The same financial sources that theyt claim have been demanding paycuts from us will cough up the funds.
People forget that the airlines are considered an "intermediate good". In other words people buy airline tickets as "a means to achieve some other purpose".
So price is not the sole determining factor, especially when we are talking the difference os between 10 to $50. People dont fly just to fly, they fly to do business, go on vacation, to see people or whatever. If United or USAIR should fail the places that they serve would be desperate to get air service back. When airlines stop flying the banks stand to looose more money if someone does not pick up the service than they would by dumping money into a money losing airline.
Lets say you are a bank. You have loans (investments) all over the place. You may even own a fleet of Aircraft that you lease out to the airlines. You own the bonds that were used to build the local airport-bonds which are paid back through landing fees, rents, ticket taxes, ect provided by the airlines. You own Hotels, which are filled by people that the airline flies in, you own a share of the oil company that the airline buys their fuel from. You have loans to the various resturants and attractions that the people who the airlines fly in visit and dump their money into. So you have all these investments which are all tied to the movement of people. People that without the airlines would probably not have the time or the inkling to otherwise venture so far away from home.
Whith investments all over the place if any one of them starts to lose money the bank would still be OK, however if the airline stops flying then all hell breaks loose. The airplanes sit on the ground depreciating and still costing money. The Hotels sit empty, while expenses still exist. The Airport sits empty, while expenses still exist. The attractions sit empty, while expenses still exist. The Resturants sit empty while expenses still exist. Even our own unions, simply another business, can be plugged into this in that as long as we are showing up to work then they still get their dues, no matter how little we get, to fund their raises and generous pensions and other perks.
So if UAL or USAir go under all of a sudden these same financial institutions that were playing along with the airlines in screwing us will find it in their heatrs to dump a whole lot of money into the airlines to keep the people moving and spending. The banks are not going to have anybody staying home, and not spending money, because an airline was not making money.
Thats why we as workers need to do what the banks, the airlines, the politicians and the union leaders fear the most. WE NEED TO SHUT THE WHOLE THING DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once we do that and the millions of people that board flights to go places and spend their money stay home instead the economic burden that was placed squarely and solely on the shoulders of airline workers will now be spread out far and wide across the economy. Instead of scheming how to screw us they will be desperate to get the planes flying again. That is our leverage and we need to use it. As long as we show up and get the planes out, the banks, the press, the politicians and the companies will all sit back and do nothing to help us.
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