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On 8/20/2002 4
31 PM
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On 8/20/2002 4:23:10 PM
The original post by twaokc:
Thank you for your concern for the family of TWA that took good care of you and your fellow business/leisure travelers.
TWA people had a vested interest in providing you the best service available. TWA went from 9th. (last) to 1st. in on time performance and awarded JD Power's recognition for short and long haul service.
The TWA family is suffering from predatory efforts from the employees of American. After promising congress that they would seek a fair integration of all TWA employees, they are taking our routes and jobs. Congress gave approval in an expeditious manner so AMR could profit from the TWA purchase. Now the employees are profiting at the expense of our livelihoods.
Please write to Don Carty CEO of American and tell him how you feel. Please get the word out.
Thank you
Anyone who disputes this post is an American Employee who is profiting from TWA
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Tharseo, thanks for the copy of the letter. I wonder where AA is hiding all these profits we got from the TWA purchase.
AAers are taking their routes and jobs. What a joke. What routes? What jobs? I guess there goal is to try to drive away business to continue the bleed on the company and see more and more people on the street. Try to get AA to fail. Then the ex TWA people will be able to stand tall, and say you should have given me my seniority I earned at TWA.
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You see Mikey you are so blinded by tunnelvision that you don't realize that TWA owned/leased planes, certain route authorities, slots, gates, equipment, and real estate, have monetary value. Regardless if profit is being made from these assets, the fact is AA gained something that they otherwise would not have had. We don't know if TWA would have ended in bankruptcy court again on its own. Sure the probability was extremely high, but the fact of the matter is AA intervened before bankruptcy was filed and forced TWA into bankruptcy prior to acquiring assets. Part of the asset purchase included the offering of jobs to the unionized employees.
Historically, when two unionized airline seniority lists were to integrated a standard was used. The two unions would sit down and hammer out some sort of integration agreement, and take any unresolved issues to arbitration. Then the lists were merged after a decision was rendered, typically. I know this is a gross simplification of the whole process. Throughout the many mergers/acquisitions in the airline industry seniority was respected in some degree by unionized groups regardless whether they were independent or AFL-CIO afiliated unions. Sometimes seniority was respected even when a group was not unionized.
The fact of the matter is your union never sat down with the TWA FA union to even try to negotiate a seniority integration of the two lists. Your union and AA told the TWA FA's this is the way it's going to be. Gee, so much for the Allegheny-Mohawk labor protection provisions that was a standard for unionized seniority integrations. Mikey, I know you feel what was offered to the TWA FA's was generous, i.e. full pay seniority, retirement credit, etc. Let's face it, integration of seniority lists are all about BIDDING SENIORITY!
The position that you and others from your ilk have so adamantly upheld throughout this process is ARROGANT, morally reprehensible, and goes against the priciples of trade unionism! The integration of the TWA and AA employees is an example of how NOT to do a seniority integration. Unionism, especially amongst airline workers, was all about "all for one, one for all" in the past, then the AA-TWA integration came along. What you and your organization have shown that it is all about me, me, me, let the rest be damned. You and your group have ably demonstrated, by swallowing the company kool-aid, that you will stop at nothing to protect your kozy little fortress, to try and keep it impermeable rather than show some respect for your fellow unionized brothers and sisters that are now dues paying members of that selfish organization that you belong to.
All your organization had to do was submit the whole matter to an arbitrator for determination. As you can see the TWA mechanics and rampers decision is far from what they wanted, but at the very least, it was heard by third party neutral.
Finally, because of the acquisition of TWA, AA is considered the largest airline in the world, whatever that means. I can only speak from a flight attendant perspective, your organization was once envied amongst FA groups in the industry, especially when your group orchestrated the '93 strike. For which I walked your picket line as show of solidarity for you and the AA FA's. Not anymore, the actions that your organization have displayed have been pathetic and despicable. I realize that my way too long diatribe won't mean s**t in the end, but at least I won't live with the guilt of putting senior, tenored employees, regardless of airline origin, on the streets. Remember the adage? What goes around comes around. [
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