TWU Reaches TA with company!

[Frank Szabo]

ICE should swing through their ready room some time.Never ceases to amaze me how the Port Authority makes me jump through flaming hoops to renew my ID every year (And that is with a 1 call 10 year background check and no felony convictions),yet people who can't speak a word of English are allowed onto the ramp under escort in groups of a dozen or more literally the day after they apply for the job.

Doesn't that show the TSA (Thousands Standing Around) function is actually that of maintaining people compliance rather than "security"? "Security" would mean firing most of their rummies and sending them back to WalMart, from whence they came.

True security is neither random nor is it politically correct - never has been nor will be.

I'm kinda curious what our "protectors" (government) has in store for the balance of us down the road after getting many citizens used to the TSA intrusions.

Buy ammo - lots of it.

 

[Overspeed]

Overnight cleaning is already outsourced, right? What about cleaning at 11:00 pm or midnight at LAX to prepare east-bound redeyes? Reason I ask is that a few times, gate agents have begun boarding flights like LAX-BOS and LAX-MIA and LAX-JFK even though the cleaners haven't finished any part of the aircraft - so the F passengers end up standing on the jetbridge with the FAs as the FAs mutter how lousy the cleaners are. It's obvious that those cleaners don't see themselves as part of the team - throwing plenty of obscenities at the FAs when the FAs express their displeasure at the cleaner-slugs within earshot of half a jetway full of passengers. And nobody appears to be supervising the gangsta-lookalike cleaning staff.

It appears to be a thankless job but one requiring no technical skills or formal education. For several years, it appears that they haven't been adequately supervised or motivated to do a really good job. Hotel maids are under time constraints as well, but the 8th floor of the Hilton isn't going to take flight in 15-20 minutes - they've got basically from 8 am until mid-afternoon to clean their allotment of rooms. And hotel maids sometimes get tips from conscientious travelers. Dayline airplane cleaners? Plane arrives, people get off, and everyone yells that boarding must begin immediately (or within 10-20 minutes). I wouldn't want that job. Overnight cleaning - more like the hotel maid situation, with several hours to clean a bunch of planes.

If the issue is bad attitude is that a reason to outsource. I am worried about the type of people that will now have access to the aircraft inside the sterile area.

 

[Frank Szabo]

If the issue is bad attitude is that a reason to outsource. I am worried about the type of people that will now have access to the aircraft inside the sterile area.

The TSA doesn't care - why should you?

Concern yourself with selling the mech and related POS T/A (coming eventually, supposedly) for your buds in the international - maybe they'll give you a token position so you won't have to work anymore, that is, if continue your assistance re: keeping the dues flowing in.

We certainly wouldn't want any of those boys to suffer or have to give back their cars, now would we?

 

[Buck]

If the issue is bad attitude is that a reason to outsource. I am worried about the type of people that will now have access to the aircraft inside the sterile area.

What "type" of people? People on Wall Street, Tea Party, OWS or people who can't work because they cannot or will not work?

Just asking?

 

[tkelly911]

I notice the voluntary separation program and its $25,000 payment seems to have disappeared from this TA.

 

[737823]

At JFK, AirServ does AA's overnight cleaning..you know Air Serv? CARTY's baby?
I would say Air Serv is going to be hiring about 1200 people by the new year!

Perhaps but why would the TWU agree to this concession? It seems from posts here the TWU will do anything to keep members on the payroll so dues money keeps flowing in and sell the membership out during negotiations. Why wasn't that the case here?

I wonder if the switching costs of getting a contractor, on-boarding the people, dealing with employee turnover, theft, no shows, etc AA would be better served staffing with the current employees and cross training FAs and other workers to perform these functions.

Josh

 

[IORFA]

Let's cross train the passengers Josh, what do you say, are you up to it?

 

[737823]

Let's cross train the passengers Josh, what do you say, are you up to it?

Nothing wrong with that, AA could offer AAdvantage miles for passengers that help clean-up. When I stay in Starwood Hotels I do the "Green Choice" where I refuse housekeeping service and earn 500 bonus points. I stay in hotels about 40 nights per year so its does add up.

Josh

 

[Buck]

Nothing wrong with that, AA could offer AAdvantage miles for passengers that help clean-up. When I stay in Starwood Hotels I do the "Green Choice" where I refuse housekeeping service and earn 500 bonus points. I stay in hotels about 40 nights per year so its does add up.

Josh

The company already offers vouchers when the customer complains enough. Maybe vouchers are the way to go. When an AAdvantage member buys their tickets just inform them that if they sign up for cleaning duty they can earn upgrades to First Class.
To earn a free international trip, you would have to be a trash leader. The more points you earn the more vouchers you are can earn. Of course the company wuld need another manager for that.

 

[chris perry]

Now that cleaning functions have been outsourced will the aircraft be any cleaner? I assume not as AA will contract the lowest bidder and probably not provide sufficient oversight.

Josh

Most is contracted out now can't you see the difference......Just take a look at the isles they used to be cleaned everynight at DFW.
Now once a year mabe...or c check....

 

[eolesen]

Maybe if the cleaning is outsourced, the flight attendants won't complain about insourcing it in their contract....

