Employee Morale

[networking]

Does anyone have any suggestions to improve morale? Given the fact that lower pay and benefits are here to stay.

What would make you feel better?

Profit sharing? Space Positive travel? Contests that give away cars and stuff, and no not Mo-lah, what a joke that is?

anyone have any constructive ideas?

[post="192129"][/post]​

Just a voluntary leave for the agents. Give em flight benefits and let em go. Many want to leave with something for the many hard years of service. This is not a furlough, but a voluntary resignation. Many, many will leave which will open up space for newbie 7-8$ help which the company so desires.

 

[TheLazarusman]

They keep talking about age plus years of service equals eighty five. How about age plus years of service equals sixty five? Or sixty? Would that hurt the company that much? They want to lose employees through attrition and voluntary seperation anyway. Why not? Then they can replace us with seven dollar an hour employees with no benefits. What's it going to hurt them in the long run?

 

[BAC111_4EVER]

Okay, folks-here are some cold hard FACTS from the front line.

As an 18 year flight attendant, 31k was on my W2 last year. This is the "70/75 hour option", which entails three weeks of Monday-Thursday per month and one week of Tues/Wed. These are NOT 8 hour days. I work 40-45 hours a week on the weeks I work 4 days and 20 hours/week the week I work the 2 day. As others have stated here, the only PAID time is flight time. If I work a 14 hour day and fly only 3 hours because of delays, cancellations, "productivity breaks" in CLT, I GET PAID THREE MEASLY HOURS. While the pax are boarding, yelling at me about delays, connections, no first class availability, etc... I am unpaid. Unpaid for EVERYTHING I DO while the a/c is not moving, including checking catering equiptment, helping with baggage, getting first class drinks/coats, changing aircraft, checking equiptment, cleaning aircraft, boarding 4-5 flights a day, checking emergency equiptment, and much, much more. UNPAID.

Now, am I complaining about this? No, I am not. I LOVE what I do, always have. I am stating what conditions I work under. I made choices. At 31k for full time work, I felt it was still a "liveable" wage for ME-no kids in school, no mortgage, no college loan debt, etc.

Granted, I was unable to afford much else besides my rent and a few nights out a month, forget saving for retirement or investing anything-but I lived simply and non-materialistically because I loved my job. I made the choice to continue working for a company that pays me 31k a year after almost 20 years.

However. 21%. That brings me to 24,400. In an expensive base that I am unable to transfer out of. I am 38 years old and will be getting a 24 year old roommate next month because I cannot afford my $900/mo rent (in the local ghetto, btw) any longer. My car has been sold because I cannot afford the insurance. I sold my living room set for $500 last week so I could have a little spending money and pay the utilities here for the next couple months.

24,400.

18 years.

Someone mentioned getting a second job. Ummmm....with WHAT time? Weekends? Maybe.

Is morale low? You betcha. I have seen things out here this week you would not believe. The employees at U have finally, finally gone mad. They just don't CARE anymore. (Exceptions? Sure.) It is completely OUT OF CONTROL.


Thanks U for all the "great" years your demoralization and degradation could not take away from me. I truly loved my time here, despite you. And I have over 120 "good letters" from passengers & fellow employees throughout the years to prove I was GOOD at it. Goodbye to those kind of employees. We have finally had enough. We are leaving in droves-just what it seems you have wanted for many years. Experienced, GOOD employees who have given their lives to this company and supported it through all the hard times have finally been broken. Congratulations, U. You win. Now shut the doors and go away-find another company where you can "retain the talent" to destroy another 35,000 lives.

Peace.

 

[Schatzee]

Does anyone have any suggestions to improve morale? Given the fact that lower pay and benefits are here to stay.

What would make you feel better?

Profit sharing? Space Positive travel? Contests that give away cars and stuff, and no not Mo-lah, what a joke that is?

anyone have any constructive ideas?

[post="192129"][/post]​

Does it really matter? The company does not care about morale and certainly does not care about retaining employees in the future. Retained employees = raises = less money for execs.

Besides they don't have the time, they are too busy coming out with new policies for the employees that are left. How does everyone feel about the new "gotta give 30 days notice for elective surgeries during holidays and peak time".....Hell, everyday is peak time because there are not enough employees so don't break anything or you will not be allowed to get it fixed.

 

[youngblood]

I am not going answer the question of should we stay or should we go. It is not my question to answer. The answer to the question rests upon each individual's shoulders.

What I will say is this. Do what you think is right and by that I mean those who are are the fence wondering if things will get better - realize that there is a 90% chance they won't. The company will come back for more and all the time and dedication you have invested will be for naught. Don't wait. Network. Invest any extra time you have into bettering yourself with a better company. No one is too old or stupid to start again. Put caution to the wind and chase the dreams you had long ago. And if you fail, try again. What is the worst case scenario? You learn from your experience and try harder the second time around!!!! You cannot succeed if you don't try. Have faith in yourselves and know that there is life beyond U.

