September 3, 1998
ALPA, Intl
Committees
NWA codeshare routes
A number of pilots have expressed concern that America West has increased capacity between
PHX or LAS and Northwest’s hub cities of MSP and DTW. Importantly, these are not routes on
which the Northwest code appears. On these routes, America West, like every other
competitor, is simply trying to sell its product to Northwest passengers who would
otherwise be stranded. Such capacity increase actually has the approval of the America
West and Northwest MECs.
PBS ballots
Ratification ballots for the PBS tentative agreement side letters were mailed last Friday
from Herndon. All pilots should have received their ballots by now. If you have not
received yours yet, please notify the MEC office as soon as possible. Ballots must be
postmarked by September 12 and will be counted around September 24.
LEC nomination ballots
Ballots to nominate your local council representatives will be mailed Friday, September 4.
This is the first step of the MEC restructuring plan recently approved by the ALPA Board
of Directors.
Nominating ballots must be returned to the MEC Office on or
before October 28; or brought to the Local Council meeting, which is scheduled for 1:00 to
5:00pm on October 28. The ballots will be counted at that Local Council meeting. The
location of the meeting will be announced within the next few weeks. Any pilot in good
standing interested in running for an LEC captain rep, first officer rep, or
secretary-treasurer position is encouraged to announce their intentions now.
Details of the election process will be available in the
next Fenix Flight, which is currently at the printer. The newsletter should be in
your T4 mailboxes by the week of September 14.
Executive Board meeting
MEC Chairman Don Steinman and I will attend the Executive Board meeting in Herndon,
Virginia next week. The Executive Board consists of all ALPA MEC chairmen, and meets
semi-annually, along with other MEC officers. Don and I will be back in the office the
week of September 14.
Negotiating Committee
Your MEC has appointed First Officer Tania Rocco to the Negotiating Committee. Tania joins
committee Chairman Pete Neff, and Vice Chairman Doug Dotter. Tania was previously the
vice-chairman of the Grievance Committee. The entire Negotiating Committee will be
attending ALPA’s negotiating school at the George Meany Center during the week of
September 14.
Equipment bid
Crew Resources has announced that they intend to release Vacancy Bid 2000-01 on Friday,
September 4. If there are any problems, it may be postponed to Tuesday, Sept. 8.
As a reminder, all bids, including standing bids, must be
entered electronically into the computer. Paper bids will not be accepted. If you have a
standing bid already in the computer, you’re strongly encouraged to check it to make sure
it is accurate. If you don’t want to participate in the Vacancy Bid, be sure to remove
your standing bid from the computer. Detailed instructions will be included in your bid
package and in the Pilot Lounge. Read them carefully to ensure that your bid is entered
accurately.
KIT System updates
Check the Grievance, Central Air Safety, and Scheduling committee updates on the KIT
system. Important new information will be updated shortly. The MEC encourages all pilots
to check the KIT system regularly for important information.
Mixed messages from senior management
Last Thursday night, we emphasized the need for senior management to publicly acknowledge
our maintenance and operations challenges, and to publicly display a willingness to meet
them. On Friday, we were encouraged by Bill Franke’s letter to Phoenix-based employees. In
his statement, Mr. Franke says that “the concerns raised by the FAA are the
responsibility of management to address and correct,” and that management intends to
do so. Mr. Franke’s letter seems to represent a sea-change in management’s public posture.
We encourage every pilot to look for the letter in the pilot read file.
Although we were encouraged by Mr. Franke’s comments last
week, we were discouraged by today’s company press release in which, yet again,
operational and financial troubles are attributed to protracted labor negotiations. We
believe that such comments do nothing to boost either employee morale or consumer
confidence, nor do they address the FAA’s concerns.
Labor Day office closing
And finally, the MEC office will be closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, September
7.
The next update will be on Thursday, September 10. Thanks for listening and have a safe
Labor Day holiday.
- NWA codeshare routes
- PBS ballots
- LEC nomination ballots
- Executive Board meeting
- Negotiating Committee
- Equipment bid
- KIT System updates
- Mixed messages from senior management
- Labor Day office closing
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