American Pilots Replace Union Leaders

[AA717driver]

Just wonderful.

Fine, PCL, so continue to advocate the path chosen by the Gutless Cocktail Weenies in Herndon. TC

 

[PCL_128]

Once again the boy who does not know history........ Sad...uke:

AA

Alright AAflyer, how 'bout you "school me" on some APA history then? Which of the following facts are not accurate:

1. Was the APA not fined over $45 million?

2. Did the judge, when issuing this fine, not make the following statement: "If the activity and consequent damages continue, when all the dust clears, all the assets of the union, including their strike war chest, will be capable of being safely stored in the overhead bin of a Piper Cub."?

3. Did the judge not find that two-thirds of the APA BOD's members were themselves active participants in this illegal job action?

4. Did the judge not fine the then APA President and Vice-President $15,000 in combined fines?

5. At the height of the illegal job action, did American not have to cancel about half of their flights as a result?


So, "school me" AAflyer. Explain exactly how this turned out well for the American labor movement. Where was the victory? What was gained?

 

[GIII Instructor]

81% vote is really more than 81% meaning; TWA non union pilots probably represent 8 or 9% who were not eligible to vote... figure the last 10% are most likely near retirement.

 

[AAflyer]

Alright AAflyer, how 'bout you "school me" on some APA history then? Which of the following facts are not accurate:

1. Was the APA not fined over $45 million?

2. Did the judge, when issuing this fine, not make the following statement: "If the activity and consequent damages continue, when all the dust clears, all the assets of the union, including their strike war chest, will be capable of being safely stored in the overhead bin of a Piper Cub."?

3. Did the judge not find that two-thirds of the APA BOD's members were themselves active participants in this illegal job action?

4. Did the judge not fine the then APA President and Vice-President $15,000 in combined fines?

5. At the height of the illegal job action, did American not have to cancel about half of their flights as a result?


So, "school me" AAflyer. Explain exactly how this turned out well for the American labor movement. Where was the victory? What was gained?

I have already written to you about this, you choose to ignore it. I am actually getting very tired of your anti-AA bull********************. YOu do not seem to have the same hard on for SWAPA or IPA, or even NPA... Wha did one of our guys ******************** your girlfriend or something.

Considering your background, you choose to use the word unionism as word that "suits" what you want. I am willing to bet you will be first in line to fly the -700 or 900 at your airline. SO, is your bid in?

I am just grateful that your lack of education will never land you at (high school to gulfstream?) reputable airline. God forbid someon like you in any position of power.

Do us all a favor, just stay of the AA threads. Oh ya, real cute picture of you in the USA Today a few weeks back. I loved the fact that you were named as a NWA captain. Did you ever write the paper and let them know they made a mistake.

AA

 

[AAflyer]

Just for you.

Reno Job Action Q and A

The Hunter campaign and their “supporters” can be expected to become more active in spreading disinformation regarding the Reno job action as the National Officer campaigns proceed. Already the “usual suspects”- Hunter operatives well known to the pilot group- are surfacing in pilot forums attempting to revise history and smear Hunter opponents with falsehoods and misinformation. It’s a mirror image strategy and tactic of his last campaign. It remains a desperate attempt to deflect accountability for their own record--one of failure to protect and advance the profession at AA, and Captain Hunter’s historical, consistent performance as a long-time pro-management, anti-pilot advocate.

Here, then, is a brief Q and A regarding the actual TRUTH surrounding the Reno job action, from the memories and records of pilots who were actually “in the room” and part of the APA leadership team that made the hard decisions, created the strategies, and led the fight that ensured Reno Air was integrated and operated in compliance with APA’s Scope clause. This Q and A reflects the perspective of pilots who not only led a difficult job action, but who also negotiated the important follow-on agreements that the Reno fight made possible- including APA’s first Merger and Acquisition policy, the first APA pilot seniority merge template, the Small Jet TA and other agreements that continue to benefit APA’s membership today. When you see or hear the Hunter campaign try to demean the APA leaders of that period, or denigrate their achievements produced under extremely difficult conditions, remember who’s talking. These are the same individuals who utterly failed to deliver comparable protections or benefits to APA’s pilots while in office. Their record is one of inaction or, as in the case of Ralph Hunter himself, unrelenting efforts to undermine the expectations of APA’s pilots, and devalue their hard-won contract.

Below are some of the “sexier” accusations and rumors the Hunter group will try to float, followed by the actual TRUTH of what happened. As we have seen in the past, Hunter and Darrah can’t handle the truth-but the membership deserves it.


Rumor: APA could have arbitrated the Reno Scope violation.

