The US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) was the collective bargaining agent for the majority former US Airways "East" pilots, and the minority former America West Airlines "West" pilots. USAPA was led by East pilot Mike Cleary. USAPA was formed by East pilots for the exclusive and purpose of attempting to overturn the results of the previous pilot seniority integration arbitration. During the fair representation trial, USAPA used as courtroom witnesses East pilots Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Skiles of the famous Hudson River flight 1549. Both witnesses testified in support of USAPA.
Integrated seniority list controversy
There has been much controversy surrounding the formation of USAPA and the removal of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) as the bargaining representative for US Airways pilots. This controversy is exclusively centered around the method used to integrate seniority lists from US Airways and America West Airlines after their merger, and has resulted in a division in the ranks between the previous US Airways pilots (often referred to as the East pilots) and the former America West pilots (often referred to as the West pilots).NY Times: Pilots' Battles Over Seniority Play Havoc With Airline Mergers (Alternate copy )
The East and West pilots along with US Airways management signed a Transition Agreement (TA) in 2005. This tri-party agreement specifies the methods for merging the two pilot groups and the operating rules during the transition. Until a joint contract is ratified by the combined pilot group, the East and West pilots remain separate. This means that all aircraft brought to the merger by each respective pilot group can only be flown by the pre-merger pilots of each group. No cross utilization or mixing of crews and/or equipment is permitted during the transition period. (The Transition Agreement signed by the three parties specified that ALPA Merger Policy would be used to combine the seniority lists and US Airways management agreed to accept the list as long as certain cost requirements were met. Doug Parker officially accepted the seniority list from ALPA First Vice-President Paul Rice during December 2007. Since that time, the East pilots, first as represented by ALPA and later USAPA, have tried to circumvent the seniority provisions of the TA claiming that the new union is not bound by the former bargaining agents agreements. This issue is under dispute and currently under the jurisdiction of Judge Roslyn Silver of the Arizona District Court. USAPA represented East pilots have also sought a compromise solution but this was rejected by Judge Silver as the West pilots do not have a legal entity to negotiate seniority. The former bargaining agent warned the new union that the elimination of separate ratification under ALPA merger policy with the election of USAPA would forever cement the unmodified Nicolau Award as the certified seniority list of the new US Airways.
In 2005, America West merged with US Airways. Before and after the merger, ALPA was the bargaining representative for pilots from both airlines. During merger negotiations in late 2006, representatives from the two pilot groups were unable to reach an agreement with respect to integration of seniority. The US Airways pilots' seniority proposal, written only by US Airways East pilots, was to base seniority primarily on date-of-hire, with conditions and restrictions to protect the bases and positions of the former West pilots. This would place the US Airways East pilots at the top of the ranks, while nearly 80% of the former America West pilots would be at the bottom of the seniority list. In compliance with ALPA Merger Policy, the America West pilots' proposal included a plan that defined a series of ratios, that would maintain relative seniority for all pilots in the new organization. The proposal would have placed many US Airways pilots with more than 17 years longevity but on furlough at the time of the merger in a position below recently hired pilots of America West, which was not acceptable to the US Airways East pilots.
In early 2007, the independent East and West merger committees selected arbitrator George Nicolau to mediate and then arbitrate the seniority integration. Two pilot neutrals were selected in accordance with ALPA merger policy. Jim Brucia, a Continental Pilot for the East and Steve Gillen, a United pilot for the West. Steve Gillen and James Brucia are now leaders of their respective merger committees as their companies merged in 2010. Unable to mediate a solution, the case went to arbitration. During that process, US Airways pilots defied the arbitrator's warnings that he was not going to award US Airways East pilots their goal of date of hire. The Nicolau Award was published by the panel in May 2007. Per ALPA Merger Policy the 512 top seniority positions went to the most senior US Airways pilots to protect the 19 wide-body aircraft seats they brought to the merger. The remaining active pilots were blended to represent their pre-merger seniority bidding positions. All furloughed US Airways East pilots were placed at the bottom of the list in accordance with established seniority list integration precedence. Even though ALPA Merger Policy had in 1992 been written/amended in large part by USAir East pilots, many US Airways East pilots contended the Nicolau decision violated ALPA merger policies. US Airways East pilots also alleged other errors in the award, including the treatment of MDA (Mid-Atlantic Division) pilots as furloughed pilots.
