TWU's Conley on leave following fuel comments

[FrequentFlierCA]

And in a separate thread, it's revealed that Little has placed him on leave because of his comments.

Exactly right. Just goes to show that the current labor leadership is more interested in war than diplomacy.

It's ominous that one of the few labor leaders with a pragmatic approach was sidelined for advocating a flexible approach.

 

[AMFAMAN]

Exactly right. Just goes to show that the current labor leadership is more interested in war than diplomacy.

It's ominous that one of the few labor leaders with a pragmatic approach was sidelined for advocating a flexible approach.

There was nothing flexible about the company's approach in 2003, so therefore I see no need to be flexible now. If a union leader wants to tow the company's line, then fine --go to management.

 

[MCI transplant]

<_< ------ Let's keep in mind Management wasn't too concerned with the price of fuel when they put $millions$$$ in their pockets in Bonus!!!--- And speaking of fuel! We have to put fuel in our cars to get to work also! It seems management can get"creative" when it comes to their compensation. So let them utilize those talents to bring back a "fair" compensation package for the people who actually make this Airline go!

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

Exactly right. Just goes to show that the current labor leadership is more interested in war than diplomacy.

It's ominous that one of the few labor leaders with a pragmatic approach was sidelined for advocating a flexible approach.

War? The twu go to war? Oh, you mean like when the membership was LIED to and the twu still accepted life changing concessions... with NO snapback clause?

Pragmatic? Oh, like stating that fuel is expensive and the membership must continue to live with submarginal pay & benefits but those who have the "pragmatic approach" NEVER took a pay cut and remain at over $100,000.00 a year?

Silly me!

Listen, FF, I don't care if fuel hits $200.00 a barrel. Aloha & ATA are both gone. The airlines will consolidate. There is NO reason why airlines can not raise ticket prices enough to cover the cost of their product. Let them shrink if they must but I will NEVER forget what was done to my work group and for people who are suppose to protect my pay & benefits do not they should be removed. Is this a pragmatic enough way of waging war from the labor side?

 

[TWU-GOTTA-GO]

Great job Bob, the petition made the Star Telegram:

http://www.star-telegram.com/business/story/561730.html

American Airlines union leader put on leave after comments



By TREBOR BANSTETTER
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
A top official at the union representing American Airlines ground workers has been put on leave after recent comments about the potential impact of high fuel prices on contract negotiations.
John Conley, air-transport division director for the Transport Workers Union, was placed on administrative leave Tuesday by James Little, the union's international president. According to a letter sent by Little to presidents of union locals, Conley "will continue working on his other operational assignments."

Union spokesman Tim McAninley said the labor group had no comment beyond Little's letter. But several union officials said the action followed comments Conley made at an aviation conference in Phoenix last week.

Conley told a Star-Telegram reporter March 27 that an unprecedented spike in oil prices could present challenges at the negotiating table as the union tries to craft a new contract with American.

He echoed that view during a panel discussion at the conference. "This could very well be a seismic-shift year," Conley told attendees. He said the environment "could be an opportunity to consider not being as intractable as folks have been in the past."

Jet-fuel prices reached $3.40 per gallon this week, according to the Energy Information Administration. That's up nearly 70 percent from a year earlier.

The union's offices have been flooded with complaints from members after Conley's comments, said several union officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The comments became the subject of heated criticism on Internet message boards for airline employees. One union member began an online petition to have Conley fired, which had garnered more than 200 signatures by Wednesday evening.

"His defeatist comments are inexcusable, and we have no confidence in his ability to bring us back a fair deal," the petition reads.

American's other unions have said that fuel prices shouldn't prevent them from winning higher wages at the bargaining table.

"This contract is going to take a long time" to negotiate, said Laura Glading, the new president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants. Fuel prices are likely to fluctuate considerably during that period, she said.

All three of American's unions are in talks to update contracts that open for changes at the end of this month. Under federal laws governing airline labor talks, the current contracts will remain in force until new deals are approved.

Union leaders have said that they want to regain wages and benefits lost in 2003, when the labor groups approved $1.6 billion in annual concessions to keep American out of bankruptcy.

Several analysts predict that the industry's harsh financial environment could indeed make it difficult for labor to achieve significant raises at American. "It is unrealistic, in our opinion, to believe that a high-labor-cost carrier will negotiate to become an even higher-cost one," Michael Derchin, an airline analyst with FTN Midwest Securities, wrote in a recent report.

Shares of AMR Corp., American's parent company (ticker: AMR), closed at $9.59 in trading Wednesday, down 26 cents.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

War? The twu go to war? Oh, you mean like when the membership was LIED to and the twu still accepted life changing concessions... with NO snapback clause?

