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On 1/13/2003 2:17:51 PM Rational Thought wrote:
2. Assuming politics is at play, which I don't. What political genius would sacrifice an airline based in Illinios and save one in Texas. GWB is a lock for Texas, Illinious...now there you have a lot of electoral votes and a closer race. If anything, he should have saved UAL if it was polical. And exactly how many votes do Republicans lose when a union dominated firm goes under? Maybe 3 or 4.
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You, my friend, have it exactly right. In the world of the Electorate College, States that count are the ones where you are weak. Regardless of what happens in Texas before 2004, it will go in GW's corner. If re-election were his concern with regard to the airlines, Illinois would be the smart place to make friends. It obviously wasn't.
I hope AA get's it's house in order before CH11 closes in. At UA and US we have very little leverage left. We will get what they give us for now. The last thing we as an industry need is another large group of employees getting the shaft and dragging average wages down further. This unfortunately is the goal of the current administration. (And I'm saying this as a registered Republican.) Lower wages means less dues money to organized labor, less $ going to the PAC, and less $ for GW's opponents.
I hope for the best at AA. However as many friends have said throughout the industry, "same circus... different clowns." My opinion is that mistrust of management along with labor denial will soon take hold at AA. We are like a convoy headed into a major storm. First USAir. Then United. AA, Delta, and NW are just behind. Hopefully someone will pull over, take a detour, or the storm will subside.
On another note, if UA restructures successfully, (which I'm still confident we will) it will only make things harder for AA management and employees, since they will be competing with a still large, but substantially lower cost competitor.