ALPA Merger Policy found in Section 45 of the Union Operating Manual required ALPA to remain neutral in the seniority integration process if the merger involved two ALPA represented airlines. As both the US Airways and America West pilots were represented by ALPA, no ALPA funds could be used in the process. The East and West pilot groups were required to independently hire and fund their own merger counsel. The West hired Jeff Freund to represent their effort and the East Dan Katz. Both lawyers were and remain independent of ALPA and represented each respective pilot group with complete neutrality. No evidence of fraud or manipulation has ever been brought forward. A lawsuit was filed by the East MEC in D.C. District Court following the Award's publication alleging impropriety, but the lawsuit was later dropped by USAPA as having no merit. This was confirmed by newly hired USAPA attorney Syzmanski before Judge Silver in early December 2011 when responding to her questions as to why the lawsuit was not pursued.
USAPA was organized following an emotionally charged rally at ALPA's Herndon headquarters in 2007. Before USAPA was voted in, they visited the former America West pilots in Phoenix to tell their side of the story and fulfill a legal requirement. A video of the meeting was produced by the former America West pilots.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: In April 2008, by a majority vote and almost exclusive East vote, USAPA replaced ALPA as the new pilots union for all the US Airways pilots. Thus costing all Airways pilots over $500,000 of lost income over their careers.
The former America West pilots vehemently objected to the formation of USAPA and overwhelmingly funded a legal effort operating under the name Leonidas LCC to preserve their legal rights. Recently, Federal Judge Roslyn Silver assigned class designation to the West pilots in the ongoing Declaratory Action case. Leonidas LCC remains the funded legal entity representing the West pilots before the court.
Declaratory judgment
Recently, US Airways requested a declaratory judgment. It is asking the court to determine whether or not they would be liable should they accept a seniority list other than Nicolau. Judge Silver rejected USAPA's claims to dismiss the lawsuit and she also rejected USAPA's objections to West class certification. After a December hearing, she required that all parties submit summary judgment briefs to her court by January 27. Rebuttal's are due by February 19 with her expedited decision to follow. Until this case is heard and all appeals are exhausted, both pilot groups will remain separate under their respective contracts and operations. The 2011 recent merger speculation between American Airlines and US Airways, is suspected to be the motive of US Airways declaratory legal filing. Former Continental Airlines CEO Gordon Bethune said on CNBC in December, 2011 there is a likelihood of a merger push involving Tempe-based US Airways Group Inc and American Airlines. If Judge Silver rules that US Airways is liable should they accept a seniority integration outside of Nicolau, USAPA will be required to use the Nicolau Award as their certified seniority list for any subsequent transactions.
US Airways management position
US Airways Attorney Robert A. Siegel made the following statement to the court on 2/21/12 Court Document 164:
Given that the integrated seniority list was accepted by US Airways as required by the Transition Agreement, which is binding on US Airways’ pilots (whether represented by ALPA or USAPA)
The Transition Agreement established a process for integration of the seniority lists – namely, “final and binding” arbitration between the East Pilots and West Pilots “in accordance with ALPA Merger Policy.” (Sep. Stmt. [Doc. No. 156-1] at ¶¶ 10-11.) But it also created an obligation on the part of US Airways to accept the integrated seniority list generated through that agreed-upon process so long as the specified conditions were met, and it thereby created prospective substantive rights that inured to the benefit of the pilots and not just process rights. (Doc. No. 156-1 at ¶ 10.) Once ALPA (as the pilots’ representative) presented the integrated seniority list to US Airways and US Airways accepted it, if not sooner, those substantive rights materialized and were not, as USAPA would have it, a mere “tentative agreement between ALPA and US Airways on a bargaining proposal.” (Doc. No. 152 at 16:27-17:1.) Thus, even if USAPA's proffered distinction between “substantive rights” and “process elements” had support in the RLA jurisprudence, which it does not, the Transition Agreement undeniably created “substantive rights” with respect to seniority integration and USAPA inherited that status quo when it replaced ALPA as the pilots’ representative.
Army of Leonidas, West Pilots
2007. After the merger, during the organization phase of USAPA, the former America West Pilots, formed a group to legally defend their pilots and the Nicolau arbitration award, AWAPPA(America West Pilots Protective Association).
AWAPPA, and 18 west pilots, were sued by USAPA under federal RICO laws within one month of USAPA winning the NMB election. The RICO lawsuit was dismissed, by a federal district court in North Carolina. USAPA appealed that decision. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court's ruling against Usapa.
Because of the controversy surrounding AWAPPA's involvement in the RICO lawsuit and the former America West pilots conduct at that time, the West pilots formed a new organization, Leonidas, LLC.