Battle Line Is Drawn

[The Ronin]

ALPA is also responsible for global warming and the spike in recent oil prices.

You heard about this too??? Jesus, just what aren't they into???

 

[The Ronin]

UAL-TECH, Ronin, and the others like them-

"Ronin,
I have no delusions as to where the pilots stand. They stand for themselves (period – end of story); they mouth the ‘union’ mantra when it benefits them and are extremely quiet when something happens to others as long as it doesn’t shake their world......"
And we all know the mechanics are not out for themselves and are ALWAYS thinking of the other employee groups when it comes to "job actions." I mean, c'mon now. When we were teetering on bankruptcy a couple of years back, hoping that the ATSB would approve our loan (the first time) they were only thinking of the other employee groups with the shenanigans they were playing, dragging out their contract negotiations, trying to figure out whether they were IAM or AMFA, rarely meeting aircraft on time at ORD to guide them to the gate, taking their sweet time fixing gripes, etc., in order to "make their point" about the slow pace of contract negotiation progress. All that crap looked really good to the ATSB the first time around and helped them make their decision NOT to approve our loan, but again, I'm sure the mechanics were thinking of everyone else when they took those actions during the first ATSB denial. I can't even count how many times my aircraft was late waiting for you guys during your negotiations. Oh wait. That's right. There were no individuals in the IAM who were doing anything wrong during that time period in order to "make a point." My mistake.

And of course, the mechanics have a long history of thinking of others before themselves. I mean 74 (yes seventy-four) days of strikes between 1975-1979 alone is a really nice way to show the other employees and customers that you care. They didn't even have the COURTESY of doing a slow down or anything like that just to at least get their customers to where they were going. I'm sure all the other employee groups "felt the love" during that time period.

Here's another example of the mechanics showing how they are not all out for themselves. ALPA members took a 30-40% paycut (more than any other employee group) because, after all, we make too much money and therefore should "step up to the plate" to take a larger paycut than those who don't do as well financially. The mechanics saw that their salaries, compared to many, many other employee groups on the property, is much higher than those in unskilled positions. So they too stepped up to the plate and lead by example by taking a much larger paycut than those other groups...............NOT!!!! After all, it's OK for ALPA to take a big work rules/salary pay cut because they make more, but did the mechanics take a significantly bigger paycut, then say a flight attendant? Did they lead by example? NOPE!! Never have, never will.

And finally, the IAM is showing they are not out for themselves by suing senior executives over the pension issue. I mean, when banks look at United to decide whether or not to loan us money so that we can exit bankruptcy, they LOVE to see internal turmoil. They LOVE seeing IAM board members boycotting meetings. The LOVE that internal strife. It makes them just want to throw money at us. But again, of course, the IAM's lawsuit is not for them, it's for all of us.

You know, you mechanics who complain about those greedy, overpaid pilots are right. It's not all about you. You have plenty of love for everyone. The above examples are just a few of the points that illustrate that. How about a group hug with a mechanic in the middle?

ualdriver

P.S. ALPA is also responsible for global warming and the spike in recent oil prices.

[post="167880"][/post]​

OKAY....OKAY......OKAAAAAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!
Lets just let "free market" and pure ol' economics run its coarse. We will just see where everyone lands shall we???? For those that have prepared and have viable talents and resources to maintain a standard of living....kudos. For those that don't, try again. From the ladder I see, some will barely be hurt....others are gonna die

 

[737nCH11]

Ronin's last post pretty well sums it up. If you have something going on the side, the airline business is still pretty fun. The sad fact is that what was once a glamourous career is now turning into a part-time job.

 

[737nCH11]

Magsau,

Don't forget the time card fiasco at ORD in the late 90s. I'm sure glad the IAM is the standard bearer for high ethics and morals at UAL.

 

[kcabpilot]

This statement from ALPA;

"United's maintenance and airport operations are substantially less efficient than its industry peers"

Focusing purely on the Maintenance end it seems pretty clear to me that this is true and there are many reasons. Look at the maintenance division and how it has been managed. Consider a few things such as the reconfiguration and repainting of 49 A320' for TED. Now do you think the cost of doing that went against marketing's budget or maintenance's budget? How about time spent fixing aircraft recently released from OSV maintenance? How about the fact that OSV maintenance is a part of the overall maintenance cost? How about the cost of 'rebranding' maintenance as "United Services"? Maintaining an engineering division in Indiana? Creating an entire new management division to oversee the outsourcing of work?

