Fear And Loathing At Us Airways

[colorado_cowboy]

Fear and Loathing at US Airways

US Airways CEO David Siegel tried using fear, rewriting history and criticizing union leaders to gain employee support for additional pay, benefit, and work rule concessions during a recent video web cast. Siegel declared to his employees, shareholders and passengers that Southwest Airlines is coming to kill us.

Siegel’s business plan seems to be centered on scaring employees, said District 141 President Randy Canale and District 141-M President Scotty Ford. Unfortunately, he is 20 years too late to scare airline employees into believing that repeated concessions could save an airline. Airline after airline has demonstrated that no amount of employee concessions could save a company from its own incompetent management.

In contrast to Siegel’s panic, IAM Representatives have held positive and constructive meetings with Dr. David Bronner, Chairman of the Board at US Airways, and other members of management to ensure US Airways remains a viable and competitive airline .

David Siegel must begin working with, not against, his most important asset, his employees, said Canale and Ford. Otherwise, he should step aside and give the job to someone capable of handling it.

 

[ktflyhome]

So?????IAM is talking Now????? :huh:

 

[zonecontroller]

District 141 and 141-M Representatives have been meeting separately with members of Siegel’s management team to ensure the airline operates in the most efficient manner possible. The $80-100 million the company could save by enacting the IAM’s recommendations would be achieved without necessitating changes to collective bargaining agreements.

 

[usfliboi]

In my opinion , Dave isnt working agaisnt his employees. I for one believe he is telling the truth! Plain and simple. If this is all the help IAM can muster, maybe they need to find someone who is more concerned for the end result of his membership and not his job. This is nothing but telling the membership what they wanna hear.Politics, Period! This type of talk helps no one NO ONE! Wheres his anger st south west. Wheres the pep talk to his group telling them the real truth ?

 

[Phantom Fixer]

In my opinion , Dave isnt working agaisnt his employees. I for one believe he is telling the truth! Plain and simple. If this is all the help IAM can muster, maybe they need to find someone who is more concerned for the end result of his membership and not his job. This is nothing but telling the membership what they wanna hear.Politics, Period! This type of talk helps no one NO ONE! Wheres his anger st south west. Wheres the pep talk to his group telling them the real truth ?

Hmmmm? Lets see here. Dave got concessions before and he still couldn't right things....he couldn't even come close with mulitudes of violations to the CBA's going his way.

Dave over-estimated the return of the business traveler coming back to help...and we are supposed to trust his insights and leadership to right us still?

Dave under-estmated the impact of the LCC's , some of which have been eating our lunch for 15 years now. 2 years ago...Delta was the evil empire and now Southwest is out to kill us in his opinion. Yet the employee's that he has ignored and lied to , are the very ones that are supposed to underwrite his failings , am I correct in that assumption?

U has a number of things that are out to kill us....and the primary problem goes back to those with the absolute most to gain as always.

U as a patient is dying....and the cancer is the same being that handles the surgical instruments in this case.

The fact that the IAM is speaking with Dr. Bronner himself..if that's even true? , should come as little to no surprise at all. ALPA and the AFA have had private chats with the good Doctor....and it all boils down to Seigels credibility with the employee's and the financial community being in the toilet. Doctor Bronner needs to see things for what they are.

The employee's , not management are what keeps this company going...and that is from a physical and financial perspective. Physically we are what makes it happen everyday....and without our financial concessions of the past...the present and future would not even be an alternative. Clearly it's time for a person with a different outlook and farther reaching vision.

 

[Baja4U]

usfliboi, what do you know about the truth???I have some swamp, I mean lake view land for sale....It's on the lake, no erosion problems, etc.....I'm telling the truth, I SWEAR!!!!!!!

 

[Baja4U]

POST DELETED BY MODERATOR

 

[BoeingBoy]

usfliboi,

"Wheres the pep talk to his group telling them the real truth ?"

And the real truth would be?

*We have among the highest costs in the industry, if not THE highest.

*There's no way we can compete with WN (or most anyone else) unless our costs come down.

*If we can't at least co-exist with WN in PHL we're finished.

Does that about sum it up?

I can just about guarantee that there is no one in this company that doesn't know "the real truth" as outlined above. Every employee will be faced with a decision before too much longer. Do we follow Dave's advice as outlined in the webcast and upcoming contracts? Or do we follow Dr. Bronner's advice as told to the pilots at a meeting in CLT about a month ago.

What's that you say - you didn't hear Dr. Bronner's advice. It was simple and to the point - "Don't throw good money after bad".

Jim

 

[BoeingBoy]

Bob,

And all this time I thought they were installed for you - so your ah, "attribute" didn't dangle in the water.

 

[to much time to quit]

In my opinion , Dave isnt working agaisnt his employees. I for one believe he is telling the truth! Plain and simple. If this is all the help IAM can muster, maybe they need to find someone who is more concerned for the end result of his membership and not his job. This is nothing but telling the membership what they wanna hear.Politics, Period! This type of talk helps no one NO ONE! Wheres his anger st south west. Wheres the pep talk to his group telling them the real truth ?

