Strike? Now?

[SKY HIGH]

There are less than 15M union members (both government and private) left in the US; that says to me that unions in general have outlived their usefulness, and in many ways, have overplayed their hand over time.

What timing! ANTI-UNION RHETORIC from someone who doesnt have to live under the contract in question.

Sympathy?....Couldnt careless what you think.

Outlived their usefulness? Yeahhh, tell that to a Delta Flight Attendant who turned to the UNIONS to help her get her job back because her drug test came back inconsistent. She was simply FIRED.

http://www.cleartest.com/news/delta-drug-testing-debacle/

or how about a pilot who refuses to fly? Without a UNION, company threats, intimidation, disciplinary action would result. FEEL safe now?

Do YOU think it was AIRLINE MANAGEMENT who improved working conditions for it's employees over the past decades?
Marched on Capital Hill to gain improvements to cabin safety? FAR's for flight crews? Whistle blower protections? Who bought studies for cabin air quality to the forefront?

This comment is typical rhectoric which comes into play when hard working individuals want to improve their pay and working conditions. The company will throw FEAR tactics at you as well. I wouldnt be surprised to hear fellow employees rant against the flight attendant GROUP. Or, we're going to shut down the company "threat".

This industry is heavily UNIONIZED for a reason. Google some past management in this industry!

 

[bullterrier]

15 million is insignificant? What do you think would happen to the economy if just the 1,144,000 unionized workers in transportation and utilities walked off the job?

Thats an easy answer. Things may come to a stop for a minute but other workers would be hired in. Do you think utility workers would strike at the same time as transportation workers? Do you think all transportation workers would strike at the same time? Think on a much smaller scale. Its just a misinformative graph.

 

[Bagbelt]

If things get bad enough in the future there would be mass strikes, replacing skilled people isn't as easy as some make it sound. The labor movement grew because things got that bad, not because people had nothing better to do. There will always be scabs, but at some point each person comes to a realisation that they are not put on this earth to work all their lives to make a few obscenely weathly while they spend old age in squalor. I'm all for free enterprise and making a buck, but when you are willing to follow the rules, get educated and work hard you should be able at least live a modest existence. I'm perfectly willing to run a company into the ground for $5 million a year, a bargin these days..

 

[damajagua]

I agree with most of your points, the flight attendants dont have much clout, however, they could if they werent so naive. The flight attendants in this country, in particualar, American, United, Delta, USAirways, and Continental, seriously need to realize that they need to fall under one umbrella union and more importantly contract - PERIOD... Instead, you have American flight attendants griping about this and that and then turning around defending their company fiercly, the same at Delta and United and so on and so forth. Who cares what company I work for, I want to work under the best contract!! HELLO F/A's - WAKE UP!!! If we were all (UAL, AA, DAL , US, CAL) fighting for a unity wage and work rules, we would win, no doubt.. Until then, you can kiss your raise and maybe your job, goodbye.. AA is always going to say, well you make more than DAL and UAL f/a's , so you should be happy.. What would they say if we were all under a unity contract, with the same wages and we were all putting pressure on our companies for a combined raise for our combined contract? But Nah, that would make too much sense, anyway, have fun while you are out on strike, I will gladly go and walk your picket line.

I agree with you 100% but I just do not see how can you logistically do something like what
you are proposing. I think in theory it sounds great but how can you put this into practice
is a better question.

 

[BoeingBoy]

I think in theory it sounds great but how can you put this into practice is a better question

It's like the pilots that say ALPA should have instituted a national seniority list years ago - easy to say but impossible to do.

Jim

 

[Bob Owens]

It's like the pilots that say ALPA should have instituted a national seniority list years ago - easy to say but impossible to do.

Jim

Not really, difficult maybe but not impossible.

1, date you became a union member
2. date of birth
3. flight hours
4. alphabetical

 

[700UW]

There are less than 15M union members (both government and private) left in the US; that says to me that unions in general have outlived their usefulness, and in many ways, have overplayed their hand over time.

That includes striking.

Under the law, unions can certainly exercise their right to engage in strikes, but as the number of people in unions declines to something south of 5% of the nation's population, don't expect a lot of sympathy from the public.

I think you can also expect less sympathy from a PEB than you would have gotten 10 or 20 years ago...

CO's ramp just voted in the IBT yesterday!

 

[eolesen]

15 million is insignificant? What do you think would happen to the economy if just the 1,144,000 unionized workers in transportation and utilities walked off the job?

Airlines make up perhaps 10% of that number, Bob. At least a third of that 1.1M comes from the railroads, and public transit (which arguably should be considered local government...) makes up the lions share of the rest.

 

[TWU informer]

Airlines make up perhaps 10% of that number, Bob. At least a third of that 1.1M comes from the railroads, and public transit (which arguably should be considered local government...) makes up the lions share of the rest.

Doesn't matter. If ALL Airline Unionized Employees decided to shut this industry down next week, the unionized number is by far enough to cause disruptions that would have you and everyone else bitchin to Obama asking for relief. I would love to see it and the defiance by all workers to comply with demands of the rich pricks running this country.

It wouldn't take one week for this Country to be in total disarray and beggin for mercy.

