October 6, 2011
Fellow Pilots,
Today marks the eve of what may be the most important vote of your career at AirTran Airways. There is little doubt that the question of the Seniority List Integration has been debated and at the forefront of the minds of AirTran pilots over the past several weeks. Realistically, the question asked of each of us is this: Do you approve of the Seniority Integration Agreement reached between the merger representatives of the AirTran and Southwest pilots, and between their respective managements? The answer to that question becomes ours to make starting tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
While the answer may not be easy, I believe the choice is clear.
As we all know by now, the management of Southwest Airlines, in their constant effort to keep Southwest profitable, value one asset above all others – their culture. In practical terms, that means that Southwest employees and their contributions to the company receive more consideration than Southwest’s stockholders or even Southwest’s own customers. It’s also no secret that Southwest will go to great lengths to guard a culture that has made them not only the most successful airline in America, but one of the most admired corporations in the world. Of course, management wants the company to remain profitable; however, they have figured out that their culture is one of the key ingredients, if not THE key ingredient, in their success.
Southwest officials have repeatedly expressed their view that an arbitrated SLI decision will threaten the culture they intend to defend. In addition, since the beginning of SLI negotiations, Southwest officials, as well as members of the AirTran and Southwest merger committees and pilots of both airlines, have clearly expressed their preference for a negotiated SLI agreement between our two pilot groups, because as they correctly note, only a negotiated agreement, ratified by the pilots themselves, gives AirTran and Southwest flight deck crewmembers ownership of the ultimate solution to the question of how to best integrate our two groups.
So where does that leave us? Since the middle of May, our Merger Committee, later joined by our Negotiating Committee and counsel, worked to negotiate a seniority integration agreement acceptable to the pilots of AirTran. Their goals, as directed by the MEC, have been to secure the future career prospects of AirTran pilots, and to eliminate remaining threats to a complete integration of AirTran pilots into SWA.
If the Seniority Integration Agreement is ratified by AAI and SWA pilots, these goals will have been achieved. The overall agreement, one which guarantees that every AirTran pilot will soon take their place as a full-fledged member of the Southwest Airlines family, is not only one with which I’m prepared to live, it is an agreement I believe we each can and should support.
What are our alternatives? If this agreement is not ratified, we will proceed to arbitration, a process in which we are fully prepared to engage. Although there are no guarantees, we might, in fact, secure a list in arbitration that would offer most AirTran pilots several percent greater seniority than the list we have before us.
Afterward, however, we are more likely than not to face an uncertain period; one which will likely be marked by the continued separate operations of Southwest and AirTran, and the possibility of prolonged litigation in an effort to force an integration of the two carriers through enforcement of the provisions of our scope clause and of the Transition Agreement. Litigation is also an option for which we are ready. But given length of time it may take to secure a final, enforceable award, and, even then, given the uncertainty of the outcome, is this the wisest choice?
Although the answer may not be easy, the choice is clear.
And so with the opening of the vote on whether to approve Seniority Integration Agreement, we have it within our power to safeguard our futures as pilots for the most secure and profitable airline in America. Then, as we start to make our way over to the “Southwest side,” we also have it within our power, and I’m confident that we will, show our new co-workers that we are an asset, that we contribute, and that AirTran pilots are doing their part to secure the culture of Southwest Airlines, so that its next forty years are as exciting, profitable and fun as its first forty.
Still, this is not a decision to be made lightly. But I’m proud to say that to date, the pilots of AirTran, their Merger and Negotiating Committees, counsel, and MEC representatives have, in spite of the turmoil and anxiety, approached the prolonged integration process with diligence, patience, and thoughtfulness. I have also been impressed by the willingness of the vast majority of AirTran pilots to listen to arguments on either side of the question, without giving in to the rancor and pettiness that have characterized similar debates at other carriers.
I will close by urging you to continue to uphold the high personal and professional standards that made AirTran such an attractive partner for Southwest; to continue to remain informed, engaged, and considerate of our coworkers; and to join me in ensuring our future at Southwest Airlines, by supporting and voting for the Seniority Integration Agreement.
In service,
Linden Hillman, Chairman
ATN Master Executive Council
ALPA: The Pilots Union
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