TWU informer said:
This is not really true RAPTOR,
If the entire industry unionized workforce, Pilots, F/A's, Mechanics, and Ground Workers would execute an industry wide strike, not only would Bush's ass pucker, but the BS would stop or their wouldn't be any transportation and movement of commerce, until the bastards met our demands for a change.
There is a way to win. There just isn't any unity or leadership.
[post="300133"][/post]
I agree. An important point to remember is Air Travel has simply become another form of mass transit.
Basically what we face as airline workers is the same thing that NYC TRansit workers faced only they were on a much smaller scale.
Bush and his administration have declared that they want cheap airfares and high profits, the workers will simply have to accept lower wages to make that happen,(Herman Bonilla June 2001 IRRA Conference Washington DC).
Its not just the passengers either. With todays trend of "lean inventory" many businesses count on aircraft to get stuff they need in a day or less. Fed Ex, UPS etc cant handle it all on their aircraft.
Airline workers dont have to accept paycuts and the sooner we shut the whole thing down the better.
The fact is if we stuck together we would win. This is not 1983. Laid off workers find work, its not like there are enough potential scabs out there to replace us all. As we see NWA is turning on the heat to get their mechanics back. They are doing this despite 18 months of preparation for the strike.If they were doing so well without them then why bother trying to get them back?
NWA wanted 2000 replacements. They only got 1500. So if NWA couldnt even get 2000 then what does that mean for the next carrier that strikes?
The fact is that the Airline Industry will be kept flying, no matter how much of a loss they post. While a few carriers may dissapear as the other ones expand to fill the void those who lose their jobs at one carrier will be picked up by the next.
Amtrack hasnt made a profit in years, nor do we see Amtrack workers losing their pensions or taking paycuts. While the airlines might be showing losses there are a lot of people out there making money as long as we keep showing up for work. Leases, landing fees, rents, fuel, parts, supplies, not to mention the economic stimulous that travel generates. All these people are cashing in on our backs, and our unions are in bed with them!!!!
At the 2001 IRRA conference the key phrase from management and the Bush administration was "unrealistic expectations". What we have been seeing for the last three years is an industrywide effort to diminish our expectations. NWA CEO bragged about how the recession and 9-11 was going to allow them to "reset" the bar. If you go back to the graph on mechanics wages vs CPI you can see how in 2003 the graph assumes the same trajectory that it had prior to the Amfa bump in wages.
Just as the stakeholders of NYC want and need cheap mass transit the Feds want cheap Air travel. Just as in the NYC the contest is who will pay the price? The bondholders and investors (through smaller dividends) or the workers, through smaller pay packages.
The fact is the people can have cheap air travel. But someone has to pay for it. The bond holders, banks and other financial stakeholders in this industry have a lot of power, if we were properly lead, so would we. The problem is that many of the so called union leaders have more of personal stake in line with the banks, bondholders and investors than they do with their members.
