Scabs

[nwa400]

NWA/AMT......your points are well taken. I will not point fingers because I am not in your shoes. I do not know all the particulars on your struggle but it seems to me that the hope lies in an airline that is still flying instead of NO HOPE in an airline that has gone chapter 7. Did UAL lose all their mechanic jobs? I am in hope of our company making a come back and thus giving the HOPE to many mechanics that are still on the street. Once again...I am not the most learned on your struggle but 2000 jobs are better than none. 1500 are better than none. 1000 are better than none. I would hope that if it ever came to my job being outsourced that I would live with HOPE and not just give up. I hope that your struggle ends with HOPE! I HOPE that the mechanics that have retired years ago will not wind up with nothing. We have had to make many sacrifices in our lives to get to where we are. I HOPE that this entire industry turns around for everyone! Encouragement goes a long way!
I have seen many on this web site bash one another to the point that it seems like I am back in high school. I hope that you that are bashing are aware of the lives that are being CRUSHED and the families that are being torn apart. These men and women are good people. Airline people are family. Let us all treat each other with the utmost respect and honor. Do not let the ones that enjoy tearing our airlines apart win by turning us against each other. Good luck to everyone!

 

[Boomer]

I don't work for NWA but I do work in the industry, and, am a wrench.

A friend that left the compaany called me yesterday. He works in an ancillary field allied to aviation. The firm employs several AMTs that all left the majors.

As of yesterday, they, the individual AMTs, had fielded "several calls apiece" regarding temporary employment in commercial aviation that included hotels, transportation and per diem. The specific question was asked of the caller if this had anything to do with the situation at NWA: only a few of the recruiters bothered to say yes.

Most of these guys left the majors well over three years ago. The only link between them and their A&P is their updated info with the FAA required because the guys remain current and update their addresses per the FARs.

Their question, through the friend, is: how positive is the current scab recruitement drive going if the scab firms are digging this deep, this close to launch? If they had everyone they wanted, would they be recalling guys that had given them a negative dose the first call?

I don't have a dog in this particular fight, but relatively have a dog in the larger fight currently ongoing. I refuse to comment on the decision of any group due to the failure of my group to fight for more than the breadcrumbs other wish to put in our dish.

But, I do find the info illuminating relative to the posturing of NWA and the vote by the Maintenance & Related at NWA to go for a negotiated settlement despite the threat of a lockout.

Regards,
Boomer

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< Ill add to that Boomer! I received a little blue post card in the mail yesterday from that Scab outfit, as did most of my fellow wrenchs here at MCI. So it seems, maybe, they don't have as many Scabs as they like you to believe!!!

 

[Boomer]

<_< Ill add to that Boomer! I received a little blue post card in the mail yesterday from that Scab outfit, as did most of my fellow wrenchs here at MCI. So it seems, maybe, they don't have as many Scabs as they like you to believe!!!

[post="285718"][/post]​

-----------------------------------------------------

We had a veritable wallpaper on the ready room walls until Mgt. came in and took them down as late as last Thursday, with more arriving daily.

It seems that AA Mgt. was instructed to remove any signs of defiance in conjunction with a TWU campaign of, "Let's just get along."

The Brothers and Sisters at NWA should do whatever they vote to do, and, the rest of us should support whatever they vote for. Being at AA, we have failed to show any spine capable of objective opinion.

Regards,
Boomer

 

[Hackman]

-----------------------------------------------------

We had a veritable wallpaper on the ready room walls until Mgt. came in and took them down as late as last Thursday, with more arriving daily.

It seems that AA Mgt. was instructed to remove any signs of defiance in conjunction with a TWU campaign of, "Let's just get along."

The Brothers and Sisters at NWA should do whatever they vote to do, and, the rest of us should support whatever they vote for. Being at AA, we have failed to show any spine capable of objective opinion.

Regards,
Boomer

[post="286554"][/post]​

Were any of those cards from the twu scab job fair in MCI? Let's all get along and watch as the twu invites preditory companies who help NWA mangagement hire scabs.

A twu spine? They would have shed the scales and slime first.

 

[Hackman]

-----------------------------------------------------

We had a veritable wallpaper on the ready room walls until Mgt. came in and took them down as late as last Thursday, with more arriving daily.

It seems that AA Mgt. was instructed to remove any signs of defiance in conjunction with a TWU campaign of, "Let's just get along."

