There is only so much the mechanics can do in that regard as they are not the ones who design, implement or administer the maintenance programs.
For years many of us have tried to put forward suggestions for improvements only to have our ideas quickly dismissed by management.
I thought the same thing until our gung-ho dock (not mine) reviewed paper work for redundancy and reviewed everything they did to maximize efficiency. With the majority of the dock "on-board" they cut their turntime nearly in half on their first try. Some help came from a
Continuous
Improvement team that super cleaned and organized their dock for them (they could have done it themselves) but it was the mechanics initiative and efforts that made it work. To my knowledge the bill-of-work did not change. I guess the big difference is AA's management wants to improve but is to inept to lead and NW's has neither the desire or the ablilty. Kind of reminds me of very popular management joke I'm sure you've heard.
Management
A man flying in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. Reducing altitude, he spotted a man on the ground and descended to shouting range.
"Excuse me," he shouted. "Can you help me? I promised my friend I would meet him a half hour ago, but I don't know where I am."
The man below responded: "Yes. You are in a hot air balloon, hovering approximately 30 feet above this field. You are between 40 and 42 degrees North Latitude, and between 58 and 60 degrees West Longitude."
"You must be an engineer," responded the balloonist.
"I am," the man replied. "How did you know?"
"Well," said the balloonist, "everything you have told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."
Whereupon the man on the ground responded, "You must be a manager."
"That I am" replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are, or where you're going. You have made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are in the exact same position you were before we met, but now it is somehow my fault."