TRUTH: That would have been a fatal mistake. While the language of Scope allowed for arbitration of limited disputes, the purchase of an entire airline, and operating it completely outside of APA’s contract, constituted an abrogation of every sentence in our contract- not just the Scope portion. APA legal advised, and the Board agreed, that to arbitrate AMR’s unilateral violation could have opened up the entire contract to re-interpretation from a “third party“. In view of how dangerous an out-of-control, pro-management judge proved to be ( Kendall ), APA’s decision to avoid subjecting our entire contract to interpretation by such a character was a very smart move.


Rumor: APA’s Board and National Officers were advised by General Counsel that the Reno Scope violation was a “Minor Dispute” and the union was therefore prohibited from engaging in “self help” (job action).

TRUTH: APA’s General Counsel advised APA leadership that the Reno purchase and operation by AMR was a “Major Dispute”, the legal description for a unilateral abrogation of an agreement. Under such circumstances either party is legally entitled to responses up to, and including, self help or lockout.


Rumor: APA admitted in court that the Reno purchase was really a “Minor Dispute”.

TRUTH: APA did stipulate to the legal “Minor Dispute” definition in Kendall ’s court. This was done during the course of the hearings, on advice of counsel, when it appeared that Kendall was eager to decide the “Major vs. Minor dispute” issue for us, and in so doing proceed to open up and rewrite the Scope clause. It cannot be overstated- AMR’s purchase and operation of Reno Air outside of APA’s contract fully satisfied the requirements of a “Major dispute”. APA stipulated to a “minor dispute” in Kendall’s court for only one reason- to keep Kendall ’s hostile hands off our Scope clause. APA leadership had to silently endure angry criticism for “changing their story” from some in APA’s membership while secretly knowing that by doing so they were keeping a hostile judge from damaging the heart of our contract- Scope. For obvious reasons this strategy could not be made public while the issue was still in court, so APA’s leaders took the heat in order to preserve the protections of our Scope clause for our membership. Some who later worked for the Darrah and Hunter administrations knew all of this, but continue to hurl false accusations about the “Major vs. Minor” issue to either protect their own records, or advance a failed candidate in this campaign. This kind of dishonesty is not only dishonorable, it’s the kind of subversion that jeopardizes the strength of our union as a whole, and they are accountable for it.

The FACT is, the Reno Scope violation was always a “Major Dispute”. Period.


Rumor: The Reno job action was illegal.

TRUTH: APA’s response to the continuing Reno violation was based on the fact that Carty’s purchase and operation of Reno Air constituted a breach of the entire APA contract and constituted a “Major Dispute” under the law. Under such conditions, APA had the legal right of self help, up to, and including, a strike. Once Kendall predictably declared the issue a “Minor Dispute“, any continuance of self help would be illegal. Kendall's “contempt” ruling against APA was based on his wildly inaccurate “opinion” that the union was not complying with his Order for pilots to return to work. His measure of the union’s compliance was an initial APA hotline tape he didn’t like, and thereafter primarily based on the daily status of the airline’s flight operations- a condition entirely controlled by AMR management.


Rumor: Kendall had factual grounds to support his ruling of “contempt” against APA.??TRUTH: While Kendall complained that APA’s initial hotline did not meet his order, the fact is that the initial hotline was put on the air before review of counsel because the attorneys were temporarily out of contact- literally en route, aboard aircraft. Pilots hearing about AMR's lawsuit called the union worried that they were “named defendants“. In an attempt to address these concerns, APA’s first hotline stated, incorrectly, that the judge’s order applied only to APA’s National Officers, Board, and Negotiating Committee, but not the line pilots. This was an honest mistake. It should have stated that the AMR lawsuit, which led to Kendall’s TRO, was filed against APA leadership only- but that the judge‘s subsequent order applied to all pilots. This error was corrected hours later after APA’s attorneys were able to review the TRO language, and directed immediate changes to the hotline. In an effort to rapidly comply with the judge’s order, the initial hotline was quickly recorded, which led to an unintentional error. Kendall , of course, made the most of this mistake, falsely accusing the union of subterfuge and promising to bankrupt APA. Such outright hostility and prejudice from a supposedly “neutral” judge is remarkable.??Kendall went on to create more “facts”, unencumbered by reality. He declared that some 200 additional pilots called in sick after his order was issued, and found APA “in contempt” for that as well. What the judge chose to ignore was the fact that instantaneously stopping pilots from calling in sick system wide is like "like turning an aircraft carrier around on a dime". It’s simply not possible- and he knew it (AMR had fully briefed him in advance). The sick list continued to grow, initially ballooning as more pilots called in sick for their upcoming trips during the days of APA‘s initial court appearances. APA had to reach every pilot, irrespective of whether they were scheduled to fly or not, to advise them to clear the sick list if possible. Only after that did the sick list numbers begin to diminish, but Kendall had his red herring and made the most of it.?

