No JCBA anytime soon
08-29-2012, 09:07 PM
#1
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Apr 2012
Posts: 639
No JCBA anytime soon
The United and Continental MECs today concluded their two-day joint meeting this today in Chicago. During the two-day meeting, the two MECs discussed the process of rolling out the Tentative Agreement to the pilots, the potential timeline involved from TA achievement to TA ratification vote and the communications plan going forward once the Agreement-In-Principle becomes a Tentative Agreement.
During this afternoon's session, the United MEC met to discuss its strategic plan leading up to the completion of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement.
During this afternoon's session, the United MEC met to discuss its strategic plan leading up to the completion of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement.
Can you connect the dots?
1.) A joint special meeting without receiving TA language.
2.) Planning a strategy to complete negotiations.
There is no AIP, just a management team that will say whatever they have to to get the NMB off their backs.
08-29-2012, 09:26 PM
#2
Banned
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Position: IAH 737 CA
Posts: 690
Not so sure. I see an AIP leading to a TA that clearly not what we want, expect, or deserve. I see this as plans to determine how to get the pilots to accept it.
08-30-2012, 12:50 PM
#4
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2011
Posts: 3,866
August 30, 2012
Dear United Pilots,
On behalf of my fellow MEC officers, I wish you all a very pleasant upcoming Labor Day. While established to honor the successes and sacrifices of labor, Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer. To the great majority of pilots on this property, it has been many years since summer has been anything that could be defined as enjoyable. With chronic under-staffing and numerous other mismanaged aspects of this merger, including this week’s “connectivity problem” that delayed hundreds of flights, combined with seasonal weather, heavy customer demand and other distractions, this past summer was especially challenging. Allow me to congratulate you on your exceptional professionalism. Day after day, you met these challenges and maintained a safe operation.
Many of you have had difficulty bidding a holiday with your family and friends for a number of years. It is likely that this year has been no different. At last count, 1,436 of you have been even less fortunate, having been furloughed from your hard earned pilot jobs at United Airlines, in many cases for a second time.
It had been our MEC’s and my hope that the Continental and United MECs would be considering a Tentative Agreement by Labor Day. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Many have wondered and questioned why there has been a delay since the announcement of an Agreement in Principle on the major economic sections on August 2. While the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has provided very informative updates to the pilots discussing the varying stages of the JCBA, the Continental and United MECs met in special joint session this week to get detailed briefings on the status of our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
The two MECs heard briefings from Continental MEC Chairman and me, the National Mediation Board, ALPA attorneys and staff, the JNC and the two MEC Communications Committees. Much of the discussions were centered around the processes of accepting and voting on an eventual Tentative Agreement. But more importantly, the two MECs came away from the meeting with a better and clearer sense of the current status of the JCBA.
After reaching Agreements in Principle on the major economic issues throughout the JCBA, the NMB adjourned the mediated sessions recognizing that there remained several open/unresolved items, leaving it to the parties to conclude those items without NMB supervision.
While simultaneously attempting to resolve those open items, the JNC, supported by their applicable subject matter experts, attorneys and staff, resumed the arduous task of converting agreements in principle into specific contractual language. Recall that in the last few months, all JNC members and many committee members from both MECs were involved in small group discussions with their company counterparts to hammer out specific areas of the JCBA. Much of the negotiations were framed on whiteboards rather than pushing paper with specific language that could be easily transposed into the JCBA. Alone, this process of converting whiteboard bullets into contractual language requires time and attention to detail.
However, management, for reasons known only to them, has inserted terms into some language proposals that were either not discussed or not agreed to. While some of this is expected, some insertions have made the proposals unacceptable to ALPA. This fact, along with the unacceptable pace of closing out the remaining items from August 2, has prompted us to re-engage with the NMB and we have asked for their assistance in closing out the final items.
Following a conference call on Tuesday with management and the NMB, the NMB has called the parties together in Washington to meet on Wednesday, September 5 in an attempt to resolve many of the open items. Management’s personal commitments prevented the company from meeting any earlier.
Further, the UAL MEC is continuing with its Strategic Plan to bring this JCBA to conclusion on the behalf of all United Pilots. You should expect to hear more in the next few days from our various MEC Committees either updating you on their activities or soliciting your assistance. I urge you to heed their messages.
To those of you who volunteered to represent your fellow pilots, served on a committee, or hosted a Family Awareness event over these past months, you have my sincere thanks. While the various AIPs morph into contractual language, I ask you once again to dismiss early rumors and to reserve your judgment until the TA is complete, in final form and presented to you for your consideration.
This holiday perhaps will establish the beginning of the end of our bankruptcy contract after nine dark years. Please enjoy this Labor Day with a measure of positivity and hope for the future. The road ahead will continue to offer many challenges but as a union of United pilots,we will meet them head-on and find success.
