How Greener Is It On The Other Side

If life is so good after U why are we still posting here? I guess we all have a hope that the ones left will actually say enough is enough, and let the chips fall where they may. The employees of U are hard working and dedicated. They deserve far better. Just simple honesty toward them would be a good start.

I got furloughed before all the capitulation started so I was lucky to go out with full pay and also only lost 1 day of sick leave (And before 320 gets all hot and bothered, it was legitimately used because I had an injury that prevented me from working. Believe you me I would have gladly forgone the injury if I could have chosen instead to forgo my sick leave.) It was a serious bummer to loose such a good paying job, and finding a new job that paid a reasonable wage to replace what I had been making was a difficult task (though with all the givebacks that have occurred since I left, it would be a much easier task now!)

It took almost a year to find a new “career jobâ€￾ and it is not in the airlines. I am now a desk jockey that works days, has weekends off, and have plenty of vacation/holidays a year. Added to that I am required to take 2.5 hour lunches to go to the gym three days a week. The money is equivalent, but better than that, I no longer read communiqués from the boss that blame me and my hardworking co-workers for all the evils of the world to include world hunger and global warming. And the best part of all is that I have the authority and the resources to reward the people that I am responsible for. Wow, it is such a great thing to work with people, to allow them carte blanche because they are the experts at what they do, to value their contribution no matter how they decided to tackle the problem, and to actually reward them for just doing their job well.

Is there life after U? Only after you decide enough is enough or the ladder is pulled out of your reach!

Save your money. It might be a tough transition, but you will wish it happened sooner once it is past.
 
I knew that my airline mechanic job was doomed shortly after I started when I was told keep your bags packed, where are you gonna move, etc. I knew then that this job was good for today, but not good enough to be an ass following a carrot. A stable life will get you ahead in the real world, not a job. This is the airline legacy and it finally has ruined many lives. Take control of your own life and let no one pull your strings. The blame for this manipulation of lives goes right to the top, where the dollar signs lead. Always head this and know your enemy. Read this post and learn. I would be driving home after my miserable midnight shift and see thousands of others going to work at normal jobs doing as well or better than me and I just knew that there's no reason I couldn't be in that other lane. I was right, and now I don't hear what are you gonna do on a daily basis. My UAIR job appeared secure and wasn't, my new career isn't neccesarilly secure but could probably last as long as I need it to. Illusion Vs. reality. I had control of my job at UAIR, and I have control of my new career. What I don't have control of is life itself, that's in god's hands. I congradulate the people on this post who have found life after UAIR, you deserve it after what you've been through. I had hoped to return to the airlines for several years, but now I know its over and I can finally speak what I thought about about the job that should of been.
 
Phoenix and ggu23311 excellent posts and ggu23311, you think like I do. Phoenix you ask a question I asked myself: Why are we still posting? I would guess emotional attachment, after all U was once our live. I like the way ggu23311 described the midnight shift, a very good analogy and exactly how I felt when forced to work weekend and midnights after almost 15 years of service. I knew I could do better just knew it so I moved on and did do better.

When you’re there you feel trapped, like being in a dark tunnel with no light on either side, but keep walking toward your dreams because the tunnel does come to an end and you once again will see daylight and thank yourselves that you kept moving.

It was fun in its good days and the co-workers are some of the best people I ever met in my 53 years of life, some of those people I will always keep in touch with.

All The Best in Your Journey.

Curt
 
Deano - Our fun UAIR is long gone. It's now a division of the Walmart economy! Then again Walmart might be a funner place to work. I do hope the manipulators do pay for the UAIR fiasco in the long run. We will be no worse for the wear, only stronger. Good luck to you Deano.
 
madders said:
I have read on here where a few Usairways employees have found other jobs elsewhere and loving every minute of it..
I have a few questions for you:
Are you making more,less or same?
The new job you got were there many position opened ,were there a lot of applicants are there more work available ?

For me I am going to try to do something for myself ..start my own business

by the way are you in the same industry ??
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I left in March of 2004 and it was a good move for me and my family. I'm still at the airport but not with an airline. I should make the most ever in my life (annualized). There is opportunity here that was never there at U, unless you actually wanted to move to PHL---NOT! I can move up in ways that are simply not possible at U.

There were 20-30 who applied for the 2 openings and I got one of them. My degree, attitude, and "proveable" performance in managerial areas put me in here. A lot of nail biting during that time, but I'm here and happy. Benny's are better (a lot better!!) on the Vacation/Holiday front, but the cost of Insurance is a bit higher, however after the drubbing U employees will take on that end, in the long run it will be better and cheaper.

Did I make the right choice? One look in the business section reminds me daily I did. I kiss the ground everyday I'm so thankfull I got out in time.

Good luck to all.

ps. They need a spell checker here big time---sorry for the misspellings in advance.
 
Oliver Twist said:
As for still posting here, I really do want to see U make it. I left good friends there whom I do not want to see dumped, stranded, and scr%#ed to the wall.
[post="234806"][/post]​

Why do I post here occasionally? Why do I read this website weekly? Part nostalgia, part concern for ex-coworkers still there, curiosity about what is happening, etc. I gave 23 years of my life to U. I am no longer there but 23 years of my life is. I still care, I still wish, I still say what if this or that. I hope. It is my link to see what is happening good and bad. And I appreciate the opportunity to do so. Life doesn't end after U, but old memories die hard.
 
genejockey said:
Madders & all US Airians,

Today is New Years Eve and she is off of work on a company holiday. She was off for Thanksgiving and Christmas also (both 4 day weekends). One thing that I cannot stress enough is that she is a completely different person.....even the expression on her face is very different. She comes home after a day in the office with a smile on her face and talks about her day like a little kid talking about an amusement park. Her new company treats all of their employees with great respect. In fact, they are not called employees, they are considered Team Mates. One of the companys mottos is "If your not having fun, you won't want be here" (Would this fly at US - Hee Hee!). The whole mindset of the company is different. Just the other day, she was called into a conference room. Right away, her US Airways mindset kicked in......."Oh no, I going to get reamed out for something." Three group managers where waiting in the conference room for the following: (1) get her input on the companys training program (2) they recruited her for a new division that is prospering to such an extent that they are expanding by approximately two fold, and (3) she has been asked to review resumes and provide input for the evaluation of potential new hires.

[post="234267"][/post]​
Hopefully Crelin and Paladini didn't see this or their heads may have gone spinning off their bodies!
 
Hello,
After nearly 14 years as a technician with USAIRWAYS I had an enough…Leaving for a better life with jetBlue was hard but a necessity for some stability and sanctity. My technician hiring class never had a days rest from one maintenance station closing after another. The day I returned my badge to move on was difficult to describe, more like bitter sweet. I knew many ex-coworkers, I would never work with or see again, and believe me when I say USAIRWAYS as some of the finest technicians in the business…I have helped many of the top ex-USAIWAYS technicians land jobs at jetBlue. Life at jetBlue is wonderful, they really care about you; appreciate what you do for our company, respect, etc. NO more fighting, doom and gloom, worried from one day to the next if you’re going to loose your station or worse loose your job. jet Blue’s pay and benefits are better, on my two year anniversary; August 2005 (7 months from now) pay level will be the same as USAIRWAYS prior to the pay cuts. Best of all back in Florida my home; this was absolute impossibility at USAIRWAYS with all the maintenance station closings layoffs and seniority going backwards. Also one month after I started with jetBlue a job offer came from Southwest Airlines. There is life after USAIRWAYS…I will always even thru all the hard times will remember my ex-USAIRWAYS co-workers as some of the best people in the industry.

*********Best of luck to all**********


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