The Brothers and Sisters at NWA should do whatever they vote to do, and, the rest of us should support whatever they vote for. Being at AA, we have failed to show any spine capable of objective opinion.

Regards,
Boomer

[post="286554"][/post]​

Opps

 

[MCI transplant]

Opps

[post="286563"][/post]​

<_< Opps! Don't you just love it when that happens???? These cards came to us through the mail, not from the job fair. Question! What happens "if" NW go'es out, and one of their aircraft shows up on our doorstep???? I think we all know what the reaction of the TWU would be!!! :down:

 

[RDU Jetblast]

Found a message on my answering machine to work in MN. I felt like the devil was asking me to sell my soul.

And to imagine, I havn't worked on a DC-9 in 15 years! How scary is that? All you need to be a scab are tickets and a pulse. The DC-9 was not an easy aircraft to work either!

 

[AMFAMAN]

<_< What happens "if" NW go'es out, and one of their aircraft shows up on our doorstep???? I think we all know what the reaction of the TWU would be!!! :down:

[post="286584"][/post]​

Let me guess...

1) Brother, we promised you 3rd party work and now you don't want to work on it.

2) Brother, we're trying to save your job.

3) If you don't work on it, AA will file chapter 7 and go straight to liquidation.

 

[eolesen]

<_< Opps! Don't you just love it when that happens???? These cards came to us through the mail, not from the job fair. Question! What happens "if" NW go'es out, and one of their aircraft shows up on our doorstep???? I think we all know what the reaction of the TWU would be!!! :down:

[post="286584"][/post]​

Doesn't matter what the TWU's reaction is, since I doubt management would touch struck work unless there was a pre-existing on-call maintenance agreement, which is city specific.

Don't forget that during the weeks long 1997 pilot strike, AA only added a single nonstop each in ORD-MSP and ORD-DTW. It would have been relatively easy to put a bunch of nonstops into DTW or MSP to places like LAX and LGA, but AA didn't because it would have had the appearance of picking up struck work. Likewise for Eagle during the Comair strike -- they didn't put capacity into Comair markets.

 

[MCI transplant]

Doesn't matter what the TWU's reaction is, since I doubt management would touch struck work unless there was a pre-existing on-call maintenance agreement, which is city specific.

Don't forget that during the weeks long 1997 pilot strike, AA only added a single nonstop each in ORD-MSP and ORD-DTW. It would have been relatively easy to put a bunch of nonstops into DTW or MSP to places like LAX and LGA, but AA didn't because it would have had the appearance of picking up struck work. Likewise for Eagle during the Comair strike -- they didn't put capacity into Comair markets.

[post="286636"][/post]​

<_< I hope your rigth brother! I hope your right!!!!! :unsure:

 

[MCI transplant]

Let me guess...

1) Brother, we promised you 3rd party work and now you don't want to work on it.

2) Brother, we're trying to save your job.

3) If you don't work on it, AA will file chapter 7 and go straight to liquidation.

[post="286603"][/post]​

<_< You forgot the best one! "If you don't work on the aircraft, and the company fires you, I'm sorry! Your on your own! We can't help you Brother!!!!" :huh:

 

[Bob Owens]

I could be wrong but ..........it seems to me that going on strike at this time would close the book on nwa mechanics.  There would be no hope for any mechanic.  If you live to fight again another day...........there is HOPE!  HOPE for all laid off and hope of getting our airline back on its feet.  An nwa mechanic rep. was speaking and telling the news that it will be another EASTERN.  Ok, wow, that sure is hopeful.  Saying that means that they are ready to go to work fixing cars.  I wonder what an ex-EASTERN mech. would say about this kind of thinking?  Would he say "I wish we had lived to fight again another day" or would he say, "Yep, I am glad I lost my job and am now fixing cars."  ?   This all may be moot because nwa may be waiting to fire all mechanics.  I just think it is insane to wish for an EASTERN type downfall.  Look at AA......I just sat on a jumpseat and they said that they do not like the pay but at least they can fight to get it back. "FULL PAY TO THE LAST DAY does not work!  If they had told the co. to pound sand......they would not be here!  Job-----No Job?  What is best.  Food--No Food.  ?  I have been very poor and dont want to go back there.  Good luck to our Great NWA Mechanics.  I hope the best for all!

