SoCalGuy

GROUP GRIEVANCES FILED OVER SCOPE
Over the past few months, your union has scrutinized, requested additional information and sought resolution of two separate scope issues with United management. So far, we have been unable to resolve the issues, leading me to file two group grievances against the Company for what we believe to be violations of the scope provisions of our CBA. The first, filed in early June, deals with the improper sale of a B-767-200 aircraft and management’s plan to continue to prematurely reduce that fleet. The second, filed June 16, is in reaction to management’s failure to properly maintain a contractually required ratio of scheduled Continental twin-aisle block hours to scheduled United twin-aisle block hours, within a merger environment.

Once again, it seems that management is attempting to put the cart before the horse and take advantage of synergies not available prior to reaching a JCBA. And as before, we have no intention of allowing this to happen. Rather than go into a diatribe over management’s continued attempts to do an end around our contract, I will simply say that your union leadership is once again doing what is necessary to protect your contractual rights. We do so not just by filing the necessary grievances, but also by publicly exposing management’s seeming inability to honor their contractual word, through mechanisms such as the press release that was issued this morning (outlined below) and interviews with the media, which I am conducting today. We hope this will encourage management to correct these violations. Furthermore, I believe that by ALPA bringing the contractual issues surrounding the sale of the B-767-200 aircraft to light, management now has an ethical obligation to any potential buyers to make them aware of our position that the sale of these aircraft is tainted and may be subject to arbitration and a cease-and-desist order.

We have been down this road before, with the end result being an affirmative ruling of the core principals of our Scope section by an arbitrator in December 2010, as well as an order halting the use of 70-seat UAX flying with the Continental code into or out of our hubs. We will continue, in every instance, to do what is necessary to protect our contractual rights.

We did not ask for this fight, but we will do what is necessary to protect our jobs, our contract and our rights. Here is the press release issued today:

Continental Pilots Protest Additional Scope Violations

Houston, Texas, June 20, 2011—The Continental pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association Int’l (ALPA), have filed two group grievances against United to protest violations of scope provisions in their collective bargaining agreement applicable to a merger during the period of separate pilot contracts and operations of the two airlines, legacy Continental and legacy United. The first, filed June 2, 2011, concerns removal of B-767 aircraft from the Continental fleet (by sale). The second charge, filed June 16, 2011, is related to a reduction in the ratio of Continental to United flying required with respect to twin-aisle aircraft, specifically for the third quarter of 2011. ALPA is seeking prompt correction of these issues by the company, including a stop to any attempts at further sales of B-767 aircraft, correction to the ratio of flying performed by Continental to United, monetary damages and all other appropriate relief.

“Once again, management is seeking short cuts to the merger process and trying an end-run around our contract instead of negotiating at the table,” said Capt. Jay Pierce, chairman of the Continental pilots’ chapter of ALPA. “In the airline industry, attempts to cut corners typically lead to very bad results. Blatantly disregarding our existing contract not only runs contrary to management’s stated interest in reaching ‘fair’ resolution on a new contract, it is no way to make progress toward successfully completing the merger and securing much-anticipated benefits for passengers, shareholders and employees.”

These two incidents mark the second and third time since the merger close date in October 2010 that ALPA has been forced to fight off management attacks to the Continental pilots’ contract. In December, an arbitrator ruled in favor of ALPA and against Continental management in their attempt at circumventing scope provisions related to 70-seat jet flying.

The Continental scope provisions protect pilots’ job security, both generally and during a transaction such as a merger. The provisions reserve for Continental pilots all flying performed by or for Continental or an affiliate, while allowing exceptions for flying that can be performed under code share or by another airline, such as foreign carriers, Continental Connection and Express carriers. During the period of separate operations in a merger, the scope provisions, among other things, prohibit certain types of fleet changes and require that ratios of Continental pilots’ flying to the merger partner’s flying equal or exceed those same ratios prior to the merger.

ALPA represents over 53,000 pilots at 39 airlines in the United States and Canada, including approximately 5000 pilots at Continental Airlines.

