Congress Or Chaos May Await Us Airways

[USA320Pilot]

Congress or CHAOS may await airline

USA320Pilot comments: The column below presents a balanced view of a union's right to seek "self help" if Judge Mitchell "imposes" new contract terms. In my opinion, the new GE - US Airways agreement almost assures Mitchell will agree with the company's S.1113© motion, which could "impose" new labor agreements worse than the company's current proposal if history repeats itself.

It is clear that each union will have a very difficult time preventing "imposition" without new consensual agreements, as well as exercising "self help", according to the article below.

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Best regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[Jennyann]

Well I got news for ya Baby..........Bring it on :angry:

 

[AC/CF]

It's truly a sad day in America if my contract can just be cancelled and I have to accept it.

 

[USA320Pilot]

Nobody is forcing anybody to work at US Airways and if an employee does not like what is happening, they should voice their concern to their union leadership that I believe is badly failing their members. Every union will likely obtain an agreement, either consensually or via imposition, which is worse than what could have been obtained earlier.

What we have here is a colossal failure of negotiators using the "just say no" tactic when a good negotiating team would have obtained the best deal possible. Union's have the financial community, the ATSB, the courts, a Republican Congress, and the Bush Administration all against them.

Do I like this? No, of course not, but we are where we are and a union must obtain the best deal possible, period.

So there is a trend here that is only going to stop with a Ratified Agreement, and on Thursday, December 2, the company's request for permanent contract relief will be heard before Judge Mitchell, where the end result could be worse than what the company is currently offering, with the union's facing an uphill battle to stop this “train wreckâ€￾.

Best regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[Jennyann]

I'm sure I've flown with you brfore....I'm sure I couldnt talk you into a beer....on a layover over 13 hrs OF COURSE!!!! But please tell me why you keep saying the SAME THING over and over and over and over and....................................... :blink:

 

[USA320Pilot]

Jennyann:

I do not like this anymore than you do. I am loyal to US Airways and I want to see the best deal possible for the company's employees and due to union resistance, it's only getting worse.

I try to tell the story to the best of my ability because I want you and every other employee to have a secure work place with the best possible pay and benefits.

Best regards,

USA320Pilot

 

[Jennyann]

I truly want that as well!!!! But you must agree...enough is enough
I mean , lets be reasonable here!!!!

 

[Justaramper]

So 320, when it comes your time to re-open that contract of yours, will you be as laid back as you are now...?

For you can't/won't be returning to get more from the poor people, it will be ALPA giving up more than you ever thought possible. They won't be able to hire others to do the work of those that are gone. You do seem to gloat at times and a good 25% reduction in pay, may bring you back down to earth. Yes, that is on top of what you already gave, see there are many pilots, who would want your job, also

But not many are looking for mine...


Hard to live on $200/bi weekly when you are a 27.5 hour PT agent, so you go to a sub contractor who pays even less than that. Now, how many people are going to these job fairs..?

So true that USAirways is not keeping me here, but it is also true no one is really asking for your opinion either. If the courts decide to throw out the contracts, so be it. The fallout will be historic and will affect many other airlines in the USA.

Your high income will soon become a problem, it's the next target on the horizion.

 

[Walmartgreeter]

Do I like this? No, of course not, but we are where we are and a union must obtain the best deal possible, period.


Best regards,

USA320Pilot

[post="204358"][/post]​

[/quote]

Key word here..."we" ...are a union. NOT you. NEVER. And NO. the the goal is NOT the best "deal" possible. It is the best deal that maintains the strength of the UNION. I am offended at your inclusion in this group. Greeter. PERIOD.

 

[Pacemaker]

The problem is, you can say "Do I like this; no" and "We are where we are" and "We must live to fight another day", ad infinitum until you reach a theoretical point where you have an airline with one airplane that pays their 20 employees minimum wage. Somewhere between there, and here, a line must be drawn, and if a sufficient number of employees are willing to put their jobs at risk, then a stand must be made. I feel that time is near for many and I hope the CWA, IAM, and AFA have more collective wisdom and courage than ALPA has shown.

 

[OldGuyinPA]

Stand strong ....Union Brothers and Sisters.....

 

[TransatlanticFlyGuy]

Stand strong ....Union Brothers and Sisters.....

[post="204376"][/post]​

Can I throw up right now?

 

[Reservation Agent]

It looks to me that the unions keep going ....and going ...and going back to the bargaining table over and over with no cooperation by the company...Like the company already has its mind set on going to the judge to throw out the contracts... I have heard no reports that the company has really been trying to negotiate anything....just stalling waiting to go to their buddy the judge Stephen Mitchell...................

Be careful, for what you dream about .......may come true.....