It boils down to this people. We tried twice to give this airline the money and the push it needed, but those attempts failed. Just hours after the judge ruled in favor of a 21% pay cut, Bronner was heard crying the blues that it wasn't enough. Other airlines are surviving wth fuel as high as it is and employee costs more than ours. So............... what conclusion do you come to? Personally, that given the circumstances and the facts, I conclude that management will make the cuts permanent and ask for more. Very soon someone at Walmart will be making more than you, have better benefits than you, and get more respect than you.

This may be an incentive for some. Just two days ago I spoke to a Gold Preferred whom, at the age of 35, decided that he wanted to change careers. He went back to school to earn his pilot's license and is now flying corporate. That took some nads. You pilots out there know what I mean. It's not easy becoming a pilot at the age of 35. He took the risk and is loving every minute of it. Sometimes you just have to put yourself on the line and hope for the best. I give this man a lot of credit because he did what so many of us are scared to do.

Yes, we have a job; however, I would rather risk it all and take pride in my risk taking than sit back and wonder "what if". Every person has within themselves to succeed in whatever they do and every person should have enough respect for themselves to not succumb to the infamous third round of ........................



BOHICA

 

[bobcat]

For US agents the real morale booster would be one thing and one thing only, beside money, FURLOUGH!!! Furlough = Happiness!!!!!!!!

 

[totobird]

bobcat you couldn't be more correct. My department is losing about 12 people in 2 weeks. Yesterday those 12 lined up and danced in the breakroom as they played conga music over the load speaker. It was hysterical to watch but everyone of them had a huge smile on their face. They are so happy to be done with U.

 

[bobcat]

What I don't understand is if management wants to rid the company of topped out employees, and hire off the street at almost minimum wage, why don't they just offer furloughs with no call back rights with unemployment benefits to anyone that wishes to take that route. Then those that choose to leave will be elated and satisfied and morale would improve tremendously. The ones that want to stay will be where they want to be and be happy and the newhires will be there because they want to be and will be happy. All the negativity and non existant morale will be out the door and then everyone would be happy. I'm sure the troops would leave in mass. That is my solution to the morale issue. Hope someone above is listening.

 

[MCORORES]

bobcat, why would the company offer furloughs? They pay into unemployment. Heck it is more cost effective to get people to quit or to get fired. No unemployment if you quit, and a chance if the agent gets terminated might also be denied unemployment. Morale has never and will never be important to the brainless wonders in CCY.

 

[bobcat]

That money should already be there. They don't have to pay more into unemployment if there are furloughs. As a matter of fact if someone would get furloughed who has less than six months with the company, the unemployment benefits would come from the last employer if they had one even though they were furloughed from US.

 

[MCORORES]

Not doubting the money is there, just wonder if the company gets a tax break if it is not used.

 

[crusher]

There used to be an option for an employee to leave to company permanently but would still retain flight benefits for the length of time that they were with the company. I think that if that option was still there, some might be willing to go. If a CSS however wants to take a VOL Furlough, and there are no CSS's on recall for that station , no furlough will be granted. If however they work the system to get put on an attendance level , then downgraded, they can then furlough. That is is poor way for the company to force an employee who wants to furlough to do it.

 

[US1YFARE]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Oct19.html

Why would a union president say this?

"The quality of customer service has already started to go down -- not just at US Airways. Airlines just don't want to pay for labor," said Pam Terry, president of the Communications Workers of America Local 2000, which represents US Airways' airport customer service agents and club workers.

It may have been taken out of context, but it is a quote right after a discussion of all the wage cuts the airlines have achieved during bankruptcy. Customer service in my opinion hasn't decreased, the amenities and the perks that the airlines offer have decreased. That is a HUGE difference: What the employee does v. What management does.

 

[BoeingBoy]

US1FARE,

I certainly don't want to put words in Pam Terry's mouth, but consider this.

Customer service includes more than the customer/employee interaction.

Cancelled/delayed flights because of crew shortages is poor customer service.

Bags not arriving with the passengers because of RJ weight restrictions is poor customer service.

The list could go on but you get the idea.

Jim

 

[US1YFARE]

US1FARE,

I certainly don't want to put words in Pam Terry's mouth, but consider this.

Customer service includes more than the customer/employee interaction.

Cancelled/delayed flights because of crew shortages is poor customer service.

Bags not arriving with the passengers because of RJ weight restrictions is poor customer service.

The list could go on but you get the idea.

Jim

[post="192992"][/post]​

absolutely, i agree that it falls under that umbrella. however, the choice of words was poor. people equate poor customer service with how the employees treat the customers. she should have said that due to the cutbacks that the airline has made, not only do the employees suffer, but the customers suffer as well. (obviously not to the point that employees do, but you know what I mean--it conveys a better message to people reading the business section rather than pay cuts = ticked off workers)

At this time, it is so critical that your representatives choose their words carefully.