Rumor: A number of union officials were still on the sick list after the TRO was issued in defiance of the TRO.

TRUTH: Yes, some were still on the sick list yet to clear, some were sick and remained sick. However, all that could fly, cleared PRIOR to their next trip. After the TRO, none of APA's officers disclosed their status publicly, one way or another, except in some cases, to say that they were clearing and returning to fly. It was AMR management who brought it to Kendall‘s attention, and Hunter/Darrah supporters who continue to try to make an issue of it. The fact is that when directed by the judge, APA began system wide efforts to get pilots back to work.

 

[AAflyer]

Part II

Rumor: An APA phone tree was still advising pilots to stay out sick after the order, in violation of the TRO.

TRUTH: All APA sponsored and supported phone trees were halted at the issuance of the TRO. In fact, APA leadership contemplated using the trees to contact pilots and tell them to go back to work, but were advised not to do so by APA's legal counsel. The attorneys wanted to keep the “back to work” message standardized and handle all union communications/directives from APA headquarters. There were some individual pilots, however, who chose to continue making calls and posting messages detrimental to the union’s position on their own. One pilot even made a tongue-in-cheek threat against Kendall on a message board. He was immediately “interviewed” by federal law enforcement, and Kendall dismissed the matter with a shrug. Regardless, APA moved quietly to protect these pilots, and they were never named or deposed in the AMR lawsuit. Again, APA leadership took the heat while it also protected its membership.

There was a lot of energy and anger over AMR’s trampling of our contract during the Reno purchase- especially their refusal to admit they had busted Scope. However, APA’s actions forced AMR to finally admit to the violation. APA won a related arbitration "on the courthouse steps" establishing the “date of control“- the literal point in time when AMR owned and operated Reno and was obliged to honor our Scope clause. That proved the fact of AMR’s breach of Scope, as well as their intentional refusal to comply with the contract. APA had offered to give management temporary exceptions to cover the Reno integration in exchange for agreement on the date of control issue. AMR steadfastly refused, right up to the point where they reversed course and conceded the issue outside the arbitrator‘s office.


Rumor: APA’s pilots returned to the line in greater numbers only after the contempt ruling- not in response to any effort by APA to get them back to work.

TRUTH: The damage award (not “fine”) was issued a few days after the TRO. The pilots only cleared sick and returned to work as their next trips came up, and only after management fixed the AVRS problems that were preventing many pilots from clearing the sick list in the first place. Kendall erroneously (intentionally?) decided that all pilots should be expected to clear sick immediately and return to their trips in mid sequence. He would not listen to APA’s explanations as to how that wasn't possible. American had many crews available to fly, but chose not to assign them, or canceled the flights while crews stood at the gates. AMR wanted to artificially inflate Kendall ’s damage award as much as possible. Additionally, many pilots didn't want to clear sick immediately out of concern that they would be marked as a “sickout supporter” by management. Kendall , of course, ignored these facts when he opined that it was his “contempt“ ruling, and not the union’s efforts to follow the TRO, that ultimately ended the sickout.


Rumor: Kendall “fined” the union 45.5 million dollars

TRUTH: Kendall only “fined” two individuals. APA President Capt Rich LaVoy was fined $10,000 and APA Vice-President Capt Brian Mayhew was fined $5,000, for their “roles” as principal leaders of APA. Ironically, neither had anything to do with the job action. It was entirely planned and conducted by the APA Board. They were held liable for the alleged “contempt”, not the job action. Again, the individual fines (2) and the damage award were for the 48 hours of alleged”contempt”.

The $45.5 million figure refers to the civil damages Kendall awarded AMR as a result of their their lawsuit against APA. The amount was to cover the cost (to AMR) for the 48 hours the airline’s schedule did not reflect, in Kendall ’s opinion, a return to “normal operations“. Indicative of Kendall ’s reckless disregard for the facts, both LaVoy and Mayhew were held jointly liable as head officers of APA when in fact they were not the men who were responsible for the job action. To their permanent credit, they did not “cut and run“ but instead stoically endured considerable personal abuse and invective from a disgracefully unprofessional judge during multiple appearances in his “court”. Unlike the current APA National Officers, these men stood tall in defense of our pilot group-no matter how tough the going got.