The mechanics at UAL, weather on the line or at the base, continue to do the best they can with the system they have and it's a very, very sorry assed system - WAY too top heavy, far too many managers putting their fingers in there for no other good reason than to make it look as though they are doing something.

I've made this suggestion - ALL of the managers in maintenance take a 90 day leave of absence and let's see if it makes a lick of difference.

 

[UAL_TECH]

UAL-TECH, Ronin, and the others like them-

"Ronin,
I have no delusions as to where the pilots stand. They stand for themselves (period – end of story); they mouth the ‘union’ mantra when it benefits them and are extremely quiet when something happens to others as long as it doesn’t shake their world......"
And we all know the mechanics are not out for themselves and are ALWAYS thinking of the other employee groups when it comes to "job actions." I mean, c'mon now. When we were teetering on bankruptcy a couple of years back, hoping that the ATSB would approve our loan (the first time) they were only thinking of the other employee groups with the shenanigans they were playing, dragging out their contract negotiations, trying to figure out whether they were IAM or AMFA, rarely meeting aircraft on time at ORD to guide them to the gate, taking their sweet time fixing gripes, etc., in order to "make their point" about the slow pace of contract negotiation progress. All that crap looked really good to the ATSB the first time around and helped them make their decision NOT to approve our loan, but again, I'm sure the mechanics were thinking of everyone else when they took those actions during the first ATSB denial. I can't even count how many times my aircraft was late waiting for you guys during your negotiations. Oh wait. That's right. There were no individuals in the IAM who were doing anything wrong during that time period in order to "make a point." My mistake.

And of course, the mechanics have a long history of thinking of others before themselves. I mean 74 (yes seventy-four) days of strikes between 1975-1979 alone is a really nice way to show the other employees and customers that you care. They didn't even have the COURTESY of doing a slow down or anything like that just to at least get their customers to where they were going. I'm sure all the other employee groups "felt the love" during that time period.

Here's another example of the mechanics showing how they are not all out for themselves. ALPA members took a 30-40% paycut (more than any other employee group) because, after all, we make too much money and therefore should "step up to the plate" to take a larger paycut than those who don't do as well financially. The mechanics saw that their salaries, compared to many, many other employee groups on the property, is much higher than those in unskilled positions. So they too stepped up to the plate and lead by example by taking a much larger paycut than those other groups...............NOT!!!! After all, it's OK for ALPA to take a big work rules/salary pay cut because they make more, but did the mechanics take a significantly bigger paycut, then say a flight attendant? Did they lead by example? NOPE!! Never have, never will.

And finally, the IAM is showing they are not out for themselves by suing senior executives over the pension issue. I mean, when banks look at United to decide whether or not to loan us money so that we can exit bankruptcy, they LOVE to see internal turmoil. They LOVE seeing IAM board members boycotting meetings. The LOVE that internal strife. It makes them just want to throw money at us. But again, of course, the IAM's lawsuit is not for them, it's for all of us.

You know, you mechanics who complain about those greedy, overpaid pilots are right. It's not all about you. You have plenty of love for everyone. The above examples are just a few of the points that illustrate that. How about a group hug with a mechanic in the middle?

ualdriver

P.S. ALPA is also responsible for global warming and the spike in recent oil prices.

[post="167880"][/post]​

Ualdriver,

Thanks for the history lesson, and yes we do feel the ‘love’.

The Chicago Tribune did a nice series of the history that helped lead us to our situation:
United’s rhapsody of blues


Cheesecake rage (kinda in line with the donut joke)

"They are boarding plain cheesecake, with no topping of any kind, with the crew meals," the pilot wrote. The flight crew was supposed to get the same dessert as business-class passengers, he noted, and "business-class ... this day got cheesecake with a caramel-nut topping."

