I'm not an American or Eagle guy....what do you that are make of this?
Eagle ALPA Chairman's Hotline - 100303
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This is Herb Mark with the Chairman's Hotline for Friday, October 3,
2003.
On Wednesday morning, Eagle management performed the displacement bid to
displace 20 of our flow-through captains. Because only 18 AA flow-backs
remain in the September ground school classes, only 18 of the 20 pilots
were actually displaced. Four of these displaced pilots displaced into
CRJ first officer positions, six of them displaced into ATR captain
positions in Miami, and eight of them displaced into more junior slots
on the same equipment. We are extremely proud that ten of our pilots
are taking a sabbatical from the jet in order to protect Eagle pilots
from the revolving door that the APA wrongly claims it is entitled to.
Despite our disagreement, the company then displaced eight Eagle Rights
captains when it processed the displacement bids of the eight displaced
EMB flow-through captains, who had elected to stay on the same
equipment. Three of the displaced Eagle Rights captains have been
displaced to jet first officer positions, two to Saab captain positions,
and three to ATR captain positions. As a result, the company made
history by violating at least four contractual provisions before ten
o'clock in the morning on Wednesday: the displacement of Eagle Rights
captains as a result of flow-backs, the lack of contractually-required
displacement notification, displacing pilots out of seniority order, and
displacing to cost-neutral positions rather than contractually mandated
positions.
>From our vantage point, it appears that the company has engaged in an
all out attack on the rights of Eagle pilots by completely disregarding
our collective bargaining agreement, including Letter 3. To add insult
to injury, upon receipt of the "Kasher Award," ALPA engaged the company
in discussions pertaining to remedy. The company, not wanting to engage
in those discussions, sent a letter to Arbitrator Kasher confirming his
jurisdiction and expressly requesting that he clarify the remedy
required by his ruling.
As a result, and at his request, ALPA filed a brief with the Arbitrator
on the issue of remedy. Shortly thereafter, we received copies of two
emergency letters sent by the company to Arbitrator Kasher, advising him
of the company's new position that he no longer maintained jurisdiction
in this dispute. It is obvious from these events that the company is
taking whatever position it can at a given point in time that will
provide the best chance of avoiding any remedy to Eagle pilots for its
violations of Letter 3.
The company could not be clearer in its non-verbal statement to our
pilots that collective bargaining agreements, in its mind, are
irrelevant and that the arbitration process is something to be toyed
with. As a result, the pilots of American Eagle are faced with a
significant challenge as it appears that the company intends to
simultaneously violate multiple provisions of our contract. Substantial
time and effort will be necessary to remedy these violations and many
pilots will suffer harm while we await arbitration decisions. However,
we are fully prepared to defend the rights of American Eagle pilots.
The company could have easily run a simultaneous displacement/vacancy
bid and placed the eight Eagle pilots who returned to the jet directly
into jet captain vacancies. This would have protected our Eagle Rights
captains while ALPA and the company await an arbitrator's ruling on
whether or not Eagle Rights captains are susceptible to displacement
caused by Letter 3/Supplement W flow-backs.
The company has unleashed a fear campaign on our pilots and the reason
is obvious. A few weeks ago, a bargaining representative of the APA
made a comment to us that we were the ones in the "pressure cooker" and
that within two months, we would be crawling back to the APA for relief.
Let me be abundantly clear - American management, American Eagle
management, and the APA have grossly underestimated the resolve of the
Eagle pilots. We are an honorable and professional group of people and
we do not cower to the threats of those who think that by playing games
with the rules that they can gain advantage over their opponents. And
that is what we are to these groups - opponents. How tragic! I could
go on and on, but I need not. You are all too familiar.
On Monday, we received a telephone call from a reporter from a national
newspaper advising us that according to his sources, the sale of Eagle
is imminent. Although we have nothing to substantiate this claim, I can
only hope that prior to any sale, Eagle management will make a serious
effort to remedy what has become a new low in our relationship with this
management. In the meantime, we will perform our jobs with the
professionalism that our customers expect and we will stay above
reproach as we right the wrongs imposed upon us.
You can view all correspondence on the Letter 3 dispute including the
text of recently filed grievances on the alpa.org website. Please take
the time to educate yourselves with the facts and continue to use your
local representatives to get answers to your questions.
On Tuesday, October 7th, our regularly scheduled MEC meeting will be
held at the Embassy Suites hotel at Highway 183 and Valley View in
Irving, TX. All members in good standing are welcome to attend all open
portions of the meeting. For additional Association information, please
press 2 at the conclusion of this message.
Thank you for calling and fly safe
