This is Herb Mark with the Chairman’s Hotline for Thursday evening, June 12th.
Let me bring you up to date on the events of the past two months.
On March 30th, the Association became aware that the APA and AA had come to an agreement that would change Letter 3. On March 31st, Duane Woerth sent a letter to the Company conveying the concerns of the Association that a four-party agreement could not, under any circumstances, be changed or amended by anything less than all four parties. The week following this revelation, your MEC held daily teleconferences in an effort to accumulate and distribute information. As the different pieces of this Tentative Agreement came into light, it became increasingly clear that these new agreements would bring with them significant repercussions to Eagle pilots. In response, the Association began to build a legal strategy to challenge the legality of many facets of the agreement and the manner in which it was negotiated. On April 9th, an emergency MEC meeting was held to discuss the progress of the legal strategy and to outline other strategies going forward. Let me be clear, that at this juncture, the MEC had made no decision on modifying Letter 3 as agreed by AA and the APA because we did not have the information required to formulate a complete opinion. What we were determined to do was to stop the cramming down of a two-party agreement to which we were not a party to nor privy to any specifics.
During the past two months, as Eagle management has slowly released information regarding the new agreements and how their implementation will affect Eagle pilots, our pilots have become very vocal as they have formulated their opinions. The overwhelming and near unanimous response has been that the AA/APA agreement is unacceptable as written and our pilots, given the option, have demanded that the MEC insist that Letter 3 be implemented as originally negotiated. Our pilots have made it clear that they understand the consequences of Letter 3 and are not opposed to finding an improved solution, but absent that, they are willing to abide by the contract entered into in 1997.
There have been some gains made over the past two months. In reference to our legal strategy, the Company and the APA have apparently decided to table their two-party agreement as it pertains to flow-backs. Their current position, as expressed to the Association, is to implement Letter 3 if another agreement, acceptable to all four parties, cannot be reached.
Another positive result of our legal effort and our pilot unity has been to obtain a seat at the negotiating table. Once the Company and the APA conceded that their new agreement could not be implemented without our consent and that the financial cost of Letter 3 was admittedly too high, the negotiating table again became an attractive option. Over the past few weeks, the Association has been in active dialogue with the other three signatories to Letter 3 in an effort to find a mutually acceptable alternative. On Monday afternoon, the Association entered into negotiations with the APA. These negotiations concluded on Wednesday afternoon amidst a four-party negotiation in which ALPA proposed a reasonable, well thought out solution to the flow-back issue. Unfortunately, it quickly became very clear that at this point, none of the other parties were interested in a mutually acceptable solution, but only in total capitulation by ALPA.
It has certainly been frustrating to put so much effort into the search for a solution to a problem only to find out that the other parties were, for lack of better words, stringing us along. Management is actively campaigning that Letter 3 is the worst possible alternative for the pilots yet has failed to present a single alternative. We may never know what management’s plans and motivations are but of this you can be sure, the interests and concerns of Eagle pilots are not a part of either.
It has been less than 24 hours since our proposal was rejected and already senior management has been in the DFW crew lounge and the Training Center attempting to persuade our pilots that the Company, rather than the Association, has the best interest of the pilots in mind. This morning, our line pilots began calling with the following reports of what management is saying. Here are a few of the alleged management statements.
American Eagle pilots will suffer hundreds and hundreds of displacements.
American Eagle is being forced to ground the Saab fleet and furlough Saab pilots out of seniority order.
One thousand American pilots will come to American Eagle under Letter 3.
The MEC is completely out of touch with the will of the line pilots.
