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Flight Attendants' Union Approves Strike
Associated Press
Update 4: Flight Attendants' Union Approves Strike 11.16.2004, 04:04 PM The board of the country's largest flight attendants union authorized a national strike Tuesday after its president accused the airline industry of using the bankruptcy process to cut workers' pay and eliminate other benefits. Airlines such as UAL Corp.'s United and US Airways Group Inc. are using the bankruptcy process to cancel union contracts and impose deep pay cuts that are threatening flight attendants' careers, said Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants. She also noted that the bankruptcy process is being used to terminate pension plans and eliminate health coverage for retirees. "Our entire industry is in turmoil and the careers of our flight attendants all hang in the balance," Friend said Tuesday in Pittsburgh. "Almost everywhere we look, flight attendants are being forced to work longer hours with reduced rest time, and all for ever-decreasing wages. This must stop." The union, which represents 46,000 members employed by 26 airlines, said it will immediately start the process of taking strike votes at four airlines - United, US Airways, ATA Holdings Inc.'s ATA Airlines and Hawaiian Holdings Inc.'s Hawaiian Airlines - and will tally the votes by the end of December. From there, the union will wait until there is an action in bankruptcy court. US Airways, for instance, on Friday asked a bankruptcy judge to cancel the collective bargaining agreement for flight attendants and several other unions. The airline then wants to impose a 15 percent pay cut on the flight attendants, with no pay raise until 2008, and eliminate their pension plan. The judge has scheduled a hearing on the motion for the beginning of December and has 30 days to make a decision. If the judge cancels the collective bargaining agreement, then US Airways attendants will be on strike and "will be supported by their sister and brother flight attendants within the AFA," Friend said. It was unclear Tuesday how many flight attendents - and from what airlines - would strike if US Airways attendants were to strike. The union would probably use "our trademark chaos strike tactic, which involves intermittent strikes without notice as to flight, time, day, airport," union spokesman David Kameras said. US Airways spokesman David A. Castelveter said the airline continues to negotiate. "We understand the union's frustration with what has happened to the legacy airlines and the impact it has had on flight attendant careers," Castelveter said. "A strike, however, by law is not permitted under these circumstances. It would ground this airline and send approximately 5,400 flight attendants to the unemployment lines." If the judge rejects the company's bid to cancel the current contract, the union and the airline will continue to negotiate, but Friend said the airline could refile the motion at any time. "We're hoping that they'll withdraw that motion before we even have a hearing so we can continue to bargain toward a satisfactory conclusion," Friend said. Friend announced the board's strike authorization vote at a news conference in a Pittsburgh hotel. Her comments were met by cheers and chants from dozens of flight attendants. The national Railway Labor Act, which requires intervention of a federal mediator and a "cooling off period" if good-faith negotiations reach an impasse, has been replaced by the bankruptcy code, Friend said. "When a bankruptcy judge abrogates a collective bargaining agreement in the court, that judge says to the parties the contract no longer exists, to the company, you're free to employ your self help, which is to implement the terms and conditions of your choosing," Friend said. "We intend to exercise our right to self help, which is to withdraw our services." US Airways says it needs pay cuts to avoid liquidation and transform itself into a low-fare carrier like JetBlue Airways Corp. and America West Holdings Corp. The judge presiding over US Airways' bankruptcy has already imposed temporary pay cuts of 21 percent on the flight attendants and some other union workers, comparing the airline's situation to "a ticking fiscal time bomb." United is seeking another round of pay and benefit cuts from its union workers, including $140 million in annual concessions from the flight attendants on top of $314 million it has already secured, the union said. At Delta Air Lines Inc., which is in danger of bankruptcy, flight attendants are not unionized. -- "Garbage day is a very dangerous day!" Goliath & Wildwing's Storage Room http://anatidae.homestead.com/ |
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james_anatidae wrote:
Update 4: Flight Attendants' Union Approves Strike As well as Communications Workers Union of US Air (controls ground customer service personel and reservation agents) have been given an 86% vote from members for a strike mandate. Seems that the bankrupt airlines keep wanting to renegotiate agreements they have just finished negotiating. I can understand personel not being happy about constantly being told they must accpt more and more cuts. They should have been told from day 1 of bankrupcy that they's get salary/beneefits parity with empooyees of Southwest and be done with it. As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. |
