A friend emailed me her letter to Mr. Boyd. She has given me permission to post it. I have excluded her name to protect her sanity! 
Mr. Boyd,
As a former employee for US and a current reader of your article (US Airways - One Small Job Action And A Giant Leap Toward Obscurity), I am surprised by your lack of knowledge about this management team, and their less than honest appraisal of the Christmas travel problems at this company. It was simple to blame the problems on the employees and divert any attention from mismanagement. It is also par for US management’s course. I would not expect the public to be aware of this, but I do expected you to look a little deeper. The company spokes people went from blaming weather, to blaming the employees. Which was it?
Though I am sure there may be employees that called off sick when in fact they were not, that is common over the holidays in every industry. The real problem comes in when management is either not aware of that problem, or is aware but refuses to staff properly to offset the problem. With the many furloughs that have occurred in the past, and the amount of people that have left through attrition or because they are just plain fed up, it should come as no surprise to anyone in management that a staffing problem not only could, but would occur. They were told as much by the various union leaders on the property, and here is why:
Most airlines, this one included, offer “vacation buy back†over the holiday months, and have done so for years. Employees take advantage of that opportunity to earn the extra money to pay off their Christmas bills. It allows an employee to work over days that have been scheduled as vacation days, without incurring any overtime pay for the company. It provides a cushion to the company that protects schedule if there is a staff shortage or weather problems. It is also a non cost item, and therefore a no brainer. Unfortunately, this company specifically said that they would not offer vacation buy back for the month of December because they believed that they could force the employees to work the extra five hours a month that Judge Mitchell agreed to allow. They only offered the “buy back†when it became apparent to them that the staffing level was critical and that the five additional hours per employee was not sufficient to cover the operation. On Christmas Eve a frantic message came out from management stating that the buy back was now in effect. Unfortunately, those that looked forward to the buy back to offset the steep cuts imposed by the judge, and would have gladly scheduled themselves to work that time back, were either not at home to take advantage of the late offer, or did not get wind of it until after it was too late.
What you also failed to address, or perhaps are not aware of, was the extraordinary efforts of those employees that went the extra mile for the passengers. I am speaking of employees with many years of seniority, who called Scheduling to offer their time over the holidays so that schedules would not deteriorate further. Every employee at US knew that with the tremendous amount of layoffs we have experienced, there was going to be a problem. We know that the layoffs have been too extreme to help us over hurdles such as weather delays, mechanicals, and the increased sick calls over the holidays. The vast majority did what they have always done best….provide the best level of service possible, IN SPITE of mismanagement.
To your credit, you did indeed place the blame where it rightfully belongs when it comes to the lack of morale in the workforce. Squarely in managements lap! For many years we were trained to be professionals. We were expected to act professionally at all times, and anything less was not tolerated by management or our fellow employees. Our own belief in our self worth allowed us to pull out all of the stops when necessary, to keep the operation running smoothly regardless of the obstacles. However, over the last several years we have been trained to believe that we are replaceable within 24 hours. We have been told repeatedly that we could be replaced by any entry level untrained employee off the streets. We have been reminded over, and over again that we are a now liability, due to our seniority and the higher pay that comes with it. We have been badgered by the mantra the “you are overpaid!†We have watched employees come off of the streets at the lower pay, we have watched them work a couple of shifts, and we have seen nothing but their backs as they have walked, no, run away from the job. This Christmas was nothing more than a self fulfilling prophesy; Perpetuated and nurtured by US Airways management.
None of this is an excuse for intentionally calling off sick when in fact you aren’t sick. That has yet to be proven. I believe most of the employees at US Airways to be truly sick. Sick of the constant missteps by management, sick of the daily job insecurity, sick of the cuts in pay that have occurred prior to the Christmas holidays for the last couple of years, and the most recent 21% cut in pay imposed by the judge. Sick about being unable to meet their own financial responsibilities, sick at heart about the 24 million that went to the executive’s pension plans just one week prior to this last bankruptcy. Sick over the looming loss of their pensions while so many upper management talking heads stay for a few years and then leave with a thirty year pension, generous stock options, and obscene bonuses. Sick of the squandering of the past deep concessions, sick of the punitive treatment by management after obtaining those concession. Sick of the lack of respect shown to employee groups that have given far more monetarily than any debtor. The employees are the debtor in possession financiers of the company and yet they are treated like carrion. Then to top it all off, they are told if they do not like what is happening at their company, they should simply leave.
And yes, Mr. Boyd, they are sick of it all!
So, before casting another stone in the direction of the employees, please remember what they have given to this company, in total. The company has taken more than their pound of flesh and the last thing the employees need is salt poured into the wound! Before you take the word of Mr. Chaimes, keep in mind that this is the same man that stated that US had no intention of closing the Pittsburgh base, no intention of outsourcing jobs, no intention of seeking another bankruptcy, no intention of dropping below the 279 mainline aircraft, and he initially blamed the weather for the Christmas fiasco, just to name a few of his public gaffes and obvious untruths. The employees at US could use just a modicum of respect. That would be a novelty for them, as it is something that has been sorely lacking from the upper management at US, regardless of what lengths the employees go to keep this company viable. It would be nice if just once, the whole story was told. Not just the version that is fed to the media by upper management.
