Flight Attendants' Voices Heard: Hell No!

[ebwgs]

I was wrong to lump all of the east together in a statement, sorry. There are some very intelligent and honest people on the east side of US. I was referring to the east union extremists in the pilot ranks.

Bean

No prob Bean. We've all got more fish to fry than relitigating the past.

 

[SparrowHawk]

What do either of those things have to do with the incontrovertible facts that the SEC filings from the new US Airways describe the transaction as a reverse acquisition where AWH was the acquiring company while the US Airways would be considered the surviving company? Even in the article you cited it references a meeting with Parker and Kirby walking away saying that unless US got their labor costs down to competitive rates, there would be no merger. So a proposal to merge was rebuffed by Parker until he believed the transaction made financial sense and could then be sold to the investment community. After labor costs were restructured in bankruptcy II per Parker's stipulation, then the talks were back on for a merger or a reverse acquisition of US by AWH. That's why the AWH shareholders became the single largest block of stockholders in the new LCC. That's why Parker, Kirby, Kerr, Eberwein, McClelland, Beery, Carreon, and most of HP officers continued in their executive roles at the new company while only a handful of US executives remained with the new company. Parker provided the experience, leadership, and also provided the confidence needed to get the investors to buy into the transaction. Take Parker and his team out of the equation and there would have been no merger. All other carriers and CEOs were waiting for a liquidation event to happen so they could pickup the valuable assets without taking on the unwanted parts of the airline.

So if you need to feel good about who proposed the merger or who made some calls to investors to get them in the game, then have at it. The reality is that AWH was the acquiring airline and the AWA executives were in control of the process and the final outcome every step of the way.

Without Lakefield shaking the money tree successfully your entire statement would never happened. Doug this Doug that my assets. No money, no merger simple as that. Money talks and cash screams. Lakefield brought it to the tablle. Parker brought a management team with a better track record. Thus 30,000 people have jobs. Without Lakefield there would not be a US Airways.

 

[CallawayGolf]

Without Lakefield shaking the money tree successfully your entire statement would never happened. Doug this Doug that my assets. No money, no merger simple as that. Money talks and cash screams. Lakefield brought it to the tablle. Parker brought a management team with a better track record. Thus 30,000 people have jobs. Without Lakefield there would not be a US Airways.

Got any proof of that? The SEC documents clearly state the transaction was considered a reverse acquisition, the AWH shareholders got the biggest piece of the LCC pie, and HP executives retained all of the top leadership positions. Those are indisputable facts. All you have is an assumption. Without Parker where would this transaction have been?

 

[SparrowHawk]

Got any proof of that? The SEC documents clearly state the transaction was considered a reverse acquisition, the AWH shareholders got the biggest piece of the LCC pie, and HP executives retained all of the top leadership positions. Those are indisputable facts. All you have is an assumption. Without Parker where would this transaction have been?

John Luff
Seabury Group
Republic Holdings
Air Wisconsin
Airbus

All came to the table with Lakefield. One side brought Money, the other Management. That's why except for the Labor issues the merger has been a success on financial terms. Both airlines were grossly under capitalized. The reason for the relative success is for the first time in recent memory HP & US merged fully capitalized.

Do some research on Bruce Lakefield, he's very impressive man.

 

[CallawayGolf]

John Luff
Seabury Group
Republic Holdings
Air Wisconsin
Airbus

All came to the table with Lakefield. One side brought Money, the other Management. That's why except for the Labor issues the merger has been a success on financial terms. Both airlines were grossly under capitalized. The reason for the relative success is for the first time in recent memory HP & US merged fully capitalized.

Do some research on Bruce Lakefield, he's very impressive man.

So the AWH stockholders didn't bring any financial value to the transaction? They sure got a lot of LCC stock for offering Doug's leadership team (not that they aren't worth every penny).

 

[700UW]

Look who provided the money, not Doug nor HP. The dealvwas structured not to trigger the change of control.

 

[CallawayGolf]

Look who provided the money, not Doug nor HP. The dealvwas structured not to trigger the change of control.

AWH stockholders voted to approve the transaction thereby investing 100% of their stake in AWA and received about 45% of LCC stock in exchange, larger than any other investment group.

Still trying not to let the facts contained in the SEC filing about a reverse acquisition get in your way so you can avoid the very simply and plain truth?

 

[SparrowHawk]

AWH stockholders voted to approve the transaction thereby investing 100% of their stake in AWA and received about 45% of LCC stock in exchange, larger than any other investment group.

