Where is US Airways headed?
- Thread starter Fly4Free
- Start date
No, I didn't miss it... it's true. It is a bitter group of employees... I'd call myself happy go lucky compared to most- nothing to lose anymore, just trying to have fun with the job now. Pretty sad that Stan Herman commented about designing the uniform... a great experience but he had never encountered "such an angry group of people"... talking about our flight attendants, arguably the "face" of an airline to its customers. OUCH! Its fun to joke around within us, but it felt pretty shameful to hear an outsider view our group as a whole that way, even though he was being lighthearted when he said it...
I'd say that morale and human stuff needs to be dealt with before the airline heads anywhere.
EyeInTheSky
Veteran
EMBFA,
Print your note out -- put it on the friggie and see if you have the same outlook a few years from now. It sucks getting old.
Later,
Eye
Why? I'm included in the group too... We do all have things to be angry and bitter about, I know I do with this company. You can be bitter about things, have complaints about your job, everyone does... you just need the right outlet to vent in (this is a great one! I hate when people take it so seriously though...)I don't think at work is the place- I try to lighten the mood on my trips. I'm sure you don't want to hear about my woes, and I really don't want to hear about yours... but thats all some people have so if they need to vent in the galley or on the jumpseat then so be it. Having a life outside the airline helps too-sadly with having to work more and commute I think alot of people don't have much else in thier lives.
My point is that its sad that an outsider can spend a few hours with a selection of members of a group of thousands... and sadly completely have his finger on the pulse... its just sad that its so bad that the customers and outside public (Keep Delta My Delta? May as well have been Anything But US Airways) can see it so much...
Being from the west and then to the east I think that the most toxic people have left the east side of the company. The west side of the company brings a much needed change of attitude. They have people who are not happy with thier circumstances however they are far less jaded than the remnants of the "highest pay to the last day" folks who I hope are enjoying thier new jobs.
Employees on the west are not as jaded... However, poz attitudes...hummm the jury is still out. Employees on the west from the pilot group to the flight attendants and mx members. We feel like our hertiage is gone. What little bennies we had have been chiped away little by little. WE were never paid well but worked for our pride/and bennies. Now that we still have sucky pay little or no bennies now and Pride... well most of us are not excited to say US Airways/Scareways...
If we had a airline that I was proud of that would be one thing. WE ARE A JOKE of a airline. 
h34r: Plus add that our catering dept is screwed up. FA side
Our tools to show passengers that we are a "REAL airline" are not that great.
- Our planes are ditry
- Our supplies are not stocked
- Our catering is not onboard for passengers
- More and more items are being taken away.
If I felt valued and cared... I might have more PRIDE... :blink:
I have no knowledge of positive attitude on the west side. I did not say that. It has to be better than things were when east was going bankrupt twice. I can only imagine how you feel now. I personally find you and the west to be refreshing and bringing a fresh set of eyes to the table. I have always been told that I do not see the "Big Picture". I look forward to the merging of cultures. We are only seeing the beginning of things to come ,I think. Delta was an example. I was PSA (please don't hate me) you are HP, be proud. The old USAir is dead this is your airline as much as mine. Look forward to the future.
In reference to being low paid and working for pride- this struck a chord with me. When times were darkest I worked for me! I worked for me as a matter of personal pride. I wanted to be here and I only had my work ethic to rely on to make people happy(or happier at least). When there is nothing else you revert to what you know. I am happy how I responded. It was defining?.
LD3
Veteran
You could look at it this way, if the merger would not have happened, what would the east employees or even the west be doing right now? Everyone is pissing and moaning about mgmnt cashing in, doing this doing that...if your so unhappy move on...it is as simple as that. Corp america is set up so mgmnt cashs in, it has been that way for years and will continue to be like that. Maybe if half the people in here complaining went to school got their degree and applied themselves, they could be sitting in the cat-birds seat running a big company and cashing in...
Gilding the Lily
Veteran
- Oct 30, 2006
- 1,466
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It is very difficult to merge two different cultures into one single, better, cohesive unit. Often, if there is a culture that is considered "negative," that negative culture will prevail in the new company. (It is much easier to pull someone down from a chair than to pull someone up onto it).
Historically, when company management is faced with such a dilemma, they