Flight Attendant Picketing to begin next week

[scuba (John Linneman)]

Yes,... there are 99 sacrificial lambs out there A/A is willing to give them up rather than risk getting any closer to the TWAer's,...
The APFA,... This is a "we protect some of our people" union,...
And that in itself is not a union,...
It's a freaking social club,...

Its funny how quickly when can get off topic. The statement below is false. There are still AA hired flight attendants on the furlough list. However, the TWA hired flight attendants are more than welcome to picket along side their APFA brothers and sisters next week.

 

[TWU informer]

<_< ----- I know this might sound stupid, but where will the other Unions be on this day? ---

That quesion may not sound stupid, but I bet the truthful answer does!

 

[czerny]

I am one of the 98 furloughed AA fas. No. 77 actually, but no less furloughed than anyone else on the list. Yes, I too was wokened up at an ungodly hour by THB's message, and no, I will not be picketing. Call me back, and I'll put on my uniform and go picket with you. But, as long as we are still furloughed, I'm not doing anything for APFA. Like the furloughed fas have said on this board, THB has done _nothing_ for us. I didn't vote for her so I don't feel bad for putting her in power.

 

[TWskyliner]

THB has done _nothing_ for us. I didn't vote for her so I don't feel bad for putting her in power.

She was the lesser of two evils. I dont think that she would have been stupid enough to give away furlough pay without anything in return, like John Ward did.

 

[IORFA]

You know what they say. Everyone has 2 things, and one is an opinion. THB just rode TW F/A's rage against JW into the APFA Presidency. Now we ALL get to suffer for it. Thanks again.

 

[TWskyliner]

You know what they say. Everyone has 2 things, and one is an opinion. THB just rode TW F/A's rage against JW into the APFA Presidency. Now we ALL get to suffer for it. Thanks again.

Why should we suffer alone...LOL....UNITY!
and don't blame us, blame the thousands of nAAtive flight attendants who didn't vote.

 

[jimntx]

The statement below is false. There are still AA hired flight attendants on the furlough list.

Mike, this is unworthy of you. Of the 2,366 (per latest APFA hotline) flight attendants still on furlough, less than 100 are "native" AA.

As far as the picketing...I turned 62 in March, I don't have time for meaningless gestures. The time to have addressed this was during the RPA negotiations. "Tell Mr. Carty, we will take these pay cuts and work rule changes on one condition...NO EXECUTIVE PAY RAISES AND/OR BONUSSES UNTIL EMPLOYEE PAY IS RETURNED TO CURRENT LEVELS." After all, it's not like AMR (or any other major corporation for that matter) didn't have a history of rewarding executives while screwing over the employees.

JW was a lot more interested in "punishing" the former TW flight attendants than he was in getting the best deal for ALL of us.

 

[eolesen]

To be fair, Jim, I don't know that you can say AMR had a history of rewarding management at the expense of employees prior to 2003. I can't think of any examples, so feel free to post some.

The fact is that we all got profit sharing in good times, and didn't in bad times. There was at least one case in the 90's (under Crandall) where all employees up to L4 got profit sharing checks, but management L5 and above didn't get anything except for a "thanks for coming to work" letter and a pair of fee waived D2 passes.

I'm sure someone will go off regarding B scale, and/or hard-nosed negotiations where they didn't get as much as the other guy at UAL, but the fact is that management never came to the employees in bad times prior to 2003. And, management compensation was a lot more restrained prior to Carty's ascent to the throne, so there wasn't much to complain about. In fact, I seem to recall that back in 1997, if you counted up the employees earning more than $250,000 per year at AMR, there were only a small handful of VP's plus Crandall on that list. The rest were all MD11 captains....

 

[jimntx]

Well, I admit that was before my time. And, I am impressed with the restraint shown by Crandall, et al.

That being said, outrageous bonusses for executives in almost any industry these days is more the order of the day than not. Any time a union is asked to take a pay cut or a change in work rules or whatever, there should be an equivalent ask from the union directed at preventing management pay raises and bonusses for the duration of the change.