MXDUDE

UAL continues to thumb their nose at the UA/CAL pilot group. I get email after email from CAL ALPA how this pilot group has to play nice, and yet our current CAL contract is such a POS, and management can't even abide by it. I'm sick of *****!ng about, and ready to do something about! ALPA (the members) need to grow a pair, and on a collective hole start kicking some butt!!!!! RLA, NMB, bla bla bla... We're coming up on Oct. 2011 and no contract. They are messing with families here, not high school kids.....

skippy

well, the best way is to call in sick for self scheduling enhancement, find any and all contract violations for grievances, and no waiving-- if everyone was on that page- we'd have plenty of leverage going forward.

Regularguy

Well It's about time!

I have been all over my UAL LEC Chair and the word from UAL MEC's Lawyers are, they UAL/CAL Mgmt hasn't violated the contract yet. We pay these anf it's time to sue UAL/CAL Mgmt over these kinds of issues.

Oh, and for you CAL guys it's your CAL management which is exploiting the UAL Pilot contract to their advantage. As I said before just wait until the SOC is in place and all the flights are "UAL!"

Captain Bligh

Are you implying that no one warned you? You guys are the ones that "clapped" Jeff into the ORD terminal...

Regularguy

No Capt Bligh I am not implying anything. I am responding to this statement:

"UAL continues to thumb their nose at the UA/CAL pilot group."

which seems to imply that it is UAL Mgmt which is doing all this nasty stuff. Frankly it seems to me the CAL side of the house is surprised Jeff has so quickly, and continues to do so, manipulate the advantages of the UAL pilot contract. we have lived with this garbage for almost 11 years. I guess you might say were expecting a bit more from Jeff than Tilton.

Personally I am looking forward to a single contract and the ability to fly with the CAL guys and gals.

EWRflyr

We have more history with Mr. FLIBS than you do, so those of us on the CAL side know exactly who we are dealing with. We aren't surprised by anything he does.

Remember, as well, that we are two separate pilot groups, with two separate MECs, with two separate CBAs. If the UAL MEC side of the house says there has been no violation of the TPA or your CBA as it relates to your operation, then there is no grievance to file on behalf of UAL PILOTS.

These grievances have to deal with the violations of the TPA and our CBA as it relates to CAL operations and pilots. So the CAL MEC is filing grievances for the CAL pilots. While true that much of this is interconnected, the violations at this point are causing harm or potential harm to the CAL side of the house right now.

Regularguy

EWRFlyer:

"the violations at this point are causing harm or potential harm to the CAL side of the house right now. "

I disagree, the violations hurt BOTH sides of the house right now. The longer Jeff has the free run to do what he wants by exploiting and violating either contract the longer it will take to get a single contract which improves BOTH sides of the house.

Dude (or dudet) I have been at this for well over three decades and seen the Lorenzos, Icahns, Ferris', and even the self-serving MEC Chairmen who have all brought havoc to this industry. It is time to stop thinking harm to the "CAL" side and start realizing that such separate thinking will do more harm to "both" sides by Jeff and his exploitation of such thought.

If it hurts CAL pilots then it hurts UAL pilots and if it hurts UAL pilots it hurts CAL pilots!

MXDUDE

Keep it together boys and girls. The majority of the pilots in either camp are not the problem. I believe the point of this thread is the fact that we (UA/CAL pilots) are both getting screwed by management. UAL management or CAL management to me at this point are one in the same. Semantics..... Lets not let these Aholes whip saw this UA/CAL pilot group. If we do we get what we deserve.... I'm a CAL guy and won't fairness for both pilot groups. I do not want to pull the ladder up on anyone. The first step is getting a great CONTRACT. Unity is a must!!!!!!

XHooker

Exactly! We've got two seperate contracts and operations right now. It's up to both CALALPA and UALALPA to be vigilent and fully enforce the contracts and prevent Unical from sneaking in any "synergies" through contract violations. This is a good thing for all of us.