MAA flight attendant press release

[MarkMyWords]

Question....

If this has been a problem since the inception of MidAtlantic, then why did they wait to file the lawsuit until now? If this was a problem from the get go.....what took so long to file a suit against the airline? If it was a farse from the get go, why did furloughed Flight Attendants continue to accept the position with MAA?

Sorry kids......I would PitBull's knowledge of what took place and how the airline was formed and organized over anyone that worked for the airline. Something tells me that she was closer to the negotiations then anyone that was on furlough at the time.

 

[FlyOnWall]

Question....

If this has been a problem since the inception of MidAtlantic, then why did they wait to file the lawsuit until now? If this was a problem from the get go.....what took so long to file a suit against the airline?

The pilots began to organize thier lawsuit about six months in, the flight attendants shortly thereafter. That seems pretty quick? Would you find it more plausible if they had skipped to the courtroom right after the two day recurrent that was supposedly initial training for this "new airline"?

And the kid thing only serves to make you look bad. While the youngest US Airways flight attendants are at MDA, which is still mid to late 20s, many of them are older. There are retired TWA and Eastern flight attendants there as well as several who left long careers with US and then returned in the late 90s. Why dont you leave midatlantic talk to midatlantic people, and you go back to talking about rolling hubs or whatever you know about.

So we've heard from the union and the company now, anyone else, lol? Hundreds of employees must be wrong but anonomous management and union people on internet forums who are the ones being sued must be right. Remember USA230Pilot says that the mainline pilots are going to sue the mda pilots so maybe he can come on and tell that to the f/as. You gotta love this forum.

 

[nyprincess]

Hey, you are right. You have all the answers and know how everything was. Far be it for me who was in the front row seat to share the facts that I know are rue.I guess your the hisorian who gave the attorneys their facts.

Good luck to you, and don't give up your day job.

I'm not planning on quiting my day job. In fact, because of people like you I'm fighting very hard to keep my day job which has been a mainline f/a since I was hired by usairways in 2000. I am no historian nor are you. Your the one who stated that we are not considered express even though it states it on our announcements. And you didn't believe it? If you were in the front row seat you SHOULD have known this FACT before coming on this thread. I'm suprised you admitted you were wrong...I'll have to give it to you there...life is full of surprises!
Try another thread they'll believe you more than anyone on this one will.
Everyone here at maa is a family and will stick together. So your words will do nothing to break that nor change how we feel what the union and company has done to us.
I don't know why you care so much about what we do at maa. Are we affecting you somehow??? Anyways it doesn't matter the truth will come out. So we don't need the luck and maybe you do. Have a good night.

 

[N965VJ]

most of us had our old wings so wore them but some of the real junior ones had thiers taken away.

I cannot begin to describe how wrong I think that is. I don’t care if it was when you were furloughed or when you were at MAA.

Those Wings were earned.

Well, I can tell you he wasn't quite right on anything from the onset. AFA had to set him straight on numerous occasions and even get Bruce Ashby involved in the circus. And since that time he had been let go to other pastures.

When that guy was mainline, there were people who transferred out of PIT and then back just to get a different supervisor.

 

[2out]

Everyone here at maa is a family and will stick together. So your words will do nothing to break that nor change how we feel what the union and company has done to us.
I don't know why you care so much about what we do at maa. Are we affecting you somehow??? Anyways it doesn't matter the truth will come out. So we don't need the luck and maybe you do. Have a good night.

Thanks for the great posts NYPrincess and others who are supportive. It's so funny seeing people who should have been, or were "in the know" twist themselves into knots and contradict themselves, and as far as some of the mean-spirited name-calling, I guess it just makes them feel better but it's sad some employees are so embittered they would kill their own. Don't worry, I have talked to many "mainline mainline" employees who are very supportive of us, and have even donated to the cause. The cause is just, and we are united and strong--that's why the "officials" are bashing left and right-their really scared crapless! I am SO proud of the MAA family, keep standing strong!

 

[PITbull]

I'm not planning on quiting my day job. In fact, because of people like you I'm fighting very hard to keep my day job which has been a mainline f/a since I was hired by usairways in 2000. I am no historian nor are you. Your the one who stated that we are not considered express even though it states it on our announcements. And you didn't believe it? If you were in the front row seat you SHOULD have known this FACT before coming on this thread. I'm suprised you admitted you were wrong...I'll have to give it to you there...life is full of surprises!
Try another thread they'll believe you more than anyone on this one will.
Everyone here at maa is a family and will stick together. So your words will do nothing to break that nor change how we feel what the union and company has done to us.
I don't know why you care so much about what we do at maa. Are we affecting you somehow??? Anyways it doesn't matter the truth will come out. So we don't need the luck and maybe you do. Have a good night.