While I would not ordinarily comment on discussions between myself and Peter Bowler, in light of Peter’s attempt to directly undermine the union by meeting today with pilots in crew areas, I think it is appropriate to make an exception to that rule. Last night, we received a telephone call from Peter Bowler expressing his concern over his view that the MEC was not looking out for the Eagle pilots. We asked Peter a few questions that you might be interested in. When asked if the APA was going to be paying for all of the CJ displacements that they take, Peter’s answer was ‘yes’. When asked if Letter 3 implementation is free to the Company, the answer was again ‘yes’. We then stated that when a first year AA flow-back pilot is occupying a seat that used to be occupied by a 15, 16, or 17 year Eagle pilot, American Eagle is saving quite a bit of money on salary. The response was that they had not run those numbers. We advised Peter that we had. We then asked if Eagle was going to give that money back to the APA? There was no answer. Our final question was, then why is American Eagle management unwilling to share a small percentage of that money to protect the pilots who will be negatively affected by flow-backs? Once again, there was no answer. We concluded our conversation by asking Peter to never again accuse the MEC of not caring for the pilots when Eagle management has offered nothing constructive in this whole process.
My fellow pilots, in 1997, the Company used these exact tactics to divide this pilot group and to ram through what is now our 16 year, no-strike, pay indexed contract. Over the next few weeks, you will inevitably be subjected to significant pressure and propaganda from management. Upper level management will undoubtedly make their rounds in the crew rooms, political HI6 messages will be sent, technical graphs will be posted, management’s draconian sick policy will be reinstated and chief pilots will use every opportunity to bend your ear. As you are deciding what to believe, keep this one thing in mind; has management kept the promises of 1997 and more importantly, lived up to the spirit and intent of the following statement on page 2 of our collective bargaining agreement?
“The Association and the airlines operating as American Eagle are desirous of promoting harmony, trust and confidence in the workplace, and working together towards our common goals of stability, economic opportunity, growth and advancement. The parties recognize their long term, interdependent relationship, and further acknowledge a mutual interest in working together to resolve differences in a manner which provides a desirable work environment for the pilots and high quality, uninterrupted service to our customers, the flying public.”
Does this describe your management’s commitment to the pilots or are their continual remarks and statements made in an attempt to whipsaw, intimidate, threaten and coerce the American Eagle pilots to bend to heavy handed management dictates.
Let me bring you up to date on the events of the past two months.
On March 30th, the Association became aware that the APA and AA had come to an agreement that would change Letter 3. On March 31st, Duane Woerth sent a letter to the Company conveying the concerns of the Association that a four-party agreement could not, under any circumstances, be changed or amended by anything less than all four parties. The week following this revelation, your MEC held daily teleconferences in an effort to accumulate and distribute information. As the different pieces of this Tentative Agreement came into light, it became increasingly clear that these new agreements would bring with them significant repercussions to Eagle pilots. In response, the Association began to build a legal strategy to challenge the legality of many facets of the agreement and the manner in which it was negotiated. On April 9th, an emergency MEC meeting was held to discuss the progress of the legal strategy and to outline other strategies going forward. Let me be clear, that at this juncture, the MEC had made no decision on modifying Letter 3 as agreed by AA and the APA because we did not have the information required to formulate a complete opinion. What we were determined to do was to stop the cramming down of a two-party agreement to which we were not a party to nor privy to any specifics.
During the past two months, as Eagle management has slowly released information regarding the new agreements and how their implementation will affect Eagle pilots, our pilots have become very vocal as they have formulated their opinions. The overwhelming and near unanimous response has been that the AA/APA agreement is unacceptable as written and our pilots, given the option, have demanded that the MEC insist that Letter 3 be implemented as originally negotiated. Our pilots have made it clear that they understand the consequences of Letter 3 and are not opposed to finding an improved solution, but absent that, they are willing to abide by the contract entered into in 1997.
There have been some gains made over the past two months. In reference to our legal strategy, the Company and the APA have apparently decided to table their two-party agreement as it pertains to flow-backs. Their current position, as expressed to the Association, is to implement Letter 3 if another agreement, acceptable to all four parties, cannot be reached.
