Our union leaders and the members did exactly what should have been done. I am so sick and tired of hearing these whiny, self-centered, amfa wannabes cry about how the "other guy" makes a buck or two more. WHAAAAAAA. It's just not fair!!! We make a decent wage (better than most!!), good working conditions, we have medical benefits and we still have our pensions!!!! And those things were "saved" for the majority of this membership!!! So our union has done exactly what a union is suppose to do.
So instead of getting together with all the other AFL-CIO affiliated unions and preventing the airlines from passing their financial mistakes onto the employees you feel that unions should just give the company everything they want?
Now the airlines know they can piss away money, manage irresponsibly and then when things go bad just take it from the employees
You forget how unions got the things we gave up in the first place.
You wannabes call it whatever you want, AFL-CIO union, industrial union........our union came through better than most given the situation and has done better in the longrun at preserving jobs and benefits compared to the other majors.
The fact is that we came out worse than most. Spin it however you like but the fact remains that we are among the lowest paid, the only ones that dont get holidays, the least vacation and the concessions that other airlines have yet to get we gave AA years ago. The TWU is not about preserving jobs, especially A&P jobs but getting more members. No other union has gone after and hurt the profession like the TWU has with the highest amount of outsourcing, transfer of work to other classifications, creation of sub-classes of unliscenced mechanics, B-scale etc.
Does that mean that we should be happy and thankful about the concessions.........no. But I can go to bed at night knowing that we did the right thing. Not only for ourselves but for the thousands of jobs (AND FAMILIES!!!!!) that were saved.
What about the thousands that were lost, and the ones that are eliminated everyday? You seem to forget about them.
I did not vote yes to save the company, I voted yes to save what I have invested, what supports my family, and what supports other families just like mine. Now I can hear Bob Owens chiming in and crying about the highcost areas and how they got shafted worse than anyone else. I support COLA wholeheartedly but is it my fault that those in these highcost areas chose to go into this profession?
Now thats a dumb statement. When I chose this profession Tulsa, the TWU and morons like you had little impact on wages across the industry. Wages and benifits were good, even for a place like NY. Back then workers were willing to fight for more. All you have to do is look at that thread you avoid about mechanics pay vs CPI. We had no idea that a weak union like the TWU would destroy the profession and expect everyone to live on a Tulsa based wage. Let me ask you something, if the company decides that the $30 they pay you is still too high compared to the $5/hr they could pay someone to do the same exact job in Mexico and offer their line mechanics parity with SWA should we say to you that you should have chosen a different profession? If you have to walk away from your home in Tulsa because when AA moves out of town nobody will buy it and you cant even afford a down payment on a home in NY or CA we would see who is crying.
The fact is that we did not choose the wrong profession, we were stuck with the wrong union.The work we do here on the line has to be done here on the line. If it was not Bob Owens doing it, it would be some other worker who faces the same things I do. Your stupid staement does not take this into account.
Is it my fault the cost of living is so much more higher in NY (and some other places) than it is in Tulsa? NO!!!!
Is it our fault that the company put their overhaul base in Tulsa? Again, if they decide to move overhaul to Mexico where they could pay $5/hour should you be willing to work for $5/hr? Should the line guys stop the operation to defend guys that have an attitude like you-the TWU "I got mine" attitude? You preach of unionism then come out with such self centered dribble like "Is it my fault the cost of living is higher?". What happened to "an injury to one,,,"? If the guys in other places are suffering, because the concessions were deliberately disproportional, shouldnt a true union man be concerned about this? But then again why am I asking you?
Once again, line mechanics will always be around, there will always, no matter what happens, be line mechanics in the USA, there are airlines out there that only have line maintenance with no overhaul but I have yet to see an airline that has overhaul but no line maintenance. The most potent weapon you have protecting you is your affiliation with the line because we can be much more effective at imposing economic pressure on the company than overhaul.
Let me ask you something, do you think Fleet service would honor a strike to keep overhaul in house if the company offered them their holidays back?
What the TWU has done, and morons like you have added to, is to cause resentment between line mechanics and overhaul. Sure you may be kicking back, patting yourself on the back for putting in concessions that hurt us more than you, but the fact is, as you have stated, for what you do, and where you are-you still get more than most. That makes you a target for more cuts. That makes the union ripe for busting.
The TWU made the right choice!! And you can look at amfa's track record to see that!!!
The TWU made a choice to impose concessions while they gave themselves raises. You must be one of those on the TWU payroll, or hoping to one day be to feel as you do. You most certainly have no regard for those of us who work in the places that actually generate the revenue that keeps you employed.
I believe we will soon have the oppurtunity to get back what we gave up. Will we get it back all at once, I doubt it, but I am not going to sit around and wait for it to come to me.
Yea sure we will get it back. Right after we get back the half hour lunch, fully company paid medical, push-backs and all the other concessions that the TWU has given up over the last twenty years.
I vow my endurance to my family and to my union brothers and sisters.
You vow your endurance?
I take it that by your union brothers and sisters the only ones that count are those in Tulsa.
A piss-poor attitude will get you nowhere.
Our attitude will likely improve once we get AMFA.
If you are looking for the pity-party look no further than amfa local 12. I hear they have "waller" parties on a weekly basis.
Let the bullets fly boys.........but be sure to whimper loud enough so we can hear you!!!!!!
Why dont you post a picture of yourself so we know which direction to send them?
I used to live in a high cost area and know first hand what these guys are going through. They get hit twice and hard!! Let me ask you, are you for or against COLA?? 
