11.30.07 – (LAA) – Marcoux/Lindsey/Ford,RPA Lawsuits, Rumor Control

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Friday, November 30, 2007.

This week, I will be addressing one rumor control item:

Rumors regarding an alleged recent decision in the Marcoux/Lindsey/Ford, RPA-related lawsuits, and the imminent restoration of our 2001 Contract, with back-pay, must be addressed once again. These current rumors are not only deceptive but completely false.

Again, these are the lawsuits filed by a small number of APFA members against our Union and AA jointly, in an effort to turn back the concessions of 2003. This is a lawsuit that has already cost APFA – you and me – well over a million of our hard-earned dues dollars to defend. Presently, the presiding federal judge has yet to rule on the few remaining outstanding claims. She has already dismissed, however, the majority of the plaintiff’s claims and plaintiffs have withdrawn others. Rumors that we will be getting our 2001 Contract back with retro pay are nothing but misleading deceptions of the actual status of where the lawsuit stands in the judicial process.

Here are the FACTS about where this lawsuit actually stands TODAY: APFA has filed our Motions for Summary Judgment for the few remaining claims to be dismissed in total by the court. This means APFA is asking the Judge to dismiss these claims based on what has been presented to her so far throughout four years of written arguments in the discovery process, with some oral arguments by counsel in front of more than one federal judge. The last of the written briefs were filed with the federal judge who will be ruling on APFAís dismissal motions on the court ordered deadline last June 2007. There are no mandated deadlines on rulings in this federal litigation process.

Prior to the judges’ pending rulings on the current motions, we anticipate that all three parties ñ APFA and AA who are both defendants but with separate counsel, and the plaintiffs will be given an opportunity for oral arguments supporting our independent motions; a process that has yet to be scheduled. At that point, the Court will decide one of two matters – to either dismiss the few remaining claims in total or to schedule a future trial. If a trial were to be ordered, the process would drag on for many more months, if not years, considering the likely appeals that would follow any decision.

In other words, any rumor out there that this lawsuit is on the verge of providing payouts and a return to the 2001 contract are a cruel deception being disseminated on the membership with no basis of FACT. Moreover, inflammatory statements that APFA should not be defending itself against these claims ignore the very real and catastrophic effect that the loss of this lawsuit would have on all of us, namely, the possible destruction of OUR Union – APFA. Rest assured that you will be notified of any decision in this case immediately.

For more information, go to the Lawsuits link on the APFA Homepage.

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