TIME FOR CHANGE
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Heard a rumor Miami will get LGA's 757 B-check and Chicago will get a 737 B-check. Can anyone shed some light on this?
LGA "B" Checks one to Miami one to Chicago
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Hopeful
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Although I can't verify this rumor, I can tell you this.... LGA, once the dream maintenance station for the AA system has been bitten by the low morale bug. No longer do they wish to shine above the other line stations since the sleeping firing a few months ago. The manager there is a company lackey looking for the next promotion. A shift manager was terminated during the process because he was going to testify that she, meaning the manager, knew of the sleeping going on. His honesty and integrity cost him his job. So the boys and girls of LGA maintenance have been showing their boss just how happy they are.
And before the PRO COMPANY posters here respond that it now cost them two B CHECKS, they like most of us, could care less.
WingNaPrayer
Veteran
Technically, thats couldn't care less, but you get the point.
What you, in a nutshell, are saying, is that until this station is allowed to come to work, take on the clock naps and get paid for it again, they aren't even going to do the work they are paid to do in the first place?
I loathe to support AA on this one but personally, I would have fired everyone involved no matter how miniscule their level of involvement may have been.
House sitters and live-in domestic help sleep on the job and get paid for it, not professional airline mechanics.
Such an infantile piece of ground to stand on this issue. Perhaps next time AA will set an example that has chilling ripple affect and just close the station. The cost savings would be bonus-worthy!
Hopeful
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First of all I have never said it is ok to sleep on the job. it is against the rules plain and simple.
Having said that, you have to understand that sleeping has been overlooked by management at these stations for decades as long as the work got done.
The INFANTILE piece of ground being stood on is that of management denying they ever allowed sleeping. Even the MANAGER caught many a nights sleep at JFK working midnights as a mechanic.
That is the point here.
Yes, start closing stations, no problem. Then management hits the street as well...
Having said that, you have to understand that sleeping has been overlooked by management at these stations for decades as long as the work got done.
The INFANTILE piece of ground being stood on is that of management denying they ever allowed sleeping. Even the MANAGER caught many a nights sleep at JFK working midnights as a mechanic.
That is the point here.
Yes, start closing stations, no problem. Then management hits the street as well...
TIME FOR CHANGE
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Please dont start the sleeping thread
I just want to know about the B-Checks romor or not
I just want to know about the B-Checks romor or not
goodwrench
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Time for Change, but not my sleeping on the job.
lpbrian
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You do not obviously do not know any thing about the nature of A/C Maint. Until you do.... SHUT UP.
I havent seen anything definite as of yet, just rumors so far.
For the 22 years I've been with this company I've heard rumors. Bcks are placed according to routing and facilities-PERIOD. Management likes to play the "performance" card but thats a load of bull. I recall back when JFK had the 767 B-ck, the performance was impeccable, so what did the company do?-They pulled it out and sent it to LAX, when asked why, since their performance was impeccable management said -Routing.
You could work your butt off and get that airplane done and on the gate on time every day and it doesnt matter a bit, if they change the routing the B-check will still be gone.
Right now the rumor is that JFK is losing the A-300 Bck and LGA is losing the MD-80Bck, well that makes sense, the A-300s and MD-80s are being retired. Back when I worked LGA they had two 727 Bcks, when the 727s were replaced by the MD-80s on those routes they started doing MD-80 Bcks. So if routing places enough aircraft at LGA long enough to do B-cks on them then more than likely LGA will be doing Bcks on whatever aircraft they replace the MD-80s with, and if not then jumping through all the hoops they put in front of you won't change a thing. LGA is a perfect place to do Bcks because its a station where high traffic is generated-thats where people start from and its where many are headed, so you nead early departures and late arrivals so you need to have overnight aircraft there.
We've been told that the MD-80s and the A-300 are history. (In 2001 we were told that all the A-300s would be gone by 2008, well its 2009 now and they are still filling them up with cargo and passengers, the rapid decline in oil prices may extend their presence a while longer). So what does that mean? Are they discontinuing service on the routes those aircraft flew or are they replacing them with other aircraft? Well if they are continuing service and replacing the A-300 and MD-80 with other aircraft then routing and facilities would be the same and a B-ck would follow, just as the 747 was replaced by the DC-10 which was replaced by the 767 which was replaced by the A-300. The next question is where are all these new aircraft? Are they going to appear on the ramp next week? Next month? Next Year? Or, will they slowly be blended in one a time like every other change we've seen before?
American has over 650 airplanes, they have hangars in Boston, JFK, LGA, MIA, ORD, STL, DFW, LAX and SFO. They just bought another hangar in DFW but remember routing is a major factor, B-cks are done overnight. They are done where aircraft terminate. They dont have a whole lot of options as to where the B-cks are going. Another factor is the average age of AAs aircraft is 14 years, that means more maintenance, more heavier checks.
The guys are getting tired of the threats, besides now that the company is cracking down so much on any little thing its not such a great job anymore. If you can get the same pay and benifits working normal hours, being paid to stay home on the holidays etc, etc all their threats dont carry much weight anymore.
This past Summer the company said that due to the reduction in the schedule there would be massive layoffs throughout the system, September came and went and not only were there not massive layoffs in line maintenance but they even revoked the VBR offer from Line Maintenance and continued recalling mechanics. We have scores of mechanics that were hoping for the VBR at JFK. The only place that saw big reductions was MCI, and thats so the company can slip in OSMs, ASMS or whatever they decide to call them, in after the contract is put in place. The junior guy on the Title 1 list is 11/15/08. Now we are hearing more threats but lets look at some other interesting facts, AA is on the bottom of performance, and they publically admit that its due to the fact that they got rid of too many parts and cut back too much on maintenance. So what does that mean? It means that they are going to have to increase maintenance and that means more mechanics, not less-unless they drastically cut operations.
Right now the companies approach is to go after sleeping, I guess they figure thats an easy way to increase productivity. This may sound good on paper but it doesnt always work out that way. Many of the people caught up in these things have been their "heavy hitters". Guys who come in and bust their butt in order to get done quickly. When management calls on them they usually go above and beyond to get things done, to get that plane out, some felt that management would protect them since managment knew they were the "go-to" guys when they needed something done. Many would do this because they needed the down time so they could work their second job, however now that thats no longer the case there's no longer the incentive to go above and beyond. Why bother? Work harder for a company that wants to take even more away than they already have? It makes more sense to take your time and sign the overtime list. OT is still better than a second job, most part time jobs dont pay $45/hr and there no lost time commuting for OT. The company has exhausted the recall list and even if the company hires more mechanics to try and replace the ones they are losing its takes a while before they become productive and learn the time savers, plus since theirs no incentive to go above and beyond why would they?
So dont let the company distract you with threats. Over the next few years we will see a shortage of mechanics as mechanics leave the industry faster than they can be replaced, even with a bad economy. Remember airplanes dont just move people, the USPS and FEDEX are two of AAs biggest customers. They money they charge for baggage is a win-win for the company, they get extra revenue for the bags they do take and they get revenue for the space the free bags used to take. Companies dont want to keep large inventories, they want their goods quickly and they get it by air.
Whip or no whip, even the animals in the three ring circus wont perform unless they get something extra for doing so.
If the company wants more performance they are going to have to offer something a lot more substantial than threats.
Hold firm-RESTORE AND MORE.
For the 22 years I've been with this company I've heard rumors. Bcks are placed according to routing and facilities-PERIOD. Management likes to play the "performance" card but thats a load of bull. I recall back when JFK had the 767 B-ck, the performance was impeccable, so what did the company do?-They pulled it out and sent it to LAX, when asked why, since their performance was impeccable management said -Routing.
You could work your butt off and get that airplane done and on the gate on time every day and it doesnt matter a bit, if they change the routing the B-check will still be gone.
Right now the rumor is that JFK is losing the A-300 Bck and LGA is losing the MD-80Bck, well that makes sense, the A-300s and MD-80s are being retired. Back when I worked LGA they had two 727 Bcks, when the 727s were replaced by the MD-80s on those routes they started doing MD-80 Bcks. So if routing places enough aircraft at LGA long enough to do B-cks on them then more than likely LGA will be doing Bcks on whatever aircraft they replace the MD-80s with, and if not then jumping through all the hoops they put in front of you won't change a thing. LGA is a perfect place to do Bcks because its a station where high traffic is generated-thats where people start from and its where many are headed, so you nead early departures and late arrivals so you need to have overnight aircraft there.
We've been told that the MD-80s and the A-300 are history. (In 2001 we were told that all the A-300s would be gone by 2008, well its 2009 now and they are still filling them up with cargo and passengers, the rapid decline in oil prices may extend their presence a while longer). So what does that mean? Are they discontinuing service on the routes those aircraft flew or are they replacing them with other aircraft? Well if they are continuing service and replacing the A-300 and MD-80 with other aircraft then routing and facilities would be the same and a B-ck would follow, just as the 747 was replaced by the DC-10 which was replaced by the 767 which was replaced by the A-300. The next question is where are all these new aircraft? Are they going to appear on the ramp next week? Next month? Next Year? Or, will they slowly be blended in one a time like every other change we've seen before?
American has over 650 airplanes, they have hangars in Boston, JFK, LGA, MIA, ORD, STL, DFW, LAX and SFO. They just bought another hangar in DFW but remember routing is a major factor, B-cks are done overnight. They are done where aircraft terminate. They dont have a whole lot of options as to where the B-cks are going. Another factor is the average age of AAs aircraft is 14 years, that means more maintenance, more heavier checks.
The guys are getting tired of the threats, besides now that the company is cracking down so much on any little thing its not such a great job anymore. If you can get the same pay and benifits working normal hours, being paid to stay home on the holidays etc, etc all their threats dont carry much weight anymore.
This past Summer the company said that due to the reduction in the schedule there would be massive layoffs throughout the system, September came and went and not only were there not massive layoffs in line maintenance but they even revoked the VBR offer from Line Maintenance and continued recalling mechanics. We have scores of mechanics that were hoping for the VBR at JFK. The only place that saw big reductions was MCI, and thats so the company can slip in OSMs, ASMS or whatever they decide to call them, in after the contract is put in place. The junior guy on the Title 1 list is 11/15/08. Now we are hearing more threats but lets look at some other interesting facts, AA is on the bottom of performance, and they publically admit that its due to the fact that they got rid of too many parts and cut back too much on maintenance. So what does that mean? It means that they are going to have to increase maintenance and that means more mechanics, not less-unless they drastically cut operations.
Right now the companies approach is to go after sleeping, I guess they figure thats an easy way to increase productivity. This may sound good on paper but it doesnt always work out that way. Many of the people caught up in these things have been their "heavy hitters". Guys who come in and bust their butt in order to get done quickly. When management calls on them they usually go above and beyond to get things done, to get that plane out, some felt that management would protect them since managment knew they were the "go-to" guys when they needed something done. Many would do this because they needed the down time so they could work their second job, however now that thats no longer the case there's no longer the incentive to go above and beyond. Why bother? Work harder for a company that wants to take even more away than they already have? It makes more sense to take your time and sign the overtime list. OT is still better than a second job, most part time jobs dont pay $45/hr and there no lost time commuting for OT. The company has exhausted the recall list and even if the company hires more mechanics to try and replace the ones they are losing its takes a while before they become productive and learn the time savers, plus since theirs no incentive to go above and beyond why would they?
So dont let the company distract you with threats. Over the next few years we will see a shortage of mechanics as mechanics leave the industry faster than they can be replaced, even with a bad economy. Remember airplanes dont just move people, the USPS and FEDEX are two of AAs biggest customers. They money they charge for baggage is a win-win for the company, they get extra revenue for the bags they do take and they get revenue for the space the free bags used to take. Companies dont want to keep large inventories, they want their goods quickly and they get it by air.
Whip or no whip, even the animals in the three ring circus wont perform unless they get something extra for doing so.
If the company wants more performance they are going to have to offer something a lot more substantial than threats.
Hold firm-RESTORE AND MORE.
Joe Patroni
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- Jan 31, 2008
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As one who has been on the B-check merry-go-round, I have only one thing to say: Don't believe the rumors until you see the airplane coming through the hangar door.
