TWU informer
Veteran
- Nov 4, 2003
- 7,550
- 3,731
Relax there, informer!
Here's what i want!
I WANT A UNION THAT IS NOT IN BED WITH THE COMPANY AT ANY EXPENSE!
My anger is not exclusive to TULSA. It is also to all the line maintenance local presidents and e-board members who subscribe to this PLI and JLT bull crap. They feel it is better to engage the company while management is deciding which color Mercedes Benz goes with the yacht!
You totally misread my TULSA criticism. Simply stated, if something is good for TULSA, then the shear numbers in TULSA will vote a contract in! Understandable!
Let's leave it at that!
Maybe if NO ONE volunteered to participate in the media circus and JLT PLI crap, I would be more optimistic!
OK so now you spell out what you want and more about the problem.
DO YOU HAVE A SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM?
Think about this question real hard.
What do we have to gain by pulling out of the JLT, PLI crap?
Working with the company is NOT the problem here pal, the problem is that we are NOT being rewarded for that effort. I could really care less what management gets as long as I am being rewarded also. Pulling out serves no purpose at this point in time.
The problem, has been the same for 20 plus years of my employment at AA.
But what is the solution? Can you stop bitching long enough to comment on this proposal?
Contract Proposal
1. Offer Early Out option to retire the large number of aged folks on the defined pension plan. A (3 and 3) 3 years age, 3 years seniority would probably dump the mother load into retirement quickly.
2. Offer an increase in pension benefit formula to the TWA mechanic so that they can afford to leave.
3. Close MCI and offer full seniority to those few that will choose not to retire after #2 is implemented. Sell this overhaul base.
4. Offer wage and benefit increase to the unretired mechanics possibly including stock options since the company doesnt seem to count those as cash offerings, we could gain substantially by this method.
5. Offer Line Premium pay that will be worthwhile and offset high cost of living areas.
6. To fund cost of the above, create a new classification whereby new hires are no longer offered the defined pension but rather a 401(k) matching fund. And once again lenghten the time to top-scale pay. Through attrition, allow those that already have the defined pension to retire with that plan. Eventually the defined plan will no longer have a liability. But remove the defined plan from no employee.
7. Offer a length of agreement that will allow AA to purchase and replace the MD-80 Fleet. As retired personell are replaced, the CASM will average down. The faster you hire workers the faster your average CASM will drop. Lower CASM equals higher yield.
Now this may sound like 1983 all over again, and it does to me also, but I fear the alternative is not a win,win for all involved. It is obvious to me that the carriers that wnet through BK have a cost advantage over AA. We must find a way to make gains, and reduce those cost at the same time. And we have lived through this type of plan once with sustained growth, we can do it again. Everyone seems to respect Crandall, let's do his previous plan again with a twist on pensions.