lowecur
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2003
- Posts
- 2,317
Welp, it looks like another pimple is coming to head. Brought on by the bold moves of UAIR, UAL is now talking 1113 plus a termination of pensions. Looks like UAL will have to work the same deal as DL and you could see mass retirements shortly.
Rumblings are also coming from AMR as they try to renegotiate their credit line before they sink below the minimum cash requirement where it could be withdrawn. High fuel prices are aiding the normal pull of gravity in these dire times.
September 23, 2004
Dear United pilot:
On September 17, 2004, United advised the Bankruptcy Court that the “likely result” of its current work on pension issues will be the termination of all Company pension plans, including your A Plan (the defined benefit plan). In addition, United said that management “believes that it will require hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cost reductions --indeed in the neighborhood of $500 million—on top of savings that would be realized even if the company were to terminate and replace its pension plans.”
We are seeing an unfortunate but growing aggressiveness on the part of United in its dealing with its employees, and its pilots in particular. Despite public statements about “cooperation” and “working with its employees and labor unions,” it almost seems as if each new communication is designed to take one more step toward the inevitable conclusion that the Company’s employees, and mainly its pilots, must again pay for management’s inability to operate its business as well as United’s competitors operate theirs. Whether this is prompted by rising fuel prices and decreasing revenues, the second US Airways bankruptcy, the sobering developments at Delta or whether this was the plan all along, remains unclear. The change in their message is, however, unmistakable.
As we recently informed you, it is our intent to try to work with United over the next several weeks to see whether the Company is willing to reach an acceptable resolution of pilot pensions and related issues. If that effort fails, and there is no certainty that it will succeed, United has publicly stated that it will formally initiate Section 1113 proceedings against ALPA and its other labor unions and at the same time serve formal notice of its proposed termination of all of its pension plans. Once that action is taken, there will be no further processing of pending partial lump sum applications and no further distributions will be allowed. At this time, we have no timetable for this process.
Fundamentally, each of you will be exercising your independent judgment concerning the likelihood of a forced pension termination and how such a termination will affect your lump sum entitlement. We urge every pilot considering making an application for retirement that includes a partial lump sum distribution to thoroughly study all of the ramifications of such a decision prior to coming to a conclusion. Unfortunately, while we can describe the problem and the Company’s stated intentions, we cannot predict the Company’s actions, or the likelihood of success in trying to reach an amicable solution between ALPA and the Company. Retirement processing takes time. Pilots should contact their local flight office for the processing timeline.
We will continue to keep you as fully informed of all developments as we are able, given the fluid nature of the situation. In the meantime, closely monitor MEC mailings, the alpa.org web site, the code-a-phone, and most importantly attend your LEC meetings.
Fraternally,
Captain Mark Bathurst
Chairman, UAL-MEC
Rumblings are also coming from AMR as they try to renegotiate their credit line before they sink below the minimum cash requirement where it could be withdrawn. High fuel prices are aiding the normal pull of gravity in these dire times.
September 23, 2004
Dear United pilot:
On September 17, 2004, United advised the Bankruptcy Court that the “likely result” of its current work on pension issues will be the termination of all Company pension plans, including your A Plan (the defined benefit plan). In addition, United said that management “believes that it will require hundreds of millions of dollars of additional cost reductions --indeed in the neighborhood of $500 million—on top of savings that would be realized even if the company were to terminate and replace its pension plans.”
We are seeing an unfortunate but growing aggressiveness on the part of United in its dealing with its employees, and its pilots in particular. Despite public statements about “cooperation” and “working with its employees and labor unions,” it almost seems as if each new communication is designed to take one more step toward the inevitable conclusion that the Company’s employees, and mainly its pilots, must again pay for management’s inability to operate its business as well as United’s competitors operate theirs. Whether this is prompted by rising fuel prices and decreasing revenues, the second US Airways bankruptcy, the sobering developments at Delta or whether this was the plan all along, remains unclear. The change in their message is, however, unmistakable.
As we recently informed you, it is our intent to try to work with United over the next several weeks to see whether the Company is willing to reach an acceptable resolution of pilot pensions and related issues. If that effort fails, and there is no certainty that it will succeed, United has publicly stated that it will formally initiate Section 1113 proceedings against ALPA and its other labor unions and at the same time serve formal notice of its proposed termination of all of its pension plans. Once that action is taken, there will be no further processing of pending partial lump sum applications and no further distributions will be allowed. At this time, we have no timetable for this process.
Fundamentally, each of you will be exercising your independent judgment concerning the likelihood of a forced pension termination and how such a termination will affect your lump sum entitlement. We urge every pilot considering making an application for retirement that includes a partial lump sum distribution to thoroughly study all of the ramifications of such a decision prior to coming to a conclusion. Unfortunately, while we can describe the problem and the Company’s stated intentions, we cannot predict the Company’s actions, or the likelihood of success in trying to reach an amicable solution between ALPA and the Company. Retirement processing takes time. Pilots should contact their local flight office for the processing timeline.
We will continue to keep you as fully informed of all developments as we are able, given the fluid nature of the situation. In the meantime, closely monitor MEC mailings, the alpa.org web site, the code-a-phone, and most importantly attend your LEC meetings.
Fraternally,
Captain Mark Bathurst
Chairman, UAL-MEC
