First off, Welcome to the forum. All are welcome here. Nobody is upset you are posting. You just need a little help with you introductions. You started right of the gate on the defensive calling everyone liars and rumor mongers. Not exactly easing into the neighborhood. You seem to be privy to some information that may be of value to the board and that is welcome. Your approach is not one that garners a lot of support with the full frontal attack out of the gate. This board has been here ten years and some of these folks have been posting for that whole time. So you do see fights on here but they have know each other for quite a while. You can most certainly vent your frustration on this board but start at the beginning and loose the attack everyone that does not believe in your cause attitude.
Yes, you are correct that I am not within your group. You will find that although I just started posting on a regular basis in the flight attendant section that I have contributed to many of the sections of this forum. They include mostly the employee related forums but certainly not exclusively the flight attendants. If you take the time to read through the ten years or so of posts here you will find many different people with different backgrounds. Some of the biggest contributers being customers. (Think Piney Bob) I stumbled in here by way of friends that I have met over the years that work for your company. My interests are in a healthy US Airways with a sound business plan. A sound business plan includes front line employees. Since your work group is one of the last (barring the pilot issues) to successfully combine I choose to contribute the most here. Also, some of my closest acquaintances are flight attendants by way of many, many miles on the road. By default your work group right or wrong has the biggest influence on customer perception. These are a few reasons for my interest in your situation. It is too bad that your leadership does not contribute as we have all heard that they follow this forum.
From what you are saying you were in attendance to the union meeting in Philly. Unfortunately I did not have an insider this time at the meeting. I know my one friend was actually called the morning to do a trip that went somewhere and went back to Philly latter that night. I will not pretend to know what happened since I truly do not. From what little has come out on this board I will offer my opinion of what I see.
You say that the line holders have made there goals clear. That is great, but How has this been determined? I think it is because the line holder issues are few. I have stated this before, (with no offense to the line holders) that a little more pay, some vacation days, and fix the sick issues that all flight attendants are complaining about and the majority (line holders) will pass any tentative agreement you come up with. The issues discussed on this board for years are mostly about the reserve section. It appears (my opinion) that they have made their goals pretty clear as well but time and time again they are ignored. You do make a valid point. The line holders and reserves need to come together to help shape the new contract. They can only do this with open line of communication! The biggest mistake that Mr. Flores has made is this secrecy that has been held in the name of not showing his hand. This is why all the big rumors that you and he are so concerned about are happening. There are those who think they know something and start a story that runs out of control. This we can both agree on needs to stop. The only way to stop it is communication. Some on here have stated that they are getting most of the info they post here straight from the west AFA web site. This is causing some of the issues. It would seem that the union leaders can't even agree to working together. You do not have to give up how you will achieve the contract goals by sharing general ideas of what are being discussed with the company. It is pure fiction to believe you show your hand by giving bullet points of a proposal that you have already exchanged with your company. THE COMPANY ALREADY HAS A GOOD IDEA WHAT YOUR HAND IS BY WAY OF THE PROPOSAL. Everyone is aware that actual contract language is a complex matter but the general overall goals are not going to give away any secrets.
What do I think some of your goals should be from an outside perspective? The first goal is to be honest with the flight attendants. You said "the most effective slanders are those that twist the facts". I can agree with that but there is another side of that coin. The devil is in the details and when you leave out key information or change the words around a little to suite your purpose it is essentially the same thing. There are people with legitimate questions that need to be answered. Hopefully with some of the inside knowledge you seem to poses you can shed some light on the truth.
The main responsibility the union leadership has is to represent ALL flight attendants and not just those that will pass a tentative agreement. You speak of line holders that have paid their dues. I don't think many would dispute that at all. You speak of line holders and reserves talking this stuff over. This is not your fathers reserve system from what I am told. Here is an idea. Why not educate the flight attendants as to what is taking place on the other side of the fence. If the line holders really knew what the reserves have to endure and the reserves have a better idea how line holders work it may become an eye opener for all. I think your reserves have paid their's ten fold as well by now. The goal should be to get as many people off reserve as you can. I have to fly on other carriers sometimes and from what I have found your company has one of the highest percentages of reserves. The numbers that I am hearing most are between 5 to 10 percent. There may be some with slightly higher but that seems to be the general numbers. I have heard at times you guys have had over 20 percent! I know the numbers may not be totally accurate as that is info that only the company and the union leadership know for sure. I think one large problem you guys have is a contract that is pieces and parts of a seventy year old airline that has had several mergers and bankruptcies. I believe the best way to achieve any goal that will provide for a fair contract that will benefit ALL flight attendants is to start with a clean slate. I have been told that Mr. Flores counters that with that this is a transition agreement and you are not in whatever numbered section negotiations. If we look at this from the outside we find that your west flight attendants were in negotiations and that your contract becomes amendable like next year I think. You need to take the time and find out what is going on here. For some reason it appear that Mr. Flores is pressing on with or without everyone on board. People have questions and want answers. I am sure you are correct there are those that are just trying to disrupt the process. There are just as many people with legitimate concerns and questions that need addressed.
