AFA to continue Picketing and leafleting all summer long...get ready!

[PITbull]

Markmywords,

FYI, here is a brief synopsis of the meeting with mangement on sick:

First, thanks for trying. I won't forget it. Our MEC Officers met with Jerry and gang today in Labor Relations along with our AFA legal, and once again, no resolution to the NEW sick pay penalties. ARBITRATION CITY!

Jerry, basically stated he doesn't care if we picket forever. He said that when we picket, mangement won't talk to us. Yup! this is REALLLLLLL good for Labor relations between our group. What a freggin waste of our time to sit with this mangement and get lectured.

So, I guess the short answer is, if we picket, they won't sit and talk with us; if we don't picket, they WILL sit and dialogue and accomplish A WASTE OF EVERYONES TIME AND HOT AIR!

Tomorrow, is the meeting on the Medical coverage denials and the comparisons of the old and new Medical SPD. IF there are NO resolutions on that....WE WILL LEAFLET THE PUBLIC ON JULY 25 so far sign up is with BOS, PHL, and PIT.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

PineyBob:

THANK YOU! You hit it right on the head.

 

[diogenes]

Perhaps this is an angle to use.

1.We, the hardworking employees of US Airways,who have sacrificed so much (point out the total dollars this adds up to), and have worked so hard to save this airline believe you deserve better service. Clean airplanes. Luggage that arrives on the same flight you do, and promtly delivered to the claim area. Minimum time in lines. Prompt and courteous service. We are asking management for these tools. Will you help us? 1-800-CALL DAVE.

2. The unions should start a "where's the beef" campaign. We gave all this money, we conceeded on scope and work rules? Where are the profits? HTF can you come out of bankruptcy with all of these givebacks and not make money? WTF!!!

They may want to clean that up, a bit!

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

If you think that mangement's so called retorhic is the "position of strength", I now understand your advice that I will not take.

Read between the lines on the events that will take place in this co. this month or next that are to benefit the stake holders, stockholders and such. Labor unrest is not a "good thing" in any business. Please, no one at U sits in a position of strength; all are vulnerable.

The absolute truth to this situation is that THE F/AS ARE COMING TO WORK SICK. THEY CAN NOT AFFORD THE CO-PAYS, PRESCRIPTIONS TO EVEN GET BETTER AND THEY SURELY CAN NOT ENDURE A PAY PENALTY FOR A SICK CALL IN ANY MONTH, IN LIGHT OF THE 8.4% PAY CUT IN THE SUMMER AND THE 5% THIS PAST April in pay cuts alone. And medical contributions went up again in May.

Co. won't pay "understaffing pay" and totally ignores our language, now PHL commuters have to pay for out of base parking which effects those who commute every week. If we had our summer money we could endur the changes, BUT NOW WE CANNOT. The displacement of f/a that occured June 1 cost the Junior f/a out of their pockets to move, and if they didn't, they now have to add to their budget a commuter place. These are JUNIOR folKs that make NO money.

Basically, Labor Relations told our MEC President that the sick calls are up but the sick hours are down...(no kidding Dick Tracey) that's becasue we can not access our sick bank and make ourselves whole. He said as his comromise I guess that every quarter they would reveiw the sick calls and if they go down, they will implement what AFA believes the sick language reads, if they are up in any given quarter that the co. will reinstitute their reading of the language. Hows'e that for a VP management decision ping/pong. So which month do you claim what and how? Stupid, stupid, stupid. mangement knows they are wrong with this, but still maintain that punitive stance and STEAL the cost savings associated. SATAN could take a few lessons from this mangement team for sure.

Tomorrow is the Medical coverage denial discussions and the SPD comparisons "old" with "new". If that's a no go, WE WILL LEAFLET THESE THREE ISSUES TILL THE COW'S COME HOME WHETHER MANGEMENT CARES OR NOT OR THE PUBLIC CARE OR NOT WHETHER THE F/AS ARE ON BOARD SICK, COUGHING, SNEEZING, AND WATERY EYES THAT ARE INFECTIOUS,it will be addressed. The Local President of PIT is preparing now. She has cleared her schedule from July 25 until the summer is over. Local grievances will be done, had the local meeting for June, Agenda Items for the MEC Reg. Sched. meeting are completed and have been sent in....SHE'S READY TO GO!

 

[PITbull]

Thanks for the support there Bob,

What would give you the slightest inclination that I would back up and back off. You have got to be joking, if your not, I'm laughing.

Ther is no way in God's land or in hell that I will back away like this is not happening or put up some kind of "white flag" and say surrender.

We will meet with the labor coaltion and we will discuss the medical and 5% issue, I promise.

THER WILL BE NO LABOR REST UNTIL THESE ISSUES ARE RESOLVED. IF THEY DON'T GET RESOLVED, THE EMPLOYEES WILL DEMAND A CHANGE IN MANGEMENT, BECAUSE WE ALL CAN NOT COMMUNICATE WITH THESE FOLKS. THEY SET UP RECOGNITION PROGRAMS THAT ARE NOTHING MORE THAN A PUBLIC FACADE AND THEN CALL IT A DAY.

What makes a Corporation strong and profitable is a great product, employees who are inspired and have high morale and postive attitudes and outlook about their job and co, work well with their management as a TEAM, and repeat customer business and satisfaction.

All elements are necessary....now with U, which part needs fixed in the equation? Or do you not see any problem with this? And how do you go about fixing it in this type of mangement environment of poor communication and lack of responsiveness?

and WHRE is MARKMYWORDS? Avoiding my post????

