Made whole
 

make one whole
v. to pay or award damages sufficient to put the party who was damaged back into the position he/she would have been in without the fault of another.

"The make whole remedy can be accomplished with reference to the economic aspects suffered by those individuals."

anyone else notice the huge TITAN logo in the middle of the letterhead on the last email from the company?

I did. Front and center

For emphasis:

Titan Aviation

It's fairly clear to the even the novice reader. The Polar position insisted on the right of Polar crewmembers to take Atlas crewmembers seats in Atlas aircraft. Atlas argued that crewmembers who did not bring seats with them to the merged airline had no right to the seats of Atlas crewmembers in Atlas aircraft. Polars surplus of crews, brought about by the parking of their Classics, and the return of Classics that were owned by Atlas and dry leased to Polar, created a situation where pilots would eventually have a recall, but if Classics were parked, no PFE opportunities would exist for the furloughed PFE's.

The aribtrator integrated the list, yet maintained that no Polar crewmember had the right to Atlas seats in a manner that would "bump" an Atlas crewmember from his seat to the street.

Hence, Polar FE's have no right to displace an Atlas FE from his airplane or seat until new vacancies were created, post integration. (meaning the acquisition of new 3 man aircraft) Polar furloughed FO's and Captains have no right to displace an Atlas crewmember from their seat and are not eligible for recall at the merged carrier until there is growth in the fleet beyond the fleet size at the time of the merger.

It is clear that when the arbitrator "suggested" both parties rethink their original positions and come back with something else, Polar refused to move and Atlas responded, proposing other options. Arbitrators don't like people who are unwilling to seek to find common ground. Since it is their field on which everyone is playing, they get to set the rules.

As has been apparent in the course of events, it is apparent that ego overruled the responsibility of representation at Polar. The losers have been Polars crewmembers and their families at the hand of their elected leadership.

It appears now that someone more focused on representation is now at the helm for the Polar crewmembers. For their sake, it appears to be a good thing.

Long live the IBT. Everything will be fine from now on.

Atlas Seats???
 

Actually what the Polar crew members would prefer is Polar airplanes with Polar crews.

While I don’t speak for the Atlas crews, I am certain that they would also prefer to have watched Polar crews flying Polar airplanes -- from a distance. However reality is that Atlas bought Polar 8 years ago and the merger egg has been scrambled. And as far as flying “their” airplanes, over those 8 years it has been Atlas airplanes moved to Polar, not vice versa.

It is difficult to replay history with the pieces moved, but it is hard to imagine Polar surviving to this day as an independent operator. And the other paths speculated about in the crew rooms (purchase by UAL, UPS, etc.) would almost certainly have resulted in the Polar crews being on the street.

This all about internal union power struggles, enabled by some egotistical/inept past management personnel. Nothing more and nothing less.

AAWH bought Polar. Atlas wouldn't buy lunch.

You are correct, but where did you think AAWH got the $39 Mill in cash to buy Polar? AAWH by itself generates no income, its a consumer of income.

Atlas upstreamed the money to form AAWH specifically to buy Polar. Lest everyone forget, a certain amount of that money, had it not been used to form AAWH and buy Polar, would almost certainly have ended up in the Atlas Pilots profit sharing.

Why didn't they downstream some of the 154 million they made on the sale of 49% of Polar to DHL to the Atlas pilots profit sharing ?

Because, technically, Atlas Air was charged a $39 Mil dividend for services provided by AAWH. Not sure what those services were. So, AAWH does not owe Atlas Air anything.

Atlas upstreamed the money to form AAWH specifically to buy Polar. Lest everyone forget, a certain amount of that money, had it not been used to form AAWH and buy Polar, would almost certainly have ended up in the back pockets of ex Atlas CEO Richard H. Shuyler.

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0oGklTTM5...asAirCmplt.pdf

Food for Thought
 

I don't have a dog in this fight, but reflect on this, everyone:

If we don't hang together, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

Too late ..

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings trims fleet size



The Purchase, N.Y.-based company will cut its 747-200 fleet by seven and reduce crew force and ground staff. After the cut the company will operate seven 747-200 freighters and 22 747-400 freighters.