In the years since, both Darrah and Hunter intentionally mislabeled the damage award as a “fine” in an effort to smear those APA leaders who did not break the law, and did not falter in the defense of APA’s membership. The fact is there never was a $45.5 million “fine“.


Rumor: The TRO, lawsuit and damages were unprecedented in APA’s history.

TRUTH: APA had another TRO imposed in December 1990 when Crandall took out the AApology ad in newspapers across the country, inaccurately accusing AA pilots of a job action. AMR sought (and got) another judge’s cooperation, and a TRO was issued accusing APA of doing something it hadn't done. The schedule disruption in that instance was the result of pilots calling in sick over the holidays and the reality of over 400 more pilots being called to active duty for service in Desert Storm. AMR had failed to plan for the military call ups, despite the fact they knew about the mobilization well in advance. Instead, AMR did what they are good at --they sued APA for $25 million in damages for the schedule disruptions caused by management’s own incompetence. Then Crandall took out a national ad vilifying his pilots for his own mistakes, amateurishly referring to APA as the “Airline Pilots Association”. ALPA was not amused. Ultimately, as in 2000, the specious damage award was eliminated in negotiations as AMR and APA moved to clear the table of old baggage and get new agreements completed.


Rumor: “Fines and Damage Awards---they're all the same thing.”

TRUTH: You hear this from guys who get caught in the act of trying to pass one off as the other. In fact, they’re very, very different, and it‘s an important distinction to understand when it comes to labor disputes. When Hunter and his supporters refer to the damage award as a “fine“, it’s a deliberate effort on their part to mislead the membership and smear the APA officers who stood up to protect APA’s pilots during the Reno assault. They think that by using a term that makes it “sound” like APA broke the law they can somehow damage the credibility or reputations of those who lead APA in the past. Normally, this kind of deception and dishonesty is the trademark of AMR management. The facts, which Hunter is aware of, is that a “fine” is levied for a violation of law, paid immediately, and never recovered. A civil damage award is part of a verdict in a lawsuit that is subject to appeal or a negotiated settlement. It is a civil remedy that is frequently reduced or eliminated during subsequent negotiations. In most job actions, management will immediately seek a TRO and sue for damages in an attempt to leverage a union. As a practical reality, many of these damage awards are forgiven or settled for a fraction of their original value. After a job action is over, any damage award has limited leverage for management and is often an impediment to further negotiation that may be necessary between the parties. That was precisely the case with AMR and APA after the Reno event, and one reason why AMR was eager to “settle” the damages and move on to new business with APA once the Scope fight was concluded. There was no need to ever transfer millions of dollars out of APA’s treasury over to AMR. Only John Darrah’s failed leadership made that a reality.


Rumor: Nothing was accomplished by the Reno job action.

TRUTH: Prior to the job action, Carty stated he needed up to five years to fully merge Reno into AA and bring their pilots under the APA contract- despite the fact that former Reno managers who transferred to AMR were immediately put on the AA’s executive compensation program. The job action that shut down the airline finally forced Carty to do what he had angrily refused to do until then-- immediately apply APA pay and contractual provisions to Reno pilots. Instead of the five years Carty insisted it would take, Reno was fully integrated in 10 months. AA F/Os upgraded to AA Captain seats to fill the former Reno seats. Reno pilots were afforded their first union contract and a financial package that they had never experienced. APA forcefully defined the 100% nature of Scope, then compelled management to concede that the “date of control” was the day AMR bought the carrier, not years later when they were merged- which AMR tried to claim. “Date of control” is critical to any Scope dispute-and it’s now clearly defined as a result of management’s concession brought about by the overwhelming leverage applied by APA’s pilots.


Rumor: The APA leaders from the Reno Air days think the only way to negotiate is to strike AA.

TRUTH: Nonsense. APA leadership at the time (including Captain Steve Roach) repeatedly offered negotiated solutions to AMR management prior to the purchase of Reno Air. They offered these solutions to AMR even after the purchase and during the initial weeks of the ongoing Scope violation. When AMR made it clear they would continue the violation unabated, APA responded in several avenues.

 

[AAflyer]

Part III

There was a lot of energy and anger over AMR’s trampling of our contract during the Reno purchase- especially their refusal to admit they had busted Scope. However, APA’s actions forced AMR to finally admit to the violation. APA won a related arbitration "on the courthouse steps" establishing the “date of control“- the literal point in time when AMR owned and operated Reno and was obliged to honor our Scope clause. That proved the fact of AMR’s breach of Scope, as well as their intentional refusal to comply with the contract. APA had offered to give management temporary exceptions to cover the Reno integration in exchange for agreement on the date of control issue. AMR steadfastly refused, right up to the point where they reversed course and conceded the issue outside the arbitrator‘s office.


