What Eoleson and many others forget is that just because there's a bad economy it doesnt mean that workers must settle for whatever the boss feels like handing out. The Great Depression saw a huge increase in the frequency and intensity of strikes. Thats even before Unions were legalized under the Wagner Act. The government and their corporate handlers realized that Capitalism itself was at risk and individual Capitalists were leading the system to its own destruction. In the early part of the Depression the Communist Party was the fastest growng party in the country. Even though they only won one national seat it set off alarm bells. The Democrats, under the leadership of FDR employed the same strategy to crush the rise of the Communists as his predecessor Teddy Roosesvelt used to defeat William Jennings Bryan. He took what was popular from the opponents platform and adopted it to his own. The point is that a bad economy doesnt give the exploiters a blank check in the face of organized resistance to that exploitation. You have to remember that with even 10% unemployment, 90% arent unemployed and most of them have seen some sort of degredation in working conditions as well.
Eoleson tries to use the FEAR card, insinuating that you will lose your home if you fight back. I say you will lose it if you dont. If you are just getting by now and inflation, fees, surcharges, medical copays and the deductions for Medical continue to go up, which they will, you will eventually lose your home anyway, but only after you already used up all your home equity trying to survive and spent most of your life providing loyal service and working OT to the company and were rewarded with a futile attempt to keep your head above water. Sure it may not happen now, (like Eolseson said the Banks have enough forclosures to worry about now anyway), but like in the 90s, we will be stuck in a recession while the rest of the country is enjoying a recovery.
Informer brings up the 1000+ scabs at NWA. Well that was then, that was there. This is now this is here.
- NWA was a much smaller operation than AA, the bigger the workforce the harder it is to replace in a strike.
-NWA knew that they would have the co-operation of other unions on the property and they were all willing to go along with the paycuts as well. The defeat of AMFA at NWA was a coordinated effort between the company and the other unions on the property. Yet another stain on the history of the US labor movement.
-At AA, the other unions are fed up as well. Its not likely that they would cooperate with AA management to break another union. Unlike NWA these people are looking for just compensation as well.
-If the TWU went out AA wouldnt have to just scrape up a 1000 mechanics,(they would need more than double that to maintain line operations) they would also have to scrape up stock clerks, fleet service clerks, dispatchers and other critcal workers as well.
-AA's current line maintenance management team is made up of a lot of outsiders (with the relacement of Carmine Romano it goes from top to bottom now)with little real experience so they cant be counted on to keep the operation going either, even if they found scabs. Most of the old timers who did come up through the company never worked a 777 and had limited experience on the 757s. The head of ORD only had 5 months on the floor as a mechanic. We now have supervisors and managers who have ZERO experience as a mechanic at AA or on our equipment. That wasnt the case at NWA.
-You also have to remember that NWA started preparing a year ahead of time and they never really recovered, now Delta owns them
-NWA scrapped the barrel Dry. Even though the airlines continue to reduce capacity vendors are reporting that they are having difficulty getting mechanics despite raising their rates. Most of the A&P schoools closed their doors so there isnt a new supply out there either. Hundreds of thousands of A&Ps out there work in other industries where the pay and conditions are better. They arent sitting around waiting to work nights, weekends and Holidays for the airlines. Even those in General, corporate or manufacturing arent looking at the airlines anymore.
-If there were plenty of mechanics out there AA would have offered the VBR to the line. By throwing out the bait of a VBR they kept these guys on the hook, while also discouraging them from burning off their sick time.They admitted that they could not afford to let those guys go.
-Despite the bad economy we have mechanics quitting across the system, even though the number is small the trend is unprecidented. As the economy recovers it would be reasonable to expect this trend to increase dramatically. In my 30 years I've never seen anything like it, guys who have good seniority and a broad selection of shifts to pick from walking in and quitting. I saw where the company had 300 names on a recall list and went through the whole thing to only get a handful of guys. One of those who came back told me it was a hard decision but he just liked working on planes, he said "Get the money, even if it means I get laid off again because at least I'll know when I come back and do what I love I'll make good money doing it". He knew that he wouldnt have much trouble replacing his current wage on the outside, even with a so called bad economy.
A strike is a means of last resort, but you had better become focused on preparing for one. Hopeful is right about doing what you can outsde of a strike but its foolish to not prepare for one. Lets not forget that the Pilots and FAs are in mediation as well. Either one of them could bring the company into a strike whether we prepare for it or not. Unlike us , who have never seen a strike, both groups struck in the 1990s, they know the risks but they also know they can win, and if the pilots go the company will cease operations for the duration, possibly (very small) permanently and only keep a handful of mechanics to keep the planes airworthy(till they are brought to the desert). So thats another thing to keep in mind as you think that working for less provides you with a secure job, there are so many variables out of your control that job security is a myth, theres only one path to security, accumulate wealth, and the way you do that is by getting as much money out of the company as you can and saving/investing it, like everyone except as the workers are doing.
Remember the company's plans in 1997?
Pilots wages have deteriorated significantly since 1997. If the company couldnt replace them then they couldnt replace them now, not only that but the pilot intructors are TWU as well. So are the Sim Techs.
There is no safety in concessions and poverty. Even if you agree to work for nothing it doesnt mean that the Pilots and Flight Attendants will, or should. AA has seen huge increases in revenue over the six years while we gave up huge concessions in compensation and saw our numbers diminish by over 30%. As a result the other parties in the industry have had a feast. Jacking up prices in some cases in multiples instead of just percentages. Its time we get ours and we shouldnt expect that anybody is just going to give us what we expect and deserve without a fight. The last six years is proof that no matter what we give up it will never be enough and no matter how much money this company takes in they will never want to share it with us.
