December 30, 1998
ALPA, Intl
Committees
Tonight’s topic for discussion is:
- 1998 in review
This has been a very slow week at the MEC office. Rather
than conclude the year with a short hotline about trivial news items, I would like to take
a few minutes to review the past year from an ALPA perspective.
1998 saw many changes, along with ALPA successes and
inevitably, some frustrations and disappointments. We also see upcoming changes in 1999.
Some of the changes that affected us in 1998 were:
- Continuing middle management turnover. Senior Director of
Crew Resources Darryal Chandler and Labor Relations Manager Rhonda Theuer both left during
1998. While Theuer was a long-time America West employee, Chandler lasted barely a year in
his position. There is still no permanent head of Crew Resources as of this writing.
- Vice-President of Flight Operations Ed Methot left in late
December of 1997, and was replaced by Lee Steele in March of 1998, over three months
later. This constant turnover in management makes it difficult to establish an on-going
business relationship with the Company. Having to start over with new managers every year
or so means that much ground has to be re-covered to bring the new person up to speed on
the various issues that concern ALPA. We hope that this frequent turnover will not
continue in 1999.
- America West Airlines suffered the ignominy of having to
submit to a summer of FAA “Heightened Surveillance.” A long spell of problems
caused the FAA to investigate the Company’s maintenance and operations practices. The FAA
did not like what they found. The media had a field day. The front-line employees bore the
brunt of passenger unhappiness. Eventually, management agreed to a 5 million dollar fine,
with 2.5 million dollars in suspension assuming compliance with the agreement.
Fortunately, many changes were for the better.
- The MEC spearheaded an effort to amend the ALPA Constitution
and By-Laws to allow Council 62 more Captain and First Officer representatives. Council 62
had grown to the point where the existing ALPA structure was no longer providing adequate
representation for our pilot group. The MEC introduced changes to the Constitution that
allows single-council airlines with over 1000 members two Captain and two First Officer
representatives, instead of only one. The MEC shepherded this proposal through a
successful vote at the recent Executive Board of Directors meeting last summer. This paved
the way for our recent election of new Captain and First Officer representatives last
month. The LEC will soon consist of the four status reps, and a Secretary-Treasurer. The
new representatives take office March 1, 1999. These members will elect new three MEC
officers, whose terms will begin September 1, 1999. At that point, Council 62 will have a
total of 7 pilots representing you, compared to the 3 we have today.
- Your MEC was able to change ALPA National merger policy.
Until the MEC worked to change it, ALL of our merger related expenses would have to have
been charged to the merger fund and paid out of our pockets. Now the merger policy allow
us to charge “Flight pay loss, expenses and direct support” to the MEC account.
Therefore, we can now charge everything but the legal fees to ALPA.
- Another major vote was the ratification of the TAS side
letters. After a long trial period, a set of side letters that permanently instituted a
new set of rules governing low line adjustment, “A” days, and the Trip
Adjustment System was passed.
- PBS, once thought to be a dead issue, is now at the
forefront of the MEC agenda. After several years of inaction, the MEC convinced management
to work with us to eliminate the long-standing roadblocks to PBS implementation, and to
move forward to develop a working system. The Negotiating Committee, along with the PBS
Committee and Professional Standards, devised contract side letter language that removed
the obstacles to developing the software. After a series of educational road shows and
informational publications, the PBS side letters were passed in late summer. Work
immediately began to produce a version of the PBS software customized for use at America
West.
1998 saw many successes.
- We had our first mediated grievance settlement, using the
new agreement that bypasses the time-consuming and expensive arbitration procedures. The
result was the AT-IOE training displacement agreement. The second mediated settlement
produced a ruling favorable to ALPA that allowed relief pilots to reach the 77-hour
minimum bid period guarantee faster.
- Contract Administrator Andrew Shostack and the Grievance
Committee took the Ed Korcynski termination case all the way to arbitration, and won the
case.
- Another arbitration involving a grievance filed by Captain
Doug Combs was settled just prior to arbitration, and on terms favorable to Captain Combs.
- The MEC was successful in preventing management from
imposing new medical insurance policies on the pilots. The Company wanted to have the MEC
agree to a new insurance plan without providing sufficient time or documentation to
evaluate the changes. Exercising our contractual rights, the MEC refused to go along with
the inadequately documented changes.
- First Officer representative Darcy Pierce was appointed to
the IFALPA SCAMPI Committee. SCAMPI is the Subscription, Constitution & By-Laws,
Administration, Membership Policy and Insurance Committee. This appointment is a major
achievement for our MEC because the SCAMPI Committee is one of the foremost authorities on
global aviation issues. It is also a testament to the credibility of not only our MEC, but
First Officer Pierce as well, to be asked to serve on this important committee.
- The Communications Committee became even more active in
1998. New publications, Just The Facts, and MEC Directions were started early in 98. These
two publications increase the amount of information put out to the pilot group. The Web
site and the Pilotnews mailing list became more popular with Internet savvy pilots, as
well.
