I had to edit my morning post because I was aggravated. I am still less than amused, but perhaps I won't sound so inflammatory.
Thank You for showing some restraint. Frankly, it is the only thing separating this board from the screaming match that is the US Airways board.
Bad thing. very very very bad thing.
Assuming The Amazing Kreskin is not in the room, none of us has the "gift" of foresight. The very best we can do is make educated guesses. At this point there is little or nothing to lose by at least waiting to see how the first negotiating session goes.
The best thing that can happen is Herb goes in, makes the same or ever-so-slightly-better offer to FAs, they put it to a vote, and it passes. This doesn't totally emasculate Parker but it does allow Kelleher to bask in the limelight and be adored by the public for a while, and that is one of his real strengths.
Unless Jim's departure was part of some sort of secret backroom deal whereby...Jim steps aside and Thom McDaniel capitulates...an identical offer is unlikely to pass a vote. But, I am still in shock that Herb is taking the reins so at this point anything is possible.
The worst thing that can happen is that Herb will go in, and roll over for the FAs and give in to them, and Parker as an airline CEO is finished, kaput.
The problem is that everyone observing this shindig has a differing view of what "rolling over" is. For instance currently a 15 year top, 1400 stock options, duty rigs that are sorta like the pilots', zero ground time and zero initial training pay are on the table from the company. If Herb offers a 13 year top out, 2500 stock options, pilot rigs, a bump in per diem during ground time and a stipend payable upon graduation from initial training.... in exchange for an increased duty day or other productivity enhancements from the flight attendants has he rolled over? Both sides have been busy bickering over who said what to which reporter over the past year there has been no time for actual bargaining. But I don't see any "rolling over" taking place. There is no way in Hell the membership will Tar and Feather Herb the with the same brush they used on Jim. Even the most embittered union hardliner would have to muster up alot of moxy to accuse the legend that is Herb Kelleher of killing the SWA culture. Herb is the very essence of SWA culture. The public campaign may or may not continue but for the time being, the days of pinning the blame on a single man are over. In the public relations war the balance of power has shifted in a major way. Advantage: Herb.
The golden goose will be on life support in 10, maybe 15 years, but what the heck do the Southwest FAs care? FULL PAY TO THE LAST DAY!!!"
We have said alot of stuff to alot of people both publicly and privately, but I have never heard anyone invoke that battle cry. I know I haven't. At the risk of repeating myself....Too late for that. I still can't help but get the impression that the company's ability to actually afford a contract the membership finds acceptable is getting bogged down in anger over the agressiveness of the campaign and preconceived notion that anything over a set amount is simply too much money to spend on flight attendant labor regardless of the ability to pay or the goose's ability to lay eggs.
SWA FA 30 is right, the company has changed. But the problem is not that management has changed. The problem is employee groups have changed. Employee groups are more concerned with their union than their company.
For the most part that is correct. But the evolution has not come about because the rank and file via their unions colluded to gang up on Southwest and get while the gettin was good. The reality is that Southwest has simply become a victim of it's own success. The company has simply gotten too big to foster the same sense of community and culture that has been the standard for so many years. The effort is still put forth....A senior executive still comes and speaks to every flight attendant class. In the old days it was always Herb or Colleen and the class had 45 students. Today it is more likely to be Tammye Walker-Jones or whoever can squeeze the meet and greet into their schedule and the class has 175 students. I used to have gifts mailed to me from SWA all the time. Birthday Cards, Company Anniversary Cards, Christmas Cards. When Don't Sweat The Small Stuff, Who Moved My Cheese, and Nuts were published, copies were mailed to the homes of the entire company. That kind of thing just doesn't happen around here anymore. But I remember when it did. Many of my junior co-workers don't. They were not here when we were struggling to establish ourselves in the market and had not yet become the 800lb gorilla in the industry. They don't know anything about the battle against Shuttle By United on the East Coast or Continental Lite or MetroJet. They don't share a passion for Southwest's rich history because by and large, they don't know much Southwest history period. To them this really is just another company. Not for lack of trying on the Company's part but espeically over the past few years...we have been too busy trying to stay profitable to foster culture. That is no ones fault, it just is. The flip side of the junior membership is the senior membership. They have been here for years. Negotiated contract, after contract, after contract. It is assumed each time negotiations are commenced that this contract will be better than the one before. That is simply the nature of collective bargaining even in the most harmonious of cases. Eventually, there was going to come a point where in the company's opinon the contract has reached maturity but how do you get the union...any union that is used to getting more and more, contract over contract to simply turn on a dime and not ask for the pot to be sweetened.This is the kind of growing pain any maturing, unionized carrier is going to experience sooner or later. If it were not this union now, it would be another later.
The people who built Southwest...and I really mean "built" it......with 3 planes and no money and Big Bad Braniff doing everything legally and illegally possible to run the company out of business......are generally sick to their stomachs over this latest escapade by the FAs.
I'm not terribly worried about anyone's tummyache. Nausea is fleeting. This too shall pass. After all If they can survive Braniff, American, and Texas International, they can't possibly be afraid of TWU local 556. If they've been with Herb since day one they know he loves this airline more than life itself and he will protect it at all cost. If Jim was not going to be held hostage by an unreasonable union, neither is Herb. If they are indeed sick to their collective stomachs...Herb stepping to the plate is a big bottle of Maalox. Herb locked the Mechanics out. He'll lock the flight attendants out. He'll lock out whoever he has to to protect his brainchild. I just don't think we've quite reached that point yet. Time will soon tell though. The Southwest house is indeed beautifully, and sturdily built by brave and strong carpenters... but now with age comes maintainence and maintenance is often expensive. Our founders deserve thanks and respect for putting Southwest on the map, just like we the employees...all employees...no matter what capacity we serve in.. deserve respect for coming to work and busting our collective butts to keep Southwest on the map.
As for me, I'm with KC. Bye bye stock.
You gotta do what's right for you and yours. Godspeed to you both.
What's America West's phone number?
1-800-235-9292
