Before the thread gets too emotional, pilots out West “are not jumping for joy” now that a lawsuit has been filed. We are not seeking to “hurt” anyone. We are not seeking “unfair” treatment. All we want is the “binding part of binding arbitration” and fair representation from our CBA. We are seeking remedy from the company as well. Since the CBA, USAPA, seeks to implement a date of hire list (as mandated by their constitution), outside of the Nicolau Award, we are at odds with them. Now that the company has announced furloughs, on 1 October (three weeks) pilots at AWA who had jobs at the time of the merger will be put on the street, while new hires stay on out East so that East downgrades can occur. Furthermore, East Coast Furloughees who did not have a job at the time of the merger will remain employed while West Coast pilots will be let go. Even after the 175 West Coast Mainline Furloughs, every East Furlough Recallee gets to keep his job – it is basically unfair.
So we are seeking a review by the court on the merits of our complaint. Since our CBA has not responded on the “fundamental inequality” in the furlough issues, 10% rate for AWA, while East Coast pilots are furloughed at a <4% rate, the issue is now being elevated. The real losers in all of this are all the pilots at the “new” US Airways. USAPA was created by a few, endorsed by a few more (who primarily hated ALPA (perceived actions and inactions) and with hatred towards East Coast management), and let loose to run without much supervision by the average East Pilot.
Everyone at AWA is sorry for the bankruptcies that the East had to endure, sorry that ya’ll lost your pensions (we never had them), but you can’t gain old losses back by putting us on the bottom of the list. That is what the court will decide. What is really tragic is that inadvertently USAPA may have handed management an excuse to implement the Nicolau Award as is … IE if a Federal Court grants the injunction, management is off the hook. USAPA’s ignoring of the West Coast Pilots issues and lack of compromise has put them in this situation. East Coast pilots who could have created a new start and a great new airline by embracing the West at the time of the merger instead will be left wondering what happened. But trying to tell an East Coast US Airways Pilot something is often futile. We will see what the court decides. It’s a real mess and we are all losers in this. Let’s hope it gets over quickly (unlikely) and we get the healing process started as well (also unlikely, but I’m willing to try). Being Furloughed this Fall