- The MEC hired a new Communications Specialist in June, when
Yvette Freeman replaced Regena Frieden.
- The Communications Committee has several new publications
planned to keep the pilot group informed during the Contract 2000 negotiations. We will be
publishing Table Talk, Contract Awareness, and Family Awareness News to let both our
pilots and their families know how the negotiations are progressing.
- The airline world has been constantly changing in 1998, and
it looks like it will be equally tumultuous in 99. The rumor mill has taken on the
characteristics of a perpetual motion machine, with talk of mergers between America West
Airlines and almost every other airline out there. While the MEC had no hard facts to lead
to the conclusion that a merger involving America West was imminent, they felt is was only
prudent to retain an experienced law firm as merger counsel. There are only a few law
firms with solid experience in airline mergers, and it is important to have a firm chosen,
and a retainer agreement signed before you need them. If we were to wait until a deal had
been announced and then scramble for counsel, it would be far too late.
- Another Council 62 success was the Strike Preparedness
dinner held in May. Gary Bakewell took over the reins of the Strike Preparedness
Committee, and immediately got to work. The dinner was held at Brewski’s, and was
completely sold out. This kickoff event brought Contract 2000 to everyone’s attention, and
was a great display of pilot unity. Since then, preparations for Contract 2000 have been
proceeding at a steady pace.
- Captain Pete Neff was named Chairman of the Negotiating
Committee. The committee mapped out a timetable preparing for the actual negotiations, and
then set to work. As of this writing, work is progressing at a fast pace to have our
opener ready late in the spring of 99.
While 98 saw lots of successes for Council 62, there were
frustrations and disappointments, as well.
- As previously mentioned, the management merry-go-round took
it’s toll. Dealing with a Crew Resources department that is virtually headless is
difficult.
- While neither the MEC nor the pilots were in any way
responsible for the FAA heightened surveillance over the summer, it was disappointing to
see our airline dragged through the media mud. Also, this debacle grabbed all of
management’s attention, and kept us from dealing with other significant issues during the
late spring and early summer.
- The MEC is disappointed that it was able to make little
progress on improving the quality of the pairings and lines. We continue to have numerous
night pairings with 24-hour circadian flip-flops. Many other trips are very unproductive,
and force pilots to spend far more time away from base than need be. Pairing and line
quality and general lifestyle improvement will be a major focus for Contract 2000.
- Over vehement MEC objections, the Company persisted in
canceling vacations in 98, this time over the end-of the year holidays. In this
circumstance, they did not even provide the notification that the Contract requires.
- The repeated delays for the Ed Sherman arbitration have been
very frustrating. This case involves the age 60 re-test for disability insurance.
Witness-related delays on both sides, coupled with jam-packed arbitrator calendars, have
forced Sherman to continue to wait to have his case heard.
- The recent delay in PBS development has been frustrating.
The current chill in the relationship between Labor Relations and the MEC has put a halt
to PBS and FOQA (Flight Operations Quality Assurance) development. We can only hope that
this chill is temporary, and will be resolved in the very near future. We will then
continue to move forward on PBS and FOQA.
Upcoming issues for 99.
Clearly, Contract 2000 is the major focus of the MEC and
many of the Committees for 99.
- But you should also be aware that we will be dealing with
pilots who insist on remaining delinquent in their merger fund assessments. Early in 99,
termination proceedings in accordance with the contract will begin against these
delinquent pilots who refuse to pay their fair share to the merger fund.
- As the FAA moves closer to issuing final rules on FOQA the
Central Air Safety Committee and the Negotiating Committee will be ready. We will make
certain that we negotiate Contract amendments with management that protect you while
complying with the FAA requirements.
- Final plans for a new crew lounge should materialize in 99.
Crew Lounge Committee Chairman Chuck Jones has put in long hours of work on this issue. We
will no longer have to rest in the “Computer Storage Facility” once the
remodeling of the Terminal 4 locker room and office area is completed.
- Finally, the MEC wishes to stress the need for pilot unity
and dedication in 1999. As the start of negotiations approaches, pilot unity becomes more
and more important. Getting to a ratified Contract 2000 will be a long and arduous
process. It requires a solid pilot group that is willing to hang tough, and be patient. We
need to avoid letting management divide us against ourselves. The MEC will do its part:
you need to do your part.
Remember, don’t cut deals, and don’t violate the contract.
Wear your ALPA pin proudly! The MEC office will close tomorrow the 31st at noon, and will
reopen on Monday, January 4, 1999. Best wishes to you and your family for a safe, healthy,
and prosperous 1999.
The next scheduled Hotline update will be Thursday, January
7, 1999.
| MEC Hotline | ||
| This is Communications Committee chairman David Weeks with the America West MEC hotline update for Wednesday, December 30, 1998. |