U Turn Speaks of ALPA, NWA and DAL

Read the Joint DAL/NWA/ALPA letter below. “Seniority integration… completed before closing of a corporate transaction.”

What a concept! Where were Duane Woerth and the Herndon crowd back in May 2005? Certainly not going after Seniority integration… completed before closing of a corporate transaction.

U-Turn Nation: Certainly not going after Seniority integration… completed before closing of a corporate transaction. Playing the art of the deal? Wasting time with feel-good meet and greets between the two MECs? Wasting three months writing a Transition Agreement that was supposed to be short term? Avoiding a single-carrier petition with the NMB? Doing everything they could to avoid judgment day? Doing everything except making the tough calls?USAPA, exercising their rights under the NMB, forced the single-carrier issue on the NMB in November 2007 by filing their cards (see ALPA’s “The DIRT on DECERT,” December 5, 2007 issue). Until then, ALPA just “thought” a single-carrier existed. Again, read the “Dirt.” It spells it all out. Look at the time line. From the time the merger was announced until the Nic came out, ALPA had 25 months to put together a joint contract. Instead, they waited until the Nic guaranteed there wouldn’t be one, at least not one under ALPA. If ALPA had brought the hammer down on the East MEC for stalling at the table, we would have had a contract and the NIC in place before the USAPA won the election. “Seniority integration… completed before closing of a corporate transaction.” Now where did THAT idea come from? Maybe from losing $10 million in annual dues? ALPA’s gone. They’re history, toast. Like it or not, USAPA is our CBA. The remote chance Herndon would come back before C-200X vanished when the UAL deal cratered. You can blame John Prater, you can blame the East MEC, and you can blame USAPA. But before you do, ask yourself the question: who is really responsible for this mess we’re in? When did it all start? Who was asleep at the switch when the merger was announced? And now…who is going to pay the price? Thanks, ALPA. Thanks for nothing! The U-Turn Next issue: how ALPA’s dawdling paved the way for out-of-whack furloughs. (BTW: AWAPPA, you’ve hit a nerve. How many pilots, both East and West, relied on the company’s May 2005 Statement of Labor Principles in making planning decisions in their careers?) (Emphasis added by U-Turn)June 16, 2008 To All NWA and DAL Pilots, We are writing concerning the proposed Northwest–Delta merger and the Delta MEC's Letter of Agreement (LOA) 19. The Delta and Northwest MECs, as well as ALPA at the national level, agree that achieving a single, joint collective bargaining agreement with Delta management—an agreement that will improve the pay, working conditions, and benefits of both pilot groups—is a top priority. Our joint message of April 22, 2008 stated that: "… negotiations would seek a single collective bargaining agreement that will include immediate parity in rates of pay effective on the closing date of the proposed corporate transaction." On the important issue of seniority integration, our April 22 statement further provided that: "… seniority integration should be accomplished through expedited negotiation after the negotiation of the single collective bargaining agreement and, if necessary, using expedited arbitration to be completed before closing of a corporate transaction." We continue to fully support these joint goals. In this regard, as you may know, the two negotiating committees met jointly with Delta management on May 29 and presented to management a joint bullet-point proposal designed to establish a framework for further negotiations. The committees received an updated financial briefing on June 12, which will be followed by negotiations with Delta management on June 17–19. Further negotiations are scheduled to commence on June 23. Management understands and agrees that these negotiations are a high priority and has indicated its willingness to meet as frequently as reasonably necessary to reach an agreement. In addition, we met with Delta CEO Richard Anderson on June 10, when we stressed again the importance of promptly completing a joint agreement. We are hopeful that the process now under way will result in a joint agreement sooner rather than later. The joint agreement will be built from a base that consists of the Delta Pilot Working Agreement (PWA), including LOA 19, and provisions related to the Northwest collective bargaining agreement, as necessary. Following completion of joint negotiations, we will focus on the integration of the two seniority lists with the goal of having a single integrated list in place at the close of the corporate transaction. We all agree on the importance of moving forward now to reach a single joint contract and an integrated seniority list before the corporate closing. The Northwest and Delta pilots will have the collective support and resources of the Association at their disposal to accomplish that goal. In Unity, Captain Dave Stevens Captain John Prater Captain Lee MoakChmn., NWA MEC President Chmn., DAL MEC

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