[post="283359"][/post]​

Well you didnt speak to the mechanics at AA. I was one of the Full pay guys and voted NO.

The pilots you spoke to already got back 10% so yea they may not be happy about the pay but then again they are still pulling down six figures. Ask that pilot about the way the mechs feel. Mechs used to try and fix everything they possibly could, they enjoyed the challenge and got satisfaction from it, the other day a Captain complained it was really hot and asked three mechs he saw if they could fix the APU, all three mechanics broke out laughing at the same time, at that point he simply put his head down and walked away. "If its placarded its fixed as far as we are concerned" he was told.

The mechs at AA are defeated, they dont care anymore. Sure they show up for work but there is no passion anymore.

Live to fight another day? Yea after several years of low pay have put you even deeper into debt? Nobody is planning for a fight that will not happen with the TWU, they are either filling out AMFA cards or job applications. I've seen more guys quit over the last two years than I had the prior 23. It seems that Con Ed loves aircraft mechanics because of their diverse skills and high adaptability, at least thats what a couple of veteran mechs who quit and went over there told us.

It seems there is never a shortage of pilots telling mechs that they should work for less to save the 80 hr/month six figure salary jobs of pilots. Why dont you simply agree to work for mechs wages? Then the company would not need to cut anybody elses pay. If the mechs shut down NWA they will all survive, many may never return to the airline industry and it will be by choice.

By the way I got one of those orange cards too. So did just about everyone I work with. So obviously they sent a card to every A&P on the FAAs list, or around 330,000 mechs but they were only able to recruit around 400 scabs. Thats pretty good, I'm sure the 400 they got are real good mechs, God help you all at NWA should the 400 most desperate A&Ps in the industry be working on your planes! I hope my house isnt along the any NWA flight paths!

 

[Bob Owens]

Doesn't matter what the TWU's reaction is, since I doubt management would touch struck work unless there was a pre-existing on-call maintenance agreement, which is city specific.

Don't forget that during the weeks long 1997 pilot strike, AA only added a single nonstop each in ORD-MSP and ORD-DTW. It would have been relatively easy to put a bunch of nonstops into DTW or MSP to places like LAX and LGA, but AA didn't because it would have had the appearance of picking up struck work. Likewise for Eagle during the Comair strike -- they didn't put capacity into Comair markets.

[post="286636"][/post]​

Oh really? How Easy? Around that time AA employees were asking about why AA didnt serve this market or that and their reply was that they could use the equipment they had more profitably elsewhere so I doubt that AA could have steped into NWAs markets that easily.

I doubt it had anything to do with appearances and more to do with economics.

 

[keeptheodds]

This posting is for all who want to know about the SCABS in Arizona. As I sit here and type this there are 2477 mechanics ready for deployment. There is another 423 still in training. Their training will be complete this month. I sit here in my hotel waiting for NW Mechs to strike so I can get my deployment orders or for NW Mechs not to strike so I can go home. It makes no difference to me which way it goes. However I must tell you this, if you strike you might or might not go back to work. Whichever way it goes for you I do know you will not return as a union worker. Unions are going the way of the dinosaur and if you do not believe this you are a fool.
Also do not believe for a minute that these mechs here are drug-up losers like you are lead to believe. Dont think for a minute that this training is for us to learn how to work on aircraft. All we are doing here is taking Gen-Fam and ground support courses which is required by the FAA for any new employees. Every new site I go to I have to take these courses. Every mechanic here carries a valid FAA A&P license. I have worked with many of these men and they are very good at their jobs. There are forty people in my class they all carry an A&P, twelve have college degrees, two have comercial pilots license, four have private pilots license and five have their IA. If you think these are a bunch of hodge-podge mechanics thrown together you are badly mistaken. These are men that perform heavy c and d checks and heavy mods on a regular basis. I assure you that they can more than handle a little line maintnance and a couple of turnarounds.
Gentlemen if you think this is going to be a short easy strike you can quit kidding yourselves. NW has already spent 32 million on this project and they have budgeted 120 million plus they are willing to go higher if neccesary.
Well NW mechanics my class is going to soon start so I must go. I wish you all the best of luck.

p.s. can someone e-mail me the e-mail address of the fool reporter on rescue 4 under cover? We watch him over and over at the bar and laugh our a**es off at his incredibly biased reporting. I sure would like to give him an earfull.