Soooooo . . . does that include the six from Polar??? Hmmm . . . Titan leasing here we come!

six what from Polar?

Atlas classic fleet will go to 6 TOTAL if -512 goes to the desert on the 12th and -355 on the 19th.

Atlas -400 = 13
Polar -400 = 6
GSS -400 = 3
==============
Total -400 = 22

It looks like it is going to be "How low can you go for a while". I hope everyone keeps their jobs during this round of downturns. The international air cargo was down 22+% from the last year. Domestic not much better. And it is not even close to being over yet.

I suspect that this has more to do with the -400's requirement to find work in order to pay for their leases, rather than the -200's relative inefficiencies.

Years ago, when Polar was considering their first -400, it was analyzed that Polar would have to fly them 18 hrs a day to justify their extra capitol costs.

496 & 498
 

Quote:

"I believe it has more to do with 496 & 498 becoming available, ie no longer flying DHL..."

496 & 498 were flying Polar...

When AAWH made the deal with DHL, part of it was that DHL would have access to Atlas aircraft when they needed more lift. That is what 496 and 498 were doing. But in fact, it is all AAWH flying; each pilot group flys the contracts and the aircraft as designated by the managers of the company we work for.

WFR8
I thought Atlas was the company you work for. It certainly is the company with which you have a collective bargaining agreement.

There are 2 "Atlas" companies:

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings is the holding company that owns Atlas Air, Inc, and 51% (cough, cough) of Polar Air Cargo, and 49% (cough, cough) of Global Supply Services, and Titan Air Leasing, and a few other minor players. Lots of suits; not many (if any) knowledgeable pilots.

Atlas Air, Inc is the company that actually employs working pilots and flight engineers, and owns/controls AACS/AABO.

It would for Atlas, but Polar FE's are still an issue. The only thing to solve the Polar FE issue would be a settlement or the merger.

That is correct - The Polar FE's are tied to Polar's CBA in a peculiar way. Polar's CBA provides for a single seniority list, where the more senior FE's hold CBA seniority authority over their more junior -400 FO's.

X Polar's CBA, and you automatically X Polar's FE's. . . .

This issue could be used as a tactical advantage for labor's IBT - Make the keeping of Polar's FE's expensive, and management will have a very large incentive to sooner replace Polar's old CBA with a newer combined one (so as to finally be rid of the Polar FE's).

Not the same
 

Quote;
"Thought Polar flying is DHL flying unless I missed something I shouldn't have http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/confused.gif"

496 & 498 were wet leased to Polar and operated as Polar flights with Polar call signs. If Atlas had contracted directly with DHL, those flights would have had Giant flight numbers.

True. If you were a policeman in your city who would you work for? The City? or the Police department? The answer is, of course, the city. The city controls the number of cops, the number of cop cars, the local statutes, hires and fires the commissioner or chief. It is a silly argument really. We all work for AAWH and not one of us controls the placement of aircraft, who flys the aircraft, or what contract they fly on.

Call sign has little to do with the leasing arrangements of the airplanes. Often times we use a GT call sign for an ACMI run. That is one reason ACMI is attractive to many of our customers. We can use the GT call sign when needed. Once again, part of the block space agreement was the DHL would have access to other AAWH lift if and when they needed it.

Please. Do you really think there is a court in this land that will force a company, in this economy, to keep a group of people who have no qualification to fly any of the equipment?

Come to the party, Fr8. Once signed, a contract is binding no matter how mis-understood. Contractual language that break legal law's are perhaps the only exception, however I don't see that here.

Can you see it now? (AAWW management complaining to a judge about something that they didn't like after IBT's new CBA becomes effective) . . . .

"Wahhh, but we really didn't mean to sign it inclusive of THAT clause!".
or . . .
"Please help us your honor, what could we have possibly been thinking?"

A great opportunity to reduce some of those in the unemployment lines!

Yup I can see it now. I am sorry Mr PFE, but since you don't have a pilot rating, even though we gave you ten years notice to get one, you are not qualified to fly any equipment we have. So you can keep your job but you will have to move to White Plains, take a pay cut, and oh; we have some new equipment for you to operate. Are you qualified on the MKI br00m or the basic m0p? (note": not a comment on PFEs here - just a comment on the type of company we work for)

You are dreaming if you think any court, regardless of how the contract is written, is going to let you sit at home and draw pay until retirement age. You all had plenty of notice that the classics were going away and with a few exceptions you did nothing to qualify yourselves to continue with this company.

Course I never thought the obomonation could get elected either.

Your spelling of obomonation is an abomination in the Obamanation! -whatever.......

CR2

Top Dog Mod
Moderator

Join Date: May 2000
Location: New York
Age: 40
Posts: 1,849


Thought Polar flying is DHL flying unless I missed something I shouldn't have http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/confused.gif

Now here is a question from me, just curious. If the 200 fleet were completely removed, would the F/E issue disappear?


Polar's FE's do not have rights to the seats on Atlas -200's under the arbitration award. This is simply because Polar is bringing no -200's (and their FE seats) to the merged carrier and the arbitrator held that as such, they can't take an Atlas FE's seat from his airplane.

This also holds for the furloughed -200 Captains and FO's. They are not bringing their seats to the merged carrier, and therefore have no claim to a seat held by an Atlas Captain or FO on an Atlas plane.

A number of the crewmembers in question were hired to plus up Polar when Atlas retailiated against the union and dry leased a number of Classic's to Polar. What is unfortunate is that the Polar leadership knew in late 2001 that when the airlines merged, only the -400's and an estimated 150 Polar crewmembers would integrate. Something not missed by the arbitrator.

While the crewmembers will have the right to recall; it won't be until there is relative growth...i.e., the fleet expands above a preset limit. Given the tradeoff's of a -200 for an -800, this could take quite a long time. And in all likelihood, since the demand for the demand for the Classic is in the dumpster and no new 3 man birds are coming off the assembly line, the odds of FE's returning are very poor.

Regarding the need to pay unqualified or untrained crewmembers ad infinitum...while the Polar scope says some things...and has many interpreters...it also clearly states that a company has the right to run it's business as it deems necessary.(paraphrased) No different than any other labor contract. In some it's called a "force mejeure."

No court in the land is going to force a company into financial straits over a labor contract. Period.

They did it to the auto makers. But that is off point. The questions to ask is why did the classics go away? It was determined that the classics were no longer at Polar because the freight was being flown by Atlas. A violation of the CBA scope. That was the the reason the classics went away at least in the arbitration award..
I find myself in agreement that the FE's should have worked toward a commercial license, but that is not as easy as you might think. A few of the FEs took LOAs (the single ones) and worked on the 250 hrs needed, others started from scratch and they are working on the -400 today. But with wife, kids, and bills, a lot of the guys did not have the time nor money to go that route.
But, given that it still doesn't give the company to right to violate the scope. Even after the ruling the company still refuses to abide by the ruling. All have ID cards again and are on the CASS roster or at least soon to be, yet none are being paid although the company says they are active crew members and that means the 65 hour guarantee should apply.
While there are a lot of good points made on both sides here it still comes down to scope.

Fortunately in this country we have laws and are not governed by the logic of WFR8 and IFlyer. No judge will do this...no judge will say that. Lets ask a judge and find out.

Unfortunately, both CBA's have arbitration clauses in them. A judge would only defer back to arbitration after everyone spent the money going through the steps to get into court.

The best you will get is another arbiter or the same one addressing his past judgment. I think the arbiter in question even padded his pocket book by making the decision the way he did, knowing that further work would be needed on his judgment expanding his billable hours.

Arbiters know what side their bread is buttered on and why they generally don't make overly impairing rulings against a company.

Nitty
Again, nice logic but you haven't done your homework.

I agree with Nitty in that . . An arbitrator's ruling is seldom overturned, else the entire system of arbitration would fall apart thus further burdening the courts.

For info, management has now restored all Polar FE's with their full, valid company ID's and has also placed them back on a current seniority list (un-furloughed) for the duration of Polar's CBA.

As also as in 2006/07 with no airplanes to fly, and also with reference to Bloch's award almost identical to that of Holden's (the FE's shall be made whole), is history about to repeat itself?