Sounds like Randy "Captain Boilermaker" Mowery was not quite forthright in his VP message:

Mr. Mowrey~

This email is in response to your "recollection" of the events that transpired during the July 26, 2011 Labor/Management meeting. I'm confident you did not intend to misrepresent my concerns as stated directly to you during the above mentioned meeting, nor did you or any USAPA representative intend to mislead anyone who was not in attendance regarding the position of AFA Council 66.

As you recall, no one in attendance at any time questioned or challenged Pilot In Command Authority. However, three days later you seemed to have ignored this fact when you stated the following to your Pilots on July 29, 2011:

"While an individual opinion expressed by an AFA member ran counter to their union's position, the AFA's actual position as disseminated to its members is as follows:

"US Airways Flight Attendants are trained in and follow the chain of command on each and every flight we fly. The ultimate authority onboard our aircraft lies with the Captain (the pilot in command) of each flight. Our flight attendants respect and support the authority of the Captain and his or her determination with respect to the safe operation of the flight in which he or she is in command." The East and West Master Executive Councils AFA-CWA"

To be clear, I found USAPA's ad in the USA Today to be an insult to the thousands of men and woman who work tirelessly to maintain our fleet system wide. Our mechanics and their support staff (as I told you) would never allow an aircraft that was "not air worthy" to roll off the blocks. The ad in the USA Today caused great concern with our newly hired Flight Attendants who called Council 66 and myself for reassurance of the safety of our carrier. A reasonable organization would make every attempt to communicate their concerns on safety to those who have direct contact with our aircraft on a daily basis. Yet, no one from USAPA contacted AFA Council 66 to share those concerns.

However, you did communicate to all of us in attendance USAPA's strong stance that communication is the key factor in order to resolve issues. That lecture indeed was very informative and revealing. Especially when it was determined, the very issue you sited in your opening remarks, regarding the maintenance of an A330 in PHL, (which was highlighted in the USA Today ad) was never directly communicated to the IAM Representative. For the record it was determined that the IAM did receive a call from you until July 25, 2011, well after the ad ran in the USA Today.

The proper maintenance and continued safety of our entire fleet is and should always be first and foremost for all US Airways employees. It is my sincerest hope that in the future, you will take the opportunity to speak with me prior to putting out a statement that in the end can not be substantiated.

Deborah Volpe
MEC President
AFA Council 66