Did anyone else catch this juicy tidbit from the APA about the USAir Merge?

[General Lee]

I'm an east guy hired in 99....not too much in the east -west crap fight...my hope is for ALL of us that fly for the New American Airlines will compete well with DAL and UAL and have great growth potential and an awesome career..And, that ALL of our pilots benefit. Now, General...please tell me that you don't have a wife and kids at home. You really are sick, dude... step away from FI and get a life!

So, you don't want me to give an opinion? I have a great personal life, but I also enjoy this forum. Quit deflecting the topic. Your group will benefit after you abide by your binding award your group and management agreed to prior, along with the arbitrator you agreed to. Settle up with any integrity your group has left, and most people might take you seriously, instead of the joke you have become.

And I won't step away from something I enjoy, only guys like you want me to so I won't bring up painful subjects you are trying to hide. Fix this, and I'll move on to the next controversial subject.


Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[Guppiedriver]

APA will file for single carrier and it's lights out for USAPA. Put the Tauruses up on Craigslist. They won't get a chance to negotiate DOH, and it won't need to go to arbitration. APA will pass whatever it wants overwhelmingly.

USAPA=Irrelevant

Eventually, it will be lights out for USAPA. The rest of your post is pure nonsense.

 

[General Lee]

Oh yeah!!

US Airways West Pilots: We Won't Back Down on Seniority
by: Ted Reed
02/26/13

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (TheStreet) -- Despite widespread hopes that a merger with American would bring closure to a pilot seniority dispute at US Airways, it's not that simple.

A controversial 2007 seniority ruling by arbitrator George Nicolau followed the 2005 merger between US Airways and America West. The ruling, which resulted from binding arbitration, led to a bitter separation among pilots from the two airlines.

This month's American/US Airways merger will lead to another round of pilot seniority integration, this time under guidelines established by the McCaskill-Bond Amendment. The 2007 congressional legislation requires unions to resolve seniority disputes through negotiations and, if that doesn't work, through binding arbitration. Leaders of the Allied Pilots Association and the U.S. Airline Pilots Association seem hopeful that the process will go smoothly and resolve the simmering dispute at US Airways.

But another round of binding arbitration, if it is not based on the Nicolau list, isn't acceptable to former America West pilots. Their attorney said they will go to court if the ruling isn't part of the merged airlines' seniority list.

"We expect the parties to abide by the Nicolau list, which is the arbitrated joint seniority list accepted by the company in 2007," said Mark Burman, spokesman for Leonidas, a group of pilots who have supported the continuing court battle to have the ruling implemented.

On Feb. 7, US Airways pilots overwhelmingly approved a memorandum of understanding, setting temporary contract terms that would be implemented in the event of a merger. In a Feb. 18 letter to the labor attorneys for US Airways, Leonidas attorney Marty Harper referred to a 2010 finding by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that the west pilots' claims regarding Nicolau implementation would be "ripe," or ready for a court's consideration, once a contract was signed.

"The time has come with ratification of the MOU and approval of the merger," Harper wrote.

Harper said west pilots have until early August to seek relief in their duty of fair representation case against USAPA. "They will do so, " seeking a temporary restraining order, if pilots have not agreed prior to that date to implement the Nicolau award, he said.

USAPA President Gary Hummel has said the west pilots are trying to delay the merger. But Harper wrote that "the west pilots supported this merger from the start, have no interest in delaying it now. (But) the west pilots must do whatever is needed to defend the Nicolau award."

In a Feb. 21 letter to USAPA members, Hummel declared the union continues to oppose the Nicolau ruling.

"This merger provides substantial and life changing benefits to all USAPA pilots, including those based in Phoenix," Hummel wrote. "USAPA will aggressively oppose any efforts to slow down or stop the merger process and will be equally vigilant in adhering to our constitutionally mandated principles that reject the Nicolau Award in its entirety."

In his letter, Hummel said USAPA has asked the Ninth Circuit for an expedited ruling on a pending appeal filed by US Airways. The airline, joined by west pilots, appealed an October ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Roslyn Silver in its case seeking clarification of the necessity to adapt the Nicolau list. In her ruling, Silver said USAPA's seniority proposal could be acceptable "provided it is supported by a legitimate union purpose."

USAPA wants an expedited ruling because "We want there to be no uncertainty about whether USAPA can pursue a different seniority proposal," Hummel said.

Follow @tedre

-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C



Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[igneousy2]

Yikes - sounds like an integration war brewing... Those APA pilots sure are COCKY!

I am sure a bunch of former TWA and Reno Air pilots will have flashbacks after reading it...

Yes they are...but I don't agree that this letter is an example of it. I actually thought it was a pretty well written.

 

[waveflyer]

"Constitutionaliy mandated..." Doesn't quite have the same effect when it was written AFTER the arbitration award

 

[Bringupthebird]

The rest of your post is pure nonsense.

Why would APA want to get USAPA all over themselves when they don't have to. A pure integration proposal from APA without USAPA's controversial DOH nonsense insulates them from being dragged into the east-west food fight. If an arbitrator subsequently decides that DOH is the only fair integration methodology (fat chance), then Leonidas can take it up with them, but APA keeps it's hands clean.

The sooner USAPA is cut out of the picture, the sooner the merger can be consummated.

 

[Dan Roman]

Man, there is just no easy way out of this. USAPA is not going to ever accept the nic. The west certainly isn't going to just walk away from a binding legal ruling that protects their rights and APA has officially said they support the binding arbitration process. The sad thing is none of you guys deserve this crap. Good luck to all of you.

One question, when does the new contract pay rates kick in for the USAir pilots?

 

[Bringupthebird]

It kicked in as an IOU on Feb 8th to be paid on the date the Plan of Reorganization is accepted (in the fall, maybe).

The payrates in the years beyond the Transition still are part of the Joint negotiations with the company, so we'll have to see if the Pie that was sold in the MOU is what actually ends up on our plate.

 

[The Drizzle]

One question, when does the new contract pay rates kick in for the USAir pilots?

Announcement of Plan of Reorganization I think. AKA, not soon enough.

 

[SpauldingSmails]

Eventually, it will be lights out for USAPA. The rest of your post is pure nonsense.

You're right, and don't think that US Airways management isn't excited about the premise that this merger will complete their first merger.

I would imagine this was a major selling point for US Airways to merge: American Airlines comes replete with a steamroller that could merge their seniority lists.