Mr. Flores and Miss Austin may be the nicest people on the planet. I can not say from personal experience. Being nice and being good negotiators are two very different things. You bring up a good point which has been brought up before. Who will step up to the plate. If you think that that nobody is capable of the task I think you would be mistaken. If you truly believe that nobody wants a contract you have been on a different planet for a while. They want a contract, but they want one that makes since for ALL flight attendants. Some of what I have seen I can even see that there are some serious concessions and I don't even understand fully what some of the lingo means.
You said "The reserves are making a big mistake to think that by obstructing the negotiating team's efforts, they're getting any support from us." I would hate to think you are remotely tied to the negotiating team with this statement. That is very scary to think about. You stated that there was one unelectable flight attendant with a vendetta against with Miss Austin. I understand the frustration but you should not be throwing the entire group under the bus because of one person. This stuff comes with the territory. Buck up and defend the group or step aside and let someone that will indeed represent ALL flight attendants. You don't have to like them, but you most certainly must represent them.
Speak of being marginalized, I think the flight attendants you chastise for daring to ask a few legitimate questions about a contract that may change there lives are the ones being marginalized.
Would it only be as simple as you put it. Yes, mea culpa. I did come on this forum out of sheer frustration and concern that the overall agreement is in jeopardy because of some FAs who have an axe to grind, and not reserves either, but who use reserves as a means to an end. Cynically, and to a certain extent successfully. Far from being a few questions, it was a setup for conflict.
Who is throwing anyone under the bus? And what makes you an expert? There's a classic example of distortion. By the way, one individual with influence can throw a whole group under the bus. We live in a real world, with real world problems, challenges, and consequences. Buck up and defend who? A group of people who do not have the best interests of the FAs in mind, or those who are beating their brains out, day after day, only to be attacked by a faction of flight attendants, or the majority of FAs who want a defensible and actionable contract? Remember that the reserves are not the only ones represented by the union. We want the best we can get for them, and for all the members. Many thousands of us, despite your feedback, do support the negotiating committee and our union.
You, and many of the people on this forum imply that it is a "given" that our negotiating committee is not doing a good job. That is false. That also seems to be the focus of this forum. We may need better communication regarding the negotiating committee's activity and there definitely could have been paper and pencils for questions after the presentations at the meeting. But please. Are we adults here? Can we come prepared to a meeting? Do we have to be told not to be disruptive? Would we expect or accept that behavior from others?
Why in the world should we expect our negotiating committee to reveal their strategy? If I were on the committee, I'd probably be a little angry that some of those questions were asked knowing they couldn't be answered. If that is interpreted as "defensive", that is clearly a personal interpretation. Negotiating strategies should never be revealed lest they compromise the union strategy. why not ask the company to reveal their strategy?
And it is not a foregone conclusion that the negotiating team is doing a bad job. Are you using the tactic that repeating a lie over and over again causes it to be accepted as the truth? You weren't even at that meeting, and are repeating feedback from your "insiders". What is your interest in our internal business? You're repeating inflammatory rhetoric as gospel and adding your own opinions. A little disingenuous, don't you think? If you can't contribute with your own facts, we need to be suspicious of your motives.
If you think the best way to get a contract is to start all over again from the beginning, you are seriously mistaken. Do you have any concept of the work it has taken to get this far? And the company doesn't need to see an action plan from the union. They just need to see the level of discourse and attack from some of the membership surrounding the contract to sit back and chuckle from the sidelines. This would not be the first time it happened, or the first union it happened to. Back in 2002 the Teamsters took the NWA flight attendants local into receivership in a misguided attempt to "restore order" to the local. Obviously it backfired, and the Teamsters were ousted.
There is always a fear and uncertainty factor during this phase of contract negotiations. But this faction has taken it to extremes and are exploiting the fear. It has the potential to weaken the bargaining strength of the union. Is that what they want? Also, contrary to your speculation, the negotiating committee doesn't rely on "flight attendant e-mails" when prioritizing what can be successfully gained for ALL the flight attendants.
I'm proud to continue to wear the uniform of US Airways and do my best to provide excellent passenger service. I am also proud to say that I'm a member of our union, AFA, and that I support the efforts of our hard working elected leaders.
