US Airways, pilot talks halted as union withdraws

[Doug Taylor]

US Airways, pilot talks halted as union withdraws
Bloomberg News
Aug. 20, 2007 12:39 PM

US Airways Group Inc.'s talks with its pilots for a single contract have been halted by the withdrawal of one of two labor groups involved.

The so-called East pilots, who flew for the old US Airways, said they won't resume bargaining until the Tempe-based company meets their pay demands. US Airways and America West Holdings Corp. merged in September 2005, while their Air Line Pilots Association units stayed separate.

“We are not interested in engaging in contract negotiations with either the East or West pilots without the other group present,” Chief Executive Officer Doug Parker said in an Aug. 16 letter to the carrier's 4,403 pilots. “Doing so would only continue to drive a wedge between the two groups.”

A spokesman for the East pilots didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. The East pilots want their pay increased to that of former America West pilots, retroactive pay and an 8 percent “fair interest charge” on future agreements.

US Airways and the union groups met for negotiations last week. The status of planned September talks is “up in the air,” airline spokeswoman Andrea Rader said today. About 2,618 pilots are represented by the East side, and 1,785 by the West.

“That one side wants to pull out of joint negotiations is a huge disappointment not only to their pilots, but ours as well,” said Tania Bziukiewicz, a spokeswoman for the West pilots. “It does nobody any good.”

Unified contracts

US Airways is trying to shift all its labor groups to unified accords, although it can keep flying with separate pilot contracts. The airline in May offered to move all its pilots to the higher America West pay scale and add a 3 percent increase.

The proposal would mean raises of 3 percent to 17 percent for the East pilots, plus the 3 percent offered for all pilots. US Airways estimated the cost at $122 million a year.

Bziukiewicz said the East pilots' proposal would lift their pay above that of West pilots, not create parity between the two.

The East pilots in June filed suit to block an arbitrator's ruling on integrating the seniority lists from both airlines. Seniority is vital to pilots because it determines pay, schedules and the type of aircraft they can fly.

US Airways shares rose 51 cents to $26.82 at 3:43 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has fallen 50 percent this year.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by Article

About 2,618 pilots are represented by the East side, and 1,785 by the West.

Wow, didn't know that Airways East had so few pilots. Think some regionals have more pilots than that!

Originally Posted by Article

Unified contracts

US Airways is trying to shift all its labor groups to unified accords, although it can keep flying with separate pilot contracts. The airline in May offered to move all its pilots to the higher America West pay scale and add a 3 percent increase.

The proposal would mean raises of 3 percent to 17 percent for the East pilots, plus the 3 percent offered for all pilots. US Airways estimated the cost at $122 million a year.

Bziukiewicz said the East pilots' proposal would lift their pay above that of West pilots, not create parity between the two.

So not taking sides, but the east pilots seem like their own worst enemies!

[mikecweb]

Naw they are holding their own like they should.
Just because the big wigs want to dance doesn't mean they should have to sacrafice.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by mikecweb

Naw they are holding their own like they should.
Just because the big want to dance doesn't mean they should have to sacrafice.

Maybe I mis read the article or we're reading different articles. But it sounded to me like East wants an A scale, giving America West a B scale!

[kellwolf]

That's kinda the way I saw it, too. Looks like the company offered America West rates plus 3% and the East guys said "No thanks." More than likely, it's the fact that the MEC on that side doesn't wanna be associated with those West coast upstarts on the other side.....

It's much easier to fight TOGETHER for higher wages than it is to fight separately.

[Maximillian_Jenius]

Originally Posted by kellwolf

That's kinda the way I saw it, too. Looks like the company offered America West rates plus 3% and the East guys said "No thanks." More than likely, it's the fact that the MEC on that side doesn't wanna be associated with those West coast upstarts on the other side.....

It's much easier to fight TOGETHER for higher wages than it is to fight separately.

Hey, they're probably thinking. Hey you might have more seniorty than us, but we get paid more...

[BobDDuck]

Originally Posted by Maximillian_Jenius

Maybe I mis read the article or we're reading different articles. But it sounded to me like East wants an A scale, giving America West a B scale!

West Rates+3% are a bit of a joke anyways. Granted they are about 11% higher then AAA rates, but they are still about 10% lower then what AAA had pre bankruptcy and with the company bragging about the 3.6 Billion in cash on hand the Unions are expecting more.

The seniority issue... eh, I don't want to go there. It's a mess for everybody, including the 2 WOs.

[kellwolf]

Originally Posted by BobDDuck

West Rates+3% are a bit of a joke anyways. Granted they are about 11% higher then AAA rates, but they are still about 10% lower then what AAA had pre bankruptcy and with the company bragging about the 3.6 Billion in cash on hand the Unions are expecting more.

The seniority issue... eh, I don't want to go there. It's a mess for everybody, including the 2 WOs.

If they're expecting to immediately go back to pre-bankrupcty rates, then they need a serious reality check. Last time I checked, United, NWA and Delta weren't there, either. Negotiating for that rate with a fractured seniority list with the pilots at each other's throats isn't the best thing in the world. In fact, it's nigh impossible.

Best thing is to take the company deal, then work WITH the HP guys to get higher pay rates. They're shooting themselves in the foot any other way.

[BobDDuck]

They've made a career of shooting themselves in the foot. No reason to stop now.

[Velocipede]

LCC east seems to have run out of feet to shoot.

[adreamer]

What is AAA rate?

[BobDDuck]

AAA=USAirways (east) ATC identifier.

Rate=Payrate