Let me be exact so ther is no misinterpretation of what I said...

MAA was NOT Express, was NOT mainline. MAA was considered a "Division" of mainline under one certificat which was USAirways flying certificate, and the f/as who took jobs in this division were considered "furlough status" on mainline with separate workrules, benefits and wages and those in accordance with American Eagle Contract.

Please read the Winter 2002 mainline concessionary agreement, and it will spell it out for ya.

 

[flyguy121]

With 8 pages and still growing, this thread epitomizes the reputation that the MAA Group of F/A's have established and continue to perpetuate for themselves as downtrodden desperate victims that are ill-informed, but yet are still willing to accept a position simply because "WE JUST WANT TO FLY!" without giving ample consideration to how difficult life would really be working under conditions such as these.

Being an Involuntary Furloughee myself, I know many around my Seniority that either went to or considered accepting a position with MAA (myself included). Some of us saw this new "Division of Mainline" for exactly what it was...a substandard small airline within an airline offering less than desirable compensation, work rules and benefits, and that by accepting a position at MAA one would also not accrue longevity for return to "Mainline" US Airways.

For myself and many others, this was not acceptable and we chose to remain on Furlough and (hopefully) someday await recall to "Mainline".

For others, that did CHOOSE to accept these conditions, you had the same choice that the rest of us did. When are you going to accept responsibility for the choice that you all made? I don't think there is anyone out there that would doubt your heart, determination and the fact that the majority of you are a capable and wonderful group of F/A's. But you all need to grow up and take ownership of the decisions you make in life and stop trying to place the entire blame on the company or AFA for that matter. I doubt that anyone would disagree that the company manipulated and bullied the entire process to their own advantage, but since when is that news? If you are all as informed as you seem to think you are, then you should be well versed in US Airways history, and recognize what looks like a raw deal right away. One doesn't need to have accepted a positon at MAA to see that.

This lawsuit is simply put...FRIVOLOUS and OUTRAGEOUS. You don't have a leg to stand on. Furthermore, if US Airways is such a horrendous operation, then why are you all still here awaiting a recall to Mainline or presently accepting positions at America West? Can you not see how counter-productive it is to try to bring to financial ruin the company that you so desperately want to return to?

And please...spare your venom for LCC #1 and PITBULL, they are simply vocalizing and calling out how ridiculous this lawsuit really is, and there are many of us in agreement, from your own seniority no less.

 

[algflyr]

Let me be exact so ther is no misinterpretation of what I said...

MAA was NOT Express, was NOT mainline. MAA was considered a "Division" of mainline under one certificat which was USAirways flying certificate, and the f/as who took jobs in this division were considered "furlough status" on mainline with separate workrules, benefits and wages and those in accordance with American Eagle Contract.

Please read the Winter 2002 mainline concessionary agreement, and it will spell it out for ya.

Whatever is spelled out in the concessionary agreement will tell you that MDA was going to be an airline with it's own operating certificate. In other words; a seperate airline and not a "division" of anything. That was known by all who took jobs at MDA. The problem arose when US Airways decided to operate the 170's on the mainline certificate. Any plane operated on the US Airways operating certificate is a mainline aircraft. Period. All crewmembers that initially took positions knew this would NOT mainline and accepted that. But when it became known that the 170's were going to be operated on the mainline certificate, the water became cloudy. Metrojet airplanes were operated on the mainline certificate and were considered part of mainline. One could say it was a division of mainline with seperate work rules for some crewmembers. Where is the difference? If a crewmember operates an aircraft on the mainline certificate they are mainline crewmembers and should be compensates as such...

 

[PITbull]

Whatever is spelled out in the concessionary agreement will tell you that MDA was going to be an airline with it's own operating certificate. In other words; a seperate airline and not a "division" of anything. That was known by all who took jobs at MDA. The problem arose when US Airways decided to operate the 170's on the mainline certificate. Any plane operated on the US Airways operating certificate is a mainline aircraft. Period. All crewmembers that initially took positions knew this would NOT mainline and accepted that. But when it became known that the 170's were going to be operated on the mainline certificate, the water became cloudy. Metrojet airplanes were operated on the mainline certificate and were considered part of mainline. One could say it was a division of mainline with seperate work rules for some crewmembers. Where is the difference? If a crewmember operates an aircraft on the mainline certificate they are mainline crewmembers and should be compensates as such...

