APFA plans pretend strikes on Nov. 18

[Hopeful]

As an AA FF flyer and supporter of AA FA's, I must say I disagree with the Union on this one. You want your customers on your side. This has the look of junior high school and not very professional. It hurts the profession as a whole.

Mock strikes only encourage the FA's to be mocked.

Unemployment hit 10.2% today. I doubt very much the average customer will have any sympathy for anyone with a job.

It is best to stay on the job and let the attitude show in the product.

 

[FWAAA]

Is the company silly and unprofessional for not bargaining in good faith?

I realize that many equate the absence of a company proposal for a pay raise with "bad faith" bargaining, but I don't think that's the legal standard. Does "good faith" require that the company propose a pay raise? The company could have come to the table demanding a 20% paycut (shades of 2003) but instead has chosen to demand a contract that provides no new money. It's not generous. It's not advantageous. But bad faith?

 

[AANOTOK]

I agree with you Hopeful.
As we all have heard, "there is a time and place for everything", this ain't the time.
Right now you will get NO sympathy from the public, probably the complete opposite.

Actually, this press release and move has a little Captain (APA) Hill flavor to it.

 

[jersey777]

As an AA FF flyer and supporter of AA FA's, I must say I disagree with the Union on this one. You want your customers on your side. This has the look of junior high school and not very professional. It hurts the profession as a whole.

Mock strikes only encourage the FA's to be mocked.

Okay, not doing your job is unprofessional. Sleeping on the jumpseat is not being professional. Not wearing the uniform properly is not being professional. But showing our strength, unity and resolve has nothing to do with being unprofessional. With all due respect, we are not looking for the general public's support (although it is always nice to have). This is a dog and pony show between the company and the APFA. Period. We could have all the sympathy in the world and it would not get us a contract. Playing hardball with American Airlines gets us a contract. And we are starting to play hardball.

 

[mrman]

Okay, not doing your job is unprofessional. Sleeping on the jumpseat is not being professional. Not wearing the uniform properly is not being professional. But showing our strength, unity and resolve has nothing to do with being unprofessional. With all due respect, we are not looking for the general public's support (although it is always nice to have). This is a dog and pony show between the company and the APFA. Period. We could have all the sympathy in the world and it would not get us a contract. Playing hardball with American Airlines gets us a contract. And we are starting to play hardball.

Suggestions of turning badges to red as if this was a struck flight for your customers to see etc has all to do with getting your customers and general public support. If not why do it in front of customers. Just like the pilots with the billboards at DFW. I am on your side, I just feel union and FA lose credibility when they play games. Again its very high school, and would make me wonder if I was a dues paying member if the union really knows the game (or has been on a flight lately and actually worked with customers). I understand hardball, but if one is trying to get away from those "silly little flight attendent" perceptions and grow your profession junior high games are not going to do it. You are better than that.

 

[jersey777]

Our negotiations are not progressing forward and you want us to sit back and be nice "girls" and not make too much trouble. You are right. We are playing games. We are playing a game with very high stakes. We are taking our case public not to advertise our plight but to make the company nervous about losing customers and revenue. That is what a strike and strike threat are all about...causing economic hardship upon an organization to pressure them into tough negotiating. We have tried and tried for over a year to get some action at the negotiations table and we are met with stone faces. What if you went in for your year end review and your boss just stared at you? Yeah, I know..you'd quit and take your "talent" elsewhere right? We are trying to move negotiations forward...something the useless NMB arbitrators are not able to do.

 

[The Goose]

Our negotiations are not progressing forward and you want us to sit back and be nice "girls" and not make too much trouble. You are right. We are playing games. We are playing a game with very high stakes. We are taking our case public not to advertise our plight but to make the company nervous about losing customers and revenue. That is what a strike and strike threat are all about...causing economic hardship upon an organization to pressure them into tough negotiating. We have tried and tried for over a year to get some action at the negotiations table and we are met with stone faces. What if you went in for your year end review and your boss just stared at you? Yeah, I know..you'd quit and take your "talent" elsewhere right? We are trying to move negotiations forward...something the useless NMB arbitrators are not able to do.

When the company has bought off two of its unions and evidently the NMB mediators, it's rather difficult to make any progress. Any union's individual action will have little effect - what is needed is effort in concert by all three.

Good luck with that. Have you tried herding cats lately?

