US AIRWAYS V. AMERICA WEST
WILL THE EAST COAT PILOTS EVER GROW UP!
The FA's from the East and West now have a contract. However the Pilots are still far apart and will wind up back in Court. The Nicolai Award (Federal Mediator) stated that the HEAVY pilots from the East will have the first approximately 500 spots in seniority. Then the balance of East and West pilots will be merged by % of service. All furloughed pilots will go to the bottom of seniority. The East pilots have never accepted this. It went to Federal Court 2 years ago, and Judge Silver told both sides to negotiate in good faith and get it done. So far the East pilots have refused to budge from their previous stance. The West pilots have given up and petitioned the Court to rehear the case. Since the original court date, Judge Silver has become presiding Judge of the Federal Court that oversees this. She has assigned the case to a new Judge. The West Pilots have petitioned the Court for Judge Silver to hear this case as she was up to speed.
My understanding is that American pilots also wish to use % of seniority and not date of hire as the prevailing factor to merge.
I don't feel there will be any merger of the East and West Pilots until the Court makes a decision at trial. This could take another 2 to 3 years. A true shame as Northwest and Delta pilots were able to work things out before their merger.
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