Ken MacTiernan
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http://www.extremedigitalpro.com/extremere...ledAircraft.mp4
Pass the above link to EVERYONE you know who flies.
Pass the above link to EVERYONE you know who flies.
Important Questions
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Hopeful
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Ken,
I, like many aircraft mechanics, appreciate all you have done and continue to do with respect to our profession.
Unfortunately, this bulletin board is shared with anti-union, pro company sorts like Former ModerAAtor and Oneflyer who could care less if the aircraft they or their family is flying on has been repaired by an American worker, let alone a union person. They probably wish 100% of all the American airlines' fleet were repaired by $1.00 an hour people, so they would not have to live in the same country as a union worker.
They are selfish, greedy, white collared executive wannabees who sit in little cubicles and complain how evil unions are and if they didn't exist, their overinflated non-union positions would be earning so much more.
Oneflyer has stated in an earlier post how he was a financial analyst at AA who quit because management would not get tough with the unions. So he left and is now a corporate real estate mogul with the integrity of a used car salesman.
eolesen
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Hopeless, rest assured, my cubicle is fairly large and even has windows, but the union label doesn't make someone a professional anymore than having the name "machinist" on a union card makes one a mechanic.
You probably hadn't noticed, but I've been a proponent of keeping in-house maintenance at AA, and keeping the jobs here. I wouldn't be a member of the Paul Revere society if I thought that your job belonged offshore. But I also believe that taking pride in your work doesn't require a monthly dues check-off.
You probably hadn't noticed, but I've been a proponent of keeping in-house maintenance at AA, and keeping the jobs here. I wouldn't be a member of the Paul Revere society if I thought that your job belonged offshore. But I also believe that taking pride in your work doesn't require a monthly dues check-off.
TIME FOR CHANGE
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I have no love for the twu but if not for the check off we would all be at minimum wage :down:
Hopeful
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I am not willing to leave my fate in hands of a management who might choose th play "favorites." It is not necessarily a question being rewarded for good work, but more of the "not what you know, but who you know.!
Have you ever witnessed someone get the promotion who was least qualified?
I choose to belong to a union, and the union dues come out of my pocket, not yours!
Union dues are worth more than what you think. I will not allow management to dictate to me what hours I will work and what days off. Being a union member, my seniority determines my quality of life. I see AA supervisors get screwed like they were third class citizens. Recently, a 34 year supervisor was taken off days and weekends off and put on a less desireable shift while a new, green supervisor took his former slot on days. DO YOU THINK THEY ARE TRYING TO PUSH OUT THE OLD AND USHER IN THE NEW?
For every reason you give me for being anti-union, I can give you one for being pro-union. And contrary to what you might think, most union members are not part of a union just for the purpose of doing nothing or as little as possible.
I love people like yourself who equate union people as being underworked and overpaid. Maybe sometime you can crawl into a wing fuel tank with me and see how comfortable it is to work while laying on your stomach for hours on end, with breathing gear on trying to fix a fuel leak. Then if you're a real good boy, we can seal the tank behind you and do the negative pressure test.. that's always fun.
To top it off, you insult us by bringing up the fact that we only take pride in our work because we are union members?
We hold two licenses that make us liable for the safety of the aircraft. When a plane crashes, some of the first people to be called in for the investigation are the mechanics. DID YOU EVER GET CALLED IN FOR AN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION? AIR DIVERSION? EMERGENCY LANDING?
DO YOU THINK ONEFLYER EVER GOT HIS BUTT IN THE RINGER FOR MIS-FINANCIAL ANALYZING????????????????
The responsibility of a mechanic on an aircraft does not end when it lands.
eolesen
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And where exactly have I ever said that? Don't hold me responsible for oneflyer or anyone else has said, but I challenge you to show me where I've said anything about the mechanic workgroup that you're accusing me of.
Have you ever had to deal with an extremely pissed off CEO at 2am?...
To answer your question, yes. Twice. And I hope I never have to be involved in another one.
I even got the unique privilege of explaining to Crandall face to face just how many kids and infants were killed when 965 slammed into the side of a mountain, and spent months dealing with the aftermath.
I've also been subpoenaed and deposed as part of the 9/11 investigation. Can't discuss more than that until the trials are over, but rest assured that's going to follow me even after I leave AA.
My point is that you're not the only one with a responsibility that doesn't end at the end of the day.
Hopeful
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You got called in to face Crandall. I would gladly face Crandall than a criminal court because I failed in my duties to provide a safe aircraft.
I personally knew mechanics who worked on the DC10 that crashed In Chicago. enuough said!
