I think there is a way you might achieve what (i think) you desire.
Indulge me for a few mins. If i am correct i believe that it is desired that more people see the way you (figuratively speaking) see. or if you will "your side of the story" in this case in a general sense it is the "employees" taking cuts and not senior managment (although i did see something like 10% for non union workers which includes management) yet 10% is not 21%. ok that is what i understand (if wrong then the rest will make no sense) if correct then keep reading......
now lets digress just a bit using a more common situation involving the Pilot Group. does this sound familar? well they should take a bigger cut they make more... or 10% of their wages = way more than my 15% .... sound about right? next you have the Pilot group itself... Well you see its like this, I am away from my family, i dont get paid for while i'm not flying, i only get paid while the airplane is moving which causes the per hour rate to be high.... pilots only work 85 hrs a month, i do that in 2 weeks, the pilot responds, well i m working about 240 hrs a month just not all of it flying nor getting paid for all of it neither....and so it goes..... have i got that about right?
now try this all Managment has to say is that the "average" pilot makes 150,000 a year to the PRESS(made up number) doesnt have to be correct, guess what the rebuttal is ? for the next week you get different pilots interviewed attempting to describe how they make that money....oh i'm on duty 250hrs a month, i'm away from my family for 200 days a year..... but what does the public remember? the magic number 150.000. Now taking it one step further how much sympathy does a pilot get? (based on the above statements) why? because the average person (read here customer) only remembers the dollar figure, and only sees them walking through the terminal, or before or after a flight not acutally working nor training for that job.................OK i think we all get the gist of the last paragraph.
now imagine this. instead of in BK court or the daily interview in a local paper about how you (collectively) are now working for 1982 wages in 2004, or how 50% of the work force is gone, or the 21% Imposed pay reduction is on top of previously given back monies. you (collectively) take out a 1 page ad in the paper (pick one USA today, WSJ, CLT, PIT, PHL locals) and it reads along the lines of this.....
The EMPLOYEES of USAIRWAYS thank you for Continuing to support your hometown airline during these fiscally stressfull times. The last 3 managment teams have.
1. gotten lump sums for their business skill in excess of 50 million dollars
2. have taken a once 80 dollar stock into bankrupcty not once but TWICE
3. have taken a once 5.0 Billion dollar corporation into a valuation of less than 150million
4. have not had thier 1.0 MILLION dollar a year pensions reduced by so much as a buck
5. have not had thier benefits cut
6. continue to demand worker wages on par with LCC carriers (jetblue) yet thier own salary is in excess of 425,000 per year (while Jetblue pays 250,000 per year and the CEO donates 100% of that to charitiy).
however WE the employees realize that YOU the customer is the most important part of our job(s) which is why WE took out this ad to simply say THANK YOU.
OR of course you could go with the ever popular
Job USAIRWAYS LCC
CEO 445,000 250,000
President 400,000 250,000
VPs (25) 200,000 + (3) 175,000
brought to you by the Fairness in aviation employment group (or something)
i think you get what i'm getting at. Put up the data then let Mgmt explain why their pay is so high? why they are not taking as big (if any) cuts, why thier pensions are in tact. That is how you get public opinion to see things through your eyes.
now having gone through all that i feel i must add one more thing. while you are probably going to be morally and factually correct in your arguement, it still remains that it may or may not matter even if people agree with your point of view they still must RIDE YOUR AILRINE.
I will say this.. I have always asked for show me something than the employee costs are too high. Show me someone is trying to change "the system" there is NOTHING contractually that prevents Mgmt from scheduling the airplanes (company assets) in a more effecient manor such that productivty is on par with that of Jetblue. NOTHING. now finally we may be seeing the begining of that with the FEB schedule. DOING MORE WITH what you have. remember for every 1.0 hr of addtional flying USairways genereates about 25.million more ASMS which of course will automatically drop your CSM even if you dont carry one extra passenger. to that i say thanks WHATS NEXT show ME MORE. DO MORE for our CUSTOMERS. Best line i read regarding that..... I DONT CARE ABOUT MY SHAREHOLDERS>>> TAKE CARE OF YOUR EMPLOYEES, THEY WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS, YOUR CUSTOMERS WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR BOTTOM LINE WHICH WILL TAKE CARE OF YOUR STOCK PRICE AND THUS THE SHARE PRICE..... herb kelleher
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