Ohhh, I got BOLD & COLORS! I must be hitting several nerves at once. Neat. I apologize for not getting back to you sooner, I was out celebrating my windfall.
Let’s just see where to jump in. First off, I never said that we should be in Section 6 to stay separate. That part is over with the single carrier status. The fact remains that we both have “expired” contracts under the RLA. What I said was we both should have entered into Section 6 with the same openers & use the law & leverage it affords us to advance both sides & then combine. Polar is not the reason for the arbitrator. Dave Bourne signed the agreement with the company as the Head of the Teamsters that spelled out binding arbitration.
The fact of the matter is Atlas has NEVER entered into Section 6 to make advances to your very first contract; which your guys agree have no work rules. Polar did & the negotiating stance of the company was “Atlas work rules & Polar payscale” with their arms crossed. We can argue till we’re blue in the face about anything & everything, but in the end Polar was able to keep the contract intact & achieve a small (10%) pay bump. Granted, it’s not up to the Atlas level, but we did save the ENTIRE contract. You guys have never tried to advance your side or fix your work rules in Section 6. Instead, you listened to Cato & the company & blamed Polar.
Cato’s job was to simply move the ball & divert attention so the company would never pay one more nickel to the crewmembers. He did his job. It’s always employees v. company with the bargaining agent (at the time ALPA) representing the one group. Argue over the conflict of Atlas/Polar/ALPA all day, but in the end ALPA had the obligation to fight for & represent both of us separately as individual carriers. You guys should have been in Section 6 with them. Having the agreement of binding arbitration based on 2 expired contracts was the company’s wet dream. They get to decimate the Polar work rules & reward Atlas with only a small increase in pay. This is the train wreck.
Make no mistake, for the last 2 years Polar has had no representation & you guys have been driving. Sure, some of our guys have been “involved”, but our input has never been welcomed. If it was, it was later disregarded because the “adults” knew better. This whole charade is frustrating to both sides & it will continue for at least another year to get through arbitration. So much for the 6 months you guys promised, huh? In the end we will have an arbitrated abortion that will be laid squarely at your feet, NOT POLAR’S.
For the record, I do not hate Atlas crewmembers. I’ve met many that are fantastic people. I’m done with your childish name-calling. At some point there will be a point to take this contract (beyond it’s amendable date) to the end game of the RLA. Can I count on you to fight then or you won’t care because you’ll be retired & not care about what you leave behind?
Last edited by beachjet; 23rd Aug 2010 at 07:56.
Reason: paragraph spacing