Heard This A Hour Ago

[BillLumbergh]

Please avoid the all-caps posts - bad netiquette.

 

[Hello Newman]

For comparison purposes, NW ran an ad in today's Baltimore Sun for res agents starting at $11.72 per hour plus shift differential and multilingual bonus.

If NW was hiring res personnel in my city, I would certainly look into it!!!!!!

 

[ClueByFour]

Dave doesn't work at Jetblue's pay rates so why should you?

That's key. The major unions on the property should refuse to budge until Dave does as the LCC executives do--take a relatively small amount of cash compensation, and earn his pay by delivering shareholder valuation--and hence increasing the value of stock options.

 

[RowUnderDCA]

No kidding... looks like this might be the time to do stock options. Have you seen the recent uptick in UAir stock.. and in a week that was downish in the market. On the other hand, execs have got to know that UAir stock is only going to go up, if they get big concessions.

 

[diogenes]

Cx4,

Your post kicked off another thought in my head.

In our 'winner take all, all hail the free market' system, the magnitude of a CEO's pay vis a vis employees indicates he is chiefly responsible for the company's results, while the employees are interchangeable and disposable. In this system, a CEO should be able to take most any group of employees and succeed. Is that not the implication of dave on the potomac - that he can hire any employees and do battle with WN and JB?

If, then, a company is failing under these rules, is that not prime facie evidence that the CEO has not cut the mustard?

I mean, if you're going to take the money, take the responsibility.

 

[pitguy]

To think Bronner earns a fraction of what Dave earns yet 'U' is 1% of Bronner's investments.

 

[Kev3188]

"If NW was hiring res personnel in my city, I would certainly look into it!!!!!! "


Newman-

Just keep in mind that NW closed all of their CTO's this week, and those people will have first crack at any res jobs. Either way, good luck.

 

[bigbusdrvr]

Can you say "OUT SOURCED" to "INDIA"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not ment as a flame......It seems to be the state of the union now a days!!!

 

[Dont call me Shirley]

I\mention our work group and single us out with his statement that "US agents make $21.00 an hour and Jetblue agents make $9.00 an hour" etc.,

You know, I wondered where he got that $21.00/hr from. I thought TOS for a US res/cust svc agt is just over $20.00/hr. Of course, the biggest difference between US and the likes of FL and B6 is seniority. I wonder what US costs would be lke if the senior agent/FA/pilot/mtc tech had 4 years on the job. (Maybe, in 15 years or so when every legacy carrier is gone and the upstarts of today have graying workforces someone else will start an airline, hang up the "help wanted" sign and hire a bunch of starry-eyed young people.)

 

[Seatacus]

OK....take me back 5 years in seniority and pay me what I was making 5 years ago, fair enough!!!!

 

[More Facts and Less Emotion]

Dave doesn't work at Jetblue's pay rates so why should you?

Actually, be carefull what you wish for. The CEO of JetBlue has an overall stock package that is going to make him filthy rich far beyond any package Dave has.

I bet Dave would happily trade for the JetBlue CEO package.

 

[flyin2low]

I've heard that they want to give 1 year credit for each 5 years of service. Therefore a 30 year veteran gets 6th year pay. The top out pay is currently just above $19/hr, not $21..........

 

[More Facts and Less Emotion]

Of course, the biggest difference between US and the likes of FL and B6 is seniority. I wonder what US costs would be lke if the senior agent/FA/pilot/mtc tech had 4 years on the job.

You betcha, absolutey, the seniority is the big issue. JetBlue has only been around a few years, so everyone is at the bottom of the scale. Even Southwest is low seniority because they have continued to hire so many employees in the last few years. And these companies have great employees, great morale and excellent customer service - at a fare lower than US because the costs are less.

The news is all carriers end up in the situation US Airways is currently in. It's like a pyramid scheme, when you get in early it works, but at the end it eventually does not work. So I suspect that is where the 5 year rollback on seniority is coming from: the clock has to be reset to make the average costs competitive.

Everyone is getting so upset of having invested twenty years working for $20 an hour but yet at the competition they are lining up to work for half the paycheck. It's like a bad dream, but it is real.

I said it before and I will say it again, the people to blame are the employees working for the competition for 1/2 the pay.

Unfortunately I see only four options in the future:

1. Full pay to the last day(which will be soon), then find another job
2. Accept a wage that results in competitive costs with the competition
3. Quit and go find another job
4. Hope for communism or a reversal of deregulation

It REALLY is like a bad dream.

 

[More Facts and Less Emotion]

I've heard that they want to give 1 year credit for each 5 years of service.

What is the source on that? I thought there were no talks going on?

That is intense. Is that what it would take to have the same average seniority as Southwest?

For that matter does anyone know where to find average seniorities at each carrier by work group?

 

[AP Tech]

As I have mentioned before, Dave is going after the outsourcing with the IAM first and then it will spread to the rest of the company. He had pointed his sights next at Res, not necessarily outsourcing out of the US but perhaps a call center that has had the misfortune of falling victim to the now famous "No-Call" list. I am sure there are people who would be willing to work for maybe half of what our agents make? Just maybe there is a big building in Alabama avaliable?

Oh BTW 30+ notices were handed out this week to IAM personnel telling them their service were no longer required. Wonder if this will make the news such as the article in Oct that U was actually bringing back mechanics for the de-ice season? :down: