The Problem

openview said:
jetblue is new and innovative. It isn't sadled with years worth of contract language and uncompetitive work rules. Add to that: Its employees are at the low end of the moving scale of pay; while US's employees are predominately at the upper end; its employees are at the lower end of the sliding range of sick days; US is at the top; JB is at the low end of the sliding scale of vacation days; US is near the high end, etc. on and on. US will never compete unless it truly gets rid of the innefficient contract language. Its not about pay. Its about the million and one side agreements and clauses inside the one inch thick labor contracts.
Well, we could put all of those senior employees out on an iceberg.
 
Its not about pay. Its about the million and one side agreements and clauses inside the one inch thick labor contracts.

So if all of the CBA's were to disappear tomorrow,what would your answer be? Broom all of the senior employees?
 
I don't know about any of the other contracts, but in the pilot's CBA those dreaded side letters cover everything from the previous concessions to scope relief. If they're such a drain, I'll be glad to toss them out. The basic contract is looking pretty good right not.

Jim
 
openview said:
jetblue is new and innovative. It isn't sadled with years worth of contract language and uncompetitive work rules. Add to that: Its employees are at the low end of the moving scale of pay; while US's employees are predominately at the upper end; its employees are at the lower end of the sliding range of sick days; US is at the top; JB is at the low end of the sliding scale of vacation days; US is near the high end, etc. on and on. US will never compete unless it truly gets rid of the innefficient contract language. Its not about pay. Its about the million and one side agreements and clauses inside the one inch thick labor contracts.
Yes. All about labor always is and never finding fault with the management that makes it all happen.

Funny how years ago with the same but unaltered and pillaged contracts now in place, labor made management millionaires with big bonuses and golden parachutes. But now that times have changed we seem to have forgotten all that labor has accomplished. It's the blame game, deflect the root cause with posts such as these using mirrors. You fool some people, but not everyone.
 
Unfortunately, in addition to the blame game, they seem

determined to keep reducing mainline and lowering our

wages and benefits.



76200
 
While the "quck & dirty"way to lower CASMs is paycuts, our high non-labor costs simplt must be address, yet we never seem to hear about those. Right now if every UAIR employee work for free, cocst would still only match WN's.

(10.7 censt CASM - 40% labor = 6.7 cents CASM, these number are very rough but sreve to illustrate a point.)

Why are the non-labor costs so high. How can they be cut?
 
Here's something I posted on another Board, but it seemed like it ought to be here too:
Take my flight from PBI to PHL Monday night. We get to Philly early. Normal flight. The lady in back of me, who boarded early in a wheelchair declines one to get off. Obviously a theraputic flight. I'm thinking, if it works for her, how about me? I have visions of Blue Cross buying my tickets. But then, the pilot announces there is nobody to guide the plane in, or drive the Jetway. 20 minutes later, somebody figures out we are there (after the frustrated pilot pulls the plane in by himself, while everybody is standing). A few screams. Nothing from the wheelchair lady, who I'm now thinking may be selected by the Eagles in the draft (and as for the Captain...hey, if this doesn't work out, he's good to go driving the bus to F Terminal). Suddenly, it all comes home. We can never fly on Southwest if they don't ever let us off the plane. What geniuses. Why didn't I think of that? As I'm leaving the gate area for my White Plains commuter flight, which will end up being filled with overbooks from the LGA flight, who will go home in taxis that cost more than their whole tickets, I say something to the gate agent about "how can you guys expect people like the pilots to take pay cuts, and then do that crap to them?" He looks at me with a twinkle in his eyes, shrugs, and says, "hey, it's Philly". Say goodnight folks. :up:
 
well the perpetual mantra that its always managements fault, past or present is not a valid statement in any way itself. Its not that simple. Management is wide swath of people in any organization. They took pay cuts. Their numbers were cut as well. I knew dozens out of hundreds that were cut, including myself with no more warning or preperation than a final conversation stating all depts are affected & you and others no longer have a position. To address the one post: I had over 70 days in a sick back that were wiped off the books. But, I don't look at it that I lost them unlike the majority of many empl. groups. When I was sick, I worked for a co. that provided sick days as a beneifits. But too many will never shake the use them or lose them mentality. Or just abuse the system.
Unfortunatly, it seem that unions eat their young so to speak. When the going truly gets tough for a co. like the ecomony, or competition, or 911, unions are built to start lopping off the lowest paid, sometimes best employees. There's no provision to eliminate a truly inefficent or abusive person. So the rest of the co suffers as a whole.
 
funny both articles (a bit dated but point taken) highlight 2 "wall street darlings" but does it say how much employees make? how the benefits are? how the pensions are?

no, it talks about the customers, and the product

thats the problem.

their ceos talk about providing the customer an enhanced traveling experience either value for their dollar or a superior product.

while UAIR ceo's continually hammer home (in the press) the problem is labor, labor contracts, and of course labor. while the other 2 ceo's ride on planes TALK to thier customers and generally try to make it even better for those that choose to fly them.

Leadership i believe would be the correct answer to the "question" of the thread title.