Skycaps to file suit against US

[tadjr]

Link

AA and UA are charging as well. Dont know what their skycaps make an hour though. That seems to be the complaint here. I know our skycaps arent making anything near what they made and the people that wont pay are now coming inside to stand in the kiosk/ticketing line instead of just checking curbside and going.

 

[Zarah]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?...AG4LFVBL436.DTL

Old article with some numbers. Anybody know what the average income of these guys is today?

 

[PA18]

Link

AA and UA are charging as well. Dont know what their skycaps make an hour though. That seems to be the complaint here. I know our skycaps arent making anything near what they made and the people that wont pay are now coming inside to stand in the kiosk/ticketing line instead of just checking curbside and going.

And even before the company started charging for this service, it was amazing how many times you saw a skycap check in 10 bags for a family, and not even get a tip.

Apparently, the passengers think that this service is included in that $69 fare.

And now with the new "service charge", you'll rarely see a skycap get a tip anymore.

"But I just gave you two dollars..."

 

[JS]

Let me get out my tiny little violin. 🙄

 

[freedom]

Poor sky caps, they don’t realize that their now just another work group of us airways that’s been sent to go work on the street corner . Welcome to us airways sky caps !

 

[necigrad]

Why is US involved in this suit? The skyscaps sole legitimate target is their employer, not US. If tips didn't bring food servers above minimum wage the employer has to cover the shortfall. The same is true for a friend I have that's a massage therapist. He works on a schedule, but is paid by massage. If he wroks a 7 hour shift with no clients, his employer must pay him minimum wage anyway.

 

[john john]

Link

AA and UA are charging as well.

I would like to see the contract USAirways has with the skycap vender’s wonder how much we pay for their services.I thing this is what is behind the fee the company trying to revamp the contract cost. Like to see the agent group get this function

 

[roadtrip]

You dont like it quit thats the advice we keep hearing from doug and his boys

 

[Ramp Rogue]

I've always said that having skycaps was a waste of money. US should take the money that is paid to a vendor and use it to hire more f/t and p/t agents, that can man the ticket counter when the customers walk straight from the curb to the ticket counter. Why pay a skycap when the customer has to go to the counter anyway to get their problems straightened out? No need in paying double for a service that could be handled by one person. Eliminate the middleman and only deal with US agents. Or if need be, let US agents skycap.

 

[Hello Newman]

I've always said that having skycaps was a waste of money. US should take the money that is paid to a vendor and use it to hire more f/t and p/t agents, that can man the ticket counter when the customers walk straight from the curb to the ticket counter. Why pay a skycap when the customer has to go to the counter anyway to get their problems straightened out? No need in paying double for a service that could be handled by one person. Eliminate the middleman and only deal with US agents. Or if need be, let US agents skycap.

2.00 TO PAY FOR PHL BAGGAGE HANDLING????? INSULT TO INJURY
UNLESS OF COURSE THAT 2.00 GOES TO IMPROVE OUR OVERALL BAGAAGE HANDLING, BUT THAT AINT GONNA HAPPEN

 

[perserverance]

Skycaps hourly rate is below that of the minimum wage because they are in a ''tip''
profession. The skycaps are required to show documentation that they recieve ''tips''
that bring them up to minimum wage. For example : If the minimum wage was $5.00
an hour and the skycap made $2.00 an hour he would have to at the end of his/her pay
period show that he recieved enough ''tips'' to bring him up to $5.00hr, basically his/her
hourly rate along with at least an average of $3.00 in tips per hour.

The $2.00 charge per bag is not going to the vendor, it is going to the airline that is
providing the curbside service. The skycaps argument is that they are not recieving enough
in ''tips'' to reach minimum wage. Most passengers are already pissed off when they find
out they are obligated to pay the $2.00 per bag that they do not tip the skycap. I'm pretty
sure the skycaps are making thier required wage but compared to what they were making
and the $2.00 charge forced upon the customer, thier daily income has been slashed dramatically.

The space between the ''have and have nots'' just keeps getting larger.

by the way...''tips'' means : Tenure to Insure Proper Service
** just as an after note.....


Thanks

 

[PHL]

The Ma and Pa Kettles that fly this airline are already penny pinching. If you tell them it's $2 to check a bag, they'll either do it and not give up a penny more, or go inside.

The biz travelers (who have more funds to tip with since they can be expensed anyway) don't often check bags in the first place so their tip money goes to bellhops and hotel housekeeping staff (I know mine does, at least)

So who does that leave to check bags curbside??

Raise their pay to federal minimum wage and let them enjoy what few tips are left. I can't imagine they make the kind of tips, as a percentage of their hourly pay, that waiters/waitresses make.

 

[nycbusdriver]

I've always said that having skycaps was a waste of money. US should take the money that is paid to a vendor and use it to hire more f/t and p/t agents, that can man the ticket counter when the customers walk straight from the curb to the ticket counter. Why pay a skycap when the customer has to go to the counter anyway to get their problems straightened out? No need in paying double for a service that could be handled by one person. Eliminate the middleman and only deal with US agents. Or if need be, let US agents skycap.

Curbside check-in allows a passenger to get rid of his/her luggage before taking the car to a remote parking lot in the next county and spending the better part of an hour trying to get back to the terminal on the shuttle bus.

 

[JS]

Curbside check-in allows a passenger to get rid of his/her luggage before taking the car to a remote parking lot in the next county and spending the better part of an hour trying to get back to the terminal on the shuttle bus.

If you have someone else with you. Otherwise your car gets towed. If you do have someone else with you, you could do the same thing and use inside check-in.

I have no idea why people use skycaps unless there's a long line inside and not enough time to wait in line inside.

As far as the skycaps' total income is concerned, cry me a river. Since when is everyone guaranteed their current wages will last forever? The buggy whip makers and candlestick makers, while still around, will never enjoy their good ol' days, and that's just 'tough titties'.

Either look for a new line of work or keep working a minimum wage job for minimum wage.

 

[philly rocks]

Shame on you JS. There is a job out there for everyone and skycaps have been around probably longer than your years on this earth!

2.00 a bag is over the edge and what we all would like to know....whats the sandcastles cut on it? Sure, they will claim it is the vendors money but I don't believe it for a second. Tax fee money if you ask all of us. The skycaps are dying with this 2.00 a bag mess, let alone tips that they need to live on. I believe a lawsuit is in order to stop this...next thing you now it they will be charging passengers 2.00 a bag when using a kiosk and believe me it is gonna happen eventually. Their dream (US) would be for everyone to fly stark naked to save fuel costs and to get rid of rampers. They would like F/A to handle the boarding at the gates...it ain't gonna happen. What the skycaps need is a Union to make sure this crap ends. I'm surprised that they haven't taken away their caps...thats about all they have left.