Received: 01/19/04 22
33 EST
Name: Bill Schneider
E-Mail:
Employer: NWA
Location: IAH
Message:
It seems that this board has been bombarded with the old anti-AMFA arguments. This is exactly what happened when we were confronted with another IAMAW concessionary tentative agreement. We voted that T/A down. The AMFA grass roots drive then seemed to take hold.
The AMFA is no panacea. Just because you vote in the AMFA does not mean you can sit on your butt and expect miracles to happen. This is a democratic union. Get involved, be active, and most of all, be professional.
As Aircraft Maintenance Technicians the only way we will further our profession is to be the professionals we are. We must not portray the image of the industrial union thug. If we are to be treated as professionals, we must act as such. At NWA we have fostered a new image for the Technician and Related.
NWA has used every possible method to reduce our headcount. They will continue to reduce the rank and file employees who refuse to pull their own weight. They have violated the agreement at times and when they have the AMFA has had those violations overturned via arbitration.
Northwest Airlines will continue to try to shed the in house work that can be done by third party outfits. If NWA can have a seat overhauled by a contractor who pays their workers $12.00/hr, why would they keep that work in house? I believe NWA is following the Continental Airlines model. I can’t fault NWA for doing this. The executives are focusing on reducing costs. They feel that this is the best way to reduce maintenance costs. I disagree. I am not in the position to change the way NWA does business. The TWU and their OSM classification have prevented those jobs from ever being performed by AMT's again.
NWA has focused on the Airline customer. Aircraft maintenance is a cost center. Richard Anderson (NWA’s CEO) has said that we are in the Airline business, not the aircraft maintenance business.
NWA wants to have only Line Maintenance and light check work done in house. As long as there is third party contractors to perform the heavy check work with unlicensed mechanics, all airlines will utilize the low wage option. As it stands, contractors for half the cost are doing most back shop work by utilizing unlicensed techs under a repair station license.
As professional AMT's we must unite and aim for a common goal. Certificated technicians must perform any and all maintenance done on aircraft and the parts attached to them. This will never happen under the catchall industrial unions such as the TWU/IAMAW. They want to keep the most dues dollars flowing. If that means creating b-scale, c-scale…. that will be the goal. The industrial unions would much rather have 2000 AMT’s and 4000 OSM’s than to have 4000 professional well paid AMT’s. That is because they need the strength in numbers for their finances. The greater the number, the more dues flow. -------
compliments of the-mechanic
The more you look the more you can see amfa's philosophy, let farmouts continue until all heavy maintenance is gone. Sounds like amfa is allowing all this to happen with no fight. Word has it that amfa feels the arbitration case has no merit and will cost the effected mechanic's millions of dollars.
