This is a NWA
Master Executive Council (MEC) Hotline recorded on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2006.
This Hotline
contains new information about John Prater being elected as the new ALPA
president, the election of two Negotiating Committee members, the re-election
of Daryl Snider as NWA Executive Vice President, the recall of Computer Bidding
Committee Chairman Troy Wheeler, a Mesaba update, the NWA ALPA Special Operations
Center (ASOC), jumpseat protocol for
Mesaba pilots, DTW and ANC LEC representative nomination results and voting
information, the seventh day of the
third quarter MEC meeting and an international pilot job opportunity.
There is repeat
information about NWA pilots supporting
Mesaba pilots by not flying struck work, MEC committee chairmen
elections and a request for Air Safety
Committee volunteers.
ALPA ELECTS
The ALPA Board of Directors today elected Captain John Prater, a
B-767 Continental Airlines pilot, to serve as the 8th president in the union's
history. The election was a contest between Prater and current ALPA
President Capt. Duane Woerth. Of the 47,968 votes cast, 24,444 went to
Prater and 23,524 to Woerth. Capt. Prater will take office as the new ALPA
president in January 2007.
Additional National Officer election results are
as follows:
ALPA First Vice President: Paul Rice
ALPA Vice President Administration: Bill Couette
ALPA Vice President of Finance: Chris Beebe
NEGOTIATING
COMMITTEE MEMBERS ELECTED (10/18/06)
The MEC elected Jim Van Sickle and Dan Vician to serve on
the NWA MEC Negotiating Committee today. The
MEC also authorized the establishment of the Compass Negotiating Sub-committee
to assist the Negotiating Committee with negotiations (and
mediation/arbitration) of the completion of the Compass Airlines, Inc.
collective bargaining agreement. The MEC appointed Ron Barnett as chairman and Ron Hay as a member of this
sub-committee.
NWA EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT RE-ELECTED (10/18/06)
The NWA MEC re-elected Executive Vice President Daryl Snider by acclamation today at the third
quarter MEC meeting in
COMPUTER
BIDDING COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN RECALLED (10/18/06)
Earlier
today, the NWA MEC recalled Troy Wheeler from the Computer Bidding
Committee Chairman position and the Computer Bidding Committee member position.
The recall is effective immediately. MEC
Chairman Dave Stevens appointed Silas
Hart as interim Computer Bidding Committee Chairman. The MEC will hold an
election for a new Computer Bidding Committee Chairman to be held during the 4th
Quarter NWA MEC meeting in December. Details of the recall vote are included in
the details of the seventh day of the MEC meeting below.
Any pilot interested in
volunteering for the Computer Bidding Committee as chairman or member should
contact their council representative prior to the 4th quarter MEC
meeting.
JUDGE WILL
RULE NEXT WEEK ON MESABA STRIKE INJUNCTION (10/18/06)
Yesterday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Kishel decided to delay his ruling on
Mesaba’s motion to block its union workers from striking until Monday,
October 23 at 1:30 p.m. Judge Kishel also barred
Mesaba from imposing new contract terms until he makes his strike injunction
ruling. Mesaba’s unions have vowed to strike if Mesaba
imposed unreasonable terms and conditions.
The following is a statement
from NWA MEC Chairman Dave Stevens:
"Northwest pilots support Mesaba pilots and we
will not fly struck work. Without a consensual agreement, Mesaba will face
liquidation because of a strike or a mass exodus of its employees.”
NWA ASOC REMAINS
OPERATIONAL (10/18/06)
Even though Judge
Kishel today said he will not rule on the Mesaba strike injunction until Monday,
Oct 23, the NWA ALPA Special Operations Center (ASOC) will remain operational.
You may contact the ASOC by calling 1-800-NWA-ALPA, ext. 373.
The ASOC will not
be fully staffed until Monday, Oct. 23. If you reach a recording, please leave
your message as NWA pilot volunteers will be regularly checking for messages.
If Mesaba pilots strike, the ASOC will be staffed with NWA pilot volunteers who
will be available 24/7 to answer questions about Mesaba negotiations or
questions/concerns about struck work.
JUMPSEAT PROTOCOL FOR MESABA PILOTS (10/18/06)
Our fellow ALPA pilots at
Mesaba Airlines may, in the near future, be engaging in a self-help action. If
the pilots of Mesaba are placed in this situation, the NWA MEC requests that
all Northwest pilots aid the Mesaba pilots in acquiring jumpseats back to their
place of residence.
Please remember if a pilot,
on our approved list, does not receive a
DTW &ANC LEC REPRESENTATIVE NOMINATION RESULTS
(10/18/06)
DTW and ANC completed the LEC
representative nomination process at their meetings on October 10th.
