Ua Mechanics Threaten Strike

[777 fixer]

Don't know for certain, but my guess is that the leasing company hired AA. Some of these returns were rejected leases, others were repossessions. There's no obligation for UAL to do anything aside from return the airframe and engines.

I find it sad that for a group who prides itself on the quality of your work, that none of you are in the least bit proud of the fact that the leasing company felt more confident in your abilities. They could have easily gone with a low bidder (TIMCO), or taken the work offshore. Instead, they chose you. And you're bitching about that?... Strange.

[post="266664"][/post]​

From what I understand it was the leasing company that hired AA, not UAL. Afterall, the plane belongs to them. Not UAL.

 

[aafsc]

From what I understand it was the leasing company that hired AA, not UAL. Afterall, the plane belongs to them. Not UAL.

[post="266677"][/post]​

But since the plane was painted in UAL livery, it must belong to UAL!

 

[AMFAMAN]

But since the plane was painted in UAL livery, it must belong to UAL!

[post="266680"][/post]​

At one time UAL was operating it under a leasing agreement. I guess they lost the lease. I hear they were flown to AFW straight out of storage.

 

[Garfield1966]

At one time UAL was operating it under a leasing agreement. I guess they lost the lease. I hear they were flown to AFW straight out of storage.

[post="266682"][/post]​

I think he was joking and just forgot to put in the smiley face.

 

[UAL_TECH]

UAL Tech,
If/when UAL AMTs strike you will NOT be alone. I know for a fact that I and other AA AMTs will walk side by side with you when needed. Indeed, there are those in the industry just waiting for a legacy carrier to drop and die. I DO NOT wish this on UAL.
You stated, "I know what is the right thing to do and will live by my decision without support of my 'Union'(?) Brothers and Sisters." I want to thank you for FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT! If only the twu international's unelected knew the meaning of fighting for their members instead of their own interests.

I don't think AA will send AA AMTs to work your a/c in the event of a strike. I do know that scabs like TIMCO will. As well as other contract outfits. But these scab outfits don't have the lifts and equipment always needed to perform the needed work. (That's one way they can undercut the majors.) I can tell you that SAN will not assist non-UAL AMTs.
I wish you luck and will support you and OUR profession any way I can.

[post="266289"][/post]​

Ken and 'ALL',

Thank you for your support!!!
It is getting close to crunch time and it looks like UA is willing to pull the trigger (or snap the whip to get us 'in-line'? ).


Take Care,
B) UAL_TECH

I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell.
-Harry S Truman

 

[UAL_TECH]

Don't know for certain, but my guess is that the leasing company hired AA. Some of these returns were rejected leases, others were repossessions. There's no obligation for UAL to do anything aside from return the airframe and engines.

I find it sad that for a group who prides itself on the quality of your work, that none of you are in the least bit proud of the fact that the leasing company felt more confident in your abilities. They could have easily gone with a low bidder (TIMCO), or taken the work offshore. Instead, they chose you. And you're bitching about that?... Strange.

[post="266664"][/post]​

JMHO,

It was the 'photo opportunity' that the TWU took advantage of.
I am more than happy that a 'union shop' did the work but not impressed with the TWU-Spin.

B) UT

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

Know anyone in this picture

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

Know anyone in this picture :blink:
I 'll bet All twu and management :down:

No attachment sorry folks. Help me out moderator attach my pic

 

[Bob Owens]

Ken and 'ALL',

Thank you for your support!!!
It is getting close to crunch time and it looks like UA is willing to pull the trigger (or snap the whip to get us 'in-line'? ).
Take Care,
B) UAL_TECH

[post="267020"][/post]​

It will be interesting to see if it does come down to a strike what Bush will do. Lets not forget that Bush told you guys a few years back that he would not allow you to withdraw your labor because the country could not be deprived of the services that UAL provided. UALs market share has not diminished all that much since then and more people are flying now than then.

Have the FAs taken the same position as AMFA?

If so, they are AFL-CIO, what is the TWU going to say? That they support the flight attendants strike but do not support the mechanics who are striking over the exact same position? Boy would that make the AFL-CIO look foolish. For years they have justified spending dues payers money on issues that primarily benifit non-union workers on the basis thats its morally correct to help all workers, their hypocrisy would be exposed if they then turned around and took the position that they will help non-union workers but work against any unionized worker that is not affiliated. Solidarity, but only on their unilateral terms.

No wonder the AFL-CIO is coming apart at the seams.

So it will be interesting to see what position the TWU takes should the FAs who are AFL-CIO Affiliated CWA/AFA members and AMFA go on strike and walk picket lines together.

