Have Things Changed Forever?

[doc737ng]

UseYourHead,

Ex PEX, huh? I spent '84-86 there; Ops 4, CSM.

I always wondered about the folks I used to work with, and what happened to them after PEX demise.

After I left in '86 (when Lorenzo came into the picture), I ran my own business for several years, but missed the industry and aiplanes so much I went back to school, got my A & P, and went to work for ATA as a mechanic.

Now we find ourselves in much the same position. We sure work in a crazy industry, huh?

Good luck to you and all who work at US. Sure hope you guys make it.

Regards

 

[WestCoastGuy]

I suspect if those "village idiots" had agreed to a new contract earlier in the game, by now, that contract would be scraped for more givebacks. No matter what we give, the company comes back again, again, and again, wanting more and crying and singing the blues over high labor costs. When is enough, ENOUGH???? It seems to never stop.

 

[oldiebutgoody]

Part of the problem (the largest part, if you ask me) is that rather than look for opprtunities to increase revenue, the Siegel plan (and Lakefield, Bronner) is to merely look within, take from the employees and operate as usual. I hope that Judge Mitchell sees through their plan, and doesn't just "rubber stamp" it. I think that employees can cost a company far more than just their wages, and with this demoralized workforce it is happening already. Just wait until the holidays when folks refuse to take time away from their families to support this god forsaken enterprise. Just another reason NOT to buy tickets on UAIRQ. It's gonna over soon I hope, so that everyone can just get on with their lives.

 

[cavalier]

"village idiots"

The perfect term for the U employees who feel they “must" abide, comply, and submit to coercion by individuals who loathe you and want you right under their thumb...just goes to show the world that all pilots are all not that smart and in fact foolish like this one is demonstrating. A screen name change is badly needed!

 

[luvn737s]

JBlue and Southwest are just as at-risk for having their employees "burn the place down" if they depend on labor costs exclusively to be their cost advantage.

Employees at LCC are no different than any other employee (in fact many came from other airlines due to one unfortunate circumstance or another) and are presented with "pie in the sky tomarrow if you'll work for crumbs today". It's a bit condescending to say that they accept the LCC job because they don't know any better. I suspect those JB and WN employees whose stock options or profit sharing is worth substantially less than the more senior workers will begin to become dissatisfied and find whatever leverage they can to change things. Astute leaders will address this before it corrodes the organization. Managers (as opposed to true leaders) will panic and treat the symptoms while doing nothing to prevent the spread of the disease.

Employees must do what is in their best interest and accept that it may not be what makes things easy for inept management. The cliche' of "workers thinking like owners" is unrealistic. The goal of an owner is to enrich the pocket of the investor. The goal of the worker is to put food on the table reliably. When owners think like workers leadership can suffer. When workers think like owners they are prone to feeling betrayed when their special-effort sacrifices become the expected norm and fail to yield any perceived benefit to the worker.


So for a while we have high fuel prices and low ticket prices and a few airlines will be unable to make it (maybe mine). I don't see a permanent change in the expectation of employees to maximize their leverage and their salaries. No one works harder for less and is happy long-term. If there is no money to pay employees, there is no money to return to investors, so airline management will have to come to grips with that and begin to run a profitable business that is worthy of investor confidence and employee loyalty.

 

[Phoenix]

useyouhead,

This does not bode well for you.

Regards,

Phoenix

P.S. USAirways employees have been the most productive for years when looking at the revenue generated per employee... but if it makes you feal good to underestimate yourself then don't let me get in the way of your fun.

UseYourHead:

Your post above is accurate and I agree with your thoughts.

Regards,

USA320Pilot

[post="189640"][/post]​

 

[ClueByFour]

BTW, why is it that you keep accusing me of not being a pilot? Do you want my employee number? I am an A330 PHL based pilot...I have strong viewpoints as do you, we both care about our fellow employees.

However I do not share your viewpoint of burning the company down over lower costs...the answer is simple, starting over is painful, and you lose your 20 years of seniority and end up working for just as crappy of a deal as we will have here.

Ah, and now the truth comes out--you would rather throw the bottom half of the list under the bus, so long as you get to keep your seat. Now it's clear why you and 320 agree.

 

[eolesen]

Ex PEX, huh? I spent '84-86 there; Ops 4, CSM.

I always wondered about the folks I used to work with, and what happened to them after PEX demise.

[post="189695"][/post]​

Ah, the good old days.... Ops 6, CSR @ ORD...

If this forum is in any way indicitive of the atmosphere at US, there's no way any reasonable investor would ever imagine a turnaround. Not trying to be cruel, but this is downright poisonous.

I was at PE up to the end. Even knowing we were about to be raped by Lorenzo, I don't recall the last days being this bad. The end result was that over 80% of us on the ground lost our jobs, but we weren't busy finger pointing and trying to lay the blame for our situation at anyone else's feet (ok, we did blame Burr for the most part...). Thank God it was civil.

 

[UseYourHead]

Ops 7, FM. Thanks for the kind words....

UseYourHead,

Ex PEX, huh? I spent '84-86 there; Ops 4, CSM.

I always wondered about the folks I used to work with, and what happened to them after PEX demise.

After I left in '86 (when Lorenzo came into the picture), I ran my own business for several years, but missed the industry and aiplanes so much I went back to school, got my A & P, and went to work for ATA as a mechanic.

Now we find ourselves in much the same position. We sure work in a crazy industry, huh?

Good luck to you and all who work at US. Sure hope you guys make it.

Regards

[post="189695"][/post]​