ohcaptainron
Member
- Sep 12, 2002
- 98
- 1
As you are all aware by now, management has seen “fit†to distribute $250 Million of your hard-earned wages and givebacks to shareholders in the form of a dividend in order to boost the price of their stock in the short term. As Captain Mark Bathurst pointed out in his December 7th letter: “Over the past several months, every stakeholder of the Company has raised serious concerns about this course of action: United’s unions have questioned the fairness of rewarding shareholders without recognizing the employee sacrifices that enabled United to survive; United’s lenders have publicly questioned whether a dividend is fiscally prudent at a time of spiking fuel prices and a softening economy; and the Company’s largest shareholders have stated that other long-term actions would create far more shareholder value than a modest dividend.â€
When management was first considering this misguided action, the Union coalition issued a press statement which said in part: “While searching for ways to pay down…debt and implementing an additional $500 million in ‘shareholder initiatives,’ United’s management has once again turned a blind eye toward its employees, the very people who saved this airline from extinction.â€
United’s response: ""All our stakeholders were impacted during our restructuring, including our shareholders who were wiped out. Our shareholders today expect a return on their investment. Our employees benefited from $2 billion in equity and notes at exit, and they share in our success when we are profitable.
Every time we pay down debt, reduce our costs and improve profitability it is a direct benefit to employees who receive 15 percent of our profits, more than $100 million so far this year. To suggest that we should increase our costs in an environment of $90 [per barrel of oil] fuel is ludicrous."
LUDICROUS?!? HOW DARE THEY! That’s a MANAGEMENT SMACK DOWN!
Management actually believes we “benefited†from the issuance of stock and notes at exit. Really? Maybe they should consider this:
Our “Equity benefit†was attained by reducing our collective wages by approximately $1.2B PER YEAR for over SIX YEARS.
The “Notes benefit†was attained by eliminating our collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan (A-Plan) (which was under funded by the company—not the pilots), saving this company approximately $200M PER YEAR…FOREVER. It had the further “benefit†of destroying the retirement security of all United pilots, both past and present, in the process.
“The shareholders were wiped outâ€, you betcha, including the 8,500 pilots who saw their ESOP shares devalue to nothing. The ESOP shares and work rule changes cost the United pilots approximately $5.9B dollars over the life of the 1994 contract.
Oh, and as far $90 oil goes, tough. Glenn, we’re not paying for the passenger’s tickets anymore. United’s fuel costs are not borne in a vacuum; your competitors shoulder the same burden. Come to think of it, your competitors are burdened with labor costs higher than United’s, and they seem able to earn greater profits and higher margins regardless of the price of oil. You speak of “market rates†Glenn? Here’s a newsflash for you: United’s pilots are well below the existing market rates, even when compared to carriers that went through their own restructurings! What’s that say about your management of this Corporation, Glenn?
When management was first considering this misguided action, the Union coalition issued a press statement which said in part: “While searching for ways to pay down…debt and implementing an additional $500 million in ‘shareholder initiatives,’ United’s management has once again turned a blind eye toward its employees, the very people who saved this airline from extinction.â€
United’s response: ""All our stakeholders were impacted during our restructuring, including our shareholders who were wiped out. Our shareholders today expect a return on their investment. Our employees benefited from $2 billion in equity and notes at exit, and they share in our success when we are profitable.
Every time we pay down debt, reduce our costs and improve profitability it is a direct benefit to employees who receive 15 percent of our profits, more than $100 million so far this year. To suggest that we should increase our costs in an environment of $90 [per barrel of oil] fuel is ludicrous."
LUDICROUS?!? HOW DARE THEY! That’s a MANAGEMENT SMACK DOWN!
Management actually believes we “benefited†from the issuance of stock and notes at exit. Really? Maybe they should consider this:
Our “Equity benefit†was attained by reducing our collective wages by approximately $1.2B PER YEAR for over SIX YEARS.
The “Notes benefit†was attained by eliminating our collectively bargained defined benefit pension plan (A-Plan) (which was under funded by the company—not the pilots), saving this company approximately $200M PER YEAR…FOREVER. It had the further “benefit†of destroying the retirement security of all United pilots, both past and present, in the process.
“The shareholders were wiped outâ€, you betcha, including the 8,500 pilots who saw their ESOP shares devalue to nothing. The ESOP shares and work rule changes cost the United pilots approximately $5.9B dollars over the life of the 1994 contract.
Oh, and as far $90 oil goes, tough. Glenn, we’re not paying for the passenger’s tickets anymore. United’s fuel costs are not borne in a vacuum; your competitors shoulder the same burden. Come to think of it, your competitors are burdened with labor costs higher than United’s, and they seem able to earn greater profits and higher margins regardless of the price of oil. You speak of “market rates†Glenn? Here’s a newsflash for you: United’s pilots are well below the existing market rates, even when compared to carriers that went through their own restructurings! What’s that say about your management of this Corporation, Glenn?