But, what do I know? After all, I'm only a junior flight attendant. I don't see the big picture which with the Blessed Order of the Perpetually Trip-Removed (apfa) is to sacrifice anybody and anything in the name of keeping senior perks--such as, never having to actually come to work.

 

[eolesen]

I completely agree that there should have been more language in the agreements to prohibit unequal treatment, which should have also included some equalizers as far as what the unions would be able to get when the agreements are replaced with new contracts (i.e. preventing APA from strong-arming a better contract and leaving table scraps for the APFA and TWU to fight over).

My only reason for commenting was to point out that there was no reason not to trust AMR's intentions at the time. Obviously, that was a mistake for everyone at the table, including management. They needed that language to be kept honest, and wasted no time finding a loophole they could use to their advantage, and theirs alone.

Personally, I still believe in the core tenets behind the turnaround plan, but have no faith in the executive team's ability to follow the very doctrine they were expecting middle management and front line employees to follow. That's why I left. I couldn't trust my own leader's ability to do right by me, so why should I expect them to have done what's right for the people I was responsible for?

For the disgruntled union folk (including AMFA supporters and furloughed TWA'ers), you might want to put your anger towards your union aside for a moment, and instead show some unity on this issue.

If I still lived in Texas, even I'd join the picket lines.

 

[AMFAMAN]

For the disgruntled union folk (including AMFA supporters and furloughed TWA'ers), you might want to put your anger towards your union aside for a moment, and instead show some unity on this issue.

FYI...The twu international and all locals except local 565 are not protesting the bonuses. Local 565 is breaking ranks because of the members demanding some action, and will be joining the pilots rally. How about the new stickers that are showing up everywhere, saying the following.

Families Under Reduced Pay

 

[Fang]

As a person who works with construction unions everyday, I agree 110% with Scuba. What kind of a "union" would let so many TWA people be laid off with out doing much?

Maybe, they did a lot, but the public sure does not know it.

Just on a side note, I would love to see the old TWA uniforms back, at least for a day.

 

[Itestwell]

As a person who works with construction unions everyday, I agree 110% with Scuba. What kind of a "union" would let so many TWA people be laid off with out doing much?

Maybe, they did a lot, but the public sure does not know it.

Just on a side note, I would love to see the old TWA uniforms back, at least for a day.

And the really frightening part is that many AA FA's see nothing wrong with the treatment the TWA FA's received. :blink:

 

[eolesen]

Why are so many of you concerned with grinding axes against your unions, rather than take an opportunity to protest the bonus payouts?

If there were picket lines at enough airports, it's likely that the BOD might take notice. The media certainly would.

Instead, it's likely to have a token turnout, which is almost worse than not protesting at all.

Sad... It's little wonder why the unions have less and less influence...

 

[FurloughedByAPFA]

You know what they say. Everyone has 2 things, and one is an opinion. THB just rode TW F/A's rage against JW into the APFA Presidency. Now we ALL get to suffer for it. Thanks again.

Your welcome.

Does anyone else see the irony in APFA forming an informational picket against managements "broken promises"?

Remember this (?): "Two Great Airlines - One Great Future"

THB has not even mentioned furloughed flight attendants during this media blitz against AA management. What a disgrace!




"When American Airlines purchased TWA out of bankruptcy in 2001, commitments were
made to TWA employees. American’s then CEO Donald Carty testified before this Committee
and said, “We look forward to adding TWA’s 20,000 employees to the American Airlines
family,” and that American was willing to make “commitments to the 20,000 TWA employees
and their families that no one else would make.” In spite of these assurances, the overwhelming
majority of former TWA employees are no longer employed by American Airlines. Thousands
of mechanics, ramp workers, customer service agents, flight attendants and pilots who were
promised careers with American are no longer working in the industry. Additionally, furloughed
former TWA flight attendants are now losing their recall rights for jobs at American.
Communities also often suffer in mergers. American Airlines promised the City of St.
Louis that it would maintain TWA’s hub operation at Lambert Field. That once bustling hub with
over 300 flights per day has now been reduced to less than 100."

:cold: