Negotiations........why?

[scorpion 2]

The mere fact that AA colluded with the TWU to keep the AMFA off the property, ought to be enough reason to give any fence sitting AMT pause.  All one has to do is look at what the TWU has slowly done to AMT pay since 2003.  Every other work group has made higher gains than AMTs - numbers don't lie.  Anybody remember when AMTs made about $5.00 more per hour than Sim Techs?  I do; now, AMTs are lagging in pay to Sim Techs by over $5.00 per hour.  Thanks TWU, and Jim Little.  Oh Jimmy took care of his homies over in dispatch as well.  Heck dispatchers are looking at about $60 bucks per hour now.  Not bad for 12 weeks of nite school.  Look at what the TWU's latest slight of hand did with the industry averaging raise, by giving Facilities Maintenance 80 cents more than an AMT for base pay.  Then further, giving skill pay to just about anyone - even further "devaluing" your A&P license pay.  Anybody think that things are gonna change for AA's AMTs with this unholy alliance of the TWU & IAM negotiating with a baggage handler chairing the AMT's negotiating committee, would be dreaming.  It's all there in black and white.  The AMTs at AA will never get a fair contract with this Association, look for more creative wealth redistribution.

Lets not overlook the fact that AMT's will see their 4.3% raise for giving up their profit sharing be absorbed into the wage adjustment and not come out the other side. We should get either 4.3% over the wage adjustment or profit sharing back. Bottom line Jim Little abused his power of the pen and colluded with the corporation. He screwed us out of a contractual monetary gain by Letter of Memorandum.  Wonder how much personal monetary gain he received for that (after the contract was signed) Letter of Memorandum? The old twu regime was corrupt to the core and I wouldn't trust this new one or the ASS to be any different.

 

[cheetah]

+1

 

[Roadking5560]

This union is still a joke.  Yesterday our illustrious union was handing out belated and I mean belated, union books at work.  Let's hope they don't end up in the urinal where I've seen them end up before.  One idea that might work,  how about the union laminating them and "scenting" them to help out the companys' "urinalysis" expenses?  

 

[Real tired]

 
We post our best contracts in the "library", right there on the company bookshelf for all to read whenever they have the time.

 

[conehead777]

Its not a merger of two unions, the TWU and the IAM are not merging.
 
They formed an association, just like the CWA/IBT have had since 2005.

Bs 700 trumka had to open his Obama loving mouth and said the two should merge both the Twu and Iam are not good to aircraft mechanics both aa and us mechanics are the lowest payed mechanics in the industry . They take care of fleet service as that's where most of the members are so when the company offers so much money for the twu it's the fleet service who gets the best deal . So you can take your Iam crap and you know where you can put it a long with there pension plan I do not want to be a part of . Trumka like Obama forgot about democracy when they took our right to vote on who represents us and took our vote away

 

[Roadking5560]

I think 700 is still licking his wounds over the DOH boarding defeat.  It may take him awhile to respond appropriately.  LOL  

 

[700UW]

It doesnt effect me one way or another, and the IAM Fleet Arbitration hasnt occurred yet.

 

[bob@las-AA]

It doesnt effect me one way or another, and the IAM Fleet Arbitration hasnt occurred yet.

 
And it will go down in flames like the last one.
 
[Soup nazi voice]...... "No DOH boarding for you!"

 

[Birdman]

Mikeiq33, you've got me all wrong, I gave up on AMFA at AA years ago and decided to quit and go to go to work for an airline that pays top of industry with profit-sharing. BTW, I'm no longer on hand pay agency fee status and happy as a clam to be paying dues to ...........AMFA.

 

[Zom JFK]

Smart man. If you want a real raise the choice is clear. Leave AA. We will NEVER be restored to pre 2003 levels here.

 

[Overspeed]

Smart man. If you want a real raise the choice is clear. Leave AA. We will NEVER be restored to pre 2003 levels here.

 
You mean pre-2003 levels adjusted for COLA to today right? That's true. Even if we got the wages back there is the pension and retiree medical. I don't see that coming back unless all airline workers unite and fight for it collectively. Airline managers always use us against each other to justify why we shouldn't have something. We need to push back and with AA making $8B (projected) this year. They got the cash.

 

[700UW]

And they have debt and will be spending $5.4 billion in cash this year on buying new planes.

You have to strike a balance.

 

[Overspeed]

And they have debt and will be spending $5.4 billion in cash this year on buying new planes.

You have to strike a balance.

 
True. But consider this, they have enough money to pay out dividends to shareholders but no money to give so much as profit sharing or any other type of pay back to the employees that gave through pay and benefit cuts since the 2003. Do you not agree that between US and AA employee give backs these two companies stayed afloat long enough for Parker to make the deal of the decade to merge the carriers together and reap outrageous profits through shares that were worth a fraction of what he will and his buddies will get now. We just want a slice, not the whole pie. Right now the balance is heavily in the company's favor. The IAM brought down EAL and they could have done it at US right? But they didn't. The IAM played ball just like the TWU and the thanks for helping out is "you have a job don't you?" BS, we all deserve better, much better.
 
The new aircraft that are coming are capital leases mostly. While they are liablities they grant AAL the flexibility as we have seen with the deferment of deliveries. Also, the new aircraft give many advantages in lowering operating costs through cheaper maintenance, better dependability (fewer spare aircraft), lower crew costs (319/321 crews get less pay than 757/767 crews), and lower fuel costs. It is the total cost of operating the schedule old versus new aircraft. This company has almost the same number of AMTs it had in the 1990s with 30% more aircraft. And once JCBA is reached, the total number of FSC and mechanics will drop because the joint locations won't be separate. One work joint work group will mean probably 10 to 20% fewer people to do the same work in a joint US and AA staffed station. You have to know this. That is why Parker needs a JCBA especially on scope. So if the merging of scope clauses reduces HC Parker will save $Ms even without more outsourcing. We HAVE to get a cut of that or the Association will have failed its members period.
 
By saying the company has debt it sounds like you are lowering our expectations. We deserve more.

 

[700UW]

Because the executives first responsibility is to the shareholders, but I do agree the employees need to be taken care of also.

The IAM did not bring down EA, that would be Lorenzo, and all the unions struck EA, and they still flew during the strike.

And no we didn't play ball, we never reached an agreement, the judge abrogated our CBA, terminated our pension and forced us to vote on the final offer, I was on the NC.

AA is spending $5.4 billion in cash on new aircraft, they aren't leasing them.

They might do sell/leaseback or sell EETCs backed by the planes, but they are still spending $5.4 billion.

 

[Overspeed]

Because the executives first responsibility is to the shareholders, but I do agree the employees need to be taken care of also.

The IAM did not bring down EA, that would be Lorenzo, and all the unions struck EA, and they still flew during the strike.

And no we didn't play ball, we never reached an agreement, the judge abrogated our CBA, terminated our pension and forced us to vote on the final offer, I was on the NC.

AA is spending $5.4 billion in cash on new aircraft, they aren't leasing them.

They might do sell/leaseback or sell EETCs backed by the planes, but they are still spending $5.4 billion.

 
And projected to make $7B to $8B this year plus already sitting on a cash hoarde of around $10B. Remember those lease committments were made prior to AA and US merging. GECAS provided the funding for the aircraft before the BK. They could afford $5.4B when AMR was nearly "broke" and headed for BK, don't you think they can afford to give us back a big chunk now? The answer is yes they can. Don't make excuses for AAL. You know they will cut 20% of HC once they can merge us together and that is a huge savings in labor costs. We deserve a lot of that savings back in the form or better wages and benefits and that still keeps AAL's profits untouched. Then we should get some wage increases that are fair given all money we "loaned" US and AA over the years in pay cuts.