AA to prohibit customers from tipping skycaps

[FWAAA]

Looks like management is just as capable of acting childish as any of its rank and file employees:

American Airlines to end tips for Boston skycaps

Thursday May 1, 11:50 am ET

American Airlines to end tips for Boston skycaps, raise wages, after jury award

BOSTON (AP) -- American Airlines says it no longer will allow passengers to tip skycaps at Logan International Airport.
The move comes after a jury awarded $325,000 to nine Boston skycaps who said the airline's $2-per-bag curbside check-in fee deeply cut into their tips and violated the Massachusetts Tips Law.

American said Thursday its decision to end tipping is in light of the jury verdict, as well as a new state law that will make triple damages automatic for violations of the state tips law.

The airline, owned by AMR Corp., said the company it contracts with to provide curbside check-in service will raise the hourly wages of skycaps to $12 to $15 per hour.

A lawyer for the skycaps called the change "retaliatory" and said she will seek an injunction to stop it.

American said it will ask the judge to overturn the jury's verdict.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080501/skycaps_tips.html?.v=1

W o w.

How would an airline prohibit a passenger from tipping a skycap?

 

[El Che]

The capitalist will stoop to any low to screw the working class. :down:
Today is May 1; Happy May Day!

 

[eolesen]

Sheesh. Are you sure this isn't an April Fools joke a month late?...

It's somewhat unenforceable, but it also clears them of any future liability....

 

[FWAAA]

Gotta agree with El Che. Ironic that this came out today.

If today was April 1, I would be certain that it was a joke.

 

[FrugalFlyerv2.0]

The capitalist will stoop to any low to screw the working class. :down:
Today is May 1; Happy May Day!

Viva la Reagan Revolucion!

 

[AMFAMAN]

I'm headed to Boston at the end of the month, I don't use sky caps, but I'll just tip them for taking on the company. <_<

 

[WingNaPrayer]

Like hell. I ALWAYS tip the skycaps and not just in Boston. The crap these people put up with they deserve every nickel they can get.

To top it off, AMR has a lot of nerve making this "rule" after they appealed the jury verdict in the skycap lawsuit ruling!

***** ***** *****


American Airlines Appeals Boston Skycap Lawsuit Verdict

AMR Corp.'s (AMR) American Airlines said Thursday it has asked the presiding judge to reverse a recent jury verdict in Boston federal court, which awarded nine Boston skycaps damages related to the tips law in Massachusetts.

The carrier said its motion was partially based on the fact that eight of the skycaps who were awarded damages were not employees of American Airlines.

FULL ARTICLE

This company is acting like a boatload of pricks! Why don't they just make it a habit that corporate executives must stop at the entrance of every airport when they fly and KICK the skycaps!

This whole skycap/no tip/kick the little guy debacle smells of Mercer. This is the kind of tactics they use!

 

[eolesen]

Personally, I hope AA wins the appeal. The skycaps fight is with the company that's signing their paycheck and not passing along their cut. It's not AA's fault that people in BOS are too cheap to tip.

 

[American Air Surf]

Personally, I hope AA wins the appeal. The skycaps fight is with the company that's signing their paycheck and not passing along their cut. It's not AA's fault that people in BOS are too cheap to tip.

It is quite evident, you were in management with AA, in a cubicle somewhere, eating mushrooms in the dark! If you had the scoop, I have on this corrupt outfit, you might would change your opinion. This third string, management team, is nothing but a bunch of LiAArs, CheAAters, & SteAAlers. They couldn't tell the truth if Jesus Christ was present. Case in point was the B.S #### that went on at DFW, when P. Sterling was there, and the Darren & Jamie Abrams story. That judge in Dallas, that issued Summary Judgement to AA, what a crock of crap. AA will loose, when they get their 5th Circuit Court of Appeals remanded back to Federal Circuit in Dallas. I hate this company.......!!

 

[eolesen]

If you hate the company so much, go public with the so-called dirt already, and get your payout...


The lawsuit is stretching the purpose of tip skimming laws, which were put in place to keep restaurant and bar managers from taking a cut of tips for servers, baristas, and bartenders. The only reason AA was sued was because they have deeper pockets than the skycap vendor. It doesn't even look like the vendor was a co-defendent...

 

[MAH4546]

Good for AA.

Massachusetts has unusually restrictive tipping laws that make this changes necessary.

And for those of you saying "I'll tip the skycaps anyway," don't forget that if they get caught accepting tips, they are fired. AA will undoubtedly having plain-clothed employees checking on them to make sure they don't take tips. It is legally enforceable to not allow them to accept tips.

 

[BigBangTheory]

Good for AA.

Massachusetts has unusually restrictive tipping laws that make this changes necessary.

And for those of you saying "I'll tip the skycaps anyway," don't forget that if they get caught accepting tips, they are fired. AA will undoubtedly having plain-clothed employees checking on them to make sure they don't take tips. It is legally enforceable to not allow them to accept tips.

It will be funny when AA has no Sky Caps in BOS. I wouldn't be surprised to see them resign and go someplace else.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

Dumb move, to be sure.

 

[MAH4546]

It will be funny when AA has no Sky Caps in BOS. I wouldn't be surprised to see them resign and go someplace else.

If they don't like the new policy, they can quit. It's a free country.

Do you honestly think AA will have problems replacing them? They can be replaced in a matter of hours, most likely, especially in today's turbulent economy.

I personally have never agreed with the $2 charge for the exact reasons why the Boston group sued. However, business is business and they do what they need to do. It sucks, but that's life.

 

[eolesen]

If you're going to hold one party to the letter of the law, don't be surprised when the other party applies the letter of the law.

$15 an hour to cart bags around? That's more than the agents are making for essentially doing more work.

Mark, I'm not so sure it's enforceable. If I as a customer insist on giving a tip after being told you can't accept it, at some point you're now offending me. IIRC, even AA had a policy at one point which said you had to refuse a tip twice. If the customer still insisted, you could accept it without risking discipline.

One night at JFK, Milton Berle tried tipping one of the bagroom crew chiefs at JFK -- the last LAX flight of the night had canceled, and the CC personally brought his bag up to the ATO. The CC told him several times over he couldn't accept the tip ("I'm just doing my job, Mr. Berle"), so he simply threw a $20 on the scale and walked out to his limo. The CC finally picked it up, and from what I was told, wound up buying a round of drinks at the Owl for his crew on Uncle Miltie....