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AWA Pilots File Application For Preliminary Injunction

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MK82Man

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Posts
210
The request by pilots of America West asking the courts to address the out-of-seniority furloughs currently planned by the company before we suffer irreparable harm

It is 18 pages long, so these are only a few highlights. There may be a link to the district court record out there somewhere. Filed PM on September 18th, 2008.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

CASE NO. 208-CV-1633-NVW

Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and other premerger America West pilots, file this Application for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the Company from furloughing any premerger America West pilot before it re-furloughs all US Airways pilots who were on furlough status at the time of the merger.

Plaintiffs are entitled to this relief because their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) gives them contract seniority rights over pilots who were on furlough at the time of the merger and because inequitable conduct tips the balance of hardships strongly in their favor.

The Transition Agreement established that the members of each pilot group had contractual duties to: (1) create an integrated seniority list, if necessary, by binding arbitration; and (2) bargain in good faith to negotiate a single CBA that would apply to all Company pilots and implement this integrated seniority list.

Specifically, after the Transition Agreement modifications, the 2004 CBA required the Company to institute integrated pilot operations using the integrated seniority list when, by June 30, 2006, the pilots and Company had not agreed on a single CBA and were not actively negotiating toward such agreement. Regardless that these conditions have been present for more than two years, the Company has not fulfilled this duty.

The Award identified substantial inequities with the date-of-hire scheme proposed by the US Airways Pilots, noting in particular that it “integrated a number of furloughed US Airways Pilots with active America West Pilots.” The Award also rejected some aspects of the scheme proposed by the America West pilots. It concluded by creating an integrated seniority list that: (1) maintained relative seniority among the pilots from each side; (2) placed the 500 most senior US Airways pilots ahead of all America West pilots; (3) placed about 1,750 US Airways Pilots, who were on furlough status at the time of the merger, at the bottom of the list; and (4) filled the middle of the list with a proportionate blend of the America West pilots and the remaining US Airways pilots. On December 20, 2007, the Company accept this integrated seniority list.

According to ALPA Merger Policy § 45.H.5.b, “The Award of the Arbitration Board shall be final and binding on all parties to the arbitration.” Regardless, the US Airways Pilots refused to cooperate with implementation of the Award and refused to negotiate a single CBA. Moreover, they formed a new union, USAPA, in a transparent effort to avoid commitments to support the Nicolau Award that they saw as linked to their ALPA membership. The more numerous US Airways pilots had enough votes by themselves to get USAPA certified as the bargaining agent for all Company pilots. This occurred on April 18, 2008.

Under the terms of separate operations (as set out in the Transition Agreement), the Company was allowed to recall all of the US Airways pilots on furlough status at the time of the merger in preference to hiring new America West pilots. It was also allowed to hire 90 new US Airways pilots while hiring only 20 new America West pilots (six of whom are former US Airways pilots who are probably transferring back to US Airways). As a result, since May 2005 the number of active US Airways pilots increased by 239 while the number of active America West pilots decreased by 118. Now, the Company wants to furlough America West pilots, while retaining newly hired and recalled US Airways pilots.

On June 12, 2008, the Company announced plans to reduce its mainline domestic capacity by furloughing 175 America West pilots and 125 US Airways pilots. The Company plans to do so while retaining on active status hundreds of US Airways pilots who did not have jobs at the time of the merger. Retaining these pilots while furloughing premerger America West pilots breaches both express and implied duties arising under the 2004 CBA, Transition Agreement, ALPA Merger Policy and the Nicolau Award. The Company claims that it must furlough America West pilots if it is cancelling America West flights. That, however, is not true. In fact, the Transition Agreement allows the Company to assign flights that were neither scheduled nor announced as of September 23, 2005, to America West—and there are plenty to assign.

The fact that the Company expanded its US Airways active pilot roster by 239 pilots since September 23, 2005, shows that there are a substantial number of such flights. The Company, therefore, could assign some or all of these flights to America West. It refuses to do so.
If the Company were operating according to the Nicolau integrated seniority list hundreds of US Airways pilots would be subject to furlough ahead of the first premerger America West pilot. The Company would be operating according to the Nicolau integrated seniority list if the US Airways pilots and the Company had not breached express and implied contract duties that were established in the Transition Agreement.

If the US Airways pilots had honored their duties, they would have cooperated with the negotiation of a single CBA, and the Company would now have integrated pilot operations using that CBA. If the Company had honored its duties, it would have implemented the integrated seniority list after June 30, 2006, because the US Airways pilots were not cooperating with CBA negotiations
 
I am sure it (MCDU'S response)will reflrect the logic and wisdom one might expect from such a senior qualified aviator from the east. I, on the other hand say IT IS ABOUT FN TIME WE GET OUR DAY IN COURT!!!!!!!!!! Long live AOL!
 
