Section 1 - Scope - LPPs  

LPPs - or Labor Protect Provisions - are simply defined as protections given to the workers whose company has been bought or sold. The history of LPPs goes way back and were the result of the protections granted workers in the Allegheny and Mohawk airline merger way back in the 1960's.

LPPs provide specific rights and payments to workers impacted by the changes which result from mergers. These include:

• Fair and equitable seniority integration
• Transfer expenses

The strength of the LPPs is measured by the lengths to which the terms of integrating seniority lists are outlined. Should NWA enter into a merger agreement with another airline, the seniority list integration process will go through a step by step process which will result in fair and equitable integration. Of course history has shown how "fair and equitable" is often interpreted by the individual and some folks would argue that the end result is neither fair nor equitable. However, the fact that the NWA Flight Attendants have LPPs address seniority integration provides that a process will be applied and any merged group will not be able to simply staple the NWA Flight Attendants to the bottom of the list.

This section is not easy to explain nor is it easy to comprehend its value. However, it's current inclusion in the NWA Flight Attendant Agreement is testimony to the foresight and wisdom - not to mention the sweat and sacrifice - of the Flight Attendants who proceeded the current corp.

Some historical reference should probably be laid out here:
As mentioned earlier, the LPP language first appeared in the Allegheny-Mohawk airline merger way back in the 1960's. The NWA Flight Attendants did not have this language in their contract until the early 1990s.

It was a predecessor airline which brought the concept into play. The Hughes AirWest Flight Attendants negotiated LPP language into their Agreement not long after the Allegheny-Mohawk merger. During the Republic/Hughes AirWest merger in the early 1980s, this language was instrumental in ensuring the resulting list was fair and equitable. Flight Attendants from each side of this argument would point fingers at the other that is was neither fair nor equitable. However, at the conclusion of the resulting arbitration (more on that later) a list was created and implemented.

During the contract negotiations which accompanied this merger, the LPPs were lost for the merged group. It was not until later - when the company was seeking financial assistance from the Flight Attendants (sound familiar?) that LPPs were again placed in the Agreement.

Fast forward to 1986 and the NWA/Republic merger. Again, the LPPs were implemented as a result of the merge and resulted in the process of integration called arbitration. Arbitration is a process by which a neutral party hears testimony from both sides of the argument and then renders a decision. During this hearing, each side presents their position. For the record - and added here for historical perspective, not political motives - the NWA representatives at the time wanted to place the Republic Flight Attendants at the bottom of the seniority list. The Republic Flight Attendants wanted to create a date of hire combination. Following the arbitrator's ruling, the list of combined date of hire with some restrictions placed on who could flight internationally for a period of time which expired.

The reason this ugliness is mentioned is not to rub anyone's nose in "it" - it is included to show how the group must look out for the whole when faced with these types of decisions. The Republic Flight Attendants had the experience that a date of hire list is the best way to integrate two work forces. The NWA Flight Attendants did not have that experience. I think you would find it very difficult to locate any one of the leaders of the NWA Flight Attendants at that time who would repeat that decision. However, you should agree that the resulting date of hire list is best all around and should be the goal sought in future transactions.

On more historical note: during the contract negotiations which accompanied the NWA/Republic merge, the LPP language was again lost. It was not until the concessionary contract negotiations in the early 1990s did they finally enter the NWA Flight Attendant Agreement.

Click this link to locate the actual language: Scope 1.E - Labor Protective Provisions

Click this link for a printable version of the information in this page: Section 1.pdf