Ten years ago I took office for the first time. Most of the guys who took office at the same time were in their 30s. Of the seven top officers only two are still here. One passed away, one is on a leave, likely to be permanent, one quit and started his own business, one quit and went to another airline, one quit and became a lawyer.
So only two out of seven still work for the company. None of those who left were laid off or retired.
We may eventually see the Tulsa base go away over time, not because the labor costs are too high but because the mechanics will be needed on the line.
The AFW base is more modern and its proximity to DFW makes it more practical for field trips and Line Operations support. Capacity wise it would bring AA in line with its competitors.
The company is aware of the fact that when they lay someone off in a place like New York, there's now a 90% chance that that worker, along with the all the experience and training the company invested in, will refuse recall and never come back. They are losing their most motivated employees as well, if not physically then mentally. In other words maybe they didnt leave the company but they already quit. The desire to fix things for American Airlines is gone, they show up and do as little as they can for whats supposed to be a paycheck. These were the guys who would take the time to teach and instill the work ethic in the new guys that would eventually transfer throughout the system and helped AA earn top ranking for performance in the past. All one has to do is look at performance and how its deteriorated even with all the advances made in OH. Despite that, they are also aware that the odds are favorable that someone who is middle aged (and not motivated) will follow the work before looking for another job.
In the Spring of 2008 the company announced that there would be big layoffs in the fall of 2008, while there was a reduction the big layoff didnt materialize, in fact they recalled several, even had a few new hires and limited incentives to just a few stations because they feared a mass exodus. I would say that the fear was justified. A lot of guys have hung around hoping for a little bonus to go out the door. So this time they announce a reduction 11 months ahead of time, will there actually be a layoff? Well if they couldnt get it right two or three months ahead of time why would we think they got it right 11 months ahead of time? Who knows, like I've said before, if the economy rebounds, the rate of exodus will increase, the American (as in United States) workforce as a whole is getting older, bad economy or not people are getting to retirement age and vacancies will be created for those who posess troubleshooting skills. A lot could happen between now and September of 2010, they could even be looking to hire mechanics.
Right now we see MCI preparing for their reward. This is what they get for being so cooperative and helpful. Cant say they weren't warned. We were led to believe that MCI would be providing 3P maint work. This past June when the union came up with the concessionary package they presented to the company, the people pushing the package cited how we needed to show the 6th floor (Corporate HQ) that we were serious about filling those "white spaces" with 3P work. We actually underbid management at CAL! All our other competitors are either in negotiations or coming up to their amendable dates as well. We are already number five, by the time these other airlines go through their negotiations we will be dead last, still ahead of Timco but closer to them than we are to SWA or UPS.
AA isnt serious about 3P work. They are not going to expand or maintain capacity to do 3p work.
Sure they may use 3P revenue to offset their maintenance costs and fill in production gaps but even if they get Timco wages they arent going after that work, they are just going after those wages. They are trying to convince the base workers that since other airlines outsource much of their overhaul that they should not look at what SWA pays their mechanics for comparision but instead look at Timco, and they are trying to use the electoral leverage of the Tulsa base to drive down AA's total maintenance costs way below their competitors.
Their strategy has one fatal flaw. They may get their cost adavantage but as they sit back and look at the competitive cost advantage they have over SWA, CAL, UAL, USAIR, Delta, Jet Blue,and Air Tran they will wonder why their new fleet of quality overhauled planes sit at the gate or in hangars while everybody elses are out making money. New or not things will still break and we will not be in any hurry to fix them when we are at bottom of the industry in pay because no matter what the International says we will be comparing our wages to SWA, UPS, CAL etc.
I say give AA exactly what AA is giving-the very least they can possibly get away with. Our pride and professionalism has been our undoing. Why strive to make AA number one when they do everything they can to make you dead last?
Yes we still have "the promise" of a pension, but as even the pro-company posters here have cited AA-s Pension costs per capita remain low compared to some who have 401K matches. CAL has both, a DB and a 401K match, their match exceeds what what AA put in my pension as shown on the companys Total Value Statement. If you have many years ahead of you it would be foolish to think that AA will ever deliver on that pension, look at how they even break their little promises like retiree health and lifetime passes for perfect attendance.
We currently rank number five in pay and dead last on several other points such as Vacation sick time and holidays. We cant live on a TIMCO salary in high cost cities.
We can make the company as miserable as they've been making us. They got their six year grace period, its over. In the highly competitive markets where we live if AA cant make money and pulls out, those slots wont stay unused very long, and whoever takes over those slots will need mechanics to get their planes out, others would bump and roll, sell their homes and have a little bit of extra money for a change, but most of us would probably leave the industry for good, two years and exceeding where we are isnt as scary as what the Company and the International is offering.
Boeing has announced that they are building a factory in the Carolinas, that means increased competition for A&P mechanics along the east coast. I could see where younger mechanics in the Northeast would quit AA, give up working nights, weekends and Holidays to move down south where they could drive back to see family and be home on the weekends, at night and off the holidays, along with more vacation sick time and a much lower cost of living. A lot of Yankees relocate down there already. I could also see where guys from Tulsa or Kansas City would be willing to relocate there too. So while these new planes may reduce the need for mechanics at the airlines the manufacturers of those new planes will need those same skillsets to make them.
