O.K. folks go easy on a newbie!
After lurking since August, I had to login to this forum to throw in my 2 cents.
I read an article several years ago, about how companies hire labor consultants when they are faced with tough negotions with their unions. These consultants profile the union negotiators, but also engage in such things as spreading rumors and pitting one labor group against the other.
Although I can''t prove it, I don''t doubt that U and probably UAL have hired these consultants. They seem to be having success.
With the exception of some people in CCY, I find that ALL employees have value! I wouldn''t want to be a cleaner, after a flight dodging t''storms, who had to clean a cabin after half the pax upchucked all over the place. Nor would I want to be a mechanic who had to work on the elevator of a DC-9, outside, in a snowstorm, in BUF. The gate agent surrounded by 50 irate passengers when their flight is cancelled and the F/A''s stuck with 182 passengers during a three hour ground hold also get my respect. As for reservation agents, these people are probably the most overworked and underappreciated in the Company. Unfortunately, today many companies treat employees as commodities instead of assets.
If U succeeds in terminating the pilots retirement plan, how long do you think it will be before they come after the IAM and AFA? They will probably keep the retirement plan for management, because they are too valuable to lose!
For those of you from UAL and maybe AA, learn from the missteps of the unions at U.
They came for me and there was no one left to help