We are United,
Chairman, United Master Executive Council
Dear United Pilots,
On behalf of my fellow MEC officers, I wish you all a very pleasant upcoming Labor Day. While established to honor the successes and sacrifices of labor, Labor Day traditionally marks the end of summer. To the great majority of pilots on this property, it has been many years since summer has been anything that could be defined as enjoyable. With chronic under-staffing and numerous other mismanaged aspects of this merger, including this week’s “connectivity problem” that delayed hundreds of flights, combined with seasonal weather, heavy customer demand and other distractions, this past summer was especially challenging. Allow me to congratulate you on your exceptional professionalism. Day after day, you met these challenges and maintained a safe operation.
Many of you have had difficulty bidding a holiday with your family and friends for a number of years. It is likely that this year has been no different. At last count, 1,436 of you have been even less fortunate, having been furloughed from your hard earned pilot jobs at United Airlines, in many cases for a second time.
It had been our MEC’s and my hope that the Continental and United MECs would be considering a Tentative Agreement by Labor Day. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Many have wondered and questioned why there has been a delay since the announcement of an Agreement in Principle on the major economic sections on August 2. While the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) has provided very informative updates to the pilots discussing the varying stages of the JCBA, the Continental and United MECs met in special joint session this week to get detailed briefings on the status of our Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
The two MECs heard briefings from Continental MEC Chairman and me, the National Mediation Board, ALPA attorneys and staff, the JNC and the two MEC Communications Committees. Much of the discussions were centered around the processes of accepting and voting on an eventual Tentative Agreement. But more importantly, the two MECs came away from the meeting with a better and clearer sense of the current status of the JCBA.
After reaching Agreements in Principle on the major economic issues throughout the JCBA, the NMB adjourned the mediated sessions recognizing that there remained several open/unresolved items, leaving it to the parties to conclude those items without NMB supervision.
While simultaneously attempting to resolve those open items, the JNC, supported by their applicable subject matter experts, attorneys and staff, resumed the arduous task of converting agreements in principle into specific contractual language. Recall that in the last few months, all JNC members and many committee members from both MECs were involved in small group discussions with their company counterparts to hammer out specific areas of the JCBA. Much of the negotiations were framed on whiteboards rather than pushing paper with specific language that could be easily transposed into the JCBA. Alone, this process of converting whiteboard bullets into contractual language requires time and attention to detail.
However, management, for reasons known only to them, has inserted terms into some language proposals that were either not discussed or not agreed to. While some of this is expected, some insertions have made the proposals unacceptable to ALPA. This fact, along with the unacceptable pace of closing out the remaining items from August 2, has prompted us to re-engage with the NMB and we have asked for their assistance in closing out the final items.
Following a conference call on Tuesday with management and the NMB, the NMB has called the parties together in Washington to meet on Wednesday, September 5 in an attempt to resolve many of the open items. Management’s personal commitments prevented the company from meeting any earlier.
Further, the UAL MEC is continuing with its Strategic Plan to bring this JCBA to conclusion on the behalf of all United Pilots. You should expect to hear more in the next few days from our various MEC Committees either updating you on their activities or soliciting your assistance. I urge you to heed their messages.
To those of you who volunteered to represent your fellow pilots, served on a committee, or hosted a Family Awareness event over these past months, you have my sincere thanks. While the various AIPs morph into contractual language, I ask you once again to dismiss early rumors and to reserve your judgment until the TA is complete, in final form and presented to you for your consideration.
This holiday perhaps will establish the beginning of the end of our bankruptcy contract after nine dark years. Please enjoy this Labor Day with a measure of positivity and hope for the future. The road ahead will continue to offer many challenges but as a union of United pilots,we will meet them head-on and find success.
We are United,
Chairman, United Master Executive Council
08-30-2012, 02:47 PM
#6
I'd rather be hunting
Joined APC: Jan 2012
Position: B737 Captain
Posts: 91
Yes, I am surprised. No, not at the slow pace of getting closer to a JCBA that is worth a crap. But the fact that someone like Jeff has lasted so long. After the last computer glitch the BoD have got to be asking themselves if this guy is worth it? IMO, no he is not!
08-30-2012, 03:29 PM
#7
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Position: F-16
Posts: 201
August 30, 2012
My Fellow Pilots,
Our Tentative Agreement remains elusive. We continue to comply with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) directives and the regulations that govern us. Unfortunately, 28 days have passed since there has been any significant movement on the remaining non-economic issues, possibly due to management’s intentions to further delay the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
It is time to refocus our efforts and bring our plight to the public and to those friends who can help us. The NMB has recently returned its focus on our negotiations while we are still without closure on all of the contractual issues that were open when it left us announcing an AIP on the major economic items. We languish without a Tentative Agreement (TA). We still suffer under an onerous bankruptcy contract while management feeds at the trough of cash we provided though our contract concessions and pension termination.
It is time for action. I ask you to help bring our message to all who will listen. We will perform informational picketing in front of the White House on Tuesday, September 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later in the week we will picket the domicile airports. We will continue to march in front of the White House, selected sites and airports every work day thereafter until we get a TA. We will not be deterred. This is an ambitious plan that will only be successful with your participation. You have done it before; now we need to do it some more.
