In his decision, Arbitrator Nicolau references a direct quote from his earlier decision in the Federal Express / Flying Tigers seniority integration. He states again, that:
“There are four basic lessons to be learned from those submissions;
· that each case turns on its own facts
· that the objective is to make the integration fair and equitable
· that the proposals advanced by those in contest rarely meet that standard
· and that the end result, no matter how crafted, never commands universal acceptance.”
Another area of interest in the decision is the use of a “no-growth” philosophy in constructing the list. Again, quoting from the decision, “In the exercise of caution, we have also constructed the list on a no-growth basis, using the fleet as it existed on January 1, 2007, and giving no weight to pre-merger orders except to the extent that any such additions were in place as of January 1, 2007. Our judgment as to the fleet is based, not on asserted expectations as both sides urged, but on reality. Particularly in this day and age, with airline instability a way of life, it makes little sense to rely on pre-merger projections...."
The Board also found that, “it cannot be disputed that there were differences in the financial condition of both carriers and that US Airways was the weaker. This necessarily means that career expectations differed and that US Airways pilots had more to gain from the merger than their new colleagues.”
The final award from the Board utilizes a ratio method that attempts to address all of the aspects of ALPA Merger Policy. Specifically, the top 517 positions on the combined seniority list were reserved for US Airways pilots due to their unique, international widebody flying positions that did not exist at America West. The bottom of the list places the most senior US Airways furloughee on May 19, 2005 just below all active pre-merger pilots from both airlines. The objective was to merge active pilots with active pilots.
(trying to speak the langauge)