In reality we all lost our jobs six years ago. We had a job that paid a fair wage and in exchange demanded huge personal sacrifices, now we just have a job that demands huge personal sacrifices and doesnt pay a fair wage, those types of jobs are not that hard to find, even in this economy.
So only two out of seven still work for the company. None of those who left were laid off or retired.
We may eventually see the Tulsa base go away over time, not because the labor costs are too high but because the mechanics will be needed on the line.
The AFW base is more modern and its proximity to DFW makes it more practical for field trips and Line Operations support. Capacity wise it would bring AA in line with its competitors.
The company is aware of the fact that when they lay someone off in a place like New York, there's now a 90% chance that that worker, along with the all the experience and training the company invested in, will refuse recall and never come back. They are losing their most motivated employees as well, if not physically then mentally. In other words maybe they didnt leave the company but they already quit. The desire to fix things for American Airlines is gone, they show up and do as little as they can for whats supposed to be a paycheck. These were the guys who would take the time to teach and instill the work ethic in the new guys that would eventually transfer throughout the system and helped AA earn top ranking for performance in the past. All one has to do is look at performance and how its deteriorated even with all the advances made in OH. Despite that, they are also aware that the odds are favorable that someone who is middle aged (and not motivated) will follow the work before looking for another job.
In the Spring of 2008 the company announced that there would be big layoffs in the fall of 2008, while there was a reduction the big layoff didnt materialize, in fact they recalled several, even had a few new hires and limited incentives to just a few stations because they feared a mass exodus. I would say that the fear was justified. A lot of guys have hung around hoping for a little bonus to go out the door. So this time they announce a reduction 11 months ahead of time, will there actually be a layoff? Well if they couldnt get it right two or three months ahead of time why would we think they got it right 11 months ahead of time? Who knows, like I've said before, if the economy rebounds, the rate of exodus will increase, the American (as in United States) workforce as a whole is getting older, bad economy or not people are getting to retirement age and vacancies will be created for those who posess troubleshooting skills. A lot could happen between now and September of 2010, they could even be looking to hire mechanics.
Right now we see MCI preparing for their reward. This is what they get for being so cooperative and helpful. Cant say they weren't warned. We were led to believe that MCI would be providing 3P maint work. This past June when the union came up with the concessionary package they presented to the company, the people pushing the package cited how we needed to show the 6th floor (Corporate HQ) that we were serious about filling those "white spaces" with 3P work. We actually underbid management at CAL! All our other competitors are either in negotiations or coming up to their amendable dates as well. We are already number five, by the time these other airlines go through their negotiations we will be dead last, still ahead of Timco but closer to them than we are to SWA or UPS.
AA isnt serious about 3P work. They are not going to expand or maintain capacity to do 3p work.
Sure they may use 3P revenue to offset their maintenance costs and fill in production gaps but even if they get Timco wages they arent going after that work, they are just going after those wages. They are trying to convince the base workers that since other airlines outsource much of their overhaul that they should not look at what SWA pays their mechanics for comparision but instead look at Timco, and they are trying to use the electoral leverage of the Tulsa base to drive down AA's total maintenance costs way below their competitors.
Their strategy has one fatal flaw. They may get their cost adavantage but as they sit back and look at the competitive cost advantage they have over SWA, CAL, UAL, USAIR, Delta, Jet Blue,and Air Tran they will wonder why their new fleet of quality overhauled planes sit at the gate or in hangars while everybody elses are out making money. New or not things will still break and we will not be in any hurry to fix them when we are at bottom of the industry in pay because no matter what the International says we will be comparing our wages to SWA, UPS, CAL etc.
I say give AA exactly what AA is giving-the very least they can possibly get away with. Our pride and professionalism has been our undoing. Why strive to make AA number one when they do everything they can to make you dead last?
Yes we still have "the promise" of a pension, but as even the pro-company posters here have cited AA-s Pension costs per capita remain low compared to some who have 401K matches. CAL has both, a DB and a 401K match, their match exceeds what what AA put in my pension as shown on the companys Total Value Statement. If you have many years ahead of you it would be foolish to think that AA will ever deliver on that pension, look at how they even break their little promises like retiree health and lifetime passes for perfect attendance.
We currently rank number five in pay and dead last on several other points such as Vacation sick time and holidays. We cant live on a TIMCO salary in high cost cities.
We can make the company as miserable as they've been making us. They got their six year grace period, its over. In the highly competitive markets where we live if AA cant make money and pulls out, those slots wont stay unused very long, and whoever takes over those slots will need mechanics to get their planes out, others would bump and roll, sell their homes and have a little bit of extra money for a change, but most of us would probably leave the industry for good, two years and exceeding where we are isnt as scary as what the Company and the International is offering.
Boeing has announced that they are building a factory in the Carolinas, that means increased competition for A&P mechanics along the east coast. I could see where younger mechanics in the Northeast would quit AA, give up working nights, weekends and Holidays to move down south where they could drive back to see family and be home on the weekends, at night and off the holidays, along with more vacation sick time and a much lower cost of living. A lot of Yankees relocate down there already. I could also see where guys from Tulsa or Kansas City would be willing to relocate there too. So while these new planes may reduce the need for mechanics at the airlines the manufacturers of those new planes will need those same skillsets to make them.
In reality we all lost our jobs six years ago. We had a job that paid a fair wage and in exchange demanded huge personal sacrifices, now we just have a job that demands huge personal sacrifices and doesnt pay a fair wage, those types of jobs are not that hard to find, even in this economy.