Here’s another oldy but goody (August 8, 2000):
United Airlines scraps nearly 2,000 flights


Also as far as your comment:
“and the others like them-“
Is that you ‘Chip’?


In regards to the IAM comment, I couldn’t agree more, DON'T THEY KNOW WE ARE IN BK?

But you have to admit, ALPA is raising the ‘Huff-N-Puff’ a little bit also.
Must be an AFL-CIO thing.

Thanks for the laugh, we certainly needed one!

Take Care,

B) UT

 

[UAL_TECH]

How about a group hug with a mechanic in the middle?

Thanks, I think this comment really puts our situation into a clearer perspective.

I really feel the love now…

Next time you put on your headset, try practicing this phrase:

‘Do you want fries with that?'

Whisky Tango Foxtrot?

B) UT

 

[ualdriver]

Hey, I take exception to that comment! I worked summers for 3 years at McDonald's to help pay for my college tuition. And actually, it wasn't that bad a job! Especially if you can get into management. So yes, I will take fries with that.

P.S. I think there was an ALPA member on the grassy knoll. And I also think ALPA rigs Oscar night and keeps the metric system down.

 

[UAL_TECH]

Hey, I take exception to that comment! I worked summers for 3 years at McDonald's to help pay for my college tuition. And actually, it wasn't that bad a job! Especially if you can get into management. So yes, I will take fries with that.

P.S. I think there was an ALPA member on the grassy knoll. And I also think ALPA rigs Oscar night and keeps the metric system down.

[post="168043"][/post]​

Good non reply and diversion.
Keep those laughs coming!!!

JMHO,
B) UT

 

[The Ronin]

Hey, I take exception to that comment! I worked summers for 3 years at McDonald's to help pay for my college tuition. And actually, it wasn't that bad a job! Especially if you can get into management. So yes, I will take fries with that.

P.S. I think there was an ALPA member on the grassy knoll. And I also think ALPA rigs Oscar night and keeps the metric system down.

[post="168043"][/post]​

I mis-judged this WHOLE thing. The company and industry doesn't dare challenge YOU guys....you might just leave and manage a Mickey D....AHAHAHAHAH ROFLMAO

BTW....ya really think ALPA was on that knoll.....thats what the Warren commission was hiding....they knew if they took ALPA down then vacation in the Bahama's was over hmmmmm.....

 

[Segue]

Does the Ronin actually work, or does he just eat donuts and post on USAviation.com? Sounds like he has a pretty cush job.

 

[casual rat]

Here's my ESPN/UAL highlight moment...They're going to "gut the pension plans (casually notice the 'plural'), as the leader of one of our prestigious unions suggests. Then, they're going to open up all the contracts and wring EVERYONE's necks. This will put pressure on the employees to either choose 'the make life a living hell for the customer' option, whereby we'll lose the rest of our customers, or Management's going to get what they want under the guise of "we simply can't get any financing because uh hem, this is our time of leverage" motif. Then Senior management will begin to pop the corn and watch the entertainment begin. We're already getting rid of 20 737s, 2 757s and 2 767s. Writing's on the wall....Hopefully with all the personal bankruptcies that will follow, the economy will find the abyss and Bush will find himself on a ranch picking up horseshit. Either way, and unless an independent director/trustee gets appointed, that's the way I see it. We're just numbers now. At least maybe they'll be nicer and more respectful to the future employees of this company (if front-line supervisors can get comfortable enough to comprehend "non comprende").

 

[mrfish3726]

IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!!!!

 

[The Ronin]

Does the Ronin actually work, or does he just eat donuts and post on USAviation.com? Sounds like he has a pretty cush job.

[post="168137"][/post]​

Ooohhh....thats not nice Seque. Even the ol' Ronin should be able to get a day off or two. I don't have access to the web from work so all postings are from home....in case you are worried UAL is not getting it's bang for the buck. Thanks for caring though

 

[kcabpilot]

Ronin

Just for clarity, if anyone is under the delusion that they can keep feeding this dinosaur by trimming a little more skin off the hides of those of us in the trenches (you know, the ones that do all the work) they better think again because we've got our meathooks in this top heavy monster and it won't take much to bring it down.

we can all hit the streets together, I'll be your wing man any day