The results of the nomination process are as follows:
ANC Captain Rep
nominees: Jack Cinque and Drew Grimes
ANC First Officer Rep
nominees: Joe Damiani and Leo Mora
ANC Second Officer Rep
nominees: Mike Bigelow and George Gurke
DTW Captain Rep
nominees: Mike Foster and Len Willey
DTW
First Officer Rep nominees: Bill Bartels
and Greg Rizzuto
DTW Secretary Treasurer Rep
nominees: Jerry Fielding and Tom Tucker
The election process will be
carried out in accordance with Telephone/Internet balloting procedures that are
set forth in Section 90 of the ALPA
Administrative Manual.
The DTW Local Council 20 ballot will open at 10:00 a.m.
ET tomorrow, Oct. 19 while the ANC Local Council 55 ballot will open
at 10:00 a.m. ET Friday, Oct. 20. Both ballots will close at 10:00
a.m. ET Nov. 10.
You may cast your vote using
the telephone or the Internet. You will need both your ALPA member number and
your voting password to access the voting system. (Note: Your password is the
same password you have used in previous votes.) ALPA has mailed you an
informational packet containing nomination results, voting instructions and a
password reminder.
If you are denied access to
the voting system or forgot your password, please contact the ALPA Membership
Services Department in the Herndon Office at (888)
To vote using the
telephone:
To vote using the
Internet:
DAY SEVEN
OF THE THIRD QUARTER MEC MEETING (10/18/06)
The seventh day
of the third quarter MEC meeting in
The MEC discussed and voted
on the following agenda items:
Agenda Item #2 (Committee
Member Reconfirmation): The following
committee chairmen and members are reconfirmed to serve a term in office
concurrent with the term of the MEC Chairman, and any committee chairmen and/or
members who are not reconfirmed will be given the opportunity to resign.
Committee chairmen and/or members who are not reconfirmed and choose not to
resign shall be subject to a recall vote as soon as practical at the Oct. 2006
3rd Quarter MEC Meeting:
Aeromedical
Committee – Mark Pinsky and members
Central
Air Safety Committee – Bob Aaron and members
Communications
Committee – Wade Blaufuss and members
Computer
Bidding Committee – members except for
Contract
Administration/Grievance Committee – Ken Watts and members
Hotel
Committee – Steve Drew and members
Information
Technology Committee – Al Benzing and members
Jumpseat
& Employee Travel Committee – Ron Hay
Legislative
Affairs Committee – All members
Membership
Committee – Drew Massey and members
Merger
Committee – Mike Lazarowicz and members
NAPAP
Committee – Arvin Johnsen and members
Negotiating
Committee – All members
Professional
Standards Committee – Tom Thornton and members
Retirement
and Insurance Committee – All members
Security
Committee – Wolfgang Koch and members
Training Committee – All
members
Passed unanimously
Agenda Item #43 (Recall of
Computer Bidding Committee Chairman and member): The NWA MEC hereby recalls Troy Wheeler from both the
Computer Bidding Committee Chairman position and the Computer Bidding Committee
member position. The recall is effective immediately, and the MEC directs that
an election for Computer Bidding Committee Chairman be held during the 4th
Quarter NWA MEC meeting.
Passed via recorded vote:
5 voting for: R. Miller,
J. Stuart, B. Bartels, J. Lewis, G. Gurke
2 against: B.
Wickman, D. Gradwohl
5 abstaining: C. Kruse, M.
Shanahan, H. Miller, M. Young, D. Teasley
Agenda Item #44 (Council Bypass):
John McCaughan
is granted council bypass from ANC-55 to ANC-55 due to his living in ANC. Passed
unanimously
Agenda
Item #25 (Termination of Computer Bidding): if NWA management continues to be unwilling to reach an acceptable
solution to the “no open time at the end of the bid run” problem, the MEC
directs the Negotiating Committee, the Computer Bidding Committee, the Computer
Bidding Solutions Working Group, and any other necessary ALPA resources, to
initiate an effort to transition back to schedule bidding using pre-constructed
lines and the five-minute bidding window. Passed unanimously
Agenda item#19 (Reduced
Pay for Sick Leave): the MEC shall
direct the NWA ALPA Senior Contract Attorney to use all available ALPA legal
resources to investigate individual state and federal legality issues,
applicability, restrictions, prior precedent and case law, as well as any other
issues that are deemed pertinent to reduced pay for sick leave and partial pay
for sick leave credit. The NWA ALPA Senior Contract Attorney shall report back
to the MEC with his findings once a thorough analysis has been completed,
preferably no later than the 1st Quarter (March) 2007 MEC
meeting. Passed unanimously
Agenda item#29 (Reserve
Pilot Improvements): the following reserve
enhancements shall be forwarded to the MEC and Negotiating Committee for
consideration and implementation:
Passed unanimously
Agenda item#26 (Contract
Repair and Career Recovery): The NWA
MEC shall direct the MEC Negotiating Committee to quantify the pay rate
increases (on both a snap back and selected annual basis, with and without
considering cost of living increases) which are required to recover our pay
rate concessions at the end of our contract period. The MEC Negotiating
Committee will quantify the value of ALL pre-Chapter 11 and 1113c concessions
to our pre-Bridge Agreement CBA, including ALL revenue enhancing (non-cash)
concessions not included in the NWA $358M 1113c business plan credit. The MEC
Negotiating Committee will present a Contract Repair and Career Recovery Report
to the MEC for their review and approval prior to distributing the report to
the NWA pilots upon the exit of Northwest Airlines from Chapter 11. Passed
unanimously
The MEC then recessed at 9:00 am to attend the ALPA National
Officer elections at the Board of Director’s meeting.
