APFA 1993 Strike Video

[AC AA LA FA]

Wow..what memories.... Great video !!!


I share many of the same feelings and have many of proud memories of those 5 days in November 1993. The strike was one of the most empowering experiences of my life.

The moment I stepped onto the picket line in SFO I knew that collectively and individually the decision to strike was the right one.

 

[eolesen]

I was still an agent way back then... Chaos is an understatement.

One of the reasons for "misinformation" was communications were pretty much limited to land-lines, fax, and teletype. That led to a lot of confusion which probably wouldn't happen today. APA and APFA were pretty well organized with phone banks, and crews were calling in hours before their sign-ins. AA had to rely on waiting for a crew to no-showed their sign-in time.

Just think about it... in 1993, "cell phones" were still in a briefcase size bag. Car phones were hardwired into the dashboard. 2-way text pagers existed, but were really expensive and not at all that common. Email as we know it wasn't widely used beyond mainframe, CompuServe, and the first generation of AOL users. Graphic web browsers weren't even invented until 1993, and the first commercial releases of Netscape weren't until 1994.

Thinking about how the '93 strike would play out with today's technology is interesting. Imagine all the moles from both sides with camera phones, Blackberrys and iPhones, being able to email stuff back/forth to APFA HDQ or AA SOC....

 

[Maark767]

Wow..what memories.... Great video !!!


I share many of the same feelings and have many of proud memories of those 5 days in November 1993. The strike was one of the most empowering experiences of my life.

The moment I stepped onto the picket line in SFO I knew that collectively and individually the decision to strike was the right one.

"And I'd do it again" ......

 

[Maark767]

Thank you for your kind words.
As I was listening to CNN this morning and as the "Big 3" auto execs were asking for financial assistance, the prevailing comments from the panel were, "We think they would be better off filing bk. Then they could cut those union wages". The execs (who negotiated those agreements) of course would be able to retain their salaries, perks, et al, but the worker would take the brunt of poor mangt. decisions in product,marketing, pricing, quality etc.
Carl Ichan stated the fight attendants should take more of a hit because, "They aren't breadwinners. They are second incomes. They are "just" the girls in the back." While our strike was financially devastating to those of us who were "out" for a significant period of time (for me, Mar. '86 to May '88), we had some significant Supreme Court wins and most importantly we learned that we were productive, we could support our families, we were strong and were prepared the future time when we became furlough fodder for the APFA. Many have asked me how/why we have remained UNIFIED in spite of many union philosophical differences. This was one of those great lessons we learned during our strike. Times have changed. And with this new administration may change again. The avarage AA f/a could not name their union President much less make an "informed" decision over self help. As one of my friends once said, "I flew trips longer than the AA f/as strike". I have always said, "You all didn't have time enough to exchange recipes and phone numbers on the picket line, much less be tested". Be careful of such dangerous bravado. We were "undone" by our former "Clipped Wings" who crossed our picket lines to fly "one more time". All former TWA full term strikers(retired) belong to Silver Wings, and the retired TWA/AA group may join Stolen Wings. Be very careful about who you tick off.....

There is fairness in real, good faith bargaining. Lets see if both the Company and the Union can grow up (for once) and put forth an honest effort to negotiate an aggrement that is beneficial to both. There are many areas of the CBA that could be tightened that would be cost effective for the Company and f/a friendly. The Company needs to quit trying to "sell" no cost, cost neutral items for givebacks. The Union needs to look at the antiquated workrule and honestly look for common ground to revamp. I don't envy either side.

Well it's good to know that we have some TWA F/As this time around and having their experience is all the better.....
We are now one bigger union..............

 

[nbmcg01]

Well it's good to know that we have some TWA F/As this time around and having their experience is all the better.....
We are now one bigger union..............

It is very interesting reading your stories. It brings back memories of "strike flights", where planes were sent around the system to pick up crews. That didn't happen in '86. We were left to find our own way home. But, we were prepared.

