Hot, perhaps you should ask Pat Friend why AFA has a no staple policy. AFA is the largest f/a Union in case you did not know. Also you never addressed the Ozark TWA merger when Ozark got their DOH.
Keep in mind that if it were not for the TWA f/a's who pioneered, you would not have the work rules that you have today. Since ALSSA they have fought for you and me. IFFA fought to give you flight time limitations which the other airlines are now covered under as well as the weight cases.
As far as pay, well I made more money at TWA because of our very flexible work rules than I did working topped out at AA. I could easily make 50K at TWA with creative trading and picking up soft time trips with less hours and more credit. International could make more say around 60K give or take.
We had better insurance at TWA and at AA I had to pre-fund. Union dues were higher and pass charges cost more.
What really pissed me off is I wrote a letter for a friend who was not hired at TWA and I wrote a letter of recommendation for him at AA after he was turned down six months prior and then was re-interviewed and hired at AA. He had three months on the line and is senior to me and at the time I had almost 18 years. So you think that is fair?
AFA doesn't represent me so I don't know why, but I don't agree with it. In certain situations, stapling should be permitted and the by laws should be amended with certain situations and stipulations, and scenarios as to when it is fair to staple a group of employees under another.
If TWA had a full blown MERGER not an acquisition or asset sale or transfer with Ozark, they deserved DOH, if it wasn't a merger, then the people of TWA were screwed out of seniority.
Thats wonderful what TWA Flight Attendants did in the past and I commend the people who did it and made better work rules possible. I am sure PAA and many other airlines F/A's were right there fighting.
It doesn't change the fact that over time TWA (A company that never had a profitable existence, let alone history) started to fail. The company died a slow death from the late 80's to the year 2000. Many employed by TWA left the company because they felt they knew the company was going to close it's door.
Look at the heroic Uli Derickson, she left and went to Delta in the early 90's.
A close friend of mine at Delta worked at TWA for one year when she first started flying. She knew nothing about the industry when she started flying and even she knew after one year, TWA would not be around for much longer and left.
Finally TWA ran out of time and lets be honest, the airline had few options. I am friendly with a share holder/board guy and he will flat out tell you TWA ran out of time and MONEY. It was the AA deal, cut the airline up into pieces and/or sold off to other airlines OR Chapter 7. They felt the AA deal was the best for the employees. It gave everyone jobs and no one knew 9/11 would happen. If it had not you would be enjoying what AA had to offer.
As for your friend, if he was hired by American Airlines before TWA was aquired, then yes, he deserved to be senior to you if his hire date was before your 2001 DOH. Sorry, but thats just how I see it. I am not saying this to be mean, this is just what I think is fair and what is unfair to a few might be completely fair to a much larger group of people.
So let me ask you this! How would you feel being given your full seniority at AA and then knowing you bumped a few thousand to the street? You think that is fair? Would you be fighting for a law to protect all of those nAAtives? Would you feel guilty? (I know I would)
