ocal Council 171 Update – One Week To Go
December 10, 2012
Update
Here we are less than one week to go until the voting closes on this TA. Your IAH Reps have spent countless hours in the crew room, weather room and at the town hall at the Marriott Hotel. I am sure I have seen over a thousand pilots and might have spoken to all of them
Sales Job
By now most of you have seen the direct mail to your house. That to me was just too close to the sales job that brought us Contract 02. If was, in my opinion, most definitely directed to the family. I feel this is inappropriate, as your MEC was committed to “No Sales Job” on this contract. Ben and I had no idea this was coming out and I can assure you I would have fought against this mailer. The same information is available on the contract web site.
In Closing
Don’t let the contract talks or merger problems distract you from your day to day job. Safety is our primary concern and the Company’s number one objective. The contract voting closes at 10:00 this Saturday, December 15th. I am sure we will have the results posted shortly thereafter.
Eric Hunter
LC 171, Chairman
After a roll call vote, the current TA skated past the CALMEC by 55%/45%; indicative that this agreement does not meet muster with a significant percentage of our Pilots. In discussing and debating the merits of the agreement in Phoenix, I found no Rep, Officer or Pilot who thinks this is the deal we deserve; yet it passed both MEC’s. I doubt that one will find any voting Rep, I hope, that absolutely loves this deal. So why did it pass? It passed because we failed to bring this process to a reasonable conclusion. This TA passed because we considered “negotiation” to be our sole vehicle for achieving an industry-leading contract. It passed due to negotiating fatigue and fear, of all people, smisek,. But most-importantly, it passed because we failed to establish “unity” within the ranks. A wise American once stated, “a house divided amongst itself cannot stand”. Those words are just as true today as they were in 1858. That house appears to be our house, divided by fear of the unknown, lack of mutual support and procrastination in unifying this entire Pilot group. As for LEC 171; we have reached across the aisle since day one, we were against the methodology to achieve profit-sharing independently (a complicated issue that has not yet been fully explained to our Line-Pilots), we advocated extension of the terminable TPA provisions for the entire Pilot group, we supported and praised Captain Heppner’s request for release, we favored full furlough longevity for pay for all Pilots, we voted against the small-split methodology that excluded military, ltd and furloughed Pilots. In short, we have been advocates for all 12,505 Pilots. The aforementioned actions are matters of record. Any suggestion that the CAL Pilots do not care about the UAL Pilots plight is both flawed and misguided. Eric and I will always stand with our fellow Pilot before we side with team smisek, and our history is indicative of just that stance.
As previously stated, it is doubtful that you will find any voting Pilot who truly loves this agreement. What I’ve found is that most “yes” voters are voting “yes” due to a fear of the unknown. Fear of what Smisek might do. Fear of actions that the NMB might take if we fail to ratify; the most ridiculous of all fears in my humble opinion. This fear driving our Pilots to accept a sub-standard TA would be easily thwarted if we had a unified army of 12,505 who would refuse to submit to a whipsaw “Eastern” scenario of each other’s airline. Just so I’m clear on this one, should smisek attempt to shrink LUal in lorenzo fashion, every LCal Pilot should immediately do everything possible to show smisek that we will not stand for that and that we are a unified army of 12,505. smisek is the enemy, your fellow Pilot is not. Whether growing up on the unfriendly streets of Newark, or on a low-level through the mountains of Afghanistan, one tenant remains true, “You never, ever leave your wingman”. This is where we have failed each other, but we still have time.
The NMB
In my personal interaction with Ms. Puchala, I have never once heard her indicate that we would be punished (put on ice) for not ratifying this TA. I asked the question, “What happens if we vote the TA down at the MEC level? Her answer, not to my liking, was that she considered that scenario an internal Alpa issue. She rightfully suggested that if the JNC brought a TA to the MEC that didn’t pass, then obviously a disconnect exist between the JNC and the MEC, and that we (Alpa) would have to work that out amongst ourselves. Second question, “What if the Pilots fail to ratify”? She indicated that this would get her attention. She would thereupon poll the Pilots to find out why the TA failed to ratify, and would take the appropriate action. No promises, but no threat to be iced either. Third question, “ Why do the Railroads always get full retro, but the Airlines never achieve it?” Answer, “Because you guys never demand it”.
I’d like to go on the record as being an advent supporter of Ms. Puchala and the NMB. The TA that exists before you today would be totally concessionary had it not been for NMB involvement. I truly hope you did not truly believe there was any chance of release to self-help months before a presidential election. That election is now over.
Lastly, the NMB has fulfilled their obligation to these negotiations. We needed the NMB to force the company to produce a TA that was worthy of a vote; they have accomplished that task and that vote is now before us. It took years for the company to produce an agreement worthy of a vote. I repeat…years. During that time, we struggled with leverage due to Wall Street’s favorable opinion of this merger and reminiscences of a Gordon Bethune styled team managing the world’s largest airline. The smoke has cleared and it has become obvious to Wall Street and our co-workers that jeff smisek is no Gordon Bethune and United Airlines is being grossly mismanaged by said over-paid and underperforming CEO. That same CEO arrogantly stated that labor was not needed for this merger. Now that the investors, passengers and employees realize that the Emperor (smisek) is wearing no clothes, we finally have the leverage needed to secure the industry-leading contract that we deserve. I implore you to understand that now is the time to push for an industry-leading CBA, not accept the best one that could be negotiated.
The JNC and SME’s
Our negotiators and SME’s did the absolute best job that they could do under the current circumstances to negotiate with an unmotivated party. Their job is to negotiate the best deal they can, and present that to the MEC for approval. Captains Dave Owens and Phil Otis are men of integrity, as are their teams, and have done their very best to negotiate the best TA that they could negotiate. Through their efforts, they have placed us in scoring position. It was, and now is the decision of the MEC and Pilots to decide what we do with that position. Whether we punt, field goal or go for the end zone is our decision, not the JNC’s. All SME’s and negotiators have earned my respect and appreciation. Unfortunately, negotiations only work when both parties do so in a timely and earnest fashion. I attest that smisek’s offer of 25 cents on the dollar for retro, and lagging behind the second largest airline is not earnest.