Many of our younger '85-'86 hires have become wonderful union advocates. They learned from their experience. It took many years for our unity. Some still can name every crossover. Victoria Frankovich was instrumental in brining this about in '94. We had a participatory mangt. agreemant with TWA and we saw extrordinary changes in how business was done with the f/as. All "factions" were represented by union reps (advocates) both elected and appointed. I even sat in and had say so on In-Flight mangt. hiring. We had full time reps in scheduling, the training center, on the airline BOD, accident investigation,benefits, you name it. There were 21 full time PAID by the Company positions (for 6000 f/as) and it was 'sweet'. Great after the less than welcome return from the strike. The funny thing is TWA's customer service ratings went up in direct proportion to the % of recalls. Hummmmm

The moral of the story is that Victoria knew that workers divided were deadly in negotiations. This is one of the main reasons she insisted on DOH for OZ f/as, even while 5 to 6000 of her members were still locked out. Another house divided if you will. We all have "come together" even though many of us have complete opposite ideas about how unions should be opperated. I, for one, like independents. Others like the "big boys". This will be an interesting round of talks. It is the ONLY thing I miss and have a little regret about leaving. Oh how I love negotiations.

 

[Maark767]

Thank you for your kind words.
As I was listening to CNN this morning and as the "Big 3" auto execs were asking for financial assistance, the prevailing comments from the panel were, "We think they would be better off filing bk. Then they could cut those union wages". The execs (who negotiated those agreements) of course would be able to retain their salaries, perks, et al, but the worker would take the brunt of poor mangt. decisions in product,marketing, pricing, quality etc.
Carl Ichan stated the fight attendants should take more of a hit because, "They aren't breadwinners. They are second incomes. They are "just" the girls in the back." While our strike was financially devastating to those of us who were "out" for a significant period of time (for me, Mar. '86 to May '88), we had some significant Supreme Court wins and most importantly we learned that we were productive, we could support our families, we were strong and were prepared the future time when we became furlough fodder for the APFA. Many have asked me how/why we have remained UNIFIED in spite of many union philosophical differences. This was one of those great lessons we learned during our strike. Times have changed. And with this new administration may change again. The avarage AA f/a could not name their union President much less make an "informed" decision over self help. As one of my friends once said, "I flew trips longer than the AA f/as strike". I have always said, "You all didn't have time enough to exchange recipes and phone numbers on the picket line, much less be tested". Be careful of such dangerous bravado. We were "undone" by our former "Clipped Wings" who crossed our picket lines to fly "one more time". All former TWA full term strikers(retired) belong to Silver Wings, and the retired TWA/AA group may join Stolen Wings. Be very careful about who you tick off.....

There is fairness in real, good faith bargaining. Lets see if both the Company and the Union can grow up (for once) and put forth an honest effort to negotiate an aggrement that is beneficial to both. There are many areas of the CBA that could be tightened that would be cost effective for the Company and f/a friendly. The Company needs to quit trying to "sell" no cost, cost neutral items for givebacks. The Union needs to look at the antiquated workrule and honestly look for common ground to revamp. I don't envy either side.

Just a note here... Our strike was only set to last 11 days and then back to work. I know it sounds crazy but at the time APFA called it the "Smart Strike". Like I said it sounds crazy .... But that's what it was...
Clinton got Crandall to agree to binding arbritration and we went back to work....
Also at the time it seemed like the F/A workforce of 21,000 was not unified and people were all over the page, not knowing what was going on ... but boy when the union called the strike , we got unified and off to the picket line it was.... APFA was called...."The little union that could "

 

[CubsFanJohn]

I was still an agent way back then... Chaos is an understatement.

One of the reasons for "misinformation" was communications were pretty much limited to land-lines, fax, and teletype. That led to a lot of confusion which probably wouldn't happen today. APA and APFA were pretty well organized with phone banks, and crews were calling in hours before their sign-ins. AA had to rely on waiting for a crew to no-showed their sign-in time.

Just think about it... in 1993, "cell phones" were still in a briefcase size bag. Car phones were hardwired into the dashboard. 2-way text pagers existed, but were really expensive and not at all that common. Email as we know it wasn't widely used beyond mainframe, CompuServe, and the first generation of AOL users. Graphic web browsers weren't even invented until 1993, and the first commercial releases of Netscape weren't until 1994.