Rumor: APA’s pilots returned to the line in greater numbers only after the contempt ruling- not in response to any effort by APA to get them back to work.

TRUTH: The damage award (not “fine”) was issued a few days after the TRO. The pilots only cleared sick and returned to work as their next trips came up, and only after management fixed the AVRS problems that were preventing many pilots from clearing the sick list in the first place. Kendall erroneously (intentionally?) decided that all pilots should be expected to clear sick immediately and return to their trips in mid sequence. He would not listen to APA’s explanations as to how that wasn't possible. American had many crews available to fly, but chose not to assign them, or canceled the flights while crews stood at the gates. AMR wanted to artificially inflate Kendall ’s damage award as much as possible. Additionally, many pilots didn't want to clear sick immediately out of concern that they would be marked as a “sickout supporter” by management. Kendall , of course, ignored these facts when he opined that it was his “contempt“ ruling, and not the union’s efforts to follow the TRO, that ultimately ended the sickout.


Rumor: Kendall “fined” the union 45.5 million dollars

TRUTH: Kendall only “fined” two individuals. APA President Capt Rich LaVoy was fined $10,000 and APA Vice-President Capt Brian Mayhew was fined $5,000, for their “roles” as principal leaders of APA. Ironically, neither had anything to do with the job action. It was entirely planned and conducted by the APA Board. They were held liable for the alleged “contempt”, not the job action. Again, the individual fines (2) and the damage award were for the 48 hours of alleged”contempt”.

The $45.5 million figure refers to the civil damages Kendall awarded AMR as a result of their their lawsuit against APA. The amount was to cover the cost (to AMR) for the 48 hours the airline’s schedule did not reflect, in Kendall ’s opinion, a return to “normal operations“. Indicative of Kendall ’s reckless disregard for the facts, both LaVoy and Mayhew were held jointly liable as head officers of APA when in fact they were not the men who were responsible for the job action. To their permanent credit, they did not “cut and run“ but instead stoically endured considerable personal abuse and invective from a disgracefully unprofessional judge during multiple appearances in his “court”. Unlike the current APA National Officers, these men stood tall in defense of our pilot group-no matter how tough the going got.

In the years since, both Darrah and Hunter intentionally mislabeled the damage award as a “fine” in an effort to smear those APA leaders who did not break the law, and did not falter in the defense of APA’s membership. The fact is there never was a $45.5 million “fine“.


Rumor: The TRO, lawsuit and damages were unprecedented in APA’s history.

TRUTH: APA had another TRO imposed in December 1990 when Crandall took out the AApology ad in newspapers across the country, inaccurately accusing AA pilots of a job action. AMR sought (and got) another judge’s cooperation, and a TRO was issued accusing APA of doing something it hadn't done. The schedule disruption in that instance was the result of pilots calling in sick over the holidays and the reality of over 400 more pilots being called to active duty for service in Desert Storm. AMR had failed to plan for the military call ups, despite the fact they knew about the mobilization well in advance. Instead, AMR did what they are good at --they sued APA for $25 million in damages for the schedule disruptions caused by management’s own incompetence. Then Crandall took out a national ad vilifying his pilots for his own mistakes, amateurishly referring to APA as the “Airline Pilots Association”. ALPA was not amused. Ultimately, as in 2000, the specious damage award was eliminated in negotiations as AMR and APA moved to clear the table of old baggage and get new agreements completed.


Rumor: “Fines and Damage Awards---they're all the same thing.”

TRUTH: You hear this from guys who get caught in the act of trying to pass one off as the other. In fact, they’re very, very different, and it‘s an important distinction to understand when it comes to labor disputes. When Hunter and his supporters refer to the damage award as a “fine“, it’s a deliberate effort on their part to mislead the membership and smear the APA officers who stood up to protect APA’s pilots during the Reno assault. They think that by using a term that makes it “sound” like APA broke the law they can somehow damage the credibility or reputations of those who lead APA in the past. Normally, this kind of deception and dishonesty is the trademark of AMR management. The facts, which Hunter is aware of, is that a “fine” is levied for a violation of law, paid immediately, and never recovered. A civil damage award is part of a verdict in a lawsuit that is subject to appeal or a negotiated settlement. It is a civil remedy that is frequently reduced or eliminated during subsequent negotiations. In most job actions, management will immediately seek a TRO and sue for damages in an attempt to leverage a union. As a practical reality, many of these damage awards are forgiven or settled for a fraction of their original value. After a job action is over, any damage award has limited leverage for management and is often an impediment to further negotiation that may be necessary between the parties. That was precisely the case with AMR and APA after the Reno event, and one reason why AMR was eager to “settle” the damages and move on to new business with APA once the Scope fight was concluded. There was no need to ever transfer millions of dollars out of APA’s treasury over to AMR. Only John Darrah’s failed leadership made that a reality.

