General Lee
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You gotta love Doug "Dougwiser" Parker at USAir and his thoughts on mergers..
US Airways: Pilot Contract Threatens Merger
By Ted Reed The Street
04/05/10 - 04:46 PM EDT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Although US Airways is clearly eager to merge with another carrier, its efforts could be blocked by a provision in its pilots contract, says CEO Doug Parker.
Speaking to pilots at a March 17 meeting in the company's Charlotte training center, Parker reflected on a contract provision requiring that if the airline has a change of control, pilot wages would "snap back" to a far higher level that was in place before the carrier extracted wage concessions in two bankruptcies in 2002 and 2004.
"We've had talks with airlines in the past," Parker said. "This (provision) always comes up. (It) is a large issue in consolidation talks. There will not be a merger if that's where the pay rates go. Anybody we would merge with can't let the pay rates go to those levels."
"You can't have both," Parker added. "You can't have a merger with that provision. (It) will either result in a merger never being done or it will be a merger that doesn't trigger that provision."
Parker said he was raising the issue because he recently received a couple of notes from pilots referring to the contract provision, which requires "a very, very high snapback." He indicated that he raised the issue because he did not want some pilots to have the erroneous view that a merger would definitively lead to higher wages.
Mike Cleary, president of the US Airline Pilots Association, which represents USAir pilots, blasted Parker's remarks in an April 1 letter to pilots.
"Mr. Parker actually had the temerity to publicly say he would structure any merger in a fashion that would intentionally circumvent the merger protective provisions of our contract," Cleary said. "These provisions were paid for by our pilots with significant concessions designed to help this company get to the day when a merger could happen.
"Now that the company is in a position where it may find a merger beneficial, it is ironic indeed that our CEO touts his willingness to deprive us of previously bargained-for provisions that were put in place specifically for a merger event," Cleary said.
Parker has been one of the industry's leading advocates for consolidation. Following the success of the 2005 US Airways/America West merger, he unsuccessfully pursued a hostile takeover of Delta.
Speculation continues over whether the carrier might merge with United, a Star alliance partner, or with American. Primary assets include the US Airways hub in Charlotte -- the only Southeast hub other than Atlanta -- and a strong presence at both Washington Reagan National Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
Can you believe that? Pilots actually want a pay raise, sorta like management would get in a merger? Yeah........Executive compensation packages sure haven't risen too high in the past few years, have they? Nah.....
Bye Bye--General Lee
US Airways: Pilot Contract Threatens Merger
By Ted Reed The Street
04/05/10 - 04:46 PM EDT
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Although US Airways is clearly eager to merge with another carrier, its efforts could be blocked by a provision in its pilots contract, says CEO Doug Parker.
Speaking to pilots at a March 17 meeting in the company's Charlotte training center, Parker reflected on a contract provision requiring that if the airline has a change of control, pilot wages would "snap back" to a far higher level that was in place before the carrier extracted wage concessions in two bankruptcies in 2002 and 2004.
"We've had talks with airlines in the past," Parker said. "This (provision) always comes up. (It) is a large issue in consolidation talks. There will not be a merger if that's where the pay rates go. Anybody we would merge with can't let the pay rates go to those levels."
"You can't have both," Parker added. "You can't have a merger with that provision. (It) will either result in a merger never being done or it will be a merger that doesn't trigger that provision."
Parker said he was raising the issue because he recently received a couple of notes from pilots referring to the contract provision, which requires "a very, very high snapback." He indicated that he raised the issue because he did not want some pilots to have the erroneous view that a merger would definitively lead to higher wages.
Mike Cleary, president of the US Airline Pilots Association, which represents USAir pilots, blasted Parker's remarks in an April 1 letter to pilots.
"Mr. Parker actually had the temerity to publicly say he would structure any merger in a fashion that would intentionally circumvent the merger protective provisions of our contract," Cleary said. "These provisions were paid for by our pilots with significant concessions designed to help this company get to the day when a merger could happen.
"Now that the company is in a position where it may find a merger beneficial, it is ironic indeed that our CEO touts his willingness to deprive us of previously bargained-for provisions that were put in place specifically for a merger event," Cleary said.
Parker has been one of the industry's leading advocates for consolidation. Following the success of the 2005 US Airways/America West merger, he unsuccessfully pursued a hostile takeover of Delta.
Speculation continues over whether the carrier might merge with United, a Star alliance partner, or with American. Primary assets include the US Airways hub in Charlotte -- the only Southeast hub other than Atlanta -- and a strong presence at both Washington Reagan National Airport and Philadelphia International Airport.
-- Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C.
Can you believe that? Pilots actually want a pay raise, sorta like management would get in a merger? Yeah........Executive compensation packages sure haven't risen too high in the past few years, have they? Nah.....
Bye Bye--General Lee
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