Thinking about how the '93 strike would play out with today's technology is interesting. Imagine all the moles from both sides with camera phones, Blackberrys and iPhones, being able to email stuff back/forth to APFA HDQ or AA SOC....

They would prorably have Management spies hiding behind the trees by the airport knowning AA Management. I think we will see one of the Unions hit the picket lines in 09 or 10, my bet is the APA with APFA a close 2nd. The TWU will roll over as always. I could see BOTH the APA and the APFA strike.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

I think strike talk at this point is very irresponsible on the part of APFA's leadership. They have been negotiating for a few months (less than TWU and APA) and are trying to use this as what? A bargaining tool? All they will succeed in doing is scaring away customers who don't understand that an actual strike is a long way off.

Irresponsible.

 

[jersey777]

I think strike talk at this point is very irresponsible on the part of APFA's leadership. They have been negotiating for a few months (less than TWU and APA) and are trying to use this as what? A bargaining tool? All they will succeed in doing is scaring away customers who don't understand that an actual strike is a long way off.

Irresponsible.

Not irresponsible in the least. This was not some veiled threat to the general public. It was an anniversary to a very significant event which goes to the heart of unionism...that is...if we all stick together we can accomplish great things. It was also a great reminder to those who experienced the strike and a rallying call to new members who were not hired yet.


PS Don't worry about Laura Glading... FrequentFlierCA....she may be even smarter than you.

 

[AC AA LA FA]

Striking is the lynch pin in any strategy of collective bargaining. Its the 800lb gorilla in the room and you bet...we will talk about it. There was a reason to strike in 93 and there might be a reason to strike in 09. That remains to be seen and will not be entered into lightly by Laura or anyone else. Not mentioning or talking about the final, albeit drastic measure Unions have to strike would be selling ourselves short in terms of our effectiveness towards the company, the public, and our membership.

 

[frontline]

What "leaders" like Laura Glading and Lloyd Hill fail to understand is that pushing the big red button is a double-edged sword, and has unpredictable consequences. Yes, it might result in the company caving and giving in to labor demands. Or, equally likely, management will stand firm and do what it thinks is best for the company's bottom line. In that event a prolonged strike would push the company into Chapter 11 (or Chapter 7) and employees would lose wages, benefits, pensions, etc.

Those idiots with their fingers on the button need to think long and hard before even considering pushing it!!

 

[AC AA LA FA]

..The membership 1st has to vote to authorize a strike which, yes is easy achieved..
Our history tells us that a strike was unbelievably successful when many said it was crazy. I see nothing wrong with believing the same and trusting our leadership when/if its its time to walk. If the company wants to avoid "total collapse" or "Chapter 7" or "preserve their bottom line" they can negotiate in good faith and consider our sacrifices and make good on their promise of "shared rewards". (.I'm still waiting 4 bonus rounds later) "Book aways" come with labor strife and work on our behalf in the short run.. ..Again if AA wants to avoid them...address the imporntant issues on the table ..in good faith..
The worker has suffered far to long, here and in the US in general. I will stand up and fight and strike for what I feel is fair and just...

 

[BigBangTheory]

I think strike talk at this point is very irresponsible on the part of APFA's leadership. They have been negotiating for a few months (less than TWU and APA) and are trying to use this as what? A bargaining tool? All they will succeed in doing is scaring away customers who don't understand that an actual strike is a long way off.

Irresponsible.

Its a great idea! Shows we are not scared and will not give up. Sorry you will just have to forget about your AAdvantage miles.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

Hey...tell me some JUICY...DFW..(non mangement) scab stories... :down:

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

Its a great idea! Shows we are not scared and will not give up. Sorry you will just have to forget about your AAdvantage miles.

Sorry, you will just have to forget about your job. If there is even a hint of a strike I will take my Exec Plat, premium-fare-paying butt over to your competitors immediately.

Lots of other people will, too. After that, even if the company wanted to cave in to your demands, where would the money come from?

I'm not saying there's never a circumstance where a strike should happen, but talking publicly about it this early in negotiations will only do harm to the cause.