So despite AAMechs statements here, under an alias, what he does and says without the veil on anonaminity may be quite different. Lets not forget that AAmech is the same person that called the FAs idiots for threatening to strike a while back however when he was assigned by the International to join them in picketing in DC his tune was different. There he was on the pages of the TWUEXPress supporting the flight attendants because Thom McDaniel came out publically in support of them. The International has a Convention coming up and if the Flight Attendants at SWA joined forces with Local 100 the International would be in a world of hurt.


AAMech cites the Judge and his TRO, however Judges rely on precident and should not set precident without supporting legislation. A TRO is just that "Temporary". Temporary until both sides are given the opportunity to present their arguements to a Judge.

While the BK code does allow for abrogation of contracts I've never seen anything there that compells creditors to continue to do future business once the contract has been abrogated, however the RLA is clear in that once the status quo has been changed its a major dispute, and the workers are free to withdraw their labor since the company bypassed the NMB through the courts and effectively went straight to self help.

In order for the Injunction to become permanent the company and the BK Judge would have to prove that they have the right to make workers, and for that matter any creditor that it had a contract with, accept whatever terms they dictate and the workers can do nothing to stop them. It would be unprecidented for private workers to be stripped of their rights in such a way and it would make unions completely useless. In fact it would make contracts useless. There would be no point in paying dues when contracts are imposed by the government. It would degrade those workers to the status of indentured servitude without the benifit of having incurred a debt in the first place. If the courts can impose new conditions on the workers then it follows that the courts could force Exxon to sell the airlines fuel at 5cents a gallon and GE to lease airplanes at $1/year.

 

[AMFAMAN]

Ken and 'ALL',

Thank you for your support!!!
It is getting close to crunch time and it looks like UA is willing to pull the trigger (or snap the whip to get us 'in-line'? ).
Take Care,
B) UAL_TECH

[post="267020"][/post]​

UAL-Tech


Just to let you know that we are working on getting picket permits at the stations you guys don't have maintenance at. My contacts at DFW have secured the permit and expect a very large crowd if need be.

Also, fellow mechanics have attempted to contact Jim Little via email 3 times to give the twu's position on AA AMT's working on UAL birds at stations where we hold the on-call maintenance contract. Jim Little and the twu refuses to address this issue like the cowards and scabs that they are. A few years back when USAIRWAYS(pre-9/11) AMT's were down to the last days of a 30 day cooling off period, the same question was raised about engines being worked by AAers. The answer by the twu, you better work them or you will be fired for insubordination. Like I said, cowards and scabs. Rest assure, there are still some good unionists at AA and I don't expect to see any scabs at these stations.

Finally, we do appreciate the hard line you guys are taking for our profession and we will see to it that AAers support you guys on the picket lines and in the pocket book. More importantly, we will finish the job at AA and get the AMFA in so your efforts will not be wasted away by a cowardly union like the twu.

Thanks

 

[Bob Owens]

UAL-Tech
Just to let you know that we are working on getting picket permits at the stations you guys don't have maintenance at. My contacts at DFW have secured the permit and expect a very large crowd if need be.

Also, fellow mechanics have attempted to contact Jim Little via email 3 times to give the twu's position on AA AMT's working on UAL birds at stations where we hold the on-call maintenance contract. Jim Little and the twu refuses to address this issue like the cowards and scabs that they are. A few years back when USAIRWAYS(pre-9/11) AMT's were down to the last days of a 30 day cooling off period, the same question was raised about engines being worked by AAers. The answer by the twu, you better work them or you will be fired for insubordination. Like I said, cowards and scabs. Rest assure, there are still some good unionists at AA and I don't expect to see any scabs at these stations.

Finally, we do appreciate the hard line you guys are taking for our profession and we will see to it that AAers support you guys on the picket lines and in the pocket book. More importantly, we will finish the job at AA and get the AMFA in so your efforts will not be wasted away by a cowardly union like the twu.

Thanks

[post="267110"][/post]​

I finally mailed in 159 more cards the day before yesterday. Got eight more on my desk and I'm working on contacting the 140 laid off mechanics from JFK. So far I have addresses for around 60 of them. Of the ones I have not tracked down yet, other than the 10 or so that were from AA, most are Ex-TWA. We have a few guys from TWA working on the list, many are retired.

Once done with that we will start tracking down the 140 FS clerks that are part of our class and craft.

Ironically instead of just getting 600 cards out of JFK you may end up getting over 1000. Those that transfer in fill out the cards right away.

 

[AMFAMAN]

I finally mailed in 159 more cards the day before yesterday. Got eight more on my desk and I'm working on contacting the 140 laid off mechanics from JFK. So far I have addresses for around 60 of them. Of the ones I have not tracked down yet, other than the 10 or so that were from AA, most are Ex-TWA. We have a few guys from TWA working on the list, many are retired.

Once done with that we will start tracking down the 140 FS clerks that are part of our class and craft.

Ironically instead of just getting 600 cards out of JFK you may end up getting over 1000. Those that transfer in fill out the cards right away.