Still trying not to let the facts contained in the SEC filing about a reverse acquisition get in your way so you can avoid the very simply and plain truth?

The "FULL" Value of AWA stock?? You'd be lucky to have enough market cap to cover Doug and Scott's bar tab.

IIRC 2.2 Billion in new capital was brought to the table by Lakefield and his contacts.

Then the deal was structured in such a way as to avoid the "Change of Control" clauses built into most of the US Bk Labor Contracts.

 

[700UW]

Dear Members,


Negotiations - A Message From Your MEC

Accessing The Hub

AFA Local Numbers

Negotiations start and end with you. You made a huge statement with 90 percent participation in the tentative agreement vote. The overwhelming majority stated that the terms of that agreement and what management was willing to offer was not sufficient in return for your contributions to US Airways. This is an opportunity for us to regroup, come together like never before and determine what needs to change from that tentative agreement to get a contract that you can support.

Yesterday, we met in Phoenix with all three of our AFA International Officers, our AFA Director of Collective Bargaining, our AFA professional negotiator, our AFA General Counsel and two AFA International Staff Representatives who focus their work on supporting leadership in the field. Our Union hears you. Your priorities are also the priorities of the Union. We are taking immediate, decisive action to respond to your vote and move forward based on your specific instruction. Your elected leadership from each pre-merger airline is unified and we made unanimous decisions on the following subjects as the first steps to a new agreement:

Joint Negotiating Committee
Membership Survey
AFA Town Hall Meetings
Improved Communications

Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC)
We have decided to change the make up of the JNC. Previously the committee consisted of each Master Executive Council (MEC) President and one additional member from each pre-merger airline. The new committee will add two new positions, for a total of three representatives from each Flight Attendant group. We also determined that at least one directly elected Local Council President will attend each negotiating session as an observer. Each MEC will post a notice for the JNC positions by the end of the week, with details on qualifications and how to apply for the positions. The new JNC will be announced on May 1, 2012.

In addition to the Flight Attendant members of the JNC, we also have our professional negotiator Joe Burns, working with us at all times. AFA always has a professional negotiator at the table. AFA’s Director of Collective Bargaining Clare Burt, will also take a more active role in our negotiations. Clare is the most experienced and accomplished negotiator of Flight Attendant contracts in the industry.

The JNC may also continue to invite a subject matter expert to assist with the negotiations when necessary. A subject matter expert could be a consultant such as a financial analyst or an AFA Committee member. We have access to the full resources of our Union to assist us in reaching an agreement.

Membership Survey
We must return to the negotiating table based on clear direction from you. We want to hear from every single US Airways Flight Attendant. We are opening a Contract Survey on April 17th to run through May 23rd. Instructions for completing this initial survey will be sent to each member’s home. The JNC will review all survey responses. You will determine how the tentative agreement should be modified for our new proposal to management. We are not making any assumptions – your direction will inform our position and define what we are all fighting to achieve.

AFA Town Hall Meetings - Hearing Directly from You
Throughout negotiations, we will continue to solicit your feedback, talk with you and engage you in negotiations. In addition to the survey, our AFA International Officers, the JNC and the Presidents representing Flight Attendants from all four bases will conduct Town Hall Meetings to hear directly from you. The meetings will include information on the status of negotiations and related industry news, but the majority of the time will be dedicated to listening to you. Please plan to join us on the following dates. We will announce time and location for the meetings as soon as details are finalized:

CLT - May 9, 2012
DCA - May 10, 2012
PHL - May 11, 2012
PHX - May 17, 2012

It should be clear the entire Union backs our efforts to reach an agreement we can support and that lifts the standards of our Flight Attendant career.

Improved Communication
We recognize the need to provide consistent, reliable communication. We reviewed effective communication policy in content and form. We made a commitment to produce regular updates that are coordinated between each MEC so that all US Airways Flight Attendants receive the same information at the same time - and all members have a source for reliable information.

Our Common Interest
We may have different experiences that brought us to this point, but we can all relate to the sacrifices management has demanded from each group. For pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants there is the reality of two rounds of bankruptcy imposed contracts that included tremendous concessions shouldered by Flight Attendants. For pre-merger America West Flight Attendants there has been the sacrifice of working under the same wages and working conditions that were negotiated in a first agreement over 10 years ago.

The reality is that we have more in common than is different as we stand together for a single agreement. We are first responders in the sky and the first to step forward to help those in need anywhere. Now what we need is each other. It doesn't matter how we got here or how each individual voted. Together we made a choice for our future and together we will exercise that choice. We can use our best skills as Flight Attendants to come together, define our common interests and take action for a contract that works for all of us.

