Another F/a Furloughs Commences January 15, 2004

[MarkMyWords]

Twice,

Makes sense to me. I can see how the company thinks they can get away with it. Its in the companys best interest to offer voluntary furloughs.

I'm with 628 in trying to figure out what is behind this. Why are they trying thier darndest to NOT offer a voluntary. You would think they'd be eager to let the higher paid and more senior people take the furlough and keep around the junior, lower paid folks? You know, park the more expensive ones in the desert and keep the cheaper, more efficient newer models? They see us as numbers to be crunched. Are the bean counters not thinking straight or is there more going on here? Maybe it doesnt matter to them as everyone (or just everyone needed) will be slotted into MAA positions.

THINK LIKE MANAGEMENT!

They are coming back to the table for more right? We all know that!

Management has to have something to offer in return for whatever it is that will be asking for.

Management has aluded to adding 60 mainline jets as a possible carrot.

Why not 2 Carrots? 60 Mainline jets & Voluntary Furlough program in exchange for whatever they have cooked up.

If I seem insensitive I'm sorry for that but I don't think there will ultimately be any furloughs unless they are voluntary.

My feeling is the negotiation season has just started. Let the games begin!

Bob -

I would tend to agree with you except for one point. The announcement of "The Plan" isn't supposed to take place until around the 15th of Jan. These furloughs are supposed to take place on the 15th of Jan. If they were going to be a ploy to get AFA to the negotiating table, wouldn't they have scheduled the furlough date to be in Feb or March?

Personally, (and I don't mean this to sound cold and uncaring) I think that since the implimentation of the new reserve system the company realized a significant "productivity enhancement". They have become better able to spread the time out more evenly in the reserve book. You no longer have senior people timing out by the 16th and Junior people sitting doing nothing all month. Everyone is working now, but no one is getting to their guarantee. Now, take 200 acitve reserves out of the books that averaged 60 hours of time. You are putting 12000 hours of time back in the reserve book and more reserves will start to break guarantee (hopefully). The change has made the reserve system more efficient and it is at the cost of an additional 200 jobs which is very unfortuante.

I had hoped that the furloughs would have been foregone in lieu of possible gains from the ideas of rolling the PHL hub and possible increases in flying. Perhaps this is a short term furlough that is going to be used as a stick in negotiations to get them to come to the table with the promise of recall? Not sure.....but it is wrong. Vol leaves should have been offered first.

 

[PITbull]

Geezus, Mark...


You just seemed to figure this all out!


Now, do you understand the low morale issue this holiday? If we had on an average of 250 sick calls per day over these holidays, you can see the apathy. Having a work ethic with this company won't buy you a cup of coffee in this environment. These folks won't be paying their bills this month with an average of a 38% pay cut, so many were not going to give up being with their families, if they were going to see the streets sometime in Jan. I said the the past 5 days in many threads, that the sick calls had to do with NSA, Legitimate sick, and low morale due to an unannounced pending furlough in jan., New reserve system with no one breaking guarantee, there you have ingredients for major labor unrest in the reserves, along with concession #3 looming in the new year.


Not posing the question if you agree, just do you understand it.

Please, lay off the f/as this holiday. This is a unique situation and they need peace.

 

[MarkMyWords]

I have always understood the low morale issue, really, I do. I have said it many times on here that the beatings from Dave must stop and he needs to be the one to create a more positive work environment and get on with the employee friendly part of all this. I also understand the apathy part. "Well, what is the point of going to work on Christmas if I am not going to get my time or get furloughed." What if we all took that attitude though. What if we all said screw it, I am not going in on Christmas cause I am tired of the BS? There would be no company to come to work for or get recalled to. I have been delivered my fair share of furlough packets and have been very fortunate to have survived all the cuts with moves and job changes. I know it is tough to make yourself go to work when there is a pink slip with your name on it. But if you want the company to succeed, and the possiblibity of recall, then you have a job to do all the way to the furlough date. I know it is tough and some will say, what's the point. The point is, these 552 will be the first to be recalled WHEN (not if) we turn the corner and do actually get into a growth plan. Don't come back with a black cloud over your head for sick calls that you made prior to your fulrough. Don't allow apathy to take over.

 

[pitguy]

Dilligas,

I love you man!

--I agree with you that "he" has "no life" so that is why "he" pokes his nose in "our" business.

 

[PITbull]

MMW,

Right now, folks are not seeing that far ahead, neither am I. We just want to be left alone for now. Enough with the sacrificing, saving the company, and saving-everyone- else noise.

