Folks, since at least 1989 there has been no real attempt to change the pre-merger business plan, realize the new competitive environment, and operate US Air(ways).
Colodny and Schofield didn't because they couldn't, and Wolf, Ganghwal, Siegel and Lakefield didn't because the 'plan' was merger.
And to subsidize the failed plan, employees have born the costs since 1993, starting with the first furloughs and pension freezes.
After the failure of Wolf's UA/US merger, rightsizing for the next merger was the ONLY plan - never operating US as a stand alone operation. Of course, employees, vendors and stockholders paid the costs for rightsizing.
The plan was always the same: have the current CEO make the maximum demands just short of a strike (not hard to calculate when 3 of 5 bargaining units was in bed with the company), 'sacrifice' the CEO at a suitably dramatic time so the unions could thump their chests, and repeat as needed. Wolf did it, then Siegel and now, Lakefield.
It would not have mattered if you replaced Wolf, Siegel and Lakefield with any other New Economy CEO; the results would have been the same.
US has the dubious honor of lowering the bar for labor costs across the industry that will, I predict, eventually impact mighty WN.
OK, water under the bridge.
The question going forward. Have employee concessions at US bottomed out, or are more on the way?
I hope not, but I know how I bet. <_<
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