 

[OldpropGuy]

The company and USA320Pilot seem to be making a large miscalculation, as usual. While there are many employees still making a nice salary, even after the latest concessions, there are many more that are barely getting by check to check. These latter mentioned, once loyal employees have reached the breaking point.

The usual argument supporting the company position is, if you don’t like it then leave! This is all well and good from the viewpoint of one still making a livable wage and who would be forced to join another company at the bottom of their seniority list. There are many others that would not take that much, if any, of a loss starting over.

The leadership is still utilizing the same old “Beat them into submissionâ€￾ technique, as a substitute for management skills. Every offer made to labor is worse than the previous, with a warning that the next will be worse. “Take it or leave it. Fuel prices are the problem. We must remain competitive.â€￾ Using this logic everyone should work for free, once oil reaches a certain level. Any leading edge, innovative, new revenues producing ideas are not to be found by those in power.

This failed reasoning and inability to manage will be the downfall of the company, not oil prices and competition. Those workers, who cannot survive, will not make great sacrifices for those who wish to remain. Human nature will see to that. When employee loyalty is repaid with mistreatment, loyalty becomes nonexistent. The basic concept which some call “Mutual Destructionâ€￾ will take over in the end. The assumption is that those who are destroyed will do everything possible to obliterate all which remains, leaving nothing for anyone.

No Judge, Congress, or any amount of repetitive threatening posts can change that. Human nature, like animal instinct, will prevail after all is said and done.

 

[bestservedcold]

NO. the the goal is NOT the best "deal" possible. It is the best deal that maintains the strength of the UNION. I am offended at your inclusion in this group. Greeter. PERIOD.

[post="204366"][/post]​

[/quote]

The best deal that maintains the strength of the union would assume that there is a flourishing viable and yes profitable company for said same union to garnish its dues revenue from or did I miss something?

[post="204371"][/post]​

[/quote]
Piney, Obviously you did miss something here...The whole BIG picture.
If the managements in this industry are to be permitted to continue to mismanage their companies over decades, then simply go to the employees for continuous cuts, where does it end?
If they are unable to convince us to allow them to terminate our pensions, outsource our work, raise our medical benefits, remove our vacation, and lower our pay, over and over, and in this case, over again, then they simply go into bankruptcy for approx. nine months to have a judge do the dirty work.
Let's not forget that prior to entering bankruptcy for the second time, they take over 23 million dollars to fund management's pensions. (Many of this said management team that has been here for under four years, now have fully funded pensions as though they have been here for thirty years!) While the employees that have actually done the work for thirty years, are left without.
If you follow this through to it's logical conclusion, then any struggling company in any industry in this country, can do the same, with impunity. With the blessings of their BOD!
Not all of us are in the same position as 320. For many, it truly is a matter of "do I eat this week, or pay my bills?"
So for many, it has come down to the point where the corner we have been placed in is no less comfortable than the alternative, should we seek self help.
Will I place my job in jeopardy? My job is already in jeopardy! Will I lose my medical benefits? I can't afford my medical benefits! Will I damage my pension? What pension! Will I lose my vacation days? Oops, they are already taking them! Will I be able to pay my mortgage? We'be been robbing Peter to pay Paul for months now, and I still have trouble paying my mortgage.
The outcome of this situation will be watched closely by every labor group in every industry in this country. If the BK laws allow for any company that has been poorly managed, to absolve themselves of their responsibility to manage, then the laws need to change. It's not going to happen during US Airways' bankruptcy proceedings. It won't happen during United's time in the BK courts. It may take years to change those laws, but if organized labor does not put their foot down sometime, it will never happen at all!
And if organized labor continues to lose, then non union labor will be right behind us.
What I have seen suggested by some posters on this board is that we must all continue to roll over AGAIN, to protect the company at all costs. Rolling over again only appears to protect the managers of this company. Because by rolling over again we are agreeing that 23 million to their pensions is okay. We are agreeing that bonuses to bumbling outgoing CEO's is proper. We are agreeing that mass furloughs and outsourcing is the direction that we want our company and our country to go. We are agreeing to devalue ourselves to the point that we cannot meet our financial obligations. We are agreeing to be volunteers rather than victims in this latest fiasco.
Many of us understand that if the changes to the BK/Labor laws are not made now, then our children have no future in this country. Their futures will be outsourced to the cheepest workers in the poorest countries. That's not okay by me.
I will not gamble away my future, my children's future, or my fellow employees future, to make the likes of A320 more comfortable. As far as I'm concerned, it is to the point where we have to make a stand. Even if we have to face the judge and the Congress in order to make that stand. This is simply NOT RIGHT. Somebody, somewhere has to say ENOUGH! I have!