The request by pilots of America West asking the courts to address the out-of-seniority furloughs currently planned by the company before we suffer irreparable harm

It is 18 pages long, so these are only a few highlights. There may be a link to the district court record out there somewhere. Filed PM on September 18th, 2008.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

CASE NO. 208-CV-1633-NVW

Plaintiffs, on behalf of themselves and other premerger America West pilots, file this Application for a preliminary injunction to enjoin the Company from furloughing any premerger America West pilot before it re-furloughs all US Airways pilots who were on furlough status at the time of the merger.

Plaintiffs are entitled to this relief because their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) gives them contract seniority rights over pilots who were on furlough at the time of the merger and because inequitable conduct tips the balance of hardships strongly in their favor.

The Transition Agreement established that the members of each pilot group had contractual duties to: (1) create an integrated seniority list, if necessary, by binding arbitration; and (2) bargain in good faith to negotiate a single CBA that would apply to all Company pilots and implement this integrated seniority list.

Specifically, after the Transition Agreement modifications, the 2004 CBA required the Company to institute integrated pilot operations using the integrated seniority list when, by June 30, 2006, the pilots and Company had not agreed on a single CBA and were not actively negotiating toward such agreement. Regardless that these conditions have been present for more than two years, the Company has not fulfilled this duty.

The Award identified substantial inequities with the date-of-hire scheme proposed by the US Airways Pilots, noting in particular that it “integrated a number of furloughed US Airways Pilots with active America West Pilots.” The Award also rejected some aspects of the scheme proposed by the America West pilots. It concluded by creating an integrated seniority list that: (1) maintained relative seniority among the pilots from each side; (2) placed the 500 most senior US Airways pilots ahead of all America West pilots; (3) placed about 1,750 US Airways Pilots, who were on furlough status at the time of the merger, at the bottom of the list; and (4) filled the middle of the list with a proportionate blend of the America West pilots and the remaining US Airways pilots. On December 20, 2007, the Company accept this integrated seniority list.

According to ALPA Merger Policy § 45.H.5.b, “The Award of the Arbitration Board shall be final and binding on all parties to the arbitration.” Regardless, the US Airways Pilots refused to cooperate with implementation of the Award and refused to negotiate a single CBA. Moreover, they formed a new union, USAPA, in a transparent effort to avoid commitments to support the Nicolau Award that they saw as linked to their ALPA membership. The more numerous US Airways pilots had enough votes by themselves to get USAPA certified as the bargaining agent for all Company pilots. This occurred on April 18, 2008.

Under the terms of separate operations (as set out in the Transition Agreement), the Company was allowed to recall all of the US Airways pilots on furlough status at the time of the merger in preference to hiring new America West pilots. It was also allowed to hire 90 new US Airways pilots while hiring only 20 new America West pilots (six of whom are former US Airways pilots who are probably transferring back to US Airways). As a result, since May 2005 the number of active US Airways pilots increased by 239 while the number of active America West pilots decreased by 118. Now, the Company wants to furlough America West pilots, while retaining newly hired and recalled US Airways pilots.

On June 12, 2008, the Company announced plans to reduce its mainline domestic capacity by furloughing 175 America West pilots and 125 US Airways pilots. The Company plans to do so while retaining on active status hundreds of US Airways pilots who did not have jobs at the time of the merger. Retaining these pilots while furloughing premerger America West pilots breaches both express and implied duties arising under the 2004 CBA, Transition Agreement, ALPA Merger Policy and the Nicolau Award. The Company claims that it must furlough America West pilots if it is cancelling America West flights. That, however, is not true. In fact, the Transition Agreement allows the Company to assign flights that were neither scheduled nor announced as of September 23, 2005, to America West—and there are plenty to assign.

The fact that the Company expanded its US Airways active pilot roster by 239 pilots since September 23, 2005, shows that there are a substantial number of such flights. The Company, therefore, could assign some or all of these flights to America West. It refuses to do so.
If the Company were operating according to the Nicolau integrated seniority list hundreds of US Airways pilots would be subject to furlough ahead of the first premerger America West pilot. The Company would be operating according to the Nicolau integrated seniority list if the US Airways pilots and the Company had not breached express and implied contract duties that were established in the Transition Agreement.

If the US Airways pilots had honored their duties, they would have cooperated with the negotiation of a single CBA, and the Company would now have integrated pilot operations using that CBA. If the Company had honored its duties, it would have implemented the integrated seniority list after June 30, 2006, because the US Airways pilots were not cooperating with CBA negotiations



When are you babies going to understand that we are no longer in ALPA and that they can't help you any more.
 
When are you babies going to understand that we are no longer in ALPA and that they can't help you any more.

Sleep well O' Naive one. Nobody is asking ALPA for a thing. Dream on and on and on.....daddy Bradford will take care of everything.
 

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