 

[goodgirl37]

Okay, not doing your job is unprofessional. Sleeping on the jumpseat is not being professional. Not wearing the uniform properly is not being professional. But showing our strength, unity and resolve has nothing to do with being unprofessional. With all due respect, we are not looking for the general public's support (although it is always nice to have). This is a dog and pony show between the company and the APFA. Period. We could have all the sympathy in the world and it would not get us a contract. Playing hardball with American Airlines gets us a contract. And we are starting to play hardball.

Agreed, nicely put.

 

[Skymess]

Okay, not doing your job is unprofessional. Sleeping on the jumpseat is not being professional. Not wearing the uniform properly is not being professional. But showing our strength, unity and resolve has nothing to do with being unprofessional. With all due respect, we are not looking for the general public's support (although it is always nice to have). This is a dog and pony show between the company and the APFA. Period. We could have all the sympathy in the world and it would not get us a contract. Playing hardball with American Airlines gets us a contract. And we are starting to play hardball.

100% agree.

We have a wonderful group of professional flight attendants who take pride in our work and who wouldn't dream of letting our struggle with the company interfere with our rapport with the passengers. We are picketing to alert the company that we are unified and we want to be taken seriously and compensated for the fine work that FAs do daily around the globe.

What would be unprofessional would be for us to be rude to passengers, not go above and beyond, not improvise when we aren't given all the items we are supposed to have (which happens all the time), and to slack off on customer service.

We value our jobs and take pleasure in our interactions with all of the interestesing people on board our airplanes. It's great to have a job in this economy, especially one that we love. Having a job isn't enough if the job you have barely pays for your clothing, food, and housing. It's time for American Airlines management to live up to their 'Pull Together, Win Together' plan and take care of their employees instead of just taking care of themselves.

 

[Maark767]

100% agree.

We have a wonderful group of professional flight attendants who take pride in our work and who wouldn't dream of letting our struggle with the company interfere with our rapport with the passengers. We are picketing to alert the company that we are unified and we want to be taken seriously and compensated for the fine work that FAs do daily around the globe.

What would be unprofessional would be for us to be rude to passengers, not go above and beyond, not improvise when we aren't given all the items we are supposed to have (which happens all the time), and to slack off on customer service.

We value our jobs and take pleasure in our interactions with all of the interestesing people on board our airplanes. It's great to have a job in this economy, especially one that we love. Having a job isn't enough if the job you have barely pays for your clothing, food, and housing. It's time for American Airlines management to live up to their 'Pull Together, Win Together' plan and take care of their employees instead of just taking care of themselves.

Very well said..... And besides it's time for one of these unions to start raddling the cage. This is for the good of ALL AIRLINE EMPLOYEES. We want are money back. It's time to stop giving... enough is enough !!

 

[galleyguy4u2]

Go ahead and strike. You all will be following the yellow brick road such as Eastern and Pan Am. AA will throw up that BK card as fast as you can blink and have all your contracts abrogated and it is legal.

In this economy, I doubt you will have 50% solidarity with the unemployment rate at a record 10.2%. Your last Rodeo may have worked but this is not 1993. This is a RECESSION.

 

[FA Mikey]

They are not going to strike tomorrow. As things go with AA, they are looking at close to another year if the APFA pushes it. If they are smart and do not they could ride it out to the up swing and then really put the screws to them.

 

[Itestwell]

What is the purpose of the "red flights" on 11/18? Certain flights they are going to flip their disks from yellow to red onboard?

 

[goodgirl37]

Go ahead and strike. You all will be following the yellow brick road such as Eastern and Pan Am. AA will throw up that BK card as fast as you can blink and have all your contracts abrogated and it is legal.

In this economy, I doubt you will have 50% solidarity with the unemployment rate at a record 10.2%. Your last Rodeo may have worked but this is not 1993. This is a RECESSION.

Ding Ding, we have a wiinerrr.. I would guess if they ask for raises etc., and then take job actions, AMR will file (or threaten like last time) ... AA kept that BK card for a reason. We will see who blinks in this game of chicken.

 

[Bob Owens]

Go ahead and strike. You all will be following the yellow brick road such as Eastern and Pan Am. AA will throw up that BK card as fast as you can blink and have all your contracts abrogated and it is legal.

In this economy, I doubt you will have 50% solidarity with the unemployment rate at a record 10.2%. Your last Rodeo may have worked but this is not 1993. This is a RECESSION.

And wasnt 1993 a recession as well?

Sure unemployment is high but real wages are around 40% less, the fact is this isnt the job it used to be, there arent a lot of people out there who are able to replace our FAs, as the wages decreased so did the pool of available candidates. Also security checks are much more thorough.

You sound just like Crandall, he too underestimated the FAs. They have more balls than any other workgroup, They fed old Bob some humble pie.