Opinion ID: 2812254
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Merger and the Negotiations

Text: 4 The dispute between USAPA and the West Pilots arose when America West Airlines and US Airways merged to form a single airline carrier called US Airways. After the formal merger was completed in May 2005, the difficult process of combining day-to-day operations began. At that time, a single collective bargaining representative, ALPA, represented both the East and West Pilots. In September 2005, ALPA and the merging airlines entered into a Transition Agreement that set forth the process for achieving operational integration of the two airlines, including issues of pilot seniority relevant here. Prior to the merger, the East and West Pilots each had their own separate seniority list and collective bargaining agreement. The Transition Agreement provided for the integration of the seniority lists in accordance with ALPA’s Merger Policy, which required the two pilot groups to negotiate an integrated list and, if negotiation failed, to submit to binding arbitration. The Merger Policy stated that any award issued by an arbitration board “shall be final and binding on all parties to the arbitration and shall be defended by ALPA.” In either event, the Policy bound the parties to reach a “fair and equitable agreement,” keeping in mind five goals: (1) preserving jobs; (2) avoiding windfalls to either group of pilots at the expense of the other; (3) maintaining or improving pilots’ pre-merger pay and standard of living; (4) maintaining or improving pilots’ pre-merger status; and (5) 5 minimizing detrimental changes to pilots’ career expectations. Once the two sides arrived at an integrated list, the Transition Agreement provided that the list would be submitted to the airline for acceptance, at which point ALPA agreed to “use all reasonable means at its disposal to compel the company to accept and implement the merged seniority list.” The Transition Agreement also provided a timeline for implementing the single seniority list. Specifically, the Agreement stated that the seniority list would be implemented when three things occurred: (1) US Airways obtained a single operating certificate (this occurred in 2007); (2) the two pilot groups created a single seniority list in accordance with the process set forth above; and (3) the pilots and the new airline negotiated a “Single Agreement”—a new collective bargaining agreement—applicable to all pilots. Until that happened, the existing seniority lists and collective bargaining agreements for the respective sets of pilots would remain in place. Finally, the parties agreed that the Transition Agreement could be modified by written agreement between ALPA and the airline. Consistent with the procedures set forth in the Transition Agreement, two merger committees—one representing the East Pilots, and one representing the West—entered into negotiations over an integrated seniority list. Several factors 6 complicated the negotiations. The East Pilots were a substantially larger group, consisting of about 5,100 pilots, as compared with 1,900 West Pilots. America West, however, was a newer and financially stronger airline; although its pilots generally had a later hire date, they also enjoyed better wages and greater job security. Most significantly, some 1,700 East Pilots (about one-third of all East Pilots) were on furlough at the time of the merger, while no West Pilots were on furlough. The negotiations, including mediation, failed to generate consensus over a single list, so pursuant to ALPA’s Merger Policy, the parties proceeded to binding arbitration.