[post="267121"][/post]​

Thanks...

 

[eolesen]

It will be interesting to see if it does come down to a strike what Bush will do. Lets not forget that Bush told you guys a few years back that he would not allow you to withdraw your labor because the country could not be deprived of the services that UAL provided. UALs market share has not diminished all that much since then and more people are flying now than then.

[post="267108"][/post]​

More people may be flying, but they're flying on carriers like WN, B6, and FL. In 2000, those three carriers accounted for 16% of domestic seats per day. Today, they're around 21%.

So, there's no doubt that UA's overall market share has shrunk. A lot of capacity which had been with the mainline was shifted to regional carriers over the past two years, so excluding regionals, they're 15% smaller on a domestic seats per day basis than they were in 2000, and 20% smaller on a departure basis. (Since this is an AA forum, AA is slightly up if you exclude TW data for 2000; including TW for 2000, we're also down about 20%).

You also have to remember that Bush threatened a PEB back in 2002, and there was a lot more political weight behind UAL at the time. Suffice it to say that after floundering in bankruptcy for two years without a clear exit strategy, having two ATSB applications thrown out during the same timeframe, and now the whole pension debacle, UAL has pretty much exhausted whatever political clout they had three years ago.

 

[Bob Owens]

Former ModerAAtor,May 6 2005, 05:38 PM]
More people may be flying, but they're flying on carriers like WN, B6, and FL. In 2000, those three carriers accounted for 16% of domestic seats per day. Today, they're around 21%.

So, there's no doubt that UA's overall market share has shrunk.


Well thats been one of the problems that the legacies have struggled with for far too long. Instead of chasing, and capturing, profits, like SWA, they chase marketshare.

A lot of capacity which had been with the mainline was shifted to regional carriers over the past two years, so excluding regionals, they're 15% smaller on a domestic seats per day basis than they were in 2000, and 20% smaller on a departure basis. (Since this is an AA forum, AA is slightly up if you exclude TW data for 2000; including TW for 2000, we're also down about 20%).

Well how is it when you include AE? The fact is we are AMR right? So the company and the TWU, wich reprsents Eagle, are essentially having workers in the same company compete with each other right?

You also have to remember that Bush threatened a PEB back in 2002, and there was a lot more political weight behind UAL at the time. Suffice it to say that after floundering in bankruptcy for two years without a clear exit strategy, having two ATSB applications thrown out during the same timeframe, and now the whole pension debacle, UAL has pretty much exhausted whatever political clout they had three years ago.

Its my impression that the political capital that was used for the PEB came from the hundreds of communities that would be isolated if UAL had ceased servicing them. If UAL should cease operations it could be a long time before service is restored by other carriers because most other carriers have their own money problems.

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

Mechanics from Eight Airlines Pledge All Available Resources to Back Colleagues at United Airlines
Thursday May 5, 2:13 pm ET


CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2005--Meeting in Chicago this week, union leaders representing mechanics at eight U.S. airlines unanimously pledged the full resources of their organization to support their colleagues at United Airlines, "up to and including the right to strike."
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) national officers and leaders for AMFA local unions serving Alaska Airlines, ATA, Horizon Airlines, Independence Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines vowed to stand together "in the event that the United Airlines contract is permanently changed without the approval of the AMFA membership."

The AMFA leaders met this week in Chicago to make plans for a pending strike against United Airlines. In January 2005, AMFA members working for United overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike if permanent changes are made to the contract without the approval of the membership. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff has imposed a temporary 9.8 percent pay cut and reduced sick leave benefits for AMFA members, for the period February 1 through May 31, 2005, to give AMFA and United additional time to try to reach a consensual contract agreement.

AMFA said United has not taken the negotiations seriously and has added fuel to the fire by moving to terminate the mechanics' pension plan and making itself eligible for up to 40 percent bonuses while mechanics and other employees receive only five percent under the company's new success-sharing plan.

According to AMFA National Director O.V. Delle-Femine, "United says a strike is illegal. We obviously disagree with that interpretation and are prepared to defend our right to strike. As AMFA's national director, I am authorized to call for an immediate nationwide strike against United if modifications are made to our contract without the approval of the membership and have called strikes three times before on behalf of AMFA's members. Without aircraft technicians on duty, the airline cannot safely fly or comply with federal regulations."

United is seeking to rewrite all its labor contracts to save costs for the second time in its bankruptcy. After slashing labor costs by $2.5 billion annually in 2003, including a 13 percent pay cut for mechanics, the airline later said it needed another $725 million in yearly reductions.

AMFA represents more aircraft technicians than any other union. AMFA's credo is "Safety in the air begins with quality maintenance on the ground." To learn more about AMFA, visit www.amfanatl.org.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This needs to happen all AMTs all airlines. Shut em down :angry:

Across the USA