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james_anatidae wrote:
Update 4: Flight Attendants' Union Approves Strike As well as Communications Workers Union of US Air (controls ground customer service personel and reservation agents) have been given an 86% vote from members for a strike mandate. Seems that the bankrupt airlines keep wanting to renegotiate agreements they have just finished negotiating. I can understand personel not being happy about constantly being told they must accpt more and more cuts. They should have been told from day 1 of bankrupcy that they's get salary/beneefits parity with empooyees of Southwest and be done with it. As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. |
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nobody wrote:
As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. Hi! (-; However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. gld |
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nobody wrote:
As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. Hi! (-; However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. gld |
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Gary L. Dare wrote: nobody wrote: As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. Hi! (-; However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. gld Probably. I suspect that they have finally been pushed to the point that they feel if they cannot have a decent job then management can not have a cushy spot as well. And if they must bleed then the stockholders and bond holders will bleed as well. |
#7
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Gary L. Dare wrote: nobody wrote: As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. Hi! (-; However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. gld Probably. I suspect that they have finally been pushed to the point that they feel if they cannot have a decent job then management can not have a cushy spot as well. And if they must bleed then the stockholders and bond holders will bleed as well. |
#8
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"Frank F. Matthews" wrote in message
... Gary L. Dare wrote: nobody wrote: As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. Probably. I suspect that they have finally been pushed to the point that they feel if they cannot have a decent job then management can not have a cushy spot as well. And if they must bleed then the stockholders and bond holders will bleed as well. That actually makes some sense. It seems like the CEOs never pay when a company gets into trouble, even in the airlines case, where a big chunk of the problem is them clinging to an obsolete method of flying. |
#9
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"Frank F. Matthews" wrote in message
... Gary L. Dare wrote: nobody wrote: As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. Given the precarious state of the major US carriers, that flight attendants would literally be striking themselves out of a job. Probably. I suspect that they have finally been pushed to the point that they feel if they cannot have a decent job then management can not have a cushy spot as well. And if they must bleed then the stockholders and bond holders will bleed as well. That actually makes some sense. It seems like the CEOs never pay when a company gets into trouble, even in the airlines case, where a big chunk of the problem is them clinging to an obsolete method of flying. |
#10
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Worse than a "medium term loss of customers," JF. It means a long term loss
of jobs. In 1982, the Machinists Union wouldn't agree to cuts at Braniff - they were afraid other airlines would also insist on give backs. Braniff died. In 1991, the same union, the IAM, wouldn't agree to cuts at Eastern - they hated Lorenzo (which may well have been deserved, but...) - Eastern Died. Ditto Pan Am and the Teamsters. Bottom line - do the flight attendants (and other airline employees) want jobs at 75% of what they used to get, or do they want to be unemployed, and receive nothing. Jeff "nobody" wrote in message ... james_anatidae wrote: Update 4: Flight Attendants' Union Approves Strike As well as Communications Workers Union of US Air (controls ground customer service personel and reservation agents) have been given an 86% vote from members for a strike mandate. Seems that the bankrupt airlines keep wanting to renegotiate agreements they have just finished negotiating. I can understand personel not being happy about constantly being told they must accpt more and more cuts. They should have been told from day 1 of bankrupcy that they's get salary/beneefits parity with empooyees of Southwest and be done with it. As someone else said recently, it won't be long that United employees will be asked to pay to work. However, to strike during a time where an airline is bankrupt is pretty silly because that will result in medium term loss of customers. |
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