 

[AAflyer]

TRUTH: You hear this from guys who get caught in the act of trying to pass one off as the other. In fact, they’re very, very different, and it‘s an important distinction to understand when it comes to labor disputes. When Hunter and his supporters refer to the damage award as a “fine“, it’s a deliberate effort on their part to mislead the membership and smear the APA officers who stood up to protect APA’s pilots during the Reno assault. They think that by using a term that makes it “sound” like APA broke the law they can somehow damage the credibility or reputations of those who lead APA in the past. Normally, this kind of deception and dishonesty is the trademark of AMR management. The facts, which Hunter is aware of, is that a “fine” is levied for a violation of law, paid immediately, and never recovered. A civil damage award is part of a verdict in a lawsuit that is subject to appeal or a negotiated settlement. It is a civil remedy that is frequently reduced or eliminated during subsequent negotiations. In most job actions, management will immediately seek a TRO and sue for damages in an attempt to leverage a union. As a practical reality, many of these damage awards are forgiven or settled for a fraction of their original value. After a job action is over, any damage award has limited leverage for management and is often an impediment to further negotiation that may be necessary between the parties. That was precisely the case with AMR and APA after the Reno event, and one reason why AMR was eager to “settle” the damages and move on to new business with APA once the Scope fight was concluded. There was no need to ever transfer millions of dollars out of APA’s treasury over to AMR. Only John Darrah’s failed leadership made that a reality.


Rumor: Nothing was accomplished by the Reno job action.

TRUTH: Prior to the job action, Carty stated he needed up to five years to fully merge Reno into AA and bring their pilots under the APA contract- despite the fact that former Reno managers who transferred to AMR were immediately put on the AA’s executive compensation program. The job action that shut down the airline finally forced Carty to do what he had angrily refused to do until then-- immediately apply APA pay and contractual provisions to Reno pilots. Instead of the five years Carty insisted it would take, Reno was fully integrated in 10 months. AA F/Os upgraded to AA Captain seats to fill the former Reno seats. Reno pilots were afforded their first union contract and a financial package that they had never experienced. APA forcefully defined the 100% nature of Scope, then compelled management to concede that the “date of control” was the day AMR bought the carrier, not years later when they were merged- which AMR tried to claim. “Date of control” is critical to any Scope dispute-and it’s now clearly defined as a result of management’s concession brought about by the overwhelming leverage applied by APA’s pilots.


Rumor: The APA leaders from the Reno Air days think the only way to negotiate is to strike AA.

TRUTH: Nonsense. APA leadership at the time (including Captain Steve Roach) repeatedly offered negotiated solutions to AMR management prior to the purchase of Reno Air. They offered these solutions to AMR even after the purchase and during the initial weeks of the ongoing Scope violation. When AMR made it clear they would continue the violation unabated, APA responded in several avenues.

The job action was initiated as a “final option“, and put an immediate stop to Carty‘s illegal airline operation. At the same time, the “date of control” dispute was taken to arbitration, and ultimately won by the union. The damage award was subsequently addressed and eliminated by the same APA leadership that shut the airline down, when they negotiated the follow-on Small Jet TA of 2000. The first Merger and Acquisition agreement the union’s history was negotiated, with the seniority and contractual template set for APA’s use in future airline acquisitions (totally abandoned by both Darrah and Hunter during the TWA purchase). APA’s pilots were offered a TA that delivered the future generation of advanced Small Jets (super RJ’s) to APA’s pilots governed by the APA Green Book.

Unlike United’s subsequent Small Jet provisions (which were part of their full Section 6 agreement) APA’s TA contained the only enforceable system for compliance- hard hull counts. United has since learned what APA leadership knew all along- that unenforceable agreements are the same as having no agreement at all. APA’s 2000 TA was enforceable.
The same TA included a contract extension that was amendable after one year or when Delta signed- whichever came sooner. AMR VP Bob Baker had already told APA to expect “Delta- plus a buck” in the area of compensation during the upcoming Section 6 talks. With Scope settled and pay targets already agreed to match industry-leading Delta, APA was set to enter Section 6 contract talks with only work rules and benefits yet to be bargained. For the first time in 15 years APA had an opportunity to enter these negotiations with Scope and pay rates settled in advance. With these “strike” issues already resolved, APA was positioned to quickly complete the bargaining and secure a truly industry-leading contract- before APFA, TWU, or the events of 9/11.