 

[PITbull]

Bob,

One thing I like about leafleting is we get to meet so many folks. Plus, not just the airport. There are shopping malls (I can then, pick up a few things items I need while I leaflet), there is "downtown", where we can meet all kinds of buisness people who love to talk about U, especially because U is so popular now with the Pittsuburgh and Philly communities and all... we get a nice reception from the folks who love the employees of U.

For now, this is the way to go for us. Later, we shall see what's next. Perhaps we will leaflet an issue as an entire labor coaltion. There is much unrest with the IAM and the possible "out sourcing" of their work. This is reallllllllly bad for U. CWA is more unhappy about the 5% then even AFA, and we may affiliate with them soon. So this is a good unity issue. And ALPA is very unhappy with their sick policy (same as ours) and their pension is still an issue, and the 5% along with the medical issues for all the employees of U.

We all need to get together. Passengers don't like to see labor unrest. Makes them feel uncomfortable when they know that management treats their employees so poorly. How can a customer feel that U management could possibly care about the customer, as well. Mangement "indifference" plays no favorites.

 

[MarkMyWords]

PitBull - Sorry I missed your posts yesterday. I was trying to take in some of that great sunshine we had yesterday.

I am very disappointed to hear that your discussions were unproductive. I had high hopes that some productive dialog could have taken place, but it seems like someone doesn''t know how to be productive. I wish you well in your leafletting campaign. You know that I don''t agree with the technique but do agree that the policy is unfair. There has to be a better way to achieve the same financial results and I really thought that your previous ideas could have been built upon. I do think that Bob has a point and perhaps new tactics could replace traditional ones. Maybe someone will be able to come up with a constructive idea of how to get their attention without causing customer dissatisfaction or negative press.

Best of luck to you in your endeavors.

 

[Diesel8]

How about:

"On USAirwasy you get something for free, SICK!" or "Something sick in the Air"

And then add something, that easily and clearly states the co. position on sick calls and sick days.

Considering the recent SARS outbreak, I am sure it would get attention.

Best of luck

 

[USAirBoyA330]

flyin2low:

Scheduling says? Who gives a flying flip off a rolling donut what they think?
Who are they to decide on the phone what is and is NOT a valid sick call? When we call in sick all we say is "mark me out sick" PERIOD We don't go into what symptoms we have or what is going on! Plus, they couldn't care less. We are enclosed in a nasty aircraft what is not properly cleaned and on top of that are in an enclosed tube with the general public. We are MUCH more prone to getting sick. We pick up trash that peoples MOUTHS have been all over. We would use gloves but most of the time we don't get those stocked from utility. I am not saying some are not valid but, most are. Heck, I had an ear infection this week but flew a 4 day trip sick as a dog because I got screwed with the sick claim a few months ago. I had to keep pushing my cart to the aft galley to blow my nose.
Scheduling says.....good grief.....get real.

 

[flyin2low]

Scheduling says that 75% of the sick calls that they recieve from Flight Attendants are unnecessary. Most of the sick calls are just for personal time off, to enjoy a great day(s) off or a lack of motivation. Go ahead and leaflet all you want. I''m sure all of the millions(?) of O+D PIT customers (for Bob) will be willing to give you time of day for it.

 

[pitguy]

I tend to agree with PITbull. While some of the customers may not care how employees are being treated I would contend that some would, possible even the majority of the flying public. I admire the drive of the flight attendants (and PITbull) and wish them well. You can not win a battle by not fighting.

 

[MarkMyWords]

I agree......how would scheduling ever know what is a legitimate sick call or not.

 

[JS]

----------------
On 7/2/2003 3:59:19 PM CLTBWIDAYSYR wrote:

JS, US Airways management is doing plenty to piss off our customers. Planes are filthy, late, and baggage is piled up in stacks in the PHL airport because of a station manager that didn't listen to front line workers. I'm guessing you're saying it's ok for MANAGEMENT to piss you off, just not lowly labor?

----------------​

You want to talk filthy planes, that would be AA. I never check bags, so all I can do is symphathize on that matter.

Management does not re-book me, management does not print out my boarding pass, management does not serve me a beverage, and management does not say "Bu-bye" at the close of a flight. Real-life employees do, and my experiences on US have been positive for the most part. As a passenger, I don't give a flip what management does. I only care about how well the employees treat me, and US employees are doing a fine job. Please don't ruin that with leaflets!

AA, on the other hand, has the worst airline employees I have ever encountered. I avoid AA as much as I can. Because I'm not made of money and neither is my employer, every so often I get to sample the bitterness that flows from Ft. Worth, after which I look forward to seeing USAirways or Delta or Northwest (anyone!) on the next trip.

 

[JS]

If you people hand a leaflet to me, it will serve as a handy, paper reminder to choose a different airline next time.

If I want to see your "dirty laundry", I''ll visit this web site. I DO NOT want to hear about it at the airport. Your problems are between you and management. Leave the public out of it, unless you want to piss off your passengers and then get laid off for lack of work.

 

[CLTBWIDAYSYR]

----------------
On 7/2/2003 3:13:44 PM JS wrote:

If you people hand a leaflet to me, it will serve as a handy, paper reminder to choose a different airline next time.

If I want to see your "dirty laundry", I'll visit this web site. I DO NOT want to hear about it at the airport. Your problems are between you and management. Leave the public out of it, unless you want to piss off your passengers and then get laid off for lack of work.

----------------​

JS, US Airways management is doing plenty to piss off our customers. Planes are filthy, late, and baggage is piled up in stacks in the PHL airport because of a station manager that didn't listen to front line workers. I'm guessing you're saying it's ok for MANAGEMENT to piss you off, just not lowly labor?