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On 6/18/2003 3
21 PM tug_slug wrote:
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Perhaps you could post an updated AMFA press release that indicates that they saved those jobs. Otherwise, saying "we''re disappointed" isn''t buying the membership a whole lot.
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I apologize for quoting an article that''s so out dated. Perhaps the links below will be more to your liking.
http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030618/1119001051_2.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/030618/airlines_northwest_1.html
Truth is the people your about to lose is just the tip of the iceberg, wait till the company
TELLS AMFA its time to start talking concessions, that''s when were going to see what AMFA is made of.
Let the party begin
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Some of us at AA are watching and I personally like what I hear (see) AMFA saying to and about NWA management. This is a stark contrast to what the unbelievably worthless TWU says and does.
June 2003 Airline Rep Report
On June 4th representatives from the Association met with representatives of the Seneca Group to discuss their preliminary analysis of the Company’s economic condition and to discuss whether or not there is a need for the proposed concessionary package that has been given to the Association. The Seneca Group informed those in attendance that their findings clearly show that the labor groups on the property are being asked to bear a disproportionate share of the cost-restructuring burden when compared to the proposed sacrifices of the other stakeholders in the Company. They went on to state that of all the labor groups on the property, the Association members are being asked to bear a disproportionate share of the total labor cost-restructuring burden with few exceptions. It is quite evident to those of us who have been around for the last few rounds of contract negotiations, that the Company’s proposal seeks not only to eliminate all of the gains garnered in the new agreement, but also to implement work rule changes, which were sought after and never gained throughout several previous rounds of negotiations. So what does this mean to the membership, and what does the membership need to know or do?
The membership needs to bear in mind two very salient points. The first is that now more than ever it is going to be incumbent upon us to be as productive as ever, so that we will have the ability to be as competitive as we can be with regards to others in the industry who would love to coax our work their way. When it comes to maintaining their fleet the Company doesn’t care who does their maintenance, so long as they get an airworthy aircraft as cheaply as possible. The good news is that recently our members demonstrated their supreme professionalism by producing a check aircraft in record time (several thousand hours under the forecasted manpower requirements). It is going to be this kind of commitment and innovation that will insure our viability going forward for the long term. In the mean time, the second thing that our members need to do is to prepare for the unforeseen events yet to come. While we do not wish to cause our members any unnecessary worry, the road ahead is going to be a bumpy one and if they haven’t already done so they need to get their houses in order. Beyond this the rest is up to the Association and the teams of professionals we have hired to see us through the storm to the fair skies on the other side.
In the latest edition of Passages, Richard Anderson provided some additional comments about the special edition “The New Marketplace†which was contained in the May edition of Passages. Mr. Anderson was seeking to address some of the comments he had heard or read from various employees throughout the Company concerning the dichotomy between the Northwest Airlines and Southwest Airlines wage scales, as well as those of the other low-cost carriers. In his comparative analysis of the respective technician groups he points out that while the Southwest technicians may enjoy a higher wage scale, and a matching 401K retirement plan, their company outsources nearly all of its heavy maintenance and a significant share of its line maintenance, that their technicians perform pushbacks
only at the Love field station in Dallas, and at Southwest the technicians do not have a defined pension benefit plan like the one enjoyed by Northwest employees. But what is perhaps more interesting than what Mr. Anderson had to say is what Mr. Anderson wasn’t saying. For example, while the technicians at Southwest do not have a defined pension benefit plan and receive only matching funds toward their 401K plan up to a maximum of 7%, they are given the opportunity to acquire stock in the company in addition to their matching funds. This is stock in a company that has been one of the darlings of both Wall Street and the industry for nearly thirty years. But beyond that oversight Mr. Anderson failed to include another very important analysis, an analysis of the managerial groups of the respective airlines. For example, during the last 10 years the management team at Southwest Airlines has been able to produce and sustain a profitability record that is second to none in the industry with successive consecutive years of profitability during this same period. While at Northwest Airlines the various management teams that were/are in place have only been able to produce a positive net income for 5 out of the last 10 years. To be clear Mr. Anderson wasn’t in charge of the franchise for the entire previous ten-year period and it would be punitive to hold him accountable for that lackluster performance. The fact is the two-year period that he has been in charge has been perhaps one of the roughest periods in the industry’s history. But if not him then who?
In any corporation it is ultimately the Board of Directors that is charged with the oversight of the corporation and it is the Board of Directors who are tasked with insuring the vitality of the franchise. What is becoming more and more clear as we do our own comparative analysis is that it has been a nonchalant Board of Directors and the various under performing management teams that have gotten this company into the pickle it is currently in (with the help of a downturn in the economy) not the various employee groups. So it is going to be this same group of individuals that is going to steer us back to the road of prosperity by demonstrating to the various employee groups the level of sacrifice they are willing to sustain in order to accomplish this unenviable task.
On a lighter but no less solemn note, we regret to inform the members of Local 33 that they recently lost what is no doubt one the strongest, advocates to ever represent a group of employees on the Northwest property. We are of course referring to George Hellmer. If you haven’t already heard, George is no longer able to hold Minneapolis as his point with his technician seniority and he is going to be exercising his seniority to another point in the very near future. There has truly been no one as dedicated to serving the membership of this Local as George Hellmer. His unwavering commitment, inexhaustible fortitude, unmitigated sacrifice, chronic hard work, and uncanny ability to think “outside of the box†will truly be missed. If you have the opportunity to thank George for all of his hard work, please take the time to thank him for all that he has done for the members of Local 33. As far as we’re concerned there are few if any that can hold a candle to Mr. George Hellmer. George on behalf of all of the members of Local 33 thank you so very, very, much for all that you have done for all of us, you touched so many lives during your time here that it is incalculable and you left an indelible mark on each and every one of us. May God bless and watch over you and yours.
Bill Reis - Airline Rep Rich Nygaard - Assistant Airline Rep.
These guys are on the ball. They''re not afraid to blame management when management is to blame. They''re not lackys like TWU and IAM.
On another note: It sounds like what happened at NWA in 1993 is exactly what happened at AA just 6 weeks ago. Our Industrial unions lap dogs were duped again... and again... and again.
18 AM KCFlyer wrote: 