The APA leadership that led the membership into battle during the Reno sickout also provided these arbitrated victories and negotiated opportunities to the membership. Clearly, a huge difference from the “performance” and record of the subsequent Darrah and current Hunter regimes.


Rumor: APA leadership defied Kendall ’s Order.

TRUTH: While Kendall made an issue of the initial APA hotline, it was quickly corrected. All other items specified in the TRO were complied with immediately upon receiving the order. APA had anticipated the involvement of a judge and brought in an attorney who was an expert on TROs and compliance issues. His opinion was that APA’s actions, and updated hotline message, not only met the requirements of the judge’s order, but would satisfy “the most conservative court in the land”. What no one could have anticipated, however, was the control AMR would exert over a supposedly “impartial” federal judge, and how hostile and skewed his opinions and rulings would be.

We later found out why AMR traveled to Wichita Falls, 100 miles outside of DFW, to select this particular judge‘s court to file their civil complaint against APA . A review of Kendall ’s judicial record shows a rate of reversal, on appeal, three times greater than the next closest federal judge in his circuit. He was neither competent or honest, which made him well suited for use by AMR. Kendall ’s neighbor Dee Kelly was also an AMR Board member and the lead attorney in AMR’s lawsuit against APA. Not long after the Reno affair, Kendall was passed over for a higher federal position, and he quit the bench to enter private practice.

Despite having to combat such a powerful management “wild card”, APA leadership authoritatively stopped the Reno Scope Bust, successfully defended numerous lawsuits, then went on to produce landmark agreements with AMR, eliminating nearly all of Kendall’s irrational damage award (in the 2000 Small Jet TA) while setting a course for the upcoming Section 6 negotiations. That opportunity was squandered by the subsequent Darrah administration, and the damage has continued to accumulate to this day under the pro-management Hunter group- particularly for APA’s junior pilots.


Rumor: the Darrah and Hunter’s administrations “cleaned up the mess” left by the “Reno Board”.

TRUTH: To which one can only respond “You’re joking, right?“ Nothing could be further from the truth. The Darrah regime, with Hunter helping out as a “negotiator“, were major opponents to the contract 2000 TA and elimination of the damage award. Instead, they created the Supp CC disaster, the panic of the 2003 bankruptcy give away, and consistently offered NO RESISTANCE to AMR’s relentless campaign to degrade the APA contract and ruin the careers of every AA pilot. Having helped defeat the advances contained in the 2000 Small Jet TA, Darrah needlessly shipped 20+ million APA dollars over to AMR and entered Section 6 negotiations with no plan or direction. Compare the successful Reno Scope defense, seniority merger templates, Small Jet agreements and consolidated Section 6 openers of the “Reno APA Board” with Ralph Hunter’s consistent refusal to demand value for APA’s membership, and his ongoing support for drastic, permanent concessions, and you have a clear idea of who’s created an atrocious “mess”. Fresh, strong, pro-pilot leadership is needed now at APA to repair the damage inflicted by the one-two management punch delivered to this membership by the Darrah and Hunter administrations.

 

[PCL_128]

I have already written to you about this, you choose to ignore it. I am actually getting very tired of your anti-AA bull********************. YOu do not seem to have the same hard on for SWAPA or IPA, or even NPA... Wha did one of our guys ******************** your girlfriend or something.

I'm not anti-AA at all. I actually liked and respected Captain Hunter quite a bit. This isn't about being anti-AA, or anti-APA for that matter. I'm just anti-illegal-job-actions. They do too much harm to the labor movement. Illegal self-help, whether it's APA, the NY transit workers, PATCO, etc... simply creates too many problems for organized labor. As I always say to the RJDC supporters, working within the system is how real progress is made.

I am willing to bet you will be first in line to fly the -700 or 900 at your airline. SO, is your bid in?

The airline I work for doesn't have any orders for CRJs. Don't work at PCL anymore.