 

[75022-4308]

Now that cleaning functions have been outsourced will the aircraft be any cleaner? I assume not as AA will contract the lowest bidder and probably not provide sufficient oversight.

Josh

NOT
Copied from a Facebook posting by TWU members.......THIS WAS SENT TO ME JUST ABOUT 5 MINUTES AGO. I took out the names so they would be protected from the company if this gets out.

My name is ________. A few years ago my husband had a friend named _______ that worked for American Airlines. He was a liaison to a company called Airserv that contracted cleaning air crafts over night and cockpit security checks for international and domestic flights for American. Mr. ____ helped me get hired on with Airserv. I was suppose to be doing data input for the cleaning crews in the office overnights. When I went to work there the supervisor decided that I needed to know how the operation worked and how all the cleaning crews did their jobs, so she put me on a crew and told me to work with them for a month till I knew the operation. I came into work in the evenings and gathered in a central location in a giant warehouse over by where the old air freight companies use to be. All the doors to this building are open and there is no security to come and go from this location. I'm sorry I got ahead of myself. I first had to take a class in a location across from headquarters about ramp safety and chemical spills. I then applied for a security back ground check that was suppose to take 7 to 10 days to complete. When I first started at the warehouse they placed me with a crew and only a couple of people spoke English. I realized that the couple were the ones that translated what was to be done to the majority. We were required to gather cleaning supplies and items to stock the aircraft with and also American way magazines into large black trash bags. We would then receive our orders for the night and my crew of about twenty would be loaded into the backs of large trucks with canvas backs like military troop transport trucks. When we loaded these trucks everyone carried bags of supplies and cleaning products along with their own coolers, backpacks and lunch boxes. We were then drove to what was suppose to be a secured gated entrance to reach the tarmac where all the planes are parked for the night at the gates. The security guards had us pass our photo ID's to the back of the trucks to our team leader. The guard then flipped thru the ID's and handed them back to the Team Leader. Our bags, lunch boxes, backpacks, trash bags and bags of rags and cleaning supplies were never even glanced at. I questioned their system when we drove onto the tarmac and my Team Leader said it would take to long for everything to be searched. The other members of my crew did not understand the conversation and just looked at each other strangely. We then were told to get on a plane, clean the trash out of the seats the back pockets and kitchen. Then restock. Then the Team Leader or if he was busy one of the crew was allowed to either place a security item in the cockpit or secure the cockpit for the first flight of the day. One of the people that secured the cockpit on one of the nights I worked had only been in the USA for two months. He spoke no English and would not speak to me or any of the other females because he believed we were disgusting American women who needed to learn how to be a real woman that stayed at home and took care of her children. This is what he had told one of the other men on the crew that could translate his language. There were also two guys on my crew from Africa that had been in the US for a month. How can they possibly get cleared for a high security job when they have only been in the states a month. They were not exceptions they were the rule. Most of the people hired by this company are immigrants that are new to the US. The lack of security and the flagrant disregard for the safety of our public is ridiculous. I could have carried in anything that I wanted to and no one would have known. These people on these crews were so ignorant of our laws that they weren't even allowed to have breaks or lunch working 9 hour shifts. I was the only one who spoke up and complained that there wasn't any water provided to these workers when the planes were 120 degrees on the inside. There were no breaks and no lunch. I tried to tell them it was illegal to be treated like that, but I could not get most of them to understand or they were afraid to say anything because they would be fired. I should have said something when this first happened, but my husband works for American and I was afraid him and Mr. ____would be fired. This has all been brought back up because American Airlines is negotiating a new contract with fleet service and they are taking away international cleans and security checks and day line turns and security checks and giving Airserv these contracts. This is a very scary and dangerous under taking and a major risk to the United States. It is also taking jobs away from citizens and legal immigrants that have worked hard to be hired on with such a big company. American Airlines might as well fire everyone and run their airlines thru a foreign country. This may not be considered outsourcing, but to most Americans it will be. I have contacted other media sources in Dallas, but had no response and it is hard for me to believe that this is not news worthy and that American Airlines may have such clout here that even the media can be intimidated. I hope you can bring this to light so that we can have some major changes in the way that our airlines are secure and our workers are treated.
Thank you, __________________

 

[eolesen]

That poster needs to spend a day with an insourced crew at MIA. I don't think you'll find too many things different...

 

[Bob Owens]

Looks like the largest stations recommend a YES.....
Notice the FINAL OFFER mention....

http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/10/twu-presidents-split-in-their.html

Every offer is the final offer, till the next one.

 

[jimntx]

Maybe if the cleaning is outsourced, the flight attendants won't complain about insourcing it in their contract....

Nothing would make the company happier than to dump the cabin cleaning on the flight attendants. After all when the plane is on the ground, we aren't doing anything productive--just sitting with the wheelchair passengers at DFW for 20-30 minutes waiting for the wheelchairs to show up (while the agent is standing at the door going "Can we board? Can we board? Can we board?"), or trying to get something to eat since we've been given a 12 hour and 50 minute duty day with no more than 45 minutes on the ground all day long. Plus, since we aren't paid while the plane is at the gate, it would save the company money, right?