Airtran MEC voted no

[Lear70]

MEC blast email about 3 minutes ago confirmed several text messages I received, voted down 7-1 at the MEC level, preparations will resume for Mediation.

I'm told that the composition of the Merger Committee will be reviewed as well. The MEC was highly-shocked with what was negotiated, because they gave no "minimum acceptable deal" guidance, which is probably why it failed. I'm certain they won't make the same mistake twice.

I'm still hopeful for a negotiated deal; might be a last-second deal, but I still see the possibility. Call me an optimist.

 

[embraerdriver]

You'll see old man...hold that thought!!

 

[llowwelll]

Lear70 or one of you AirTran guys...can you paste the text of the email here please?

 

[Lear70]

August 18, 2011

Today in a special MEC meeting in Atlanta, the ATN Master Executive Council voted on the seniority integration agreements presented to them by the ATN MEC Merger Committee. The MEC voted against sending the integration agreements to the pilot group for ratification.

Moving forward, the Seniority Integration Process Agreement (SIPA) calls for mediated talks through September 30, 2011. If no agreement is reached through mediated talks, the process will continue in arbitration beginning in October.

The MEC does appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Merger Committee and will continue to support them in their work with merger counsel as they prepare for the next steps.

As the agreements will now not go out for a vote, the road shows tentatively scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday will not take place.

If you have any questions for the MEC, you can contact them via e-mail

 

[madjack]

I'm still hopeful for a negotiated deal; might be a last-second deal, but I still see the possibility. Call me an optimist.

Where do you see the give?? You get better seniority and all the $$...ok whats in it for the SWA pilot side...looks like we would save time if we went right to arby...

 

[Schwanker]

ValuJet, AirTran, Guadalupe, Transtar II.........

If as you say, this is in the best interest of SWA pilots, why all the fear mongering???

This list was lopsided and the SWA guys were salivating. Now it's time to wipe off the loogies and present your best case to the arbritrators who will determine what is fair.

 

[OldManPilot]

Today in a special MEC meeting in Atlanta, the ATN Master Executive Council voted on the seniority integration agreements presented to them by the ATN MEC Merger Committee. The MEC voted against sending the integration agreements to the pilot group for ratification.

Moving forward, the Seniority Integration Process Agreement (SIPA) calls for mediated talks through September 30, 2011. If no agreement is reached through mediated talks, the process will continue in arbitration beginning in October.

The MEC does appreciate the hard work and dedication of the Merger Committee and will continue to support them in their work with merger counsel as they prepare for the next steps.

As the agreements will now not go out for a vote, the road shows tentatively scheduled for tomorrow and Saturday will not take place.

 

[fr8doggie]

SWAPA's Side

AirTran votes against negotiated integration; SWAPA continuing preparation for arbitration


Fellow pilots -
Today the AirTran MEC voted against sending the seniority list integration agreement out to their members for ratification. This deal, reached by both sides' negotiators would have provided AirTran pilots financial and job security guarantees in exchange for seniority, which would have been gained by our pilot group. With no agreement reached through negotiations, SWAPA will continue preparations for arbitration. We are confident that arbitrators will understand our case and see the superior career value of the Southwest Airlines pilot. Due to ALPA's delay during the past few weeks, the beginning of arbitration will be moved from October into November. This does not reduce the number of arbitration sessions, it only pushes the end of arbitration back.

Moving forward we will switch gears from education on Side Letter 9, to education on what to expect from the arbitration process. SWAPA will go into detail on who comprises the neutral panel, how previous arbitrations have been presented and awarded, and what the process will consist of for SWAPA in the next six months.

The AirTran MEC did not see the value of this deal to their pilots and we have been prepared for this outcome. ALPA has, through this vote, expressed that $3 BIL collectively and more than $2 MIL, individually, is not good enough for their group. Arbitration is simply the next step in this lengthy process.



Jacob North
Communications Chair
[email protected]

 

[llowwelll]

Thanks for posting the text of the email guys. As a former Tranny, I thought the deal was ridiculously biased toward AirTran. I was an emphatic NO voter. We'll see what happens now. Hopefully, our NC will go into arbitration and not try to give you guys the farm like they did with SL9.

 

[Lear70]

Where do you see the give?? You get better seniority and all the $$...ok whats in it for the SWA pilot side...looks like we would save time if we went right to arby...

You might save time, but you might not like the outcome.

I've asked this question before, what if the arbitrator improves the list by 5%? 7%? 10%? We still take an average 12-13% hit, you still gain a 4% gain. Do you cost GK Tens of Millions of $$ a month in separate ops costs? How would that help you in upcoming Sec 6 negotiations?

There's risks for *ALL* of us in arbitration. That's why I hope both sides can come to an acceptable MIDDLE ground. Obviously our MEC and the 70% of pilots that showed up yesterday see the same thing. If 7 out of 8 reps with ALL the information voted No in addition to the pilot group, then you have to realize not EVERYONE is somehow "crazy" for not taking the deal.