Contents:

• The RJ Issue: No agreement, talks continue
• US AIRWAYS TODAY: Wolf "accepts" the "proposal"
• ALPA-US Airways MEC CODE-A-PHONE UPDATE
• Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Pilots reject Wolf's plan

There was a flurry of activity at the end of last week regarding the RJ Issue and some misread signs that an agreement was reached between the Company and ALPA.  At the core of the confusion were comments made by an MEC member at the ALPA MEC meeting held last week in Pittsburgh. As US AIRWAYS TODAY reported, "an MEC member brought up a proposal"...and "Wolf said the company would accept the proposal"...

Only one problem - there was no formal proposal. Here are the various viewpoints to last week's ALPA MEC meeting.

As of this writing, RJ negotiations continue.
 

During a special meeting of the Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council in Pittsburgh yesterday, an MEC member brought up a proposal...  that would address the company's need to expand beyond the 70-regional jet cap now imposed, but also satisfy the union's desire to preserve pilot jobs through a pilot-funded early retirement program and caps on pay and flying time.  Wolf said the company would accept the proposal and that he would instruct the company's negotiating committee to work through the weekend with ALPA representatives to affirm the details...
 

"The issue of a pilot funded early retirement program can only be considered in the context of the original charge given to the Negotiating Committee on September 18 by the MEC, and not by the statements of individual MEC members during the meeting, or Mr. Wolf's reaction to them.  The Negotiating Committee will continue to pursue all of its negotiating efforts as properly charged by the MEC through MEC resolutions."

Pilots reject Wolf's plan

US Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Wolf met this week in Pittsburgh with the pilots union, during which meeting he asked the Air Line Pilots Association to agree to the deployment of 40 additional regional jets above the contractual limit of 70, according to a notice on the union's Web site.

However, the pilots union said it would consider the proposal only in the context of an overall agreement on regional jets.  The pilots union has proposed raising the contractual limit to 289 regional jets, while the company has asked permission to fly over 400. http://www.post-gazette.com/businessnews/20020126biz8.asp