Here are the facts and it will not affect me regardless of how this goes, but to others...
1. Sam Wood a 17-year veteran mechanic filed for personal bankruptcy shortly after his layoff.
2. US Airways can close the Pittsburgh Maintenance facility in about 9 months and move the work elsewhere, to an undesirable location.
3. The IAM lost the legal battle on the A320 heavy maintenance outsourcing and from a historical perspective will likely lose the minor grievance.
4. According to company reports it takes a contractor 13 days to do a narrowbody overhaul and with US Airways' IAM work rules it takes the airline 18 days to do a narrowbody overhaul. Moreover, the asset has 5 less days per overhaul to produce revenue.
5. The company offered the IAM a proposal to conduct the A320 heavy maintenance in-house, but the IAM refuses to negotiate.
6. The Department of Labor (DOL) says that there are 4 automobile mechanic positions available per year per dealership with a starting wage of less than $17 per hour. However, to obtain these positions a prospect must go to a technical school for 54 weeks and pay $18,000 tuition before they qualify for the job. The DOL did say there are painter/coater mechanics positions available that pay less than $12 per hour.
Do I like this? Absolutely not, but without a deal to cost effectively conduct overhaul in-house, I believe you will see A330-200, A320 family, and EMB-190/195 aircraft replace the B767/757/737 aircraft and thousands of mechanics furloughed, who then could become like Sam Wood.
Unfortunately the IAM has been dealt a bad hand of cards and the table has been set. It's really up to the mechanics on what they want to do and it will not affect me one way or another.
Do I want US Airways to survive? Sure I do, but I have options, however, people like Sam Wood and others apparently do not.
Regards,
USA320Pilot