The Twu Saved Us All!

[PRINCESS KIDAGAKASH]

Only the TWU,well maybe the IAM, could claim victory by giving massive CONCESSIONS. Let's see here. The TWU takes the credit for keeping all three
maintenance bases open, even though they had nothing to do with it. The company is getting paid millions by the states and cities to keep them open. It's a win,win deal for the company. The company gets almost free labor from the TWU, and gets free hangers and support buildings from the states and cities. What a deal! It is sad day when a "union" claims "victory" by giving away the farm.

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

People like cio and kirk wells will wave this "We saved the bases!" banner. But will, as usual, not give the full facts. They will not say that it was the MILLIONS of dollars that tax payers at these cities are going to pay to keep these bases opened. I am happy people will have a job, for the time being, but give credit where credit is due.
By the way, cio and kirk, how much money did NWA get from the two cities where THEY closed maintenance bases? How much did AMFA give up in concessions? When people get recalled back to NWA they come back to FULL pay. When/if people get recalled to AA they come back to LESS pay.

 

[RV4]

The crap the TWU distributes in Tulsa, now claims they saved

more than **10,000** jobs?

Maybe one of the TWU stooges that frequesnt this board, would like to give us a classification breakdown of the 10,000 jobs the TWU saved?


Check this out:

Maybe we could all work for $7.50 per hour and the US Government could empty the welfare and food stamp rolls by having AA hire every man, woman, and child on the planet.

We could have a maintenance base in every city, and compete with the worker in foreign countries that eats fish heads-n-rice for every meal...

...And to top that, we could claim to belong to the greatest union known to man?

 

[RV4]

Meanwhile, "Back at the Ranch".

As the TWU claims victory that ALL THREE MAINTENANCE BASES will remain open.

American Airlines claims "capacity is limited" and therefore must OUTSOURCE heavy "C" checks to AAR in OKC.

"There is limited capacity to accomplish this work internally"

THREE FULL MAINTENANCE BASES AND CAPACITY IS LIMITED? Imagine that?

 

[PRINCESS KIDAGAKASH]

The TWU saved 10,000 management jobs allright. They(AA) are still hiring supervisors and managers, but laying still laying off hundreds of mechanics at the line stations. Who is the TWU trying to fool?

 

[RV4]

Where are all the TWU supporters when the documented facts are in their face?

 

[AMFAMAN]

Where are all the TWU supporters when the documented facts are in their face?

Now call me stupid but the twu has been telling me that we have language in our contract to stop work from going out the door. Why are we celebrating and talking about saving jobs if we have such great language to stop this already?


From Dallas Morning News 10/23/03

Bobby Gless of the TWU's air transport division said in a conference call with reporters. "The workers' willingness to make sacrifices is the reason for our success with preserving these bases and jobs."

The union cheered American for deciding not to hire subcontractors for its "heavy" maintenance -- where planes and engines are taken apart and rebuilt.

So I assume we now have language that stops this work from leaving next week.

 

[Buck]

"xxxxxxx, said American has outsourced some avionics work"

According to the Tulsa World this morning, AA has outsourced some componet work.

I guess the language is a little vague?

 

[Ed Norton]

AA/TWU love affAAir continues under Arpey!
AA pats it's lap dog union:down:


"This has been one of the most challenging periods in this industry's history," Arpey said. "It is only through remarkable support from the cities and states where we operate bases that we were able to protect jobs and lower our operating costs enough to maintain an important presence in those communities. With this support from Kansas City, Tulsa and Fort Worth, American has obtained more than $100 million in incentives, as well as achieving operating efficiencies at the bases.

"It was always our hope to retain all three of the bases and to protect as many of our employees as possible who perform such critical functions," Arpey said. "I'm glad that working together with the communities and the Transport Workers Union (TWU), we found the means to retain all three operations. A large part of the credit for our decision to retain a maintenance presence in Kansas City must go to the International TWU staff as well as TWU Local leaders. The fact that we are making this announcement today is evidence that they represented their members well."

"I'd like to thank all of the members of the TWU who continued to work with the highest level of professionalism throughout these long and difficult discussions, " said Jim Little, director Transport Division and international administrative vice president of TWU.

