Ms. Austin to visit BOS LEC meeting

[PHL BULL]

I don't think it is too much for us to request to see her in person. This lady is negotiating on our behalf and we don't even know who she is or what she is about. It would be nice to meet her and ask her questions. Yeah, we could email her with our questions and concerns but it's not the same. She has our job's future in her hands so we deserve to meet her face to face. She plays such an important role yet I don't know anyone who has met her. We don't want to antagonize her. We just want to see the face behind the curtain. I do hear she has a wealth of knowledge and I would very much like to hear what she has to say. That's all.

FC,
Hate to admit but you have a valid point...we the membership pay her flight pay loss. We should have her meet in PHL, it's warmer than BOS. I know her she "has a wealth of knowledge" and agree she has a very important role for all of us...I feel she would come to PHL for a Q&A if the local would request her to show up...she has a lot of history and paved the road for a lot of us...it might not look like it but she is a sharp cookie...these Sr. mamas worked under really crappy rules and they had the guts to stand up to mgmt and get what we have today...it's not what is was in 2000 but F/A's like the lady behind the curtain along with TG know what they are doing...call the local LECP tell JM to invite her...she should show in PHL...

 

[PITbull]

A bk judge can only enforce changes while a company is in bk, the affected employees are free to exercise their rights after a company exits bk if a company tries to continue those changes.

Like the pilots, the flight attendants had no reason to vote in a whole new contract/whatever under such conditions. ALPA and AFA have a lot to answer for over this very issue.

You are only as good a negotiator as the support you have behind you. There was NONE during those years. Regardless of who or what group you want to blame ( convenient amnesia???) the group(s) voted in BY MAJORITY three shittt concessionary contracts back-to-back inspite of some of the very leadership that some proclaim responsible, whom screamed from the bloody hill tops... a NO VOTE.. I suppose many will claim deafness, or dementia.

Some of these union leaders were so disappointed in the membership vote that they RESIGNED from a company they could no longer work for!!

 

[SegmentKing]

iz dat why Teddy left?

 

[Zarah]

Well, write her an email. I've always found her to be quite knowledgeable and easy to talk to. She'll write you back.
And yes, she will be at the MEC meeting in CLT but I think she will be in a closed session with the NC.

I write many e-mails; however, face-to-face meetings is always better. No person that I am paying, who has such a vast amount of control over my quality of life should ever feel it is acceptable to only communicate with me via e-mails. I want to look at you when you are telling me something, see your body language, facial expressions, tone of voice. Some things are okay to be done in e-mails. Contract negotiations is not one of them IMO.

I find her not showing up at meetings voluntarily to talk to the members unacceptable. Same as I find the unions idea that announcing a PHL meeting with such short notice unacceptable. Change and improvements in how the union interacts with the members is long over due.

I look at this as step in the right direction.

 

[galley princess]

I agree that the union should be more transparent with the members. In the age of the internet, hopefully we'll have more portals to information. That said, despite the $42 /month, the union resources are limited, and frankly, being a good rep does not equal tech saviness, at least that would be my guess.

Interfacing with Carol will be interesting, but hopefully every member will realize that the negotiators are only as strong as those they represent, hence PIT BULL's consternation with the yes votes to a clearly egregious contract.

That is past. The reasons were many, but the primary one was that people were genuinely in fear of the lights being turned off. Remember when they were on the verge of disconnecting the computer plugs on the baby buses? AWA stepped in to block that when the merger/ acquisition was in process. We have single mothers, one income households, people without education save for their years at US who were looking at a very uncertain future. Throw in that other airlines were right behind us, 9/11 had just happened and then think about the congressional hearings between airline execs- and the disappearance of Wolfe and Gangwal, with $40 million and you might remember the picture.

It is my belief that the single most important thing, besides being informed and active with union activities, that an employee can do is to get a plan B. If you have less to lose, you'll fight harder and the above will never happen again. Spend any length of time in this industry and you will face crisis after crisis. It's endemic. Make yourself stronger, then we're all stronger.