilots. The MEC appreciates the hard work by all parties that lead to the development of conditions and restrictions (C&Rs) that lessened the effects of the seniority loss for some AirTran pilots, but the MEC ultimately concluded that the agreement could not and would not be ratified by our pilots.
I have been in contact today with Bob Jordan to explain the MEC’s decision and express the above concerns. Although Southwest management is disappointed that the agreement was not ratified, they have also agreed that the Seniority Integration Process Agreement (SIPA) details the additional mediation and arbitration steps required. The Merger Committee continues their work this week in Washington, D.C. to prepare for mediation, which is scheduled to begin at the end of this month and continue through September. More information will be coming out shortly from the Merger Committee to describe the mediation process.
Many of you have reviewed Gary Kelly’s letter and/or listened to his phone message this afternoon. His plainly stated disappointment with the failure of the agreement is obvious, and some of his comments related to reviewing the status of the integration process are concerning. However, there were also many positive aspects of Mr. Kelly's message. First, he stated that "the integration process will continue, but at a much slower pace." He goes on to say that the company is "still on track for a single operating certificate," early next year, which is an important hurdle to clear for any airline merger. And I believe most importantly, he was clear to say that "our jobs are secure."
I want to stress that AirTran pilot leadership and all members of the MEC and its committees are still fully committed to a respectful and constructive integration process -- and one that provides the basis for continuing Southwest’s long record of success and positive culture.
Conversations with SWA management have included discussion of a meeting with them in the coming days. We hope to continue efforts to identify and work on any possible ideas that could eliminate the current logjam. We hope that those discussions will continue to highlight the many positives to an efficient and fair integration rather than focus on steps that are not likely to promote our shared goals. Mr. Kelly importantly reminded everyone to “take a deep breath” and keep working hard. That is exactly what we intend to do.
We also urge you to please follow Gary's advice about not listening to rumor and innuendo. You have my personal assurance that your union will communicate with you throughout this process and make sure that you have the most up-to-date, and more importantly, the most accurate information available. If you hear a rumor that doesn't match what you've heard from your union, please contact the MEC Office or a P2P member to get the real scoop.
In service,
Linden Hillman, Chairman
AirTran Master Executive Council
Fellow Pilots,
Last week, your MEC made the difficult decision to turn down the Seniority Integration Agreements (SIA) that the Merger Committee reached with SWAPA and SWA management. While the MEC sincerely appreciated SWA management's efforts on the economic aspects of the agreement, MEC members, based on pilot input received, believe firmly that the seniority list itself could not be considered “fair and equitable” to our members. That seniority list resulted in an average loss of relative seniority of 22% for AirTran pilots and over a 30% loss of relative seniority for some of our pilots. The MEC appreciates the hard work by all parties that lead to the development of conditions and restrictions (C&Rs) that lessened the effects of the seniority loss for some AirTran pilots, but the MEC ultimately concluded that the agreement could not and would not be ratified by our pilots.
I have been in contact today with Bob Jordan to explain the MEC’s decision and express the above concerns. Although Southwest management is disappointed that the agreement was not ratified, they have also agreed that the Seniority Integration Process Agreement (SIPA) details the additional mediation and arbitration steps required. The Merger Committee continues their work this week in Washington, D.C. to prepare for mediation, which is scheduled to begin at the end of this month and continue through September. More information will be coming out shortly from the Merger Committee to describe the mediation process.
Many of you have reviewed Gary Kelly’s letter and/or listened to his phone message this afternoon. His plainly stated disappointment with the failure of the agreement is obvious, and some of his comments related to reviewing the status of the integration process are concerning. However, there were also many positive aspects of Mr. Kelly's message. First, he stated that "the integration process will continue, but at a much slower pace." He goes on to say that the company is "still on track for a single operating certificate," early next year, which is an important hurdle to clear for any airline merger. And I believe most importantly, he was clear to say that "our jobs are secure."
I want to stress that AirTran pilot leadership and all members of the MEC and its committees are still fully committed to a respectful and constructive integration process -- and one that provides the basis for continuing Southwest’s long record of success and positive culture.
Conversations with SWA management have included discussion of a meeting with them in the coming days. We hope to continue efforts to identify and work on any possible ideas that could eliminate the current logjam. We hope that those discussions will continue to highlight the many positives to an efficient and fair integration rather than focus on steps that are not likely to promote our shared goals. Mr. Kelly importantly reminded everyone to “take a deep breath” and keep working hard. That is exactly what we intend to do.
We also urge you to please follow Gary's advice about not listening to rumor and innuendo. You have my personal assurance that your union will communicate with you throughout this process and make sure that you have the most up-to-date, and more importantly, the most accurate information available. If you hear a rumor that doesn't match what you've heard from your union, please contact the MEC Office or a P2P member to get the real scoop.
In service,
Linden Hillman, Chairman
AirTran Master Executive Council