Mr. Boyd,
As a former employee for US and a current reader of your article (US Airways - One Small Job Action And A Giant Leap Toward Obscurity), I am surprised by your lack of knowledge about this management team, and their less than honest appraisal of the Christmas travel problems at this company. It was simple to blame the problems on the employees and divert any attention from mismanagement. It is also par for US management’s course. I would not expect the public to be aware of this, but I do expected you to look a little deeper. The company spokes people went from blaming weather, to blaming the employees. Which was it?
Though I am sure there may be employees that called off sick when in fact they were not, that is common over the holidays in every industry. The real problem comes in when management is either not aware of that problem, or is aware but refuses to staff properly to offset the problem. With the many furloughs that have occurred in the past, and the amount of people that have left through attrition or because they are just plain fed up, it should come as no surprise to anyone in management that a staffing problem not only could, but would occur. They were told as much by the various union leaders on the property, and here is why:
Most airlines, this one included, offer “vacation buy back†over the holiday months, and have done so for years. Employees take advantage of that opportunity to earn the extra money to pay off their Christmas bills. It allows an employee to work over days that have been scheduled as vacation days, without incurring any overtime pay for the company. It provides a cushion to the company that protects schedule if there is a staff shortage or weather problems. It is also a non cost item, and therefore a no brainer. Unfortunately, this company specifically said that they would not offer vacation buy back for the month of December because they believed that they could force the employees to work the extra five hours a month that Judge Mitchell agreed to allow. They only offered the “buy back†when it became apparent to them that the staffing level was critical and that the five additional hours per employee was not sufficient to cover the operation. On Christmas Eve a frantic message came out from management stating that the buy back was now in effect. Unfortunately, those that looked forward to the buy back to offset the steep cuts imposed by the judge, and would have gladly scheduled themselves to work that time back, were either not at home to take advantage of the late offer, or did not get wind of it until after it was too late.
What you also failed to address, or perhaps are not aware of, was the extraordinary efforts of those employees that went the extra mile for the passengers. I am speaking of employees with many years of seniority, who called Scheduling to offer their time over the holidays so that schedules would not deteriorate further. Every employee at US knew that with the tremendous amount of layoffs we have experienced, there was going to be a problem. We know that the layoffs have been too extreme to help us over hurdles such as weather delays, mechanicals, and the increased sick calls over the holidays. The vast majority did what they have always done best….provide the best level of service possible, IN SPITE of mismanagement.
To your credit, you did indeed place the blame where it rightfully belongs when it comes to the lack of morale in the workforce. Squarely in managements lap! For many years we were trained to be professionals. We were expected to act professionally at all times, and anything less was not tolerated by management or our fellow employees. Our own belief in our self worth allowed us to pull out all of the stops when necessary, to keep the operation running smoothly regardless of the obstacles. However, over the last several years we have been trained to believe that we are replaceable within 24 hours. We have been told repeatedly that we could be replaced by any entry level untrained employee off the streets. We have been reminded over, and over again that we are a now liability, due to our seniority and the higher pay that comes with it. We have been badgered by the mantra the “you are overpaid!†We have watched employees come off of the streets at the lower pay, we have watched them work a couple of shifts, and we have seen nothing but their backs as they have walked, no, run away from the job. This Christmas was nothing more than a self fulfilling prophesy; Perpetuated and nurtured by US Airways management.
None of this is an excuse for intentionally calling off sick when in fact you aren’t sick. That has yet to be proven. I believe most of the employees at US Airways to be truly sick. Sick of the constant missteps by management, sick of the daily job insecurity, sick of the cuts in pay that have occurred prior to the Christmas holidays for the last couple of years, and the most recent 21% cut in pay imposed by the judge. Sick about being unable to meet their own financial responsibilities, sick at heart about the 24 million that went to the executive’s pension plans just one week prior to this last bankruptcy. Sick over the looming loss of their pensions while so many upper management talking heads stay for a few years and then leave with a thirty year pension, generous stock options, and obscene bonuses. Sick of the squandering of the past deep concessions, sick of the punitive treatment by management after obtaining those concession. Sick of the lack of respect shown to employee groups that have given far more monetarily than any debtor. The employees are the debtor in possession financiers of the company and yet they are treated like carrion. Then to top it all off, they are told if they do not like what is happening at their company, they should simply leave.
And yes, Mr. Boyd, they are sick of it all!
So, before casting another stone in the direction of the employees, please remember what they have given to this company, in total. The company has taken more than their pound of flesh and the last thing the employees need is salt poured into the wound! Before you take the word of Mr. Chaimes, keep in mind that this is the same man that stated that US had no intention of closing the Pittsburgh base, no intention of outsourcing jobs, no intention of seeking another bankruptcy, no intention of dropping below the 279 mainline aircraft, and he initially blamed the weather for the Christmas fiasco, just to name a few of his public gaffes and obvious untruths. The employees at US could use just a modicum of respect. That would be a novelty for them, as it is something that has been sorely lacking from the upper management at US, regardless of what lengths the employees go to keep this company viable. It would be nice if just once, the whole story was told. Not just the version that is fed to the media by upper management.
