I remember reading the NWA Thread during their negotiations. No matter what point was made about the potential that a strike could occur and scabs could replace them, many ignored every possible fact and believed it couldnt happen to them. Over and Over the facts were ignored and those leaders destroyed many lives financially.
I watched the Eastern Airlines video Collision Course and same mentality lead them to complete failure and once again many lives shattered while some fought for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Well if Tulsa went on strike by itself then I would agree, it would probably be a bloodbath. But Tulsa would not be going on strike by itself. We have often sparred over this point where I've said that Tulsa holds the electoral power but the line has the economic power. Yes we have seen failures, we have also seen sucesses, a success is making the gains without a strike, like we all saw in 2001, but the threat was there. Mechanics at NWA and UAL(?) had to vote NO and express a willingness to strike before they actually made the gains they did, shortlived as they turned out to be. Without a doubt we benifited from the actions of our brothers at NWA. As far as the failures, this isnt 2005, or 1989. Our real wages have declined by around 40% since then and our benifits have been slashed as well.
Our wages are no longer a magnet for scabs, skilled workers are still in demand and we lose middle aged workers on a regular basis, something that has never been seen before. Many already treat AA as their part time job. The lack of committment shows up as delays and cancellations. AA consistantly ranks near the bottom of the industry. This contract would not change morale on the line, it would probably go even lower.
The company has already acknowledged that they are not happy with the lines performance, this was their first offer since the change in administration(Ream). I think they were shocked that Don got it through without even a counter.
The guys at EAL werent fighting for a pot of Gold, yes what the company was offering then is probably better than what we are getting now but the fact is that I havent heard one EAL guy say that they felt they made the wrong decision at EAL, they have said that we have made several wrong decisions since. They all, to a man, say that their lives turned out better than if they would have submitted to Lorenzos demands.
Some posting on here will never accept that the AMT profession has failed miserably when engaged in battle against an airline. Be it because of AMT Scabs or just flat company hard line to shut the place down, the end result was far more negative than the alternative given or offered to the work group prior to failure.
Really? Are you aware of what NWA was offering? You are basically saying that if the company wanted to get rid of OH that the Line should vote YES.
It seems you have your mind made up. You feel you arent getting screwed as much as the next guy so its ok by you, you use your accusation that everyone else is Greedy and selfish to justify doing what you know isnt the right thing to do. As much as we have sparred over the years I thought you were more than that. Good luck.