Oh give me a break! Thats right ,this is it, take it or LEAVE. The company will not implement any cost savings ideas out of pure ignorance, and dave lorenzo has been lieing since day 1. So if the ship goes down everyones coming with us. :angry:

 

[colorado_cowboy]

usfliboi,
Your clearly not who you say you are.
Theres no way in gods green earth can any employee not see the misdirection that Dave's taken this airline.
Granted the problems Dave's trying to correct arent his doing but he was hired for a reason and he's failing miserably, so miserably that the Unions are now bypassing him and dealing directly with HIS boss Dr Bronner.
usfliboi I hope that Dave is rewarding you handsomely for coming onto this board and attempting to make him appear as something he's not.

 

[ktflyhome]

Come On!!!Everyone who is replying to usflyboi, why waste your time.???? This person is clearly on here to stir the #### and instigate hostillity. I can honestly say, that since I started posting here, this individual takes every opportunity to antagonize me, I know this for a fact. You just have to learn to IGNORE. Why tire you little fingers out replying. We have better things to do. Like talk about the real issues and LEARN!!!!!! 🙂

 

[700UW]

March 30, 2004
US Airways Update

To All IAM Members Employed by US Airways:

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

On March 24, 2004 US Airways CEO David Siegel addressed his employees, shareholders and passengers through an Internet video web cast. Siegel tried using fear, rewriting history and criticizing your union’s leadership to gain employee support for additional pay, benefit, and work rule concessions. He failed miserably, and looked like a CEO making a very public plea to save his job in the face of his own miserable failure.

Siegel claimed that the airline has been avoiding the issue of high employee costs. He apparently has forgotten that District 141 and 141-M members are already providing the carrier with $278 million in annual cost reductions as a result of the company’s bankruptcy.

Thousands of employees have been furloughed, and active employees are working harder, earning less and paying more for healthcare to ensure the future of US Airways.

Further demonstrating the IAM’s commitment to US Airways, District 141 and 141-M Representatives have been meeting separately with members of Siegel’s management team to ensure the airline operates in the most efficient manner possible. The $80-100 million the company could save by enacting the IAM’s recommendations would be achieved without necessitating changes to collective bargaining agreements.

Similarly, IAM officials have held constructive meetings with US Airways Chairman Dr. Bronner to develop a positive working relationship. The IAM’s commitment to a viable and competitive US Airways is without question.

Siegel’s tunnel vision, however, prevents him from acknowledging the substantial participation of IAM members in the airline’s recovery. He clearly appears to be out of touch with what is occurring within his own company.

Incredibly, Siegel also used the web cast as a platform to renegotiate his employment contract, offering to reduce his compensation to a level comparable to the CEO’s of low cost carriers. But those CEO’s and their company’s are successful, and similar compensation for David Siegel would still be too much and cannot be justified.

As graphs appearing in the March 1, 2004 issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology demonstrate, US Airways has lowered personnel costs by 12 percent since 2002. However, the company’s non-personnel costs actually increased by more than 4 percent. By comparison, all of US Airways' competitors were successful in reducing non-personnel costs during that same period.

It is painfully evident that David Siegel’s bankruptcy restructuring did nothing but reduce labor costs while failing to similarly reduce non-labor costs.

Siegel’s business plan seems to be centered on scaring employees. Unfortunately, he is 20 years too late to scare airline employees into believing that repeated concessions could save an airline. Airline after airline has demonstrated that no amount of employee concessions could save a company from its own incompetent management.

Siegel likes to blame the unions for US Airways’ problems, but it was he who a year ago claimed to the business community, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, and his employees that he a had a business plan to make US Airways successful.

It was the employees that gave David Siegel the tools he said he needed to make the plan work. However, he has failed us all and it is now time for him to do the right thing. David Siegel must begin working with, not against, his most important asset, his employees. Otherwise, he should step aside and give the job to someone capable of handling

Sincerely and fraternally,

Randy Canale
President
IAM District 141

Scotty Ford
President
IAM District 141-M

 

[delldude]

In my opinion , Dave isnt working agaisnt his employees. I for one believe he is telling the truth! Plain and simple. If this is all the help IAM can muster, maybe they need to find someone who is more concerned for the end result of his membership and not his job. This is nothing but telling the membership what they wanna hear.Politics, Period! This type of talk helps no one NO ONE! Wheres his anger st south west. Wheres the pep talk to his group telling them the real truth ?

we never expected any other view......have some more..

 

[colorado_cowboy]

Everyone who is replying to usflyboi, why waste your time.?

KT,
I think fliboi has proven he's something he's not, its clear that he represents CCY's best interest and cares nothing about the interest of the employees and his post's clearly do nothing but try to persuade the employees to do what Dave wants, not whats best for the employees themselves.