Pragmatic? Oh, like stating that fuel is expensive and the membership must continue to live with submarginal pay & benefits but those who have the "pragmatic approach" NEVER took a pay cut and remain at over $100,000.00 a year?

Silly me!

Listen, FF, I don't care if fuel hits $200.00 a barrel. Aloha & ATA are both gone. The airlines will consolidate. There is NO reason why airlines can not raise ticket prices enough to cover the cost of their product. Let them shrink if they must but I will NEVER forget what was done to my work group and for people who are suppose to protect my pay & benefits do not they should be removed. Is this a pragmatic enough way of waging war from the labor side?

There was no snapback clause precisely because - in 2003 and now - future revenue and profit (or loss) cannot be accurately predicted.

You should care if oil hits $200 a barrel. Higher input costs mean less profit and therefore less pie to go around to the workers during negotiations. There are several reasons why the airlines can't raise ticket prices enough to cover their costs. Here are the most important two:

1. The legacy carriers lack pricing power, having long ago lost it to discounters. So while input costs rise they are only able to pass along modest increases (via fuel surcharges) to customers.

2. These same airlines - including your employer - are stuck with high unit labor costs. This is not a judgment on the value of your work, it's just an economic reality. Relative to the employees of WN, B6, VX, etc. you guys are highly paid (sounds laughable, I realize). But the cold reality is that these discounters can offer lower fares precisely because their input costs are lower... despite your givebacks in 2003, AA still just can't compete in the era of $100+ oil.

 

[DallasConehead]

There was no snapback clause precisely because - in 2003 and now - future revenue and profit (or loss) cannot be accurately predicted.

You should care if oil hits $200 a barrel. Higher input costs mean less profit and therefore less pie to go around to the workers during negotiations. There are several reasons why the airlines can't raise ticket prices enough to cover their costs. Here are the most important two:

1. The legacy carriers lack pricing power, having long ago lost it to discounters. So while input costs rise they are only able to pass along modest increases (via fuel surcharges) to customers.

2. These same airlines - including your employer - are stuck with high unit labor costs. This is not a judgment on the value of your work, it's just an economic reality. Relative to the employees of WN, B6, VX, etc. you guys are highly paid (sounds laughable, I realize). But the cold reality is that these discounters can offer lower fares precisely because their input costs are lower... despite your givebacks in 2003, AA still just can't compete in the era of $100+ oil.

SWA is the most unionized airline out there and pays their employees top wages. They compete in the same enviroment. One word: MISMANAGEMENT!! Unfortunately, our airline is run by fools and bean counters. They do so little when they have so much.

 

[1 VF-1 2NV]

Yup...WN has the hedges...

 

[eolesen]

And WN has fewer employees per airframe. High productivity out of those fewer employees is why WN is successful and able to pay higher wages.

If AA were run under WN's workrules, you'd have a much different situation at AMR. For starters, you'd have cleaner cabins....

 

[1 VF-1 2NV]

And WN has fewer employees per airframe. High productivity out of those fewer employees is why WN is successful and able to pay higher wages.

If AA were run under WN's workrules, you'd have a much different situation at AMR. For starters, you'd have cleaner cabins....

And more injuries to the "not so fit anymore, older, senior, spoiled from before"... ramp employees .

 

[eolesen]

Touche'....

 

[Bagbelt]

RONs are cleaned by outside contractors. Fleet Service only does afternoons.

 

[DallasConehead]

And WN has fewer employees per airframe. High productivity out of those fewer employees is why WN is successful and able to pay higher wages.

If AA were run under WN's workrules, you'd have a much different situation at AMR. For starters, you'd have cleaner cabins....

It's not so much work rules as it is the sheer number of management at AA doing nothing except being "VP of Customer Experience" x 1000 + all their minions, BTW, these are the same that give themselves the obscene bonuses and mismanage our great airline. Productivity has nothing to do with it. We have been working with less everything for a long time.

 

[FrequentFlierCA]

It's not so much work rules as it is the sheer number of management at AA doing nothing except being "VP of Customer Experience" x 1000 + all their minions, BTW, these are the same that give themselves the obscene bonuses and mismanage our great airline. Productivity has nothing to do with it. We have been working with less everything for a long time.

Productivity has everything to do with it. If you want WN wages then you'll have to adhere to WN work rules.

Oh right, didn't think so.

 

[eolesen]

It's not so much work rules as it is the sheer number of management at AA doing nothing except being "VP of Customer Experience" x 1000 + all their minions

Nice try. Last time I did a benchmark of management employees between AA and WN, WN had only two fewer VP's than AA did, and just about as many managing directors.

Do the math... If AA has more than twice the number of employees, then WN has almost twice as many upper level executives as AMR does. There's your management productivity right back at 'ya.