Busdrvr,
I think there are a number of issues which are linked, but nonetheless separate, and at times these separate issues become blurred.
On 1 Jan 2000, all the pilots under the age of 55 employed by ASL were given the opportunity to join Veta. They joined at the bottom of the CX seniority list. As employees of Veta, they met the AOA's requirements to apply for membership and the majority of guys who applied were accepted.
A lot has happened in the past 12 months. All new joiners, of which there have been many, joined Veta directly on base. About 12 or so mainline Fo's are now CN's with CXF/Air HK, and as the number of ASL FO's decline more mainline Fo's will receive command upgrades on the Freighter. In short, the majority of the Freighter pilots are employed by Veta.
Endo raised the point about the AOA opening its membership to the ASl employees. A number of replies came back which appeared to interpret this as a second window of opportunity. This is not so. A second window of opportunity would have to involve the agreement of the company, and given that the vast majority of guys who remained in ASl did so because they wish to remain flying to age 60, I do not think the company or AOA want to go down that route at the moment.
My post, which you have blandly dismissed, as another pay and conditions post, dealt with an issue that I imagine many of you are unaware of. ASL employees shall receive a renumeration package negotiated by the AOA. Further, the company appears to be losing interest in differentiating between ASL/Veta (except on pensions!) and I can see the company in the very the near future putting a very substantial pay increase on the table, but in return they will want the ability to roster Freighter guys on pax aircraft. Moreover, should the AOA pre-empt this and make the offer first,- debate is needed I think.
We then go full circle. If ASl guys are going to have the AOA negotiating on their behalf,(in terms of pay, CoS, FTLs) should the AOA not open its membership to them and take the 1% and if necessary enforce CC upon them? It has been quoted before, but worth repeating;
"We all may have arrived in different ships: but we are all in the same boat now."