To All Employees ... Please Post ... Special Bulletin
Dear US Airways Colleague:
I am writing today to inform you of another difficult,
but necessary, decision that we are confronted with as
we work to transform US Airways, and I wanted you to
hear it from the company first.
We still lack the labor agreements needed to meet our
cost reduction targets, although we have reached a
tentative agreement with the TWU dispatchers. If we
were to do nothing during the traditionally slow fall
and winter months, the drain on our cash reserves would
jeopardize the company's future and everyone's job. In
addition, the company must meet minimum cash balance
requirements. So, in order to enhance our financial
position, we cannot and will not do nothing.
We have a duty and an obligation to actively manage our
cash and build reserves for the upcoming fall and
winter period. Therefore, we have sent to each of the
unions that have not entered into a tentative agreement
with the company (AFA, ALPA, CWA, IAM and TWU) a
proposal for interim relief from our existing
contracts, allowing us to implement immediate cost
reductions, including pay cuts.
We have asked the unions to respond to our request as
quickly as possible. If we do not immediately reach
agreements on interim relief, we will then file a
motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday, Sept.
24, for authority to implement our request. You have
all seen the news articles that focus on whether
customers should make travel plans with us. We want to
be certain that passengers feel confident continuing to
book on us, so we simply must have adequate cash to
assure our customers of our continued operations.
You should remember several key points:
--Our preference is for agreements with each of our
unions
--If we have to file a request with the court, no
changes will be made until after a hearing, so there is
no immediate impact with regard to our filing a request
--If we file a request for relief, the Court will set a
hearing date, but we will continue to seek agreements
with each bargaining group prior to that hearing.
September is typically a slow period for the airline
and the unusual hurricane season has further impacted
the entire industry. In these first 10 days after our
Chapter 11 filing, however, we are not seeing anything
we did not expect, and, in fact, we are heartened by
the great operation of the airline and the support that
key corporate accounts and customers are showing.
Therefore, we do not want to let a cloud of skepticism
hang over the company. We must move quickly and convey
to our financial partners that we will take the
necessary steps to insure that we have more than
adequate cash.
I remain fully aware of the efforts by all employees
and I recognize that sacrifices are difficult to make.
But I also remain hopeful that we can reach agreements
with our unions and avoid the involvement of the
Bankruptcy Court on these matters. These are not
measures that we take lightly, but absent labor
agreements, we must take them to insure continued
customer confidence, continued access to cash, and
continued paychecks and benefits to each of you.
Sincerely,
Bruce Lakefield
Dear US Airways Colleague:
I am writing today to inform you of another difficult,
but necessary, decision that we are confronted with as
we work to transform US Airways, and I wanted you to
hear it from the company first.
We still lack the labor agreements needed to meet our
cost reduction targets, although we have reached a
tentative agreement with the TWU dispatchers. If we
were to do nothing during the traditionally slow fall
and winter months, the drain on our cash reserves would
jeopardize the company's future and everyone's job. In
addition, the company must meet minimum cash balance
requirements. So, in order to enhance our financial
position, we cannot and will not do nothing.
We have a duty and an obligation to actively manage our
cash and build reserves for the upcoming fall and
winter period. Therefore, we have sent to each of the
unions that have not entered into a tentative agreement
with the company (AFA, ALPA, CWA, IAM and TWU) a
proposal for interim relief from our existing
contracts, allowing us to implement immediate cost
reductions, including pay cuts.
We have asked the unions to respond to our request as
quickly as possible. If we do not immediately reach
agreements on interim relief, we will then file a
motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Friday, Sept.
24, for authority to implement our request. You have
all seen the news articles that focus on whether
customers should make travel plans with us. We want to
be certain that passengers feel confident continuing to
book on us, so we simply must have adequate cash to
assure our customers of our continued operations.
You should remember several key points:
--Our preference is for agreements with each of our
unions
--If we have to file a request with the court, no
changes will be made until after a hearing, so there is
no immediate impact with regard to our filing a request
--If we file a request for relief, the Court will set a
hearing date, but we will continue to seek agreements
with each bargaining group prior to that hearing.
September is typically a slow period for the airline
and the unusual hurricane season has further impacted
the entire industry. In these first 10 days after our
Chapter 11 filing, however, we are not seeing anything
we did not expect, and, in fact, we are heartened by
the great operation of the airline and the support that
key corporate accounts and customers are showing.
Therefore, we do not want to let a cloud of skepticism
hang over the company. We must move quickly and convey
to our financial partners that we will take the
necessary steps to insure that we have more than
adequate cash.
I remain fully aware of the efforts by all employees
and I recognize that sacrifices are difficult to make.
But I also remain hopeful that we can reach agreements
with our unions and avoid the involvement of the
Bankruptcy Court on these matters. These are not
measures that we take lightly, but absent labor
agreements, we must take them to insure continued
customer confidence, continued access to cash, and
continued paychecks and benefits to each of you.
Sincerely,
Bruce Lakefield
