American Pilots Replace Union Leaders

[PlaneDrvr]

I think your issue is more with ALPA members than with ALPA elected representatives. If people don't get involved, and they leave it to their elected representatives....then you get....what you have today.

Guys talk a big game on F.I. But so far, how many recall resolutions have been introduced at LEC meetings? How many have passed?

The ALPA guys complained about Duane Woerth for along time, but waited until an election took him out of office. Now guys complain about Prater, and are gonna wait until.....?

ALPA members got a problem with ALPA? I think change starts with the guy you see looking back at you from the mirror.

The problem with you argument is that many got involved and 'repeatedly' Voted Against Changing Age 60, but Capt. (A$$hole) prater and company have the 'own agenda' and wish to go against the 'majority'

An example is that last survey with many many questions written just to try and get the 'results they wanted'

prater was elected to represent the interest of the 'majority' of his membership, but Doesn't care what they Want!!!!!

Any questions about that??

Just my $0.02, so rant away.

DA

 

[PCL_128]

Mr. Hunter and his slate tried to counter the criticism by describing Mr. Hill as a radical who helped start the illegal 1999 sickout that prompted a $45.5 million fine from a federal judge.

Just wonderful.

 

[Yuppyguppy]

Best Of

 

[Yuppyguppy]

Best Of Luck To Amr Pilots. Glad To See A Pro Union Guy In There. Give'em Hell And Get It Back For All Of Us!!!

 

[AAflyer]

Just wonderful.

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

AA

 

[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.