Ken MacTiernan
Veteran
Mr. Arpey, my name is Ken MacTiernan and I am an Aircraft Maintenance Technician Crew Chief in SAN with 17 1/2 years. I previously contacted you via e-mail after your replacement of Mr. Carty. In that correspondence I said that since you were in the group of top executives that were to have their retirement taken care of in case AA filed for bankruptcy while the rank and file employee were to endure the "Shared Sacrifice" that you should resign. Since trust was no longer something that was to be assumed by the leadership of AA it is hard for me, and thousands of other AA employees, to see how greed could steer us through the previous blunders made by Mr. Carty and his inner circle.
I write to you today to save you some time and money. Recently AA has reported that they plan on inviting AA union leaders to ask what can be done to return the moral to the work force. The answer does not need to be asked to the union officials. The answer needs to come from the same rank and file employee that carry the scars of "Shared Sacrifice". And the answer is to return what was stolen from us and for the remaining executives that were to be taken care of to resign. I do not say this in a fit of emotional distress. Nor do I write this as a "loose cannon". I am writing to you as a skilled professional Aircraft Maintenance Technician. I am writing to you as an employee that is tired of lies, greed and ineptness. If executives in today's airlines do not know how to run an airline then these individuals need to step down and allow those who know how to do so. The overwhelming feeling amongst AMTs is that we are being taken advantage of through weak industrial unionism. We are penalized for providing a safe, airworthy aircraft just so AA can offer free tickets and to provide retention bonuses for executives that got us into this position to begin with.
I alluded to weak unionism and I speak of the TWU. The TWU will be removed from representing AMTs this year at AA. You will no longer have a toy union to achieve the company's bidding. We will have a new craft union that understands that respect breeds moral. They will treat the M&E Department at AA with openness and accountability. Why is moral so low? Maybe it is because we were not given a full revote on the stripping of contractual gains. Maybe it is because all that is repeated from corporate mouths like some Tibetan Monks chanting daily prayers is ,"We have to compete with low cost competitors. We have to compete with Southwest/Jetblue." Well, taking money from skilled Technicians is not the answer. Concessions do not work. Look at USAir, they will not be around much longer. Concessions will not save them. Except their top executives because they do not share the sacrifice either.
If you want to return the moral to the employees of the best airline flying then give me back my money and benefits. Give me back my respect. Shrink the airline and grow as travelers return. Decimate the upper echelon in management like you did in the rank and file. You want answers? Go out amongst the system we operate and talk to the Technician replacing an engine, or signing the paper work on a 767ER LMP pirep. Talk to the employees. Don't talk to the self serving industrial self appointed officials.
Or better yet, come out to San Diego.
Sincerely,
Ken MacTiernan
AMT C/C
1-15-04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The above is my response to Mr. Arpey and his desire to turn the moral around at AA. I urge everyone to e-mail Mr. Arpey. What's your opinion?
I write to you today to save you some time and money. Recently AA has reported that they plan on inviting AA union leaders to ask what can be done to return the moral to the work force. The answer does not need to be asked to the union officials. The answer needs to come from the same rank and file employee that carry the scars of "Shared Sacrifice". And the answer is to return what was stolen from us and for the remaining executives that were to be taken care of to resign. I do not say this in a fit of emotional distress. Nor do I write this as a "loose cannon". I am writing to you as a skilled professional Aircraft Maintenance Technician. I am writing to you as an employee that is tired of lies, greed and ineptness. If executives in today's airlines do not know how to run an airline then these individuals need to step down and allow those who know how to do so. The overwhelming feeling amongst AMTs is that we are being taken advantage of through weak industrial unionism. We are penalized for providing a safe, airworthy aircraft just so AA can offer free tickets and to provide retention bonuses for executives that got us into this position to begin with.
I alluded to weak unionism and I speak of the TWU. The TWU will be removed from representing AMTs this year at AA. You will no longer have a toy union to achieve the company's bidding. We will have a new craft union that understands that respect breeds moral. They will treat the M&E Department at AA with openness and accountability. Why is moral so low? Maybe it is because we were not given a full revote on the stripping of contractual gains. Maybe it is because all that is repeated from corporate mouths like some Tibetan Monks chanting daily prayers is ,"We have to compete with low cost competitors. We have to compete with Southwest/Jetblue." Well, taking money from skilled Technicians is not the answer. Concessions do not work. Look at USAir, they will not be around much longer. Concessions will not save them. Except their top executives because they do not share the sacrifice either.
If you want to return the moral to the employees of the best airline flying then give me back my money and benefits. Give me back my respect. Shrink the airline and grow as travelers return. Decimate the upper echelon in management like you did in the rank and file. You want answers? Go out amongst the system we operate and talk to the Technician replacing an engine, or signing the paper work on a 767ER LMP pirep. Talk to the employees. Don't talk to the self serving industrial self appointed officials.
Or better yet, come out to San Diego.
Sincerely,
Ken MacTiernan
AMT C/C
1-15-04
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The above is my response to Mr. Arpey and his desire to turn the moral around at AA. I urge everyone to e-mail Mr. Arpey. What's your opinion?
