Clipped workers of airlines warn: Fight cutbacks at own risk
By Micheline Maynard
The New York Times
New York - Leonard Robinson, who put in 30 years as a mechanic for Pan American World Airways, has a message for his counterparts at United, US Airways, Delta and other struggling airlines pressing their workers for concessions: Do not wait until it is too late.
"Negotiate, just negotiate," Robinson said.
Pan Am had more than 26,000 workers in its last full year of operation in 1990. All those jobs were lost when the carrier shut down Dec. 1, 1991.
"They should give up something" if it will save their jobs, said Robinson, 74, of Brooklyn.
But David Garriga, who was laid off in 2001, after Trans World Airlines went bankrupt and was absorbed by American, said he did not regret fighting the constant rounds of concessions that TWA management sought. Even though he has not worked since, he said the unions had no other choice.
"It got to the point where we said, 'We're not going to give back and take away any more,"' said Garriga, 53, of Valley Stream, N.Y.
Therein lies the problem that union workers at the major airlines face, none more so than at US Airways, which filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time Sept. 12, after its employees refused to grant $800 million in wage and benefit cuts, the third round of cuts sought by the company.
The struggles of US Airways, along with those of United Airlines, which has been in bankruptcy since December 2002, and Delta Air Lines, which is threatening to seek court protection, leave more than 100,000 airline workers facing uncertainty about their futures. If all three companies fail, which analysts say is not likely, that would wipe out more jobs than the 110,000 lost after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
If the union workers give in, as Robinson counseled, they still might see their jobs vanish anyway, but once that happened, they might not find other jobs, like Garriga has not, and surely never the kinds of jobs they once held, for the industry has fundamentally changed.
The recent bankruptcies at US Airways and United demonstrate that companies can face financial distress even when workers cooperate, strengthening the resolve of today's labor groups to resist further cuts.
Even so, the previous generation's hard-line stance is understandable because airline jobs were once considered tickets to an enviable lifestyle.
"People used to say, 'You'll never be a millionaire, but you'll live like one,"' said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
But those days are gone, as are the health care benefits and the company stock that Mitchell Jensen, a 72-year-old former ramp worker for Pan Am, received in lieu of raises during the airline's final 11 years.
All that Jensen has left is a pension of $832.78 a month, administered by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which took over the airline's retirement plan when Pan Am went under.
Bobby Hall, who is in his mid- 50s and spent 33 years repairing planes for Trans World Airlines, was not as lucky. He lost his job on Oct. 6, 2001, when American, which assumed TWA's assets in bankruptcy, laid off thousands of workers. He has not found work since.
"The airline field is basically dead right now," said Hall, who lives in Oceanside, N.Y.
Although Garriga, the former TWA mechanic, supported taking a hard-line stance with management, that strategy would not be in the best interests of the workers at US Airways, Delta and other airlines, said Nick Lacetera, 53, the former president of the Pan Am credit union, who is now in charge of the financial institution that acquired its assets.
"The reality is that they are going to have to bite the bullet and do what is necessary to survive," Lacetera said.
"A half of a loaf is better than none."
By Micheline Maynard
The New York Times
New York - Leonard Robinson, who put in 30 years as a mechanic for Pan American World Airways, has a message for his counterparts at United, US Airways, Delta and other struggling airlines pressing their workers for concessions: Do not wait until it is too late.
"Negotiate, just negotiate," Robinson said.
Pan Am had more than 26,000 workers in its last full year of operation in 1990. All those jobs were lost when the carrier shut down Dec. 1, 1991.
"They should give up something" if it will save their jobs, said Robinson, 74, of Brooklyn.
But David Garriga, who was laid off in 2001, after Trans World Airlines went bankrupt and was absorbed by American, said he did not regret fighting the constant rounds of concessions that TWA management sought. Even though he has not worked since, he said the unions had no other choice.
"It got to the point where we said, 'We're not going to give back and take away any more,"' said Garriga, 53, of Valley Stream, N.Y.
Therein lies the problem that union workers at the major airlines face, none more so than at US Airways, which filed for bankruptcy protection for a second time Sept. 12, after its employees refused to grant $800 million in wage and benefit cuts, the third round of cuts sought by the company.
The struggles of US Airways, along with those of United Airlines, which has been in bankruptcy since December 2002, and Delta Air Lines, which is threatening to seek court protection, leave more than 100,000 airline workers facing uncertainty about their futures. If all three companies fail, which analysts say is not likely, that would wipe out more jobs than the 110,000 lost after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
If the union workers give in, as Robinson counseled, they still might see their jobs vanish anyway, but once that happened, they might not find other jobs, like Garriga has not, and surely never the kinds of jobs they once held, for the industry has fundamentally changed.
The recent bankruptcies at US Airways and United demonstrate that companies can face financial distress even when workers cooperate, strengthening the resolve of today's labor groups to resist further cuts.
Even so, the previous generation's hard-line stance is understandable because airline jobs were once considered tickets to an enviable lifestyle.
"People used to say, 'You'll never be a millionaire, but you'll live like one,"' said Peter Cappelli, a management professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
But those days are gone, as are the health care benefits and the company stock that Mitchell Jensen, a 72-year-old former ramp worker for Pan Am, received in lieu of raises during the airline's final 11 years.
All that Jensen has left is a pension of $832.78 a month, administered by the federal Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., which took over the airline's retirement plan when Pan Am went under.
Bobby Hall, who is in his mid- 50s and spent 33 years repairing planes for Trans World Airlines, was not as lucky. He lost his job on Oct. 6, 2001, when American, which assumed TWA's assets in bankruptcy, laid off thousands of workers. He has not found work since.
"The airline field is basically dead right now," said Hall, who lives in Oceanside, N.Y.
Although Garriga, the former TWA mechanic, supported taking a hard-line stance with management, that strategy would not be in the best interests of the workers at US Airways, Delta and other airlines, said Nick Lacetera, 53, the former president of the Pan Am credit union, who is now in charge of the financial institution that acquired its assets.
"The reality is that they are going to have to bite the bullet and do what is necessary to survive," Lacetera said.
"A half of a loaf is better than none."
