Us Airways Machinists Blast Ceo

[mwereplanes]

fliboi:

Speak to us about the facts of how Siegel is running this company. About the profit we are making. The leadership he is providing. How he is motivating the employees. About his plan. And the implementation of his plan. Speak about the facts of how he has cemented the will of the employees to do whatever it takes to win this fight against the LCC's. Tell us fliboi of his expertise in employee relations. His expertise in operating the airline. His expertise in adhering to agreed to contracts.

Tell us of the reality of what he has accomplished here. The reality of our jobs hanging by a thread because of his excellent predictive powers of the industry. The reality of his plan to again gouge the business traveler. Tell us about reality filboi. No, on second thought, let me tell you.

Here is the reality. Here are the facts. Siegel has failed. Failed the shareholders. Failed the employees. Failed the ATSB. Failed GECAS. Failed RSA. Failed in his business plan. Failed to implement a new business plan. Failed to motivate. Failed to lead. Failed to produce a profit. Now he again wants us to finance his failure.

That is reality. Those are the facts. Guys like you are why guys like him drive companies like ours into the ground. You excuse and allow it to continue. Some of us are trying to stop him. You don't understand that. That is a fact.

mr

 

[geo1004]

A forest from the trees observation:

It is no surprise that the airline that was in the worst financial shape prior to 9/11 is now having the hardest time returning to profitablity. And let's all (management & labor) be honest about one thing. US Airways made money in the last economic boom because anyone could have made money in that environment. If all the (now bust) dot-coms and M&A firms could make millions then why not an airline with the highest labor costs and the poorest management? Don't kid yourself that you were doing things "right" when you made money in the past. Management and labor cobbled just enough together to make money for a very brief period of time.

Now that we are in a much different economic cycle and in a completely changed commercial aviation environment, why is it not clear that the legacy carriers need to radically change their models if they are to survive? This is particularly true for an airline like US with its horrible balance sheet. This is no longer an issue of small profit or small loss. It is a matter of survival. Live or die.

The bad news here is that management wants to start at the core with sweeping changes and rebuild from there. Labor wants to start at the ground level and negotiate each detail of the labor contracts to ensure each and every employee gets the best possible set of wages and work conditions. And then you have parts of both groups who just stand in the middle and point fingers. The key ingredients missing from both plans are time and money. US has neither.

One of two things will happen with US Airways. One possibility is that it will remain a separate entity and possibly return to profitability. The downside here is that in order for this to happen, it will have far fewer employees who earn far less than they do now. The second scenario is that US's labor and management continue this death spiral series of negociations and US gets chopped up and sold off to satisfy some series of creditors. Personally, I hope US sticks around.

Now I'll shut up!

 

[ITRADE]

The bad news here is that management wants to start at the core with sweeping changes and rebuild from there. Labor wants to start at the ground level and negotiate each detail of the labor contracts to ensure each and every employee gets the best possible set of wages and work conditions.

That's where you are wrong. Labor doesn't even want to be in the same room.

 

[700UW]

That's where you are wrong. Labor doesn't even want to be in the same room.

Itrade,

Why would you sit down with a management group who can't adhere to the written agreements they signed and approved?

Why would you sit down with a management that has no vision what so ever on how to run an airline?

Why would you sit down with a management group who has done nothing to improve labor relations then other to try and manage with fear and intimidation?

Why would you would sit with a management group who throws away chances to generate revenue? I.E. LH CLT-MUC flights

Dave has failed, plain and simple, it is time for new blood in this company, time for change. I hear you are being groomed or mr lakefield.

The employees have given over $1.1 Billion in concesssions per year, the vendors another Billion, Dave and his team have no vision and no plan other then to plunder the employees paychecks, wages, benefits and jobs.

To this date no airline has ever been saved from employee concessions and this one won't be either.

 

[ITRADE]

Why would you sit down with a management group who can't adhere to the written agreements they signed and approved?

Which ones did you have in mind. Of course the big beef one for the IAM hasn't even been resolved yet - and a federal appellate level has considered it a minor dispute, so that is clearly a matter of interpretation.

Why would you sit down with a management that has no vision what so ever on how to run an airline?

Because the alternate is the unemployment line.

Why would you sit down with a management group who has done nothing to improve labor relations then other to try and manage with fear and intimidation?

Not like the union FUD of building houses in St. Maarten, etc.?

Why would you would sit with a management group who throws away chances to generate revenue? I.E. LH CLT-MUC flights

With what aircraft? All of US's widebodies are in use.

Dave has failed, plain and simple, it is time for new blood in this company, time for change. I hear you are being groomed or mr lakefield.

Groan. Believe what you want. Please be sure to PM Pitbull and compare notes on your "grooming" strategy.

Deleted by moderator

 

[700UW]

LH is flying CLT-MUC and asked US to work the whole flight and US said no.

Union never spread the St Marteen house, if you go back you will see some posters who are union members provided the correct information.

The court did not rule on the contract language, and if you read Judge Cindrich and Judge Smith, they both say US was wrong in their interpertiation.

The employment line is going to be there for thousands either way.

 

[ITRADE]

LH is flying CLT-MUC and asked US to work the whole flight and US said no.