Just peace....please.

 

[pitguy]

Bob,

You don't understand. This place makes people "sick".

 

[pitguy]

Some say when they leave they are planning on taking the whole place with them. Lights out.

--Leave no one behind to suffer.

 

[usfliboi]

USflyboi,

I promise you as sure as I am sitting here, there will be so much time taken on this next concession, that you will turn into "Rip Van Winkle".

So get comfy, and sweet dreams.

Pitbull!!!!!!!!! and that will accomplish what while we linger at the pearl gates? Again your emotions are getting in the way ! You dont think other people are hurting and are bitter. Not just at our airline but others? I dont think dave and company are perfect and yes many mistakes have been made. However i believe if the steps taken had not been we would dnt have a Usairways thread to day to discuss. Its plain its simple. I hope everyone the best and none of us are immune here. We are all effected maybe not in the same way but in some way are all touched.

 

[usfliboi]

TwiceBaked:

Wow...they sure brainwash you fast don't they. I guess that new "division" is working wonders. How fast your tune changes my freind. You know that what they are doing is WRONG and DISGUSTING. There are 500 people that would like to leave and let a JR person stay...they won't even offer the option! This place is insane!

Correct me if im wrong.... The amount of people vol lately for the leave has shrivled. If im correct the reason there was invol furloughs in the past was there was enough vol.?

 

[Twicebaked]

I am sorry if I missed something, but this is the way I see things....

Mark,

No! If the company needs 5,500 and 350 came back they need to get rid of 350 ACTIVE f/a's. They may have to CHANGE THE STATUS of some VF's to invol. This resulting in "appearing" to be more furloughs than it actually is. We are talking head counts here. The real number 552 was furloughed to reach 200.
You see 352 of those flight attendants were INACTIVE already. There status was merely changed. THEY WERE ALREADY GONE.

Let's say if I were active I would be number 200. Let's say I am not now...therefore to get rid of 200 ACTIVE f/a's they need to go 1 ahead of me since I am NOT in the ACTIVE head count.

I am not sure about the numbers Pitbull is refering..
The above is my point. Do you see it now?

 

[PSA1979]

Now I know you are all going to say I drank the management Koolaid, but bear with me here, I am trying to look at this through the eyes of Good Business Sense.

If the company had furloughed on Dec 2, then over the Christmas sick out, there would have been an extra 200 f/a's not available to work. Add that to the 298 that called in sick and how many flights would have been cancelled? I estimate that at least 30, maybe even 50. If that's the case, somewhere around 5,000 passengers would have had their flights cancelled. That alone in lost revenue would have been horrendous! I think they actually planned ahead for something. Of course I am in total shock, as I have never seen this company plan ahead. It seems every year before some one at the top said" why did'nt you tell me Christmas was in December?"

So now I shall duck my head for all the zingers rushing by me........

Oh, and Twice, I have to agree with you, the way I interpret our contract no new reduction in force has occurred. However, having said that.... Give em Hell Teddy!!!!!!!!!

 

[usfliboi]

PSA You are correct. My point Buisness 101

 

[USAirBoyA330]

Guys!....It's about the "moral or right" thing too do and this management just doesn't know how! They are too lazy to offer a VF and let the people who would gladly take the place of a JR F/A loosing their job. If they would offer a VF program I bet NO ONE would get INVOL Furloughed. People are salivating for it and it's a total slap in the face.
I don't give a flying fig what the contract loophole they try and wiggle through says.....it's about treating people with a little respect and this management can't even do that.

 

[USAirBoyA330]

And Twicebaked:
Play coy but if you were still oh lets just say "active" as a U F/A you butt your would out on the street. You just took another position before it hit you and yes, I know you and have flown with you. You are drinking the RIDC Park CoolAid. Don't forget where you started.

 

[PITbull]

tWICE:

This is simple logic.

The returnees were in December. The Time balance Reserve system was November. We have the vidence that 1800 reserves DID NOT BREAK GUARANTEE in November. That was the purpose of "time balance" system, to reduce heads. How can that be translated to NO FURTHER REDUCTION IN FORCE?????

If we have less than the number of f/as on Jan. 15. then we had on Nov. 30, and the furlough list grew, we have a reduction.

Your logic of Invol f/as taking the place of Vol. f/as, whould then NET the same amount of f/as and yield no further reduction. The question is not what Management NEEDS, but what managemnt HAS in terms of f/as.

I will be getting those numbers.


USflyboi,

LET ME BE THE 1,000,000TH Person to tell you....YOU ARE WRONG!