Another positive result of our legal effort and our pilot unity has been to obtain a seat at the negotiating table. Once the Company and the APA conceded that their new agreement could not be implemented without our consent and that the financial cost of Letter 3 was admittedly too high, the negotiating table again became an attractive option. Over the past few weeks, the Association has been in active dialogue with the other three signatories to Letter 3 in an effort to find a mutually acceptable alternative. On Monday afternoon, the Association entered into negotiations with the APA. These negotiations concluded on Wednesday afternoon amidst a four-party negotiation in which ALPA proposed a reasonable, well thought out solution to the flow-back issue. Unfortunately, it quickly became very clear that at this point, none of the other parties were interested in a mutually acceptable solution, but only in total capitulation by ALPA.
It has certainly been frustrating to put so much effort into the search for a solution to a problem only to find out that the other parties were, for lack of better words, stringing us along. Management is actively campaigning that Letter 3 is the worst possible alternative for the pilots yet has failed to present a single alternative. We may never know what management’s plans and motivations are but of this you can be sure, the interests and concerns of Eagle pilots are not a part of either.
It has been less than 24 hours since our proposal was rejected and already senior management has been in the DFW crew lounge and the Training Center attempting to persuade our pilots that the Company, rather than the Association, has the best interest of the pilots in mind. This morning, our line pilots began calling with the following reports of what management is saying. Here are a few of the alleged management statements.
American Eagle pilots will suffer hundreds and hundreds of displacements.
American Eagle is being forced to ground the Saab fleet and furlough Saab pilots out of seniority order.
One thousand American pilots will come to American Eagle under Letter 3.
The MEC is completely out of touch with the will of the line pilots.
While I would not ordinarily comment on discussions between myself and Peter Bowler, in light of Peter’s attempt to directly undermine the union by meeting today with pilots in crew areas, I think it is appropriate to make an exception to that rule. Last night, we received a telephone call from Peter Bowler expressing his concern over his view that the MEC was not looking out for the Eagle pilots. We asked Peter a few questions that you might be interested in. When asked if the APA was going to be paying for all of the CJ displacements that they take, Peter’s answer was ‘yes’. When asked if Letter 3 implementation is free to the Company, the answer was again ‘yes’. We then stated that when a first year AA flow-back pilot is occupying a seat that used to be occupied by a 15, 16, or 17 year Eagle pilot, American Eagle is saving quite a bit of money on salary. The response was that they had not run those numbers. We advised Peter that we had. We then asked if Eagle was going to give that money back to the APA? There was no answer. Our final question was, then why is American Eagle management unwilling to share a small percentage of that money to protect the pilots who will be negatively affected by flow-backs? Once again, there was no answer. We concluded our conversation by asking Peter to never again accuse the MEC of not caring for the pilots when Eagle management has offered nothing constructive in this whole process.
My fellow pilots, in 1997, the Company used these exact tactics to divide this pilot group and to ram through what is now our 16 year, no-strike, pay indexed contract. Over the next few weeks, you will inevitably be subjected to significant pressure and propaganda from management. Upper level management will undoubtedly make their rounds in the crew rooms, political HI6 messages will be sent, technical graphs will be posted, management’s draconian sick policy will be reinstated and chief pilots will use every opportunity to bend your ear. As you are deciding what to believe, keep this one thing in mind; has management kept the promises of 1997 and more importantly, lived up to the spirit and intent of the following statement on page 2 of our collective bargaining agreement?
“The Association and the airlines operating as American Eagle are desirous of promoting harmony, trust and confidence in the workplace, and working together towards our common goals of stability, economic opportunity, growth and advancement. The parties recognize their long term, interdependent relationship, and further acknowledge a mutual interest in working together to resolve differences in a manner which provides a desirable work environment for the pilots and high quality, uninterrupted service to our customers, the flying public.”
Does this describe your management’s commitment to the pilots or are their continual remarks and statements made in an attempt to whipsaw, intimidate, threaten and coerce the American Eagle pilots to bend to heavy handed management dictates.