Union never spread the St Marteen house, if you go back you will see some posters who are union members provided the correct information.

But, you certainly don't see much of a campaign to dispell the rumor do you? What's next, that Ashby might have the same names as another Bruce Ashby who bought a winery out in California?

The court did not rule on the contract language, and if you read Judge Cindrich and Judge Smith, they both say US was wrong in their interpertiation.

Dicta. Pure and simple. Their opinions are not precedental and carry no weight as they were 1) overruled in Cindrich's case and 2) a minority opinion in Smith's case.

Taking your logic and accepting Cindrich's and Smith's opinion is the same as accepting that Judge Huxman's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education is the law of the land.

The employment line is going to be there for thousands either way.

And you seem more than willing to hasten that fact.

 

[PITbull]

That's where you are wrong. Labor doesn't even want to be in the same room.

Labor is not looking to negotiate the BEST wages and BENEFITS, that is WHERE WE WERE when the economic times were different.

What labor has been attempting to do is to stay barely financially alive on a personal basis, OTHERWISE ITS ALL MOOT.


The reality IS.....managment wants to shrink the employees in order to turn around the company to satisfy a "theory" that it would turn the co. profitable.

The covert part of the plan above is the company DOES NOT WANT THE OLDER POPULATION OF EMPLOYEES. So, if you take notice it is very abundantly clear and blatantly obvious that they are accerlerating the termination of those who are chronically sick to rid themselves of their perceived employee liability(older, mature population of workers).

Those with seniority beware. If you think you will concede because you have seniority, management will look to get rid of you down the road, because they know you will be deserparate to hold on to your jobs. After all, that is the "ultimate control" of labor, and you got to keep your job, because you would have voted, in essence, to save yourself and not look after those below you.

Primary and formost "one must serve one's own conscience".

 

[delldude]

i think if i were little dave,i'd hatch a plan to move,say...PIT maintenance to some far away land and force everyone to move...but of course most will go for the much prized severance pay and a layoff.
so whats a mother to do in this case?
why i'd bring back all the junior workers on furlough to fill the senior spots...then let the senior people come back...after the junior ones retire??
just took care of my top pay,low output situation in a nutshell.
stay tuned......

 

[aerosmith]

can you say Indy?

 

[usfliboi]

That is reality. Those are the facts. Guys like you are why guys like him drive companies like ours into the ground. You excuse and allow it to continue. Some of us are trying to stop him. You don't understand that. That is a fact.

mr

Who do you blame for Delta being on the verge of BK? huh? How about UAL and its being IN bk and cant seem to come out? Who do you blame for American almost falling into BK and has made it real clear more cost cuts are coming? Who do you blame for CAL who recently announced yet another loss this and next year and who will soon close its buying office in GSO and will shortly have another round of cost cuts? Who do you blame ?????????????? You blame Dave Mr Planes?HUH? Thats reality my friend , for all you "its all Davys fault" crowd, wake up look at the industry.Real facts based on reality makes tons of sense to any one , even the most ignorant in the world ....... 700 a phrase you keep flapping about is "no airline has ever been saved by cutting employee cost?????????? WHY? With employees cost being the most costly with the exception of fuel ( which we cant control) pre tell what would. Denial is a horrible sickness along with jealousy. It will destroy a person and relationships. Pull your heads out of the sand long enough to take a deeeeep beathe, and smell whats cookin.

 

[mwereplanes]

fli:

No one here doesn't understand changes have to be made. No one. But Siegel took us into BK. Then out. That is the difference between us DAL, CAL, AMR, UAL etc.. He has failed.

We will give. When we have someone in charge who knows what to do with what he is given. Obviously Siegel doesn't. That is the point. That is the reality. Our heads are not in the sand. We know what is at stake. Problem is, the guy in charge can't make this thing work. Why continue to finance his incompetence? Can you answer that?

mr

 

[ITRADE]

fli:

No one here doesn't understand changes have to be made. No one. But Siegel took us into BK. Then out. That is the difference between us DAL, CAL, AMR, UAL etc.. He has failed.

Are you saying that bankruptcy was not inevitable?

 

[Tim Nelson]

ITrade,

I actually agree with much of what 700 says in his post. For me his 'why' questions are rhetorical and don't need a reply because the answer is obvious.
I can't find much argument otherwise against what he wrote.

I would only suggest that it shouldn't be the IAM who decides whether it sits down or not with the company or specifically in recognition of Seigel, but rather the workers who the IAM represents should be called upon to determine if they want the IAM to sit down with the company. Perhaps a vote of confidence is needed and such would not be a bad thing if it produced a level of participation from the workers instead of just keeping workers and their voices silent. I believe workers should always be engaged in the process.

My opinion is to keep the door of communication open and what could be wrong with sitting down with the company in certain 'contexts'. But it should be the workers who tell the union what to do, not the union that tells the workers what it is going to do.

Regards,

 

[mweiss]

We will give. When we have someone in charge who knows what to do with what he is given...Why continue to finance his incompetence? Can you answer that?

You don't have the opportunity to do otherwise, that's why. If you plan on waiting until Siegel is gone, you might as well get another job now.