15-day countdown to strike, night of Aug. 15

[a320av8r]

AFA says an additional 10 days due to latest situation.

 

[flytchick]

Saw something on CNN saying the bankruptcy judge had delayed the date the flight attendants could start CHAOS. Is this true? Hope not.........

 

[a320av8r]

Saw something on CNN saying the bankruptcy judge had delayed the date the flight attendants could start CHAOS. Is this true? Hope not.........

Northwest Attendants To Postpone Strike

POSTED: 7:13 pm EDT August 11, 2006
UPDATED: 7:13 pm EDT August 11, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS -- Flight attendants at Northwest Airlines Corp. said they will delay a threatened strike by 10 days because of security concerns stemming from the foiled terrorist plot in London, and a shareholder dropped his suit against executives at the company.

A judge had not yet ruled on a request to block a strike from the carrier, which is in bankruptcy protection.

The Association of Flight Attendants had threatened to begin random, unannounced strikes after 9:01 p.m. CDT on Tuesday after Northwest imposed new pay and work rules on flight attendants without their consent. Flight attendants twice voted down negotiated agreements with the nation's fifth-largest airline.

But on Friday, flight attendants said the new deadline would be 9:01 p.m. CDT Aug. 25. It calls its strike tactic "CHAOS," for Create Havoc Around Our System.

"Present security concerns take precedence over all other concerns at this time, including our fight for a fair contract and our preparations for CHAOS," said Mollie Reiley, interim master executive council president of the union's Northwest branch.

"In order to devote our full attention to the immediate security situation, and to reduce the stress level for flight attendants until the initial reaction of the security news subsides, we have decided to extend our strike deadline by 10 days," she said.

Northwest has said it is willing to negotiate again with flight attendants, although it said any deal would still have to meet a goal of $195 million a year in labor savings. No talks have been scheduled.

The carrier has maintained that any strike would be illegal and had asked bankruptcy judge Allan Gropper to block one.

"The AFA and Northwest flight attendants recognized that, during this period of heightened security, the needs of our customers are paramount," Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said.

Separately, a shareholder who had sued four top officials at Northwest Airlines Corp. after it filed for bankruptcy protection has dropped the case, the airline said on Friday.

Court papers dismissing the lawsuit didn't give a reason.

Attorney Steven G. Schulman, who filed the case Dec. 20, and his firm Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman have been indicted in California on charges of secretly paying kickbacks to attract plaintiffs for shareholder lawsuits against large companies. Schulman and the firm have both pleaded not guilty, and Schulman is now on leave.

Milberg Weiss attorney Peter Seidman, who filed to dismiss the case on Thursday, declined to comment. No phone listing could be found for plaintiff Bernard J. Gesenhues.

The lawsuit, which sought class-action status, had accused Northwest insiders of selling stock when they had nonpublic information about the airline's bankruptcy plans. Northwest filed for Chapter 11 protection in September 2005.

Northwest had not filed any response to the lawsuit, which was brought in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York. It was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be re-filed.

"We are pleased that the suit was dismissed," Northwest spokesman Bill Mellon said.

 

[groundcontrol]

NW says it needs to meet the $195 million goal...the AFA knows there is nothing to gain w/ NW. I think they are stalling as well as the company. The AFA knows the f/a's will end up like the mechanics....replaced.....Like I said NW has everyone by the balls.

 

[GroundedBoricua]

:huh:

NW says it needs to meet the $195 million goal...the AFA knows there is nothing to gain w/ NW. I think they are stalling as well as the company. The AFA knows the f/a's will end up like the mechanics....replaced.....Like I said NW has everyone by the balls.

Does NWA have thousands of scab F/As standing by to run the airline, I really don't think so. :huh:

 

[FWAAA]

:huh:

Does NWA have thousands of scab F/As standing by to run the airline, I really don't think so. :huh:

Doesn't matter as long as the FAs keep pushing their self-help date into the future every few weeks.

We're seeing what happens when thousands of people realize that even their new, lower pay is far better than they could get elsewhere, especially when all the fringes are included (like FLIGHT BENEFITS, which is the only reason my NW FA friends still do it).

 

[Kev3188]

(like FLIGHT BENEFITS, which is the only reason my NW FA friends still do it).

Really? I just don't see the upside (or economic benefit) to non-revving anymore.

 

[High Iron]

Great post, ExAF. That is the kind of critical thinking I was hoping for. You may very well be correct, that the customer service abilities that the experienced FA attains put the position in a higher status than I had alluded to. I don't know if that is necessarily the case, but the case can certainly be made. As you state, the customer service angle has a lot more merit than the training/safety aspect of the job.