After returning from the BOD
meeting, the MEC meeting was called to order again at 2:30 pm.
Next, the MEC unanimously re-elected Darryl Snider as NWA Executive Vice President, by Acclamation. The
MEC discussed and voted on the following agenda items:
Agenda item#28 (Management
Compensation and Equity): The NWA MEC shall make every effort, using
all available applicable
resources, to limit individual NWA corporate officers’ and
managers’ individual shares of the equity, both with respect to unsecured
claims and programs authorized as part of NWA’s exit from bankruptcy, to
amounts that are proportional (as a function of salary / wages) to the average employee’s individual shares/equity.
Passed unanimously
Agenda Item #3 (Quarterly ALPA E&FA Reports for the NWA MEC during
term of 1113c TA/CBA): Each
quarterly ALPA E&FA report shall be presented to the MEC during the term of
this 1113c/CBA will include an analysis of NWA’s actual performance compared to
the NWA 1113c (Version 1.2) five year business plan. These reports shall be
made on a non-confidential basis.
Passed unanimously
Agenda Item #9 (Explore
Installation of Working Wireless Connections in our Rest Areas): The NWA MEC Officers and Negotiating Committee will
negotiate with NWA management for high speed wireless/LAN internet access in
our rest areas in ANC, DTW, MEM, MSP, SEA, AMS (Crew Room), and NRT (airport
and hotel). Passed unanimously
Agenda Item #45 (Compass
Negotiating Sub-Committee): the NWA
MEC does hereby authorize the establishment of a sub-committee to assist the
Negotiating Committee with respect to negotiation (and mediation/arbitration)
of the completion of the Compass Airlines, Inc. collective bargaining
agreement. The MEC authorizes two persons (Ron
Barnett, Chairman, and Ron Hay) to serve on this sub-committee. If either is unwilling to serve, the
Negotiating Committee Chairman shall select a replacement, subject to the
subsequent approval of the MEC.
Passed unanimously
Chairman Stevens then opened
the floor to nominations for Negotiating Committee
members. Jim Van Sickle and Dan Vician were both nominated and then
elected to the Negotiating Committee by
acclamation.
Agenda Item #7 (MEC Negotiating Committee Composition and Support): The MEC Chairman shall
appoint an ad hoc committee to research, discuss, and consider possible changes
to Negotiating Committee composition. This ad hoc committee shall determine all
options available to the NWA MEC with regard to changes in both Negotiating
Committee structure and support and will present a report and any
recommendations for changes to the MEC no later than the fourth quarter 2006
MEC Meeting. Passed unanimously
The
MEC then recessed at 4:30 pm and will reconvene at 7:45 tomorrow, Thursday,
October 19
INTERNATIONAL PILOT JOB
From Membership Committee
Chairman Drew Massey
AVIATION
PERSONNEL INTERNATIONAL (API) (note:
not Janice Barden corporate aviation firm) is
a leading provider of aviation professionals to airlines specializing in
India/Asia, where the industry is booming. Currently we are looking for
Boeing737NG, Airbus 320 and ATR42/72 Captains and TRIS/TRES for a reputed
airline in
*** The Following is Repeat Information ***
NWA PILOTS
SUPPORT MESABA PILOTS BY NOT FLYING STRUCK
MEC
COMMITTEE CHAIRMEN ELECTIONS (10/15/06)
Elections for vacant committee chairmen positions were held
yesterday at the third quarter MEC meeting. Voting results are as follows:
Training Committee Chairman: Craig
Hofstetter
Legislative Affairs Committee Chairman: Bruce Endler
Retirement and Insurance Committee Chairman: Greg Averill
Merger Committee alternate members: Art Aaron and Tom Facer
Negotiating Committee Chairman: John Haase
The Air Safety
Committee needs pilot volunteers to assist with Winter Operations issues. This includes such tasks as site visits,
review of airport snow removal plans at NWA northern tier airports and
consideration of aircraft performance on contaminated runways.
Volunteers will
work with an active taskforce made up of ALPA, Company and FAA representatives
to ensure our northern tier airports are prepared for the inevitable inclement
conditions. Training is available and
limited flight pay coverage may be provided.
The ideal
candidate would be a DC-9 or Airbus pilot familiar with northern/mountain
airports served by NWA and who is able to attend meetings in MSP relatively
easily.
This is one way
that you can do something significant for your colleagues and help improve the
safety of our industry.
If you are
interested please call Brit Etzold at
*** This marks the end of
today's Hotline. Until next time, fly safe, fly the contract and remember that
over 700 Northwest pilots are on furlough. ***