• NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
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Dear Members,

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and the Company met in session last week in PHX. Proposals were exchanged on four sections; Training, LOD/O, Moving Expenses and Uniform. The JNC and the Company will meet again next week in CLT.

The Company issued statements last week to the Pilots and the media that US Airways is willing to offer the America West Pilot contract to the US Airways East Pilots, "cover to cover". ALPA leaders have been quoted as saying the "current AWA agreement, forged in a non-bankruptcy environment, offers some improvements over the US Airways East agreement with some exceptions". ALPA has indicated they will study the offer and continue the negotiations process.

Since the announcement of the Delta Air Lines bid, AFA has not had any formal meetings with senior management regarding the bid or our ongoing contract negotiations.

During the nearly ten months of East/West merger negotiations, AFA has repeatedly been told, by the Company, the AWA and USA Flight Attendant agreements were cost equivalent. Last week, the Company committee informed the JNC, the Company now believes the USA contract is the more "expensive contract". The Company has also proclaimed they are willing to accept the "highest common denominator" of the East/West contracts and Delta work rules for all work groups. US Airways management is trying to convince everyone the bid for Delta is viable and will say anything and do anything to make the bid a reality. Company statements regarding negotiations, not made to the JNC, are simply media and airline analyst hype designed to complete the deal. Although AFA has requested cost data from the Company to verify their new position, it really does not matter. The Company is dreaming if their belief is the best offer to AFA is a contract based on the East contract cost model. Company strategy based on that premise is an idle hope that will never be accepted by AFA or ratified by the membership.

The current USA East contract is the result of two bankruptcies and three concessionary bargaining agreements. Those agreements were only ratified due to the threat of liquidation and/or contract abrogation by the bankruptcy court. The result of the three concessionary agreements has proven to be disastrous to our membership. We gave every penny possible to help secure the viability of the Company. The Company is now not only viable - but profitable. The Company is so well positioned financially, it can put together an $8.5 billion dollar bid for Delta Air Lines that Wall Street loves. Because of this new reality, it does not matter to the JNC which contract the Company believes has a higher "common denominator". The JNC will ONLY negotiate a contract that meets the needs of our members. Neither the East nor West contracts do that.

If management wants to create the nation's largest airline, they will do so with the knowledge AFA expects a fair and equitable negotiation that will meet the needs of our members. If the Company truly wants AFA to be partners in creating the nations largest airline, the Company must treat us as equals at the bargaining table. We will not pay for this merger, or the next one. If the Company wants to create the most well capitalized and largest airline in the nation they must realize our members deserve nothing less than the best contract in the industry. The Company is positioning itself to be the most stable and profitable airline in the nation. AFA members invested their compensation, pensions and in some cases their jobs to put the Company in the position they are in. AFA expects to be treated the same as any Company executive, investor or partner who made an investment in the future of this Company.

Company representatives travel the system meeting with groups of Pilots and Flight Attendants at various forums to convey their vision of contract negotiations, cost structure and operations. Company representatives have that right, but ultimately negotiations will begin and end at the negotiating table - not the PHX or CLT Training Centers.

In the sections we have Tentative Agreements or are currently working on we have only agreed to improvements. That will continue to be our stance as we move forward into the more financially weighted sections such as Vacation, Sick, Reserve, Deadhead, Scheduling and Compensation.

I will update you again with details on the sections discussed this week as we hope to reach agreements during next week's session.

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
US Airways MEC
AFA-CWA

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AFA Local Numbers

Council 40 PIT 724-695-3329
Council 41 DCA 703-212-8090
Council 69 BOS 781-289-8454
Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
Council 82 LGA 315-736-3483
Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325

New Hotline Number Toll Free: 866-USA-AFA2
US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780

Reply to Inflight: askinflight@usairways.com

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