"Great post, ExAF. That is the kind of critical thinking I was hoping for"

Translation: "I'm glad you made a post I agreed with".

Though you'd scoff at such a notion, you certainly are not the only poster here capable of reasoned and critical thinking, MBA notwithstanding.

Though you do not have authority over others here, you do nonetheless demonstrate a high-handedness in debates by attempting to control the subject fodder and how issues are framed. You also often employ sophistry to distort an argument if the debate is going against you in detirmined attempt to "win" the debate at all costs. You dismiss out of hand solid logical arguments if they are contrary to your beliefs ( or contrary to where you intended the debate to end ) or claim factual evidence is either irrelevant or not worthy of your interest. Numbers have their place ( and it's A place and not THE place ) and arguments against you employing only name-calling are not effective...but that doesn't mean that everybody who disagrees with your spreadsheet worldview is some blathering meathead who is intellectually inferior to you.

 

[groundcontrol]

:huh:

Does NWA have thousands of scab F/As standing by to run the airline, I really don't think so. :huh:

I really hope not...
Don't get me wrong, I stand behind each and everyone of you. You gotta do what you gotta do. I wish you all a lot of luck, patience,and most of all solidarity. After all NW had replacement mechanics and still many, many, many, crossed the pickets. CHAOS is your only hope....that way you will never find out if the guy/gal working next to you is a scab or not.

ps...Just curious. If NW still wants $195 million, (and won't back down) then what are the f/a's hoping to gain in negotiations?

 

[JAMAKE1]

Numbers have their place ( and it's A place and not THE place ) and arguments against you employing only name-calling are not effective...but that doesn't mean that everybody who disagrees with your spreadsheet worldview is some blathering meathead who is intellectually inferior to you.

Beautifully articulated. Thank you.

 

[jenny@nw]

Why would I do that? I know that token offerrings are very good for business, especially when they come at very little cost. In fact, I was once given a bottle of wine on a non-rev flght back from our honeymoon in CUN. I was very appreciative, and would never have even thought of doing what you menioned.

Because the person who turned that girl in was the same type of person you are (presented on this board) always thinking about $, always watching $, always upset about frivoulous spending....
I never give wine out. I'm not getting in trouble or fired for something that costs $4.99 at Eden Prairie Liquor store.

I'm not trying to support old "Finny" in any way shape or form, but trying to make flight atttendants sound "highly trained" is the wrong avenue to make your case. Any 14 year old boy scout is trained in first aid, treating puncture wounds, fighting fires and CPR. FAs are trained from "off the streets" to "in the cabin" in a couple of weeks. Now don't flame me yet...You are invaluable and absolutely necessary to conduct flight operations. You are even more important in the event of an emergency, but the biggest value is customer relations. The cabin crew has the most contact and biggest impact on the customer every day and every flight. Make your case that your experience in dealing with people and keeping the customer happy (or at least calmed down) under any of the many trying circumstances is the value you bring to the company. You don't learn people skills in a couple of weeks. It takes personality and experience to do that. That is what makes you "worth what you can negotiate." OK...flame retardant suit on. Fire away.

So would you hire a cute 19 yr old who's only customer service job was being a cashier at Stop'n'Go for 6 months?

Why is it that in order to HIRE a flight attendant they go through a barrage of tests, including perhaps a 2 hr one-on-one interview (or a pannel of 3)? Many people are eliminated during training for various things. Why is that?

Why do these companies make it hard for anyone 'off the street' to become a flight attendant?

 

[hp_fa]

Why do these companies make it hard for anyone 'off the street' to become a flight attendant?

Because they don't want to trust someone who's only claim to fame is being the person who asked "Would you like fries with that?" with having to make real-time decisions regarding customers, safety and security. However, that said, the airline companies only wants to pay the same wages as that fries person.

 

[JAMAKE1]

I never give wine out. I'm not getting in trouble or fired for something that costs $4.99 at Eden Prairie Liquor store.

Too rich!

 

[Don Smith]

Great post, ExAF. That is the kind of critical thinking I was hoping for. You may very well be correct, that the customer service abilities that the experienced FA attains put the position in a higher status than I had alluded to. I don't know if that is necessarily the case, but the case can certainly be made. As you state, the customer service angle has a lot more merit than the training/safety aspect of the job.

SLURP...SLURP...Get a room you two

 

[exnw]

Because they don't want to trust someone who's only claim to fame is being the person who asked "Would you like fries with that?" with having to make real-time decisions regarding customers, safety and security. However, that said, the airline companies only wants to pay the same wages as that fries person.

I disagree. With the enforced contract I believe the
fries person may be making more money.