You have our full support and our commitment to walk with you every step toward a better future.

In Solidarity,
Deborah Volpe
AMW MEC President
Mark Gentile
USA MEC Acting President
Brian Clark
AMW MEC VP/Secretary-Treasurer
Glenda Tally
USA MEC Secretary-Treasurer
Dianne Britton
DCA Council 41 President
Terry Graf
PHL Council 70 President
Cathy Campbell
CLT Council 89 President

 

[BoeingBoy]

I guess Lakefield told Parker that there would be a merger or he'd have Parker in a concrete suit swimming with the fishes about 12 miles offshore....

Arguing about who raised the money (and Republic committed to equity financing but it was turned down since they got a better deal than the outside investors) is the one of the dumbest things I've read on this forum. Without the merger to sell to investors, US was toast. Lakefield's "legendary" financial contacts and reputation got a whopping $125 million in DIP financing from Air Wisconsin before there was a merger to sell, which was spent as fast as it came in.

The second thing is that Lakefield "arranged" the merger. After getting turned down by everyone he approached he went begging back to Parker. So what?

The bottom line is that without the merger US was toast, probably before the end of 2005. So if Parker had said no, all Lakefield's financial connections and reputation wouldn't have saved US. US would have been liquidating, probably before the end of 2005.

Oh, SH - on 8-30-2005 US had $1.378 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments. Considering that AWH alone had about $350 million before the merger on 8-27-2005 and US was down to $400 million a month earlier, that's a gain of $500 million +/-, not $2.2 billion. Other money did come in later. As I recall, Barclay's bid about $300 million for rights to provide the DM affinity CC and Airbus loaned money but it was quite a bit less than Barclay's paid.

Jim

 

[MyrnaMinkoff]

What about the title of this message topic, "Replying to Flight Attendants' Voices Heard: Hell No!," is hazy or ambiguous enough incite protracted, pages-long scratching and hissing commentary about a bunch of profanely rich d**che bags in three-thousand dollar suits moving some money around seven years ago? I don't give a tinker's damn about who ponied up capital or exerted financial influence in the creation of this sweatshop, my economic debate is internal and involves issues like weighing the nobility of existing without something I need versus the indulgence of adding to my expanding credit card debt. Last week I posted a suggestion that those who have hijacked this thread should create a topic category devoted to the debate and discussion of their own tumultuous, passionate intrigues--I even suggested the telenovela-inspired title, Los Pilotos Calientes Locos--all the hackneyed, infantile histrionics and dramatics remind me of nothing more than soap operas--though apparently my behest has fallen upon deaf ears.

 

[SparrowHawk]

What about the title of this message topic, "Replying to Flight Attendants' Voices Heard: Hell No!," is hazy or ambiguous enough incite protracted, pages-long scratching and hissing commentary about a bunch of profanely rich d**che bags in three-thousand dollar suits moving some money around seven years ago? I don't give a tinker's damn about who ponied up capital or exerted financial influence in the creation of this sweatshop, my economic debate is internal and involves issues like weighing the nobility of existing without something I need versus the indulgence of adding to my expanding credit card debt. Last week I posted a suggestion that those who have hijacked this thread should create a topic category devoted to the debate and discussion of their own tumultuous, passionate intrigues--I even suggested the telenovela-inspired title, Los Pilotos Calientes Locos--all the hackneyed, infantile histrionics and dramatics remind me of nothing more than soap operas--though apparently my behest has fallen upon deaf ears.

Feel Better now?

 

[USA320Pilot]

Dear Members,


Negotiations - A Message From Your MEC

Accessing The Hub

AFA Local Numbers

Negotiations start and end with you. You made a huge statement with 90 percent participation in the tentative agreement vote. The overwhelming majority stated that the terms of that agreement and what management was willing to offer was not sufficient in return for your contributions to US Airways. This is an opportunity for us to regroup, come together like never before and determine what needs to change from that tentative agreement to get a contract that you can support.

Yesterday, we met in Phoenix with all three of our AFA International Officers, our AFA Director of Collective Bargaining, our AFA professional negotiator, our AFA General Counsel and two AFA International Staff Representatives who focus their work on supporting leadership in the field. Our Union hears you. Your priorities are also the priorities of the Union. We are taking immediate, decisive action to respond to your vote and move forward based on your specific instruction. Your elected leadership from each pre-merger airline is unified and we made unanimous decisions on the following subjects as the first steps to a new agreement:

Joint Negotiating Committee
Membership Survey
AFA Town Hall Meetings
Improved Communications

Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC)
We have decided to change the make up of the JNC. Previously the committee consisted of each Master Executive Council (MEC) President and one additional member from each pre-merger airline. The new committee will add two new positions, for a total of three representatives from each Flight Attendant group. We also determined that at least one directly elected Local Council President will attend each negotiating session as an observer. Each MEC will post a notice for the JNC positions by the end of the week, with details on qualifications and how to apply for the positions. The new JNC will be announced on May 1, 2012.

In addition to the Flight Attendant members of the JNC, we also have our professional negotiator Joe Burns, working with us at all times. AFA always has a professional negotiator at the table. AFA’s Director of Collective Bargaining Clare Burt, will also take a more active role in our negotiations. Clare is the most experienced and accomplished negotiator of Flight Attendant contracts in the industry.

The JNC may also continue to invite a subject matter expert to assist with the negotiations when necessary. A subject matter expert could be a consultant such as a financial analyst or an AFA Committee member. We have access to the full resources of our Union to assist us in reaching an agreement.

Membership Survey
We must return to the negotiating table based on clear direction from you. We want to hear from every single US Airways Flight Attendant. We are opening a Contract Survey on April 17th to run through May 23rd. Instructions for completing this initial survey will be sent to each member’s home. The JNC will review all survey responses. You will determine how the tentative agreement should be modified for our new proposal to management. We are not making any assumptions – your direction will inform our position and define what we are all fighting to achieve.

AFA Town Hall Meetings - Hearing Directly from You
Throughout negotiations, we will continue to solicit your feedback, talk with you and engage you in negotiations. In addition to the survey, our AFA International Officers, the JNC and the Presidents representing Flight Attendants from all four bases will conduct Town Hall Meetings to hear directly from you. The meetings will include information on the status of negotiations and related industry news, but the majority of the time will be dedicated to listening to you. Please plan to join us on the following dates. We will announce time and location for the meetings as soon as details are finalized:

CLT - May 9, 2012
DCA - May 10, 2012
PHL - May 11, 2012
PHX - May 17, 2012

It should be clear the entire Union backs our efforts to reach an agreement we can support and that lifts the standards of our Flight Attendant career.

Improved Communication
We recognize the need to provide consistent, reliable communication. We reviewed effective communication policy in content and form. We made a commitment to produce regular updates that are coordinated between each MEC so that all US Airways Flight Attendants receive the same information at the same time - and all members have a source for reliable information.

Our Common Interest
We may have different experiences that brought us to this point, but we can all relate to the sacrifices management has demanded from each group. For pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants there is the reality of two rounds of bankruptcy imposed contracts that included tremendous concessions shouldered by Flight Attendants. For pre-merger America West Flight Attendants there has been the sacrifice of working under the same wages and working conditions that were negotiated in a first agreement over 10 years ago.

The reality is that we have more in common than is different as we stand together for a single agreement. We are first responders in the sky and the first to step forward to help those in need anywhere. Now what we need is each other. It doesn't matter how we got here or how each individual voted. Together we made a choice for our future and together we will exercise that choice. We can use our best skills as Flight Attendants to come together, define our common interests and take action for a contract that works for all of us.

You have our full support and our commitment to walk with you every step toward a better future.

In Solidarity,
Deborah Volpe
AMW MEC President
Mark Gentile
USA MEC Acting President
Brian Clark
AMW MEC VP/Secretary-Treasurer
Glenda Tally
USA MEC Secretary-Treasurer
Dianne Britton
DCA Council 41 President
Terry Graf
PHL Council 70 President
Cathy Campbell
CLT Council 89 President

How come the PHX Council 66 President not sign this letter? The other 3 Council Presidents signed the letter. :unsure:

 

[700UW]

Thats because the head of AFA 66 is Deborah Volpe.

The west only has one local and one base.

You make this way too easy!

Let me give you a piece of advice, if your trying to stir the pot, better go do some research instead of making yourself look ignorant and foolish.

 

[A320 Driver]

The bottom line is that without the merger US was toast, probably before the end of 2005. So if Parker had said no, all Lakefield's financial connections and reputation wouldn't have saved US. US would have been liquidating, probably before the end of 2005.
Jim

According to Lakefield, there were TWO paths they could take out of bankruptcy. Awa was the one they chose. The only hitch was that once they started down the path, the other would no longer be available. Obviously they had Parker's agreement before they chose the merger with AWA.

His words, not mine.

Driver...