RJDC/ALPA settle...

[JoeMerchant]

RJ Defense Coalition
Ensuring One Level of Representation
www.rjdefense.com

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]ALPA VOTES TO ACCEPT SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT[/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial,sans-serif]The RJDC is pleased to announce that ALPA's Executive Council and Executive Board has voted to endorse an agreement that provides for important and unprecedented additions to ALPA's bargaining procedures and resolves the litigations brought by the ASA and Comair pilots.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]The agreement calls for significant additions to ALPA's internal policies and practices, including:[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif](1) Mandatory pre-bargaining disclosure between mainline/express pilot groups.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif](2) The ability of mainline/express negotiating committees to consult with each other on proposed scope bargaining plans.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif](3) Review of scope goals and bargaining proposal by a special subcommittee of the national bargaining committee.
[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]The RJDC credits two factors above all that made this agreement possible. First is the determination of the ASA and Comair pilots to see their union enact reforms that reflect changes in the airline industry. The second factor is the willingness of ALPA's new administration to take a fresh look at the six year dispute and respond constructively to the concerns of its members.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]In light of recent progress made by the parties, the September 21st hearing date was adjourned and the parties will make a report to the Court on October 30 and expect by then to have completed much of the detailed language that will make up the formal settlement agreement. [/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif][/FONT]
[FONT=Arial,sans-serif]Your RJDC Leadership[/FONT]

 

[JoeMerchant]

AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL​

100TH REGULAR EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING​

October 23-24, 2007​

SUBJECT
Amendment to Administrative Manual, Section 40 - Collective Bargaining

SOURCE
Executive Council (09/07, AI #46)

RESOLUTION OF THE EXECUTIVE BOARD
WHEREAS the Executive Council designated a special committee of its members to engage in discussions with the ALPA member plaintiffs in the Ford/Cooksey litigation to determine if there was a basis for settlement, and

WHEREAS the Executive Council special committee and Ford/Cooksey plaintiffs have reached a tentative agreement to settle the litigation, and

WHEREAS the proposed settlement embodies adoption of certain amendments to Association collective bargaining policies, addressing “scope” negotiations, which the Executive Council deems consistent with advancing the interests of our members in a coordinated and cooperative manner, and with other provisions of ALPA Policy that address these subjects, and

WHEREAS the proposed settlement also embodies provisions for partial payment of litigation costs and dismissal of litigation, and

WHEREAS the Executive Council approved the terms of the proposed settlement relating to payment of litigation costs and dismissal, contingent upon approval of the policy amendments by the Executive Board as embodied in the proposed settlement and recommended by the Executive Council,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Administrative Manual, Section 40, Part 1, Collective Bargaining Committee, be amended by adding new paragraph I, as follows:

I. The President shall appoint a subcommittee of the Collective Bargaining Committee dedicated to scope within extended airline families (the “Scope Subcommittee”), subject to Executive Council approval of appointments.

1.The Scope Subcommittee is charged with pursuing the following general goals:

a. Increasing Association knowledge on the function and operation of scope provisions.

b. Enhancing cooperating among ALPA pilot groups within each system of mainline and express carriers in formulation of scope proposals for protection and allocation of flying within that system.

2.In pursuing its assigned general goals, the Scope Subcommittee shall:

a. Comprehensively review and analyze (in conjunction with appropriate Association resources) existing scope clauses of both ALPA and non-ALPA carriers in terms of whether they advance scope goals with respect to the preservation and allocation of flying within extended airline systems.

b. Prepare guidelines with respect to standards and principles concerning scope negotiations, including but not limited to: (i) enhancing career protections and (ii) defending against use of alter egos. Further, the Scope Subcommittee may develop independent approaches to addressing scope language or concepts without necessarily being limited to existing scope language or concepts.

c.Track industry changes in scope clauses.

d.Develop contract models for scope clauses.

e.Consult with Negotiating Committees of ALPA pilot groups within the extended system prior to commencement of negotiations, as provided in subsection 3 below.

f.Communicate with non-ALPA pilot groups within the airline family on scope issues.

g.Be available to consult with Negotiating Committees during negotiations concerning scope, and receive updates on status of scope negotiations as provided in subsection 3 below.

h.Report regularly to the Executive Council, Executive Board and Board of Directors and recommend changes to ALPA policies as it deems necessary.

