Lets see how do I stir that pot again...
WHAT IS CHAOS(tm)?
CHAOS is a strike action that may take many forms. It may call for a mass walkout for a day or a week at a time (like a traditional strike) with no advance notice. Or, as AFA did with much success at Alaska Airlines, we may ask crews of flight attendants to walk off individual flights, at random and with no warning to management.
Management likes to say that it has 50 trained managers to take over if a flight is struck. But management doesn’t have enough people to cover a strike of every flight out of Milwaukee one day, or an unannounced strike of every flight from an outlying city to Kansas City. Truth is, management cannot predict when, where and to what degree CHAOS will strike, so it cannot defend itself against it, other than to reach a good contract with the flight attendants.
AFA developed the CHAOS -- Create Havoc Around Our System (tm) -- campaign during Alaska Airlines negotiations in 1993.
WHY CHAOS AND NOT A TRADITIONAL STRIKE?
CHAOS gives flight attendants all the leverage of a traditional strike, and more because it gives us the element of surprise. Unlike a traditional strike, Midwest Express management will not be able to predict when and where we will strike. They won't know if the strike will begin immediately after the 30-day period, after a week, or after a month.
Management won't know if we will conduct a traditional style mass strike, or strike certain flights, or certain cities.
This confusion keeps management guessing and helps prevent the company from being "ready" to defend against any single action we take.
CHAOS maximizes our impact on the company, and minimizes the risk to flight attendants. Midwest Express will have to prepare for a strike and will have to attempt to staff up enough to have employees available to cover for striking flight attendants. CHAOS also allows flight attendants to continue to work and receive a paycheck right up until the strategic strike, then return to work again.
A very important part of CHAOS is the massive public information campaign leafleting, rallying, picketing, gathering passengers' email addresses, press releases and press conferences, etc. We want to do everything we can to inform passengers of the potential for a strike, so that when they're making travel decisions, they are fully aware that their flight may be struck after Aug. 30.
HOW DOES CHAOS WORK?
CHAOS works through the element of surprise. Management won't know if we will conduct a mass walkout or intermittent targeted strikes. Management won't know if we're going to strike for a day, a week or a month. And more important, the traveling public won't know, either. he only way passengers can avoid the possibility of being stranded after August 30 is to make their travel plans accordingly. CHAOS strikes could hit Midwest Express any time after 12:01 a.m. on August 30.
CHAOS protects against the hiring of replacements. For example, roving one-day strikes at one domicile at a time would foul up the whole system, but going back after a day would guard against the hiring of replacements.
CHAOS allows flight attendants to take advantage of the unique schedules that we must adhere to. By selectively striking only on layovers, at certain cities, or on certain days when staffing is at a minimum and there is a lack of available flight attendants, even a single striker could shut down a flight in many situations.
Periodic mass strikes will drive away wary passengers, even if we come back to work after a day or a week.
Okay...all done. [😉]
37 AM 
