Us Airways Already Owns Lcc's

[Light Years]

PIT-

I understand that and am thankful for a union for that. However, management continues to complain about our high average employees costs. We have mostly topped out employees- WN etc hires thousands a year because of growth, and this brings the average costs down. US has cut off its own nose by shrinking and getting rid of its lower paid employees- the average has shot up! They also continue to have short stage lenths (cutting transcon flights etc) which makes thier employee costs higher by no fault of the employees.

There needs to be a balance- the 30 year FA (who has worked her way to her pay and schedule) needs to be balanced out by the 20k a year FA that works 95 hours. The higher productivity, lower pay on one end of the scale makes up for the higher pay, sometimes less productivity on the other end. When one half is deleted, the scale tips to what looks like an overcompensated work group. The system was designed for continual growth at the bottom as well as natural turnover at the top. This management just slashes heads using the dranconian, oversimplified idea of less people and our costs go down. Its not exactly true.

 

[airlineorphan]

Cav,

You are right that it is really scary! I recently attended a talk by an Indian health care advocate who reported that the British national health care system was making use of globalization to actually export PATIENTS to Indian health care facilities to take advantage of international wage differentials. It seems that no profession, no matter how much education the workers have, is actually safe from this swirling mobility of capital. Sometimes I think we're living in BizaroWorld.

I'd like to make a subtle revision to your comments though (and in particular Mr. Perot's). The giant sucking sound has never been south, or really across any border. It has been UP in pretty much every nation around the world, and ultimately on a global scale. Out of workers' pockets everywhere and into the coffers of bosses everywhere.

The fact is that capital has gained enormous flexibility of movement under the new GATT, NAFTA and other trade regimes. Unfortunately, labor solidarity has been spotty within nations and almost non-existant across borders. And unless that solidarity can cross borders, capital will continue to run circles around us globally. That means we should never allow opportunistic politicians nor buck passing management to pit us against workers at other airlines, whether they be foreign or here in our own country. That's just a dead end for all of us.

This corporate globalization is definitely on the way in the airline industry--with outsourcing of international flying via international codeshares (virtual international mergers) and outsourcing of maintenance to third party operations in Alabama, Asia and elsewhere.

The Bush administration has indicated that if W wins a second term, they will up the foreign ownership cap on U.S. airlines.

In the meantime, the U.S. and the European Union are engaged in negotiations for something called the Transatlantic Common Aviation Area (TCAA) which would allow for multinational ownership of airlines as well as an opening of domestic air markets in the U.S. and the E.U. to added competition by carriers from the E.U. and the U.S. respectively (cabotage rights--the right to pick up and drop off passengers within a given country). (This is part of what is behind the airline mergers in Europe--the creation of megacarriers large enough to hold their own in head to head competition with megacarriers in the U.S.)

The World Trade Organization's former president, Michael Moore (not the rowdy one who harasses corporate CEO's from GM), chose the moment of his farewell speech to call for the global deregulation of the airline industry and the lifting of the civil aviation exemptions from the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS). Do you know what flag of convenience nation status means in the maritime industry? Imagine U.S. carriers re-chartering themselves in Liberia or Trinidad, the new global Delawares of corporate choice. Liberian labor laws, Liberian wage indexing. A CEO's dream!

Now, I don't really care what country's capitalist owns my company. None of them have any allegiance to anything by money, so I'm not concerned about some sort of foreign threat. A Boss is a Boss is a Boss is a Boss.

But I do think that anyone who works for a living anywhere, whether it be the U.S., Canada, Indonesia, Vietnam or Mexico ought to be concerned about the increasing ability of companies to whipsaw us no matter where we are, within a country and across borders. The only thing that can counterbalance that is an agile (far more agile than what we've got) labor movement that thinks globally.

In solidarity (now more than ever),
Airlineorphan

 

[PITbull]

Light,

I think and hope we are talking the same language here.

As far as management having to retain their older more experienced f/as is THEIR problem; not ours. Its contractual language that must be honored no matter how unfair junior folks think it may be or is.

Unionized workers have always had contract language that protects seniority. If management would accept a negotiated "early out", this would fix thier problem and your problem that you cite on balancing that equation. Short of that.....it ain't happ'in.

 

[Light Years]

PIT-

We are absolutely speaking the same language. The junior employees want the contract honored and want to become senior themselves and reap those benefits (whats left anyway). Management continues to complain abour high labor costs and efficiency when they have laid off the lowest cost and most efficient group they had- the juniors. This is how the system was designed- you pay your dues and work your way up. Our contract honors the seniors with the pay and choice thier seniority and loyalty dictates. They dont seem to understand that.

The plan is to reduce headcount in any way possible, not follow the contract, and abuse the remaining workforce out the door. If we did have a mgmt that negotiated in good faith and was honest with thier business plan, an early out fair to both sides could absolutely be negotiated. I do not see this happening due to the shortsightedness of this mgmt.

So they will continue to furlough until all they have left is a couple thousand 25 year seniority FAs, and then they can run to the press to compare the "high costs" of US FAs as compared to WN, who have FAs from 30 years to two weeks seniority and associated different levels of compensation.

 

[PITbull]

Yes. I see we are of the same mind.

 

[BoeingBoy]

Just a note here...

Currently, foreign ownership of US airlines is limited to 25% and control is limited to 49%. The change being discussed by the Bush administration (& Congress) is to raise the ownership limit to 49% while keeping the limit on controlling interest at 49%. Many, especially the DoD, would be against increasing the foreign control above that. The big issue for the DoD is the CRAF - allowing over 50% control of US airlines by foreign nationals could reduce/eliminate CRAF and the DoD can't afford to replace it.

The changes being discussed would bring US ownership rules in line with European ownership rules.

 

[airlineorphan]

Boeingboy,

You're right. CRAF and the Pentagon are the major sticking points in all of this. I suspect, however, with all of the outsourcing being done by the Pentagon (Halliburton, Kellog Brown & Root, etc.) the Brass will ultimately roll over on this. As long as they have some sort of clauses granting them some sort of override in time of war, I am sure they will at least stand aside on the changes.

-Airlineorphan