The TWU is one of the unions that has embraced American's effort to change the way it does business. The company has adopted a new spirit of collaboration with its unions and nonrepresented employees as a logical way to meet industry challenges.

You know your union is pathetic when it is praised by the company.

:down: :down: :down: :down:

 

[Ed Norton]

This from the TWU Express.

What is AMFA?

The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) was founded 40
years ago by O.V. Delle Femine, who has served as its national director —
without election— for all that time. Delle Femine is a former TWU member
and mechanic for American Airlines, and has been trying, unsuccessfully,
to raidTWU among American’s maintenance employees for decades.
National AMFA is run out of Delle Femine’s home in New Hampshire and
an attorn e y ’s office on Long Island, NY.
The attorn e y, Martin Seham, has been management counsel for a number
of air carr i e r s .
A M FA has cynically used the recent upheaval in the airline industry,
b rought on by the September 11th terrorist attacks, and the downturn in the
economy to launch a comprehensive campaign to unseat AFL-CIO aff i l i a t e d
industrial unions at a variety of carr i e r s .

Condemned by AFL-CIO

The AFL-CIO Executive Council, at its most recent meeting in Chicago,
unanimously passed a resolution condemning AMFA and those who would
give aid and comfort to it.
The AFL-CIO has joined in TWU’s campaign to defeat AMFA’s attacks at
American. As part of that campaign, more than 450 TWU-American Airlines
members have volunteered to serve as information officers to get the tru t h
out re g a rding AMFA and its elitist manifesto.
TWU Air Tr a n s p o rt Division Director Jim Little said that AMFA org a n i zers
“are nothing more than snake oil salesmen.†He said that where v e r
A M FA has succeeded in gaining re p resentation rights, the result has been
massive job losses. AMFA won re p resentation rights at Northwest Airlines
several years ago. TWU’s Little pointed out that since that fateful day, more
than 60 percent of Nort h w e s t ’s mechanics have lost their jobs. “AMFA has
done nothing to stem the job loss,†said Little.

I think the TWU bums are getting scared!

 

[1AA]

If the TWU claims that they saved 10,000 jobs, how come we have AMT's displaced and furloughed? How can they make that claim when Kansas City is going to maintain only one wide body heavy line? Even the company stated that jobs will be lost through retirements and will not be backfilled? Is this what the TWU considers a victory in saving jobs? Kansas City has about 1,200 AMT's and that number will go down to about 700. Is this saving jobs?

:blink: :unsure: :down: :huh:

 

[Buck]

THE BIG PICTURE?

 

[Boomer]

The real story is that despite the claim of AFL-CIO Superiority; the IAM gave in to massive outsourcing at UAL and is in Federal Court contesting massive outsourcing at US Airways.

At AMR-Eagle, the TWU has proposed accepting the Repairman Certificate, while accepting wage rates below the Industry Averages.

http://www.twuatd.org/negotiations/eagle/f...intproposal.pdf

I do not question the proposal to increase the pay of the Eagle AMTs. They have long been underpaid for the jobs they perform.

The problem is that while the TWU is NEGOTIATING INCREASES for THE AMTs AT American Eagle, they are justifying the CONCESSIONS of the AMTs at AA while not requiring a Contractual Form for Certifying Eagle Expenses.

Almost Anyone with operational exposure can tell you of numerous times when AA Employees are sent to fix AE problems or AA Facilities are used for AE assets without any compensation from AE.

 

[j7915]

The real story is that despite the claim of AFL-CIO Superiority; the IAM gave in to massive outsourcing at UAL and is in Federal Court contesting massive outsourcing at US Airways.

At AMR-Eagle, the TWU has proposed accepting the Repairman Certificate, while accepting wage rates below the Industry Averages.

http://www.twuatd.org/negotiations/eagle/f...intproposal.pdf

I do not question the proposal to increase the pay of the Eagle AMTs. They have long been underpaid for the jobs they perform.