BEFORE any airplanes were delivered and BEFORE MAA started flying, AND BEFORE any involuntary f/as were offered jobs, agreements were ratified for MAA workrules, benefits, and wages and that MAA would fly as a "Division" of USAirways.

Concession #2 Winter 2002 AFA ratified agreement.

There were NO active mainline f/as that were OR are permitted to BID on MAA flying. Why? Because it WAS NOT MAINLINE FLYING. IN June 2005, 200 MAINLINE F/AS WERE DISPLACED FROM Pittsburgh. Why? Because the mainline flying had been decreased substantially in PIT and there was a huge overage in PIT of mainline f/as. At present, there is a 54% reserve factor in Pittsburgh, when the company has decreased all other bases at 17%-20%. There will be another displacment of mainline f/as from CLT and PIT come this June. There is NO SUCH THING AS DISPLACING MAA F/AS FOR MAINLINE F/AS TO HAVE POSITIONS IN PIT or keep positions in PIT by displacing the MAA f/a.

If all MAA f/as and mainline f/as were operating under the same contracts and provisions, THE MAA F/AS WOULD BE DISPLACED ALL OVER THE PLACE AND NONE OF THEM WOULD BE HOLDING BLOCKS. Get real people.

Maybe you can put it together clearly now. But far be it for me to break your bubble. The f/as ratified different language for MAA and MAA's premise was for the airline to operate differently, and under the same certificate. What happened 2 years prospectively to MAA and the idea of expanding this Division evoporated very quickly when U went into BK the second time (Sept. 2004). There was no money to grow MAA flying and no money to even stay in existence without the company's second BK and forcing an 1113e (21% immediate pay cut for 6 months court ordered), 1113c and 1114 (terminations of penions for retirees including medical), terminations of IAM, AFA pension plans. Blame poor management, Jerry G, (like I do for the bad morale) or whatever, but U could not manage to operate without more deep concessions, because they didn't know how to operate an airline; concessions and BK is all they knew.

DURING THAT TIME, MAA EMPLOYEES WERE NOT ASKED TO EVEN TAKE THEIR WAGES DOWN FURTHER. Why? Because it was already poverty wages that was spelled out BEFORE anyone took the job in this "Division".

However, to keep operating the entire USAirways,Inc, including the MAA Division, and ALL the Wholly owned subsidaires, ONLY MAINLINE WAS ASKED TO COUGH UP ANOTHER $1 BILLION $$$ PLUS THEIR PENSIONS PLUS ALL THE PAST RETIREES DUMPING THEIR PENSION PLANS AND ALL THEIR MEDICAL. And in case you don't know...THAT WAS TO KEEP THE AIRLINE OPERATING FROM MONTH TO MONTH, AND KEEP EVERYONE EMPLOYED INCLUDING MAA. Those cuts ONLY AFFECTED MAINLINE employees. It makes no difference whether MAA was operating under 1 certificate under USAirways or United flying certificate or some wholly-owned certificate, these provisions were negotiated and ratified and there was NO longevity pay for MAA to bring back to mainline. Wish there was...but it wasn't negotiated for any involuntary furloughee, whether they worked at MAA or WalMart, K-Mart, PSA, Mesa, LUV, United, NW, DL, AA,AirTran, AWA, AE etc...while on furlough status.

If you think the company fooled the employees of MAA, then they fooled ALL the employees of mainline and the union leadership, cause they took our money and squandered it all the while saying they needed to compete and MAA was the way to compete with the low cost carriers. All MAA managed to do for mainline is INCREASE our CASMS as we were under one accounting system. They took the overall CASM to the judge and all of labor and said we needed to reduce our CASMS by 4 cents to compete with LUV and JetBlue during the second BK, or the company would not survive. That took another $1.3 billion from mainline and all the pension plans for good measure along with another 5,000 jobs including f/as, mechanics, utility and customer service agents from mainline. The idea of expanding MAA and increasing the EB-170 fleet went to the wayside and surviving the day to day operation took precedence.

There's your history, now go ahead and call me a liar...

 

[PITbull]

deleted

 

[Zarah]

You can find the announcements on the HUB under Inflight Forms/Publications/manuals. The last update shown is Feb. 2005 and uses the phrase "US Airways Express" the same as it does today for the EMB 170 division.

Not sure if this was covered already, just F.Y.I. for those who wanted to see it.