It is time to make it count. How is that bankruptcy contract working for you? For your family? Please get involved and walk a picket line in Washington D.C., or in front of an airport near you next week. Further details will follow. I will see you there.
My Fellow Pilots,
Our Tentative Agreement remains elusive. We continue to comply with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) directives and the regulations that govern us. Unfortunately, 28 days have passed since there has been any significant movement on the remaining non-economic issues, possibly due to management’s intentions to further delay the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
It is time to refocus our efforts and bring our plight to the public and to those friends who can help us. The NMB has recently returned its focus on our negotiations while we are still without closure on all of the contractual issues that were open when it left us announcing an AIP on the major economic items. We languish without a Tentative Agreement (TA). We still suffer under an onerous bankruptcy contract while management feeds at the trough of cash we provided though our contract concessions and pension termination.
It is time for action. I ask you to help bring our message to all who will listen. We will perform informational picketing in front of the White House on Tuesday, September 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later in the week we will picket the domicile airports. We will continue to march in front of the White House, selected sites and airports every work day thereafter until we get a TA. We will not be deterred. This is an ambitious plan that will only be successful with your participation. You have done it before; now we need to do it some more.
It is time to make it count. How is that bankruptcy contract working for you? For your family? Please get involved and walk a picket line in Washington D.C., or in front of an airport near you next week. Further details will follow. I will see you there.
08-30-2012, 03:38 PM
#8
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2010
Posts: 239
Wow. How patently obvious that UCAL has been negotiating in bad faith. Example after example, so there should be no doubt about this in the eyes of the NMB. A release should be coming forthwith!
Not.
Corruption abounds in our world. The time to, or at least attempt to, rectify this travesty (RLA) would have been Jan 2009 to Nov 2010.
The whole Congress and the Presidency controlled by the most labor friendly group you'll find and we still are living with the RLA. What was ALPA doing all that time? Either they tried behind scenes and were given the hand or they blew the best opportunity in generations.
Who wants to guess?
Not.
Corruption abounds in our world. The time to, or at least attempt to, rectify this travesty (RLA) would have been Jan 2009 to Nov 2010.
The whole Congress and the Presidency controlled by the most labor friendly group you'll find and we still are living with the RLA. What was ALPA doing all that time? Either they tried behind scenes and were given the hand or they blew the best opportunity in generations.
Who wants to guess?
08-30-2012, 03:54 PM
#9
Keep Calm Chive ON
Joined APC: Feb 2008
Position: Boeing's Plastic Jet Button Pusher - 787
Posts: 2,086
August 30, 2012
My Fellow Pilots,
Our Tentative Agreement remains elusive. We continue to comply with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) directives and the regulations that govern us. Unfortunately, 28 days have passed since there has been any significant movement on the remaining non-economic issues, possibly due to management’s intentions to further delay the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
It is time to refocus our efforts and bring our plight to the public and to those friends who can help us. The NMB has recently returned its focus on our negotiations while we are still without closure on all of the contractual issues that were open when it left us announcing an AIP on the major economic items. We languish without a Tentative Agreement (TA). We still suffer under an onerous bankruptcy contract while management feeds at the trough of cash we provided though our contract concessions and pension termination.
It is time for action. I ask you to help bring our message to all who will listen. We will perform informational picketing in front of the White House on Tuesday, September 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later in the week we will picket the domicile airports. We will continue to march in front of the White House, selected sites and airports every work day thereafter until we get a TA. We will not be deterred. This is an ambitious plan that will only be successful with your participation. You have done it before; now we need to do it some more.
It is time to make it count. How is that bankruptcy contract working for you? For your family? Please get involved and walk a picket line in Washington D.C., or in front of an airport near you next week. Further details will follow. I will see you there.
My Fellow Pilots,
Our Tentative Agreement remains elusive. We continue to comply with the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) directives and the regulations that govern us. Unfortunately, 28 days have passed since there has been any significant movement on the remaining non-economic issues, possibly due to management’s intentions to further delay the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
It is time to refocus our efforts and bring our plight to the public and to those friends who can help us. The NMB has recently returned its focus on our negotiations while we are still without closure on all of the contractual issues that were open when it left us announcing an AIP on the major economic items. We languish without a Tentative Agreement (TA). We still suffer under an onerous bankruptcy contract while management feeds at the trough of cash we provided though our contract concessions and pension termination.
It is time for action. I ask you to help bring our message to all who will listen. We will perform informational picketing in front of the White House on Tuesday, September 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Later in the week we will picket the domicile airports. We will continue to march in front of the White House, selected sites and airports every work day thereafter until we get a TA. We will not be deterred. This is an ambitious plan that will only be successful with your participation. You have done it before; now we need to do it some more.
It is time to make it count. How is that bankruptcy contract working for you? For your family? Please get involved and walk a picket line in Washington D.C., or in front of an airport near you next week. Further details will follow. I will see you there.
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