scorpion said:
Bob
thats one thing these idiots don't realize is that the line stations are our biggest ally, not all people here in Tulsa have this non union mentality but it is prevailent. What these people don't understand is by 2009 their pay will be the equivalent of a construction worker and this above average lifestyle that the line stations have help them achieve in the years past will be gone. These homeboys are insulated from the real world and I do apologize for their ignorance.
Scorpian:
The truth is that if we on the line were living like those in Tulsa there would be no drive for AMFA.
The fact that the guys can still live comfortably and have no knowledge or concern for their brothers on the line is a reflection and result of the poor leadership of the TWU. Sure members should take some responsibility for themselves but the fact is they pay the TWU to inform and lead.
What the boys in Tulsa should know is that the greatest threat they face now is the fact that if the company wanted to decertify the TWU nobody on the line would defend this union. If the company were to do that they could get rid of overhaul and would not even have to allow you guys to bump to the line.
SWA already proved that they can pay top wages and run an efficient and profitable airline without much of an overhaul capacity.
What overhaul fails to see, in no doubt thanks to the poor leadership of the International, is that their bargaining power is enhanced by Line Maintenance, Fleet service and Airline Economics.
Airline economics give us an advantage. That advantage is minimized by the RLA but it is still there. Unlike manufactureres who can build up inventory and then cease production to reduce expenses, thereby increasing their ability to wait out a strike, the airlines have a difficult time reducing costs even when their planes are not flying. Sure they save fuel and wages but the other costs are still staggeringly high.
Over the last twenty years the airlines have become incredibly large. Consolidation is typical for a maturing industry. With thier incredible size, and demand for skilled workers and other workers with a criminal free ten year background the task of replacing a striking workforce in the tens of thousands, even now with a poor economy is daunting. Workers in this industry still have an enviable advantage when it comes to a work stoppage. It is our union that fails to consider this. Instead they would rather work with the company to increase dues at the expense of wages.
The fact that the TWU now earns more through other sources than dues could be a reason why the TWU is so corporate friendly. It pays better dividends. The dues are pretty much captive, they get them no matter how little they do for us, they get it unconditionally, but by helping corporations they can see a better return on their investments. They can create conditions that help increase the value of their holdings. They also get financial aid from our company to the tune of $3.1 million a year, this aid is conditional since there is no language forcing the company to provide this support.
The behavior of the TWU is strange for a "Union". Its normal for a company, especially one that may be in distress to make outrageous threats. Its highly unusual for a "Union" to expand on those threats like the TWU did. They did this when they claimed that AA might go straight into liquidation if we did not submit to the precedent setting concessions. Even company officials admitted that liquidation was not on the horizon.
The combination of earnings off investments, the conditional financial support from the company and the added bonus of the possibility that our concessions could help speed up the demise of other carriers and leave AA in a position to expand into the vacuum left in the market (thereby increasing the membership and dues of the TWU) could explain the TWUs actions. The undemocratic structure of the TWU isulates those in positions of power who may rationalize their betrayal of labor by thinking that in the long run, as painful as it may be (a pain that they do not share in) that the labor movement will be in a better position when the majority of the industry is in one union, the TWU of course.
The point is that we can not afford to fund the TWUs dream. Those in Tulsa should realize that by the time they feel the squeeze the line will have been destroyed and they will no longer be afforded protection from it. As it is now they are already at risk but the damage is not permanent, it can be fixed, with the right leadership. As low as they think they can go, Singapore and TIMCO can go lower. While at present they can afford to live in blissful ignorance their failure to look a little beyond will undoubtably result in a future disaster.
Good luck.