When the US Mail isn't delivering those tax "refund" checks of the fools that let the government use their money interest free, even the non-traveling public would experience the wrath of your small number.

Air Transporation is under the Railway Labor Act for a reason, and you and the other non-believers can keep pushing the few left fortunate middle class towards poverty and we all withness the reason first hand.

I am getting so friggin pissed off I am ready and willing to let you feed my ass along with the rest of the other freeloading lazy asses in this country. We will not starve to death, we will not be much worse off than the companies last proposal.

 

[czerny]

. But who in their right mind would want a gig with crappy hours, no prospects and a pay and benefits package that gets worse by the year? Half the guys in a/c maint.are already working 2nd jobs or looking for one.

When I was furloughed for 2 months in Oct/Nov last year, JetBlue was hiring fas and their online employment site crashed. They were inundated with tons and tons of applications. A friend of mine left Delta years ago after a back injury and set up a website and business advising people on airline interviews and jobs. There are still tons of people who want this job so for every flight attendant who does a bad job or has a bad attitude at work, there's a line of people waiting to take their spot. Airlines know that.

 

[The Goose]

Mr. Informer:

It's a safe bet that the TWU isn't going to do anything against the wishes of Little Jimmy, therefore, sit back and curb the stress as best you can. I've finally decided to take that attitude and it works rather nicely.

The company screws us, we screw them - it's obvious this is the manner of working relationship the management desires so, rather than giving ourselves ulcers, let them have what they want and enjoy the entertainment in the process.

The upcoming 514 elections, of course, will be a sham, and even if a pro-worker local president and officers are elected, they will promptly be bought off or threatened if they still harbor any dreams of the TWU acting in a pro-worker capacity.

The beauty is eventually it will implode - someone will get too confident of their position, the Feds will find out and perhaps whack a pee-pee or two.

Play the game until then or retirement, whichever comes first.

 

[Duke787]

Doesn't matter. If ALL Airline Unionized Employees decided to shut this industry down next week, the unionized number is by far enough to cause disruptions that would have you and everyone else bitchin to Obama asking for relief. I would love to see it and the defiance by all workers to comply with demands of the rich pricks running this country.

It wouldn't take one week for this Country to be in total disarray and beggin for mercy.

When the US Mail isn't delivering those tax "refund" checks of the fools that let the government use their money interest free, even the non-traveling public would experience the wrath of your small number.

Air Transporation is under the Railway Labor Act for a reason, and you and the other non-believers can keep pushing the few left fortunate middle class towards poverty and we all withness the reason first hand.

I am getting so friggin pissed off I am ready and willing to let you feed my ass along with the rest of the other freeloading lazy asses in this country. We will not starve to death, we will not be much worse off than the companies last proposal.

Walking off the job to hurt the air transportation of the the nation worked so well for air traffic controllers in the 80s when Pres. Reagan replaced them all.

 

[TWU informer]

Walking off the job to hurt the air transportation of the the nation worked so well for air traffic controllers in the 80s when Pres. Reagan replaced them all.

That's a foolish comparison don't you think?

 

[eolesen]

Doesn't matter. If ALL Airline Unionized Employees decided to shut this industry down next week, the unionized number is by far enough to cause disruptions that would have you and everyone else bitchin to Obama asking for relief. I would love to see it and the defiance by all workers to comply with demands of the rich pricks running this country.

It wouldn't take one week for this Country to be in total disarray and beggin for mercy.

Ah, yes, the wet dream of every unionista -- your little 5% of the country holding the other 95% of the population hostage until your demands are met....

Sort of ironic, given how much contempt most of you have for that 5% at the top of the economic ladder, and how you rail about their only concern being lining their own pockets at the expense of the other 95%.

Maybe deep down, all you "let's shut down the country" guys aren't all that far removed from the fat cats you despise so much?....


Go ahead and shut it down, Dave. This past week has shown that business will go on even when planes aren't in the air (the government going on is another story...). Case and point... We had onsite meetings scheduled for a client in DC, and had to revert to video and webex conferences because of the snow. Despite my doubts, it was perhaps more productive as having all of us sitting in a room together.

So bring it on guys... ground all the union airlines for a couple weeks. Being able to get a full week's work done with a client across the country *and* be able to see my kids at the end of the day is the best of both worlds.

 

[TWU informer]

The National Strike just aint going to happen. But if it were to happen, I doubt that all of the other 95% would disagree that something needs to be done in this country to show the fat cats they don't really run the show. You make it sound like 95% would be burdened by the strike and would be anti labor...I doubt that.

What would be far better than a natioanl strike is for every working man and woman to file a W-4 claiming exemption from taxes and stop the fat cats from stealing our income to begin with. Then when April 15th comes tell 'em to stick it and we aren't filing tax returns either. Now that would really get things changed quickly in this country.

The first response to that would be a consumption sales tax which would hit the fat cat equally to my burden. I can just see it now, no more rich man loopholes to avoid taxes and when he spends he pays...Now that would get me down off the bitchin stool for awhile.

And if your little world of webex and video is an alternative to flight then Obama should pass a law mandating that you use it instead of being the cause of Al Gores' Global Warming.

By the way, I classify every politician as a fat cat these days, and doubt that I am deep down anything like them.