Send your elected officials a letter
- Thread starter UPNAWAY
- Start date
xUT
Veteran
Cut and paste form letters don't make a favorable impression on anybody, let alone elected representatives. Not only that, but letters to elected representatives aren't going to make a damn bit of difference in a suit brought by the Department of Justice to enjoin what it views as an illegal merger. But it will satisfy those who simply must "do something" even though they have no ability to have any effect on what's going to happen.
bob@las-AA
Veteran
what ever raise "I" get is quickly absorbed by the "IAM"
1AA
Veteran
I did and told them the entire BK was a scam to kill our contracts.
Kill our pensions, Kill our retirement prefunding, take away benefits.
And the list goes on and on. I can think of another 5 BILLION more reasons not to approve this merger with a side of 20 MILLION more reasons.
Kill our pensions, Kill our retirement prefunding, take away benefits.
And the list goes on and on. I can think of another 5 BILLION more reasons not to approve this merger with a side of 20 MILLION more reasons.
Kev3188
Veteran
How's that work? Aren't "U" currently a member of the "TWU?"
No merger resulting in more than two airlines should be approved. American Airlines should be the only Airline in the United States period. We should all be government employees with fat and guaranteed pensions lifetime medical and dental beginning at age 55 with service to the job after 20 years. The airlines need income? Just raise the fares, the public should have no choice in who he is going to fly with. It's American or the road, Buddy. That should be our company slogan. Lets get rid of the the back-packers and Families with kids on our flights while we're at it. We fill the seats with people that will pay one price, so steep that the airlines actually make money with each passenger. Get rid of all those fees and Internet travel scams, no need it's the same price at 3:00 am or 3:00 pm.
These mergers resulting in competition with any other carrier makes little sense for as long as there are two, there is still some buckaroo in Kalamazoo who bids down his fare on Expedia resulting in your wages dropping and benefits vanishing. In the mean time the fat cats in the Board of Directors, rape the bankrupt company repeatedly asking for bonuses when they merger or or leave the bankruptcy protection.
It works for government, we only have one Amtrack, one NYC MTA, one BART etc etc . why should they have all the fun...?
Just kidding...
These mergers resulting in competition with any other carrier makes little sense for as long as there are two, there is still some buckaroo in Kalamazoo who bids down his fare on Expedia resulting in your wages dropping and benefits vanishing. In the mean time the fat cats in the Board of Directors, rape the bankrupt company repeatedly asking for bonuses when they merger or or leave the bankruptcy protection.
It works for government, we only have one Amtrack, one NYC MTA, one BART etc etc . why should they have all the fun...?
Just kidding...
That was after we were told to write our Congressmen to bail out the airlines after 9-11. The airlines fought all efforts to increase airport security prior to 9-11, we saw the result of their success, then we ask the Government to give them hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars, after which they lay off thousands of workers, then when we ask the Airlines to join us in our efforts to extend unemployment benefits for those workers they laid off after getting the money we helped them get and they tell us to go pound sand, they used those workers and BK to bust our contracts. I like you saw the underfunding of the pensions as another pro-company, anti worker move. By underfunding the pension AA got the best of both worlds, they didn't have to match 401K contributions like their rivals, then they used the Liability of the underfunded pension as one of the reasons to file BK ten years later. Some say that we got an extra nine years added to the value of our pension, but they leave out the fact that we funded that with our own concessions that were above and beyond what any other work group gave up in BK such as only 5 Holidays at only half pay if worked, only one week of vacation for the first five years and one week less vacation at every step of the progression than other workers, less sick time, and less IOD time, no double time and a long list of industry leading concessions that our peers kept, even through multiple BK filings. Plus the pension was based on our reduced hourly rates, but over the last nine years the OT has been pretty steady and we missed out on nine years of matching contributions on all earnings. Sure we still had our DB pension but they were not fully funding it, even to the point where we were in reality paying for it. Now we are being told that we have to lobby in favor of this deal or we wont get a new CBA, we are being told this by the authors of the crappy CBAs we just got, when in fact even if the deal goes through there is nothing stopping AA from simply dragging out any talks until the CBA becomes amendable anyway. We have no way to force them to improve the worst deals in the industry, we have zero leverage in these talks because they are not section 6 talks. If we cant ask to be released there is no point. The only thing we can hope for is that as workers leave they cant attract and retain new workers. What I see them walking away with is a deal that's focused more on new hires than us. We may see that without a merger. Maybe that why USAIR wont negotiate with the IAM? If AA needs to merge, buy Jet Blue, newer planes, younger workforce, one that's more likely to be willing to fight , even though they are currently non union, than the old timers at US who are just coasting till they can retire. The mechanics from Jet Blue would be itching for a fight if they were brought down to AA wages and benefits. Unfortunately, the merger will go through, without our "help" but we shouldn't be duped into supporting a deal that will result in fewer jobs and higher profits for the company when one of the conditions for the merger is we don't get profit sharing. I say we should support the DOJ, its about time they started enforcing the law. If things start turning to crap, as they should, we don't want to give the politicians the excuse that they gave us what we wanted by getting the merger through so we should be happy. We have nothing to gain by supporting managements desire for the merger. If we have nothing to gain why support it? Why support making AA the most profitable, largest carrier when we are the worst paid workers in the industry and they don't even want to give us profit sharing? If the merger doesn't go through, and they make profits, which they have been, at least they have to share a small portion of those profits with us. If I do send a letter to my elected officials It will be as an AA employee who is against the merger.
Real tired
Veteran
That was beautiful !!!
And no your weren't kidding. Ever try to buy a ticket on Amtrak? Especially a sleeper.
We don't make enough money.
As usual Bob. You tell it like it is. I agree, we won't get a new CBA until at least 2018 when this one has expired. But the main thing I see is that the TWU are the ones who have pushed this all on us.
eolesen
Veteran
- Jul 23, 2003
- 15,907
- 9,359
I'm still struggling to find out the relevance of writing an elected official when this is a matter for the courts. Is someone suggesting that politicians exert pressure to influence a judge's ruling?...
I know the separation of powers between the judicial, legislative, and administrative branches has been blurred quite a bit during the past decade, but short of changing the anti-trust laws, writing a letter won't accomplish squat.
I know the separation of powers between the judicial, legislative, and administrative branches has been blurred quite a bit during the past decade, but short of changing the anti-trust laws, writing a letter won't accomplish squat.