The problem is that while the TWU is NEGOTIATING INCREASES for THE AMTs AT American Eagle, they are justifying the CONCESSIONS of the AMTs at AA while not requiring a Contractual Form for Certifying Eagle Expenses.

Almost Anyone with operational exposure can tell you of numerous times when AA Employees are sent to fix AE problems or AA Facilities are used for AE assets without any compensation from AE.

Boomer you can of course produce documantation for all these alegations? You AMFA pushers always want written proof, well I think it is time for you to come up with the same.

If AA is giving free support to AE, then please call the business abuse hot line, that is what it is for.

You complain that the IAM could not stop the oursourcing at UAL, first we are not UAL, second we are not IAM, third, would you be happier if the union had the judge in their pocket? UAL is in chapter 11, a totally different scenario from AA.

Further UAL's and NWA's and Mesaba mechanics jobs are gone for good. AA cut back on overhaul but the facilities are here, and are being utilized.

You don't have much of a profile listed, so I assume that you are a line mech. How much influence will you have if you are down to a small number? A&P have less legal claim to their work than plumbers or electricians. changing those laws, codes, FARs is what you should be educating your fellow workers on, instead of worrying about the nasty industrial unions. Labor did not become influential until the AFL-CIO stopped fighting turf wars and co-operated. That is why CEOs are members of chambers of commerce, the companies are co-operating and co-ordinating their moves. And they don't waste time pontificating about the Constitution, and bombastic speeches about "sacrifices" made.

 

[Bob Owens]

A&P have less legal claim to their work than plumbers or electricians. changing those laws, codes, FARs is what you should be educating your fellow workers on, instead of worrying about the nasty industrial unions. Labor did not become influential until the AFL-CIO stopped fighting turf wars and co-operated. That is why CEOs are members of chambers of commerce, the companies are co-operating and co-ordinating their moves. And they don't waste time pontificating about the Constitution, and bombastic speeches about "sacrifices" made.

Well Local 562 did push the issue of Part 66 which will continue to debase the value of the A&P, as if the TWU with SRPs, OSMs and the transfer of work away from our title has not done enough damage.

Art Luby in order to try and quiet us down inserted language that addresses the issue but does nothing to fix the problem. I cant help but think that this was deliberate on Art Luby's part. Perhaps the plan is to water our classification down to the point that we can never threaten to leave the TWU.

The only reason why our union is going after FAR 145, after a 10 year hiatus, is because even though the TWU can manage to "negotiate" wages far below any American Union, they are not likely to be able to get wages below that of foreign companies. They learned that lesson from ZEBCO.

FAR 145 will cost the union jobs, and that is something they do care about. They could care less if A&P jobs are lost, as long as the job that replaces the A&P job is one that pays dues to the TWU. If you are a liscenced mechanic perhaps the greatest threat to the value of your liscence is Art Luby and the TWU. Over the years they have negotated away more A&P jobs than any union.

So when is the TWU, the union that collects our dues going to try and educate us about the FARs and how important they are to A&P mechanics? They have done nothing for the past 50 years.

Tell us again how the TWU used AFL-CIO affiliation to protect our wages and benefits?

I agree that affiliation is worthwile, but it is not a good substitute for a competant, focused industry specific union.

When there was talk about a Judge abrogating the contracts at UAL I posted that all the airline unions of the TTD should rally behind the workers of UAL and say that if the Judge abrogates their agreement we should all walk out. Jim Little demanded that I retract the statement. So much for AFL-CIO Solidarity. We all knew that once the other carriers forced concessions upon their workers we would be next, yet our leaders did nothing to prevent the carnage. The fact is workers of this industry were sold out. No other industry has been hit as hard, even though most industries are suffering from the same economy. While we gave away everything we see workers in other industries fighting back, striking, telling the bosses NO. What did the TWU do? The company said we want $610 million or else, and our union gave it to them!! Where is the fight? The fact is when it comes to fighting the only fight that the TWU/ATD will engage in is a fight against their own Locals and members.

As you said the companies are co-operating, just like the TWU. "$610 million? And how would you like that Mr. Carty?"

We need a union that will lead us into battle, not tell give us a million reasons why we should just surrender.