 

[AAflyer]

Summary

SUMMARY:

The Reno civil damage award, as well as Kendall ’s unprofessional and hostile bias against our union, was unprecedented in this industry. In the 1990 TRO issued against APA during Crandall’s bogus AApology campaign, the “failure to comply” penalty was a “fine” of $200,000/day to the union. After witnessing Joe Kendall‘s uncontrollable rage towards labor, other airline unions have now learned the irrational extremes available to management when wielded by a presumably “impartial” Federal Judge. After assessing his irrationality, APA’s counsel restricted their comments in Kendall ’s court in order to deny him any basis for even more unbalanced retaliation against APA’s pilots. They referred to the experience as being in a bona fide “kangaroo court“. After dealing with Kendall (and planning the elimination of his damage award in subsequent negotiations with AMR) APA went on to win multiple class action suits, establishing new case law that prevents disgruntled passengers from suing a union, individual members, or labor leadership for alleged damages attributed to a job action. Unions throughout our industry won a landmark victory, and new protections, from those verdicts.

When Carty and AMR covertly purchased, and then operated Reno Air outside the provisions of APA’s contract they initiated an intentional, massive violation of the core principle of our agreement. “Section One- SCOPE“, the chapter which determines who has the right to fly AA’s aircraft, has been paid for over and over again by our pilot group. AA flying belongs to the pilots on the AA seniority list, and no one else, unless agreed to by APA. Management was afforded many opportunities to comply with the Scope agreement they signed in order to avoid a conflict. Instead, they chose confrontation in the belief that APA would be weak and surrender or sell off more of our hard-won contract to avoid a fight. They badly miscalculated- back then APA had leadership that was prepared and willing to oppose them and behave like a real pilots’ union, not an adjunct to AMR’s PR office.

The way the job action was conducted not only forced Carty to immediately stop the Reno adventure and comply with our contract, but it also ensured that all pilots who supported it were paid and that no pilot was terminated or suffered any penalty for their participation. There were no Scabs, no terminations, no disciplinary letters in files, etc. APA leadership were the only ones who took the heat, and they stood fast. APA negotiated a settlement to Reno on our terms - terms that would have prevented the job action in the first place had AMR been willing to comply with the contract. AMR didn't believe APA’s pilots would challenge the Reno violation. They intended to operate Reno as a separate entity from AA, as a scope-busting model for future acquisitions. As bad as it is, the TWA acquisition would have turned out much worse had APA done nothing and permitted AMR to operate Reno as a low-cost, alter ego carrier within AA. That alter ego plan, translated to the TWA purchase, would have created a 20 year fence, and enormous job loss to the Reno/TWA division of AA. Instead, Carty was stopped, and thousands of AA jobs were protected that would otherwise have either gone to the street, or been transferred to the “new AA model”- the new LCC/Reno/TWA division.

The Reno job action was APA leadership’s response to a blind side, blitzkrieg attack on Scope by a dishonest and ultimately corrupt CEO. The luxury of time and hindsight were not available to APA at the time. In spite of a management-serving, out of control federal judge, APA leadership (including Captain Steve Roach) never flinched or faltered in defending the interests of APA’s pilots-despite AMR applying all the pressure it could against them.

Ultimately, Scope was definitively and legally defended. New rulings and agreements were put in place to provide additional protections against similar management attacks in the future.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

AAFlyer.... can you source your 5 part post?

 

[PCL_128]

AAFlyer.... can you source your 5 part post?

The source is Captain Hunter's opposition, I believe. Regardless, it doesn't really matter. Anyone that has a an understanding of RLA law understands that a "major dispute" as defined by the RLA doesn't allow a labor group to immediately engage in self-help as this document asserts. The difference between "major" and "minor" disputes is merely how the dispute must be resolved through the RLA process. Major disputes (scope violations, for the most part) can be expedited and taken to federal court to be settled. Minor disputes must use the typical system board grievance procedures and can only be expedited with mutual consent between the union and the company. Nowhere does the RLA allow a labor group to unilaterally declare legal self-help simply because they believe a major dispute has taken place.

 

[Lear70]

Hell, I'm still laughing at the "Piper Cub overhead bin" comment...

Did he really say that? ROFLMAO!!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not bashing AA at all, just think the judge had a hell of a sense of humor, given that it WAS an illegal job action and all. Interesting how the airline industry gets slapped and the rest of the country (rail drivers in NY, teachers in DTW) get raises.

 

[PCL_128]

Hell, I'm still laughing at the "Piper Cub overhead bin" comment...

Did he really say that? ROFLMAO!!

Yep, right out of the court records. The guy was a complete a$$hole, but at least he was comical about it. :smash:

 

[thor2j]

I give all the credit in the world to APA for their "illegal" job action. Atleast someone can do something. Have you guys noticed that the federal govt wont let any unions have any power. No major will be able to go on strike for the near future, they wont allow it. So what powers to unions have, not much--especially ALAP. Maybe we can get APA at CAL.