Mark,
I personally do not believe RG is from "the old school" of airline thinking. Leaders inspire and service the employees who in turn, service the customer. I believe Dave is too arrogant and not sophisticated as a CEO to occupy the head seat. His 7 year CO express experience, IMO, Did not qualify him to head our kind of major carrier. He came on board here too "wet behind the ears" and not seasoned in the business. In short version, he brought in some "wizard" in finance that planned a bankruptcy, and some Lorenzo offsprings", a couple of "union busters" to "brain wash" the rest of management in the mix, and used "intimidation", threats, all under a scheme of "labor friendliness". For these very reasons, Labor knows in retorspect, that Dave's entire tenure, thus far, was (I'll be kind) less than genuine, and NOT in labor's best interest, and thus, not the airline. This is not just my train of thought, but many on the outside who are privey to what has occured here. Successful restructuring is a "relative term" and is based on how you intrepret success. When you have over 20,000 jobs disappear, violations in ALL working agreements, grievance coming out with great speed, MAJOR labor unrest is validation enough that this entire management team has forsaken most of the valued components that make up a corporation....it's employees. So, how do you operate a business?
I am deeply sadened. These acts that have been done to the employee groups are not "great things" that are praisworthy of any CEO or management team. They have cured one aspect of the business, and _ _cked up the rest. They have over cut capacity, and have allowed the other major carriers to bring in more flights to fill in what U has tried to correct. As a result, you still have an industry of "over capacity". If this management would just take their focus off labor costs and zoom in on the marketing /revenue side of the equation, and help the employees operate this airline things may just balance out....so you have to wonder why they haven't.
We are starving here at U for good leadership.
My guess, they are not finished with Labor until they "bust up" all the unions. Then those who have come on board will think they now have a "total" successful restructuring in the airline industry, so they can let loose their "rath" on the American worker in the rest of the airline industry and perhaps all industries. That will not create "good jobs" in our Country, and NOT good for our nation in general.
If I were sitting on the outside, looking in a year ago, I would have taken the position that, if U was as bad as this management stated, and UAL as well, then the government should have allowed the Industry to correct itself and let those carriers that can't compete go to the way side. The entire Industry would have corrected itself. Instead, the government took a bandaid of billions of tax payer dollars, coupled with Bankruptcy restructuring, and these airlines are still "crying".
So you have to say, with all this advantage for U, why can't this team turn a profit NOW. As mrplanes had stated in a previous post....one must conlude that either the "business plan" is flawed in design or its just incompetence.
For me, there are reasons why I stay, and they are not "self serving" trust me.
I could leave tomorrow, and find a job the next day at a hospital. I stay, because many dedicated folks that are here, and have been here are either trapped by expenses with familes and sit here in a "soft economy" where good employment is scarce. We have a government administration that does not have a clue on how to "create good jobs" here in America. THEY are of the old school that the corporations must be protected, and they have this delusion that these corporations will hire if they prosper. The opposite occurs. Corproations take the tax credits and bail outs, reduce more staffing, provide less quality service, to the paying public, and LINE THEIR OWN POCKETS. Why? Because they make the rules and its legal. Its called Corporate Executive Greed..and it is written about more in the last 5 years than anytime in our business history.
Again, I state that this industry 's business has tilted, is off kilter and unbalanced. That is the main reason why I believe in unions. Its not that they are a utopia or antedote for our economy, but it is surely ONE venue that forces a balance in the fragile equation.
Sorry, went off topic. I do that sometime when I make "noise" as Bob stated in another thread.
Gangwal is again a business man. Reaonability is a great quality in a CEO, and a greater quality with one who persues peace with labor and a middle ground. He educated the MEC on the board seat and its function according to the LEC of PIT. Its not a matter to debate with the MEC, but rather will RG accept?
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