By the way, Moderaator, if you were a union member, you wouldn't have to fear your job because Crandall didn't like your answer or job performance.
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Hopeless, rest assured, my cubicle is fairly large and even has windows, but the union label doesn't make someone a professional anymore than having the name "machinist" on a union card makes one a mechanic.
You probably hadn't noticed, but I've been a proponent of keeping in-house maintenance at AA, and keeping the jobs here. I wouldn't be a member of the Paul Revere society if I thought that your job belonged offshore. But I also believe that taking pride in your work doesn't require a monthly dues check-off
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To answer the pride rebuttal. Read your last sentence. "I BELIEVE THAT TAKING PRIDE IN YOUR WORK DOESN'T REQUIRE A MONTHLY DUES CHECK OFF!
To me you are making a statement that automatically equate pride and unionism. And that without a union, we wouldn't be as proud!
That's the why I see it.
eolesen
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You really think that's ever stopped me or anyone else with a backbone from giving the right answer?
I've never feared for my job in management, since I know I'm rated on the quality of my work. When I was on a seniority list, that wasn't the case, and there was absolutely nothing I could control with regard to layoffs.
In any company, there are going to be lifer's and there are going to be opportunists. Lifers like me aren't afraid of telling the truth, even when it sucks.
What I said is you don't have to belong to a union to be able to take pride in your work.
Don't assume that everyone who doesn't belong to a union believes that union members are pond scum. That's not the case.
I have no desire to belong to a union anymore, but it doesn't mean I don't agree or respect their historical purpose. But I think even you'll agree that most of the unions today have strayed quite a bit from focusing on what's really best for the members.
Ken MacTiernan
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Hopeful,
Thank you for the support. The funny thing about pro and anti-labor people is that we ALL fly. Why someone feels that because a person takes pride in their craft & profession and fights to protect it there is a problem.
In doing what I have done, either with events with the AMTA, talking to the media, or posting/e-mailing people I have seen a degree of awareness from the public. That is what I want. Simply to make the public aware of the dangers facing the commercial aviation industry.
For people like oneflyer, and others who look at the negative and are in fact anti-union that is their choice. It is also their choice to remain anonymous. All their attacks on people who wish to fight for what is right will not matter in the end.
I hope that people will pass along the attachment to others so the awareness of the dangers of outsourcing will become more of an issue and the public will finally think about the maintenance on their particular aircraft when buying a ticket and NOT at 32,00 feet.
For those non-union types. Unionism and seniority eliminates "affirmative action" promotions. Take for example
promotion to CC. After all qualifications being met and all things equal. Seniority rules over race, age, religious or the kiss a..
son-n-law effect.
Like who would want an affirmative action Dr to do their heart surgery?
promotion to CC. After all qualifications being met and all things equal. Seniority rules over race, age, religious or the kiss a..
son-n-law effect.
Like who would want an affirmative action Dr to do their heart surgery?
Wow...you sure seem to have an ax grind.
How about using PERFORMANCE instead of race, age, religion, or seniority?? What a concept!!! If all that it takes for me to move up is to keep my heart beating and keep making the same drive in to work, then that is the dream, man, and maybe I should join a union. Fortunately, though, my drive to perform well is what keeps me moving and doesn't make me just work hard enough to keep my job for another day so that I gain seniority.
I am in no way saying that anybody here doesn't work hard but a seniority-only system sure doesn't inspire anyone to work hard...just stay alive. Just think...if we used seniority to run our government, we would have ended up with Jesse Helms as president long ago. But then again...guess the current alternative isn't any better.
Well if we were all in the TWU we would be!
Who determines performence?
The fact is the seniority system works well. It works well because it is the fairest system. Perfect? No way but its much less succeptible to favoritism and cronyism. You claim that it doesnt inspire anybody to work hard but you leave out professionalism. Your assuption appears to be that all workers want to move up in the ranks. Most mechanics are content to be mechanics and are willing to work hard, provided they are treated fairly.If an employee feels like he is being treated fairly by the company he will most likely treat the company fairly. There are those that wont, and their performence when measured against eeveryone else makes them vulnerable for termination due to poor performance, union or not. If the company has poor performers their own deriliction of duty is the cause.
From what I see all the paycuts did was make even the best workers feel unfairly treated, as a result the overall performance of the workforce is declining. Those who used to put out the least are now putting out the new norm. So now it would be harder than ever to terminate them for poor performance.
Keep up the good work Ken. People like Ch12 will never understand how mechanics think.
Garfield1966
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He would have been replacing Stom Thurmond ..... That thought will make your skin crawl.
Hopeful
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