Sounds like instead of just reducing FT to PT now he wants to negotiate that deal.
Just based on how he wanted to ramrod that through before I would be very careful what they agree to.
Make sure there is a time limit and it isn’t the entire staff.
Get it all in writing.
I would not trust Kirby at all and at AA I would also be careful agreeing to anything similar as well
These executives could care less what we get as long as there is a big bonus in it for them
There was only 30% of people for the last offer of taking a COLA.
If Kirby was to be "upfront", he should have been honest to tell everybody that the CARES Act wasn't supposed to cover full payroll until Sept. 30. BEFORE you asked everybody to lobby for it. There was a major campaign (the company and ALL of the unions together) to lobby our legislative members to pass this act. It was sold as this thing to cover payroll completely, because everybody knew what was going to happen if traffic don't pick up, and a lot of people would be out the door. At least people would have a income for the summer and could make plans for other employment or separation. After it was passed, then you tell us that it wasn't designed to cover payroll in full, instead of trying to hoard cash for later. We all understand the need to save cash and cut expenses, but it wasn't sold as such. That in itself was dishonest and you just blew 5 years of labor peace.
I don't recall anybody saying that CARES was only going to cover a PERCENTAGE of pay instead of covering it FULL. I'm quite sure if the unions were told it wasn't, the members were to be informed and come up with alternative solutions to help the company reduce payroll and keep people still on property with an enhanced out; better COLA; or a reduced hours scheme. I'm quite sure that people would have taken those options or something creative, since you had a large hub and station directly in the hot zone. (at least the only thing that made sense was the 3 on - 4 off weekday, since people died here.) But now, since everybody don't trust what the company says, we are at somewhat of a standstill. At least we have tripled the amount of flights, but the hub its still a shell of itself. I've never seen it this bad, and it much worse than 9/11. I don't know about the FA's or pilots (since they have their own issues); and AC MX is needed and probably be unaffected somewhat. They have to still care for the fleet and get it ready for action when needed. (sidenote: I don't know the situation with Facility MX and GSE MX) but the IAM members and M&A (they are very pissed) are wary of what management are saying.
IMHO, if this was handled correctly and management was completely "open and honest", a solution could have happened earlier where everybody would have understood and would have helped out. Now, not so sure anymore...
This is an opportunity for unions to show they can pivot quickly and/or adapt to new realities. To be clear, I’m not talking about agreeing to concessionary language- I’m talking about getting creative to keep people on the property while also making sure there are some guard rails in place (as VO Reason notes above).
To be honest, I think there is more of an appetite for 30(ish) hour lines than people might think? The key is to make it an appealing option, rather than just being voluntold to take one. There are several easy ways to make that happen.
I'm with you, Kev.
The IAM has some ideas, and planning to make it known to us soon. But it better not be anything concessionary or to set a precedent - it has to be limited to the crisis and has to have an end date, since full travel might not pick up till next year. Also, it has to also be said that 2021 is a contract year. IMHO; you can't give up anything we have now. Only stronger scope is needed. And I think that some of the people, especially the IGM crowd is figuring this out.