3.Prior to commencement of any bargaining for any ALPA pilot group within a mainline/express system, the applicable Negotiating Committee will meet with the Negotiating Committees of other ALPA pilot groups in the mainline/express system to review opening scope proposals and how they advance ALPA’s scope goals and guidelines. The committees will work with each other to develop a consensus on proposals; if, however, they are unable to do so, subsection 3a below will apply.

a. Following consultation as specified above, and prior to submission of the scope proposal to the airline, the applicable Negotiating Committee will report to the Scope Subcommittee that ALPA pilot groups have consulted with one another and have or have not reached consensus that the planned scope proposal meets ALPA’s scope goals and guidelines; if the latter, Negotiating Committees of other ALPA pilot groups in the system can submit statements of agreement or disagreement to the Scope Subcommittee, which can recommend changes following consultation with the Negotiating Committees involved.

b. The applicable Negotiating Committee and ALPA pilot groups within the mainline/express system will develop in conjunction with the opening proposal agreed reporting benchmarks with respect to developments in on-going scope negotiations which will require that the Negotiating Committee provide updates on the status of scope negotiations to the Scope Subcommittee. In the absence of consensual agreements concerning benchmarks, the Scope Subcommittee will determine reporting benchmarks.

4. During the period that final approval of a collective bargaining agreement is subject to Presidential review under the Constitution and By-Laws, MEC designated representatives of all ALPA pilot groups within the mainline/express system may submit comments prior to the Presidential signature concerning conformity of negotiated scope provisions with recommendations of the Scope Subcommittee and Association policy.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that approval of the foregoing amendments to ALPA policy be contingent upon final approval of the settlement in the Ford/Cooksey litigation and that such amendments become effective only upon such final approval.

 

[FDJ2]

It looks like the RJDC has thrown in the towel. After all that litigation they only got a scope impact committee with no real power to effect negotiations.

 

[JoeMerchant]

It looks like the RJDC has thrown in the towel. After all that litigation they only got a scope impact committee with no real power to effect negotiations.

Read more closely FDJ2...... it requires the mainline MECs to show the regional MECs their opening scope sections prior to bargaining.... That is significant....

This will force the mainline MECs to work more closely with their regional counterparts..... that is very good thing....

 

[Pat Fabin]

I wouldn't say it was exactly a "win" for us either. I don't see why any pilot group should have to talk/negotiate with anyone other than their management.

I know it basically just says "meet and confer" but I don't like it on principle.

Ironic that Dan Ford and his cronies have been trying to demolish scope clauses when a good one may have saved more of Comair's flying over the last few years.

But I think we've covered this ad nauseum on this board...

 

[~~~^~~~]

This is not so much an "RJDC win" than a affirmation of ALPA's duties to its members that have always existed.

The Air Line Pilots' Association negotiates as a single entity and is a single entity under law. Obviously a union with a fiduciary obligation to each of its members is going to get into trouble whenever one group negotiates something that could harm another.

For unity's sake, ALPA needs to keep its dirty laundry in house and I see this agreement as helping to facilitate a process that should have been happening anyway. Scope differences need to be resolved - then a unifed powerful union needs to advance its case to management.

Many mainline pilots see this as a threat. I do not think so. Mainline pilots still "control" the flying and hold the majority of votes. The inclusion of a minority voice can only make the union (and scope) stronger. For example Delta's E175's and 900's are almost exclusively operated by non-ALPA pilots, as are most of Delta's flying awards these days. Scope which kept this flying under the ALPA umbrella would decrease the external competition which seems to always result in no 100 seat jets for mainline.

I would hope that this process would allow the sort of working together that will return flying to ALPA and flying to mainline.

I'm glad at the end of the day the RJDC got what is publically said it wanted, a reform in ALPA's behavior (not money and not the destruction of mainline scope). In some ways ALPA is getting what it wants, brand scope and safety for their MCF money. The hard sell will be those in both the regional and major MEC's who don't want to work together.

However, there were many Captains who fought CRM in the day and now we all consider CRM part of doing our jobs safely. In the same way, including all of ALPA's members is going to help us find the right answers and bring a stronger position to the table.

~~~^~~~

 

[~~~^~~~]

Read more closely FDJ2...... it requires the mainline MECs to show the regional MECs their opening scope sections prior to bargaining.... That is significant....

This will force the mainline MECs to work more closely with their regional counterparts..... that is very good thing....

We were seeing them anyway for the most part....

This formalizes the same working together that went on when you had friendly MECs (and which fell apart when the sandbox battles got started). If there is a way to take politics out of ALPA politics, it is a benefit.

Maybe we can get closer to a union that comes at its task dispassionately - focusing on results in the same way that the most calculating CEO and CFO's do.

In the past, ALPA politics has made our union brothers "the enemy" while management happily outsourced our jets to non union pilots. We need to work together to make that stop.

 

[FDJ2]

Read more closely FDJ2...... it requires the mainline MECs to show the regional MECs their opening scope sections prior to bargaining.... That is significant....

Yeah, sure it is.

This will force the mainline MECs to work more closely with their regional counterparts..... that is very good thing....

You're right. Maybe we'll call it the Bilateral Scope Impact Committee. :laugh:

Look Joe, I think it's great we got this frivolous lawsuit behind us. If it makes you happy that mainline will tell you what we might negotiate, great. I see no harm in that, I suppose you would find out sooner or later. We'll listen to your recommendations and give them the weight that they are due.

We'll still be able to maintain our own autonous bargaining objectives, as we have before, without any interference from you or your MEC, as we have before. We'll still negotiate our own scope clause, including any limitations on the outsourcing of DL code.

There really isn't any material change to our negotiations, other than perhaps meeting and conferring with our "express" partners. Like I said, I have no problem with that at all.

 

[FDJ2]

We were seeing them anyway for the most part....

This formalizes the same working together that went on when you had friendly MECs (and which fell apart when the sandbox battles got started). If there is a way to take politics out of ALPA politics, it is a benefit.

There you go. That's right. This puts the whole lawsuit behind us, and loosely codifies what's been going on for decades. ALPA MECs have, for the most part, always conferred with each other and sought common strategies whenever there was common ground. We can confer with each other, that's a good thing, so long as we can maintain our autonomous negotiating objectives, which we can.

 

[Tejas-Jet]

Thank goodness thats over...any other ALPA issues going on?

 

[michael707767]

Read more closely FDJ2...... it requires the mainline MECs to show the regional MECs their opening scope sections prior to bargaining.... That is significant....

This will force the mainline MECs to work more closely with their regional counterparts..... that is very good thing....

are you kidding me? All that will happen is the mainline MECs will tell the regional MECs what their opener will be. Nothing the regionals can do will change that opener nor change how the mainline bargains. All that will change is the regionals will know in advance instead of when the TA comes out.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Gee...too bad the RJDC guys didn't have the skillset to get this accomplished through lobbying, politiking, dinner and a handshake...

I guess the woman that got scalded by McDonalds coffee had more of an effect on our culture than ever...

 

[regionaltard]

are you kidding me? All that will happen is the mainline MECs will tell the regional MECs what their opener will be. Nothing the regionals can do will change that opener nor change how the mainline bargains. All that will change is the regionals will know in advance instead of when the TA comes out.

Sounds about right. Management has emerged from this with their ability to play one group off against the other intact.

That "Here I sit broken hearted...." poem comes to mind. I didn't agree with the entire RJDC platform but I truly believed that the lawsuit represented the last best chance to effect some changes in ALPA critical to our ability to reclaim what's been lost. Too bad they caved.

 

[PCL_128]

This will force the mainline MECs to work more closely with their regional counterparts..... that is very good thing....

LOL. Come on, Joe, just admit that this was a huge failure for the RJDC. Your buddies realized that their lawsuit was going nowhere (just as I've been saying for years), and they made a last ditch effort to settle so they could get ALPA to pay for some of their legal bills. That incompetent boob Haber isn't cheap. If anyone wants to take a look at the original RJDC settlement proposal, take a look at their website. It included copious amounts of concessions on ALPA's part, none of which are included in this final settlement deal. ALPA told them to pound sand with their ridiculous proposal back then, so the RJDC wankers fought it out in court for years until realizing that it was a dead end, so they took what little bit they could get: reimbursement for legal fees and an unimportant addition to the Admin Manual.

Just for old times sake, I'm bringing back the anti-RJDC avatar for a few days. I know you'll be thrilled, Joe. :beer:

 

[~~~^~~~]

I dunno, but I'm thrilled...PCL brought back the sticker!