Media Day Picket a success!

[BoeingBoy]

Our mission is to shoe management we are unified and are serious about taking it to the wall

To me that is the point of pickets when there is no strike. If held so members spread over the country can take part - that means at the various crew bases - it tends to solidify the group.

Jim

 

[700UW]

Union folks are easy to manipulate because they have been manipulated all along by their own unions. It is now almost completely pointless to be in one and the reason membership is 7% and falling!

I do find it very strange to find any union member that actually likes their union, but they all still love the idea of being in one despite the complete lack of benefits related to cost!

Are you serious?

You really have no idea, go ask the non-union employees in the airline industry who's airline filed chapter 11 and see if they had a voice in what happened to them?

You really have no clue.

And its 13%, dont let the facts get in your way.

And look at WN, most profitable airline over the past 30 years, highest paid in the industry and highest percentage of unionized employees.

 

[dexter]

Our paying passengers will avoid booking Usairways if there is a threat of CHAOS. Its time for US to rectify this and recognize they are wrong. We are the reason our most valuable customers still book their reservations on US. Between FFocus,frontline employees and revenue passenger complaints regarding our service it boggles my mind that we are still in business. US forgets that it was their front line employees concessions during 2 BK-s that kept us running. NOW IS TIME FOR US TO LIVE UP TO THEIR END OF THE DEAL. Unfortunately, all I see is corporate greed.

 

[robbedagain]

I agree with you Dexter US has never ever treated their employees right and they wonder why no one wants to dance with US. They wonder why SWA for example has good employee-mngmnt relations. If only US could do that things be differemt!

 

[Dog Wonder]

According to a Louis Harris poll commissioned by the AFLCIO in 1984, only one in three U.S. employees would vote for union representation in a secret ballot election.

You try so hard to cherrypick anything to back up your predetermined conclusion, you used a poll taken before you were born.

 

[Hope777]

If you dont have Flight Attendants you cant fly revenue flights.

And CHAOS works better then a general strike.

Just like when we the IAM M&R went on strike in October of 92 the company was forced to ground all the 737-200s, F100s, F28s-, DC-9s and MD-80s.

It is an effective tool to force the company to settle.

700, wasnt it the 200's they kept in the air? I remember the MX Manger going out and doing an air-start on the 200 and he almost got sucked into the #2 engine.

 

[700UW]

Nope, the 300s and 400s only.

 

[CallawayGolf]

You try so hard to cherrypick anything to back up your predetermined conclusion, you used a poll taken before you were born.

As already noted in my post, I was simply citing excerpts from the article which included this reference. I agree, this survey is a bit dated and probably gives a much higher value than the percentage of non-union employees who would vote for collective representation than what a 2011 survey would. If you have a more recent study, please cite away.

The point remains that the majority of Americans look upon unions with disdain for all of the reasons cited in the encyclopedic article, especially when unions disrupt the day-to-day operations of a company they do business with. Some Americans would even go so far as to intentionally spend more money with a business that is being picketed by its employees where they might not have otherwise. So, if there are two grocery stores on the corner and one has picketers while the other does not, there are those who will go to the grocery store being picketed to show support for the business owners while the adolescent malcontents stand on the corner hoping to steer customers away. Likewise, if the NFL situation gets to the point where replacement players are called in, there are those who will go to the games just to show support for the owners side because the already overpaid players just aren’t satisfied enough to make 25 times what the average American in the stands and at home watching on TV earn at their full-time jobs.

Therefore, what does the picketing really accomplish? Virtually nothing. The public at-large is often apathetic toward the union’s grievances or they view the union picketers as the source of the problem. In the same way Management isn’t likely to be all that concerned by peaceful demonstrations as they know it is just part of the collective bargaining process. These kinds of staged events have been going on since the merger and what quantifiable effect has it had on getting a JCBA for the FAs or pilots? Five years of “showing unity” and picketing company facilities and not a single thing to show for it. Not very effective at all I would say.

Finally, the whole CBA process is really just a joke. The FAs will reject the company’s $40M offer for several more years; picket, go through mediated talks and have the slimmest of chances of actually getting released to self-help all to come back to a final package that is still a compromise between the union’s and Management’s proposal. In the meantime Management continues to enjoy the lower costs of stagnated negotiations and will end up better off financially than if they had compromised on the union demands years earlier. Complain all you want; picket, protest, go to CHAOS if you are legally able to do so and you might just get enough to get to a ratified JCBA. Of course the euphoria of that “win” will only last from a few days to a few months and then most will be right back to being unhappy, downtrodden, and dissatisfied with everything - which is the state most represented employees spend their entire careers in. Want proof, just look at the posts of any labor-related thread on this site and show me where unionized employees are happy with their contract terms and with the management team running their company. I’ll stand by while you look that up.

 

[SS255]

The point remains that the majority of Americans look upon unions with disdain for all of the reasons cited in the encyclopedic article, especially when unions disrupt the day-to-day operations of a company they do business with.

I work in an industry which is primarily populated by unions. I'm on the corporate side, and thus not in a union. But......my industry still has not recovered from the 5-month 2007-2008 Writers Strike. It was one of many unions......and it crippled an entire industry. A lot of completely innocent bystanders who earn their livings servicing the entertainment industry and had nothing to gain or lose from the WGA contract lost their homes and/or their businesses because of the strike. And the WGA members (like my brother) who just wanted to keep working and were willing to live with what the union felt was unfair saw their paychecks dry up for five months.

While I am all for fair treatment of labor -- and I do believe that US's labor is not treated fairly -- striking hurts a lot of innocent bystanders much more than it hurts the people who are in the power seat.

 

[Travelpro72]

Lets not allow this question asked to be lost in the shuffle, Why is it that individuals who frown upon unions never have anything bad to say about upper management and THEIR CONTRACTS? Just curious and can't WAIT to hear the twist on this. PLEASE explain......

 

[VAflyGal]

How can anyone beleive you ? i'm in a union , and our contract is coming up for discussion .. i can tell you point blank no one in my work group would endorse a strike ...i think it's safe to say the same goes for every work group ...Sure the reserves MIGHT be angry enough to take some sort of action , but then again they might not ... it's one thing for the junior people to stick their necks out , but they won't do it alone ... and i simply can't see the senior workers supporting the junior workers , not when it could jepordize their jobs ...

The economy has everyone terrfied , decent employment is almost impossible to find unless you "know" someone , and everyone is aware of this ..

This has NOTHING to do with junior people or senior people but the entire flight attendant group will absolutely vote for a strike and you can take that to bed with you. You are so out of touch. The senior flight attendants are the ones who got their pensions stripped. They are the ones having to fly so much extra to make up for all the cuts that have been forced on them. I'm going to tell you that you are dead wrong and believe me, hon, I am saying with 100% certaintly that a strike vote will pass by a landslide in the fall if management doesn't come off their high horse. I'm on the line and I know what's going on.

Do us a favor and stop posting. You're ignorant.

 

[Elevation]

There's a $70 million gap between the company and the FA's. Less than 30 days to train a FA. Unemployment at 9%+. Can you say Northwest 2005 part II. Good Luck.

 

[Travelpro72]

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! ! ! ! I'm sorry but it has been threat after threat after threat. We the employees have kept this company afloat regardless of how much management pats themselves on the back for a job well done. WE the employees have been thrown into practical bankruptcy while the upper management of this company has benefited. The only thing I need in life is family and my health. Times are tough but ya know what, at the end of the day I'll live one way or another. The threat isn't there and if this management doesn't get serious as we are now under the watchful eye of a mediator we will WALK WITH CHAOS brother....take it to the bank. This isn't the f/a's taking a hardass approach or being bull headed but standing up for ourselves. We are paid CRAP and the offer they passed across the table is CRAP pure and simple. We're DONE with their BS and won't accept it. We'll walk on random flights ala CHAOS unless we get what is rightfully entitled to us! ! ! ! Again take it to the bank.....WE'RE DONE! ! ! !

 

[700UW]

HE probably doesnt know what CHAOS is, how can you have the scabs in place when the company doesnt know which flight they will strike?

 

[freedom]

HE probably doesnt know what CHAOS is, how can you have the scabs in place when the company doesnt know which flight they will strike?

actually i know what chaos is ... but i'm guessing that all it would take is the termination of just one flight crew and that would end chaos in a day .....

in this economy work is life ....



but who knows , maybe you'll prove me wrong and bring down the company , that would be amusing if i turned out to be wrong ...