Airline Representatives Meet With Ralph Berger

On April 17, Teamster representatives from s-CAL and s-UAL locals met in Miami with Ralph Berger for the purpose of presenting him with each local Seniority Integration Committee's research. Mr. Berger requested this research so he can have a good understanding of each committee's recommendations before formally meeting with the National Seniority Integration Committee on May 16th in Newark. No decisions on seniority integration were made at this meeting, but some of the discussions revolved around the integration process. One of the main items discussed was how the Consent Decree affects or applies to the merged companies. Mr. Berger said that a legal interpretation or legal opinion of the Consent Decree is needed prior to having a merged seniority list. The answer will have an impact on whether date of hire can be used for layoff and recall purposes. Some of the other items discussed were:

•  The term "Constructive Notice" - that is the date the merger was announced. According to Mr. Berger, anyone hired after that date would be considered part of the merged company.
• s-UAL Flight Simulator Technicians are represented by the Teamsters and are covered under their current contract. s-CAL's Simulator Technicians are represented by the TWU. According to the source from Denver, the National Mediation Board will have to make a ruling whether the CAL Simulator Technicians will be included in the collective group or remain separate (in other words, will they be included in our combined seniority list, or have their own list).
• Disparities within the s-UAL seniority list. With so many people on the inactive list, there is no way to determine if the person's information is accurate or if the person is even still alive. It makes it harder to combine a seniority list that is not accurate. Members of the s-UAL membership are going to look into a solution.
• Here are some statistical information from the meeting: sub-CAL has 3,700 active employees. s-UAL has 4,723 active employees with 3,300 on inactive status (2,300 are Technicians).

The meeting adjourned with plans to reconvene once there is a legal interpretation of the Consent Decree. The hope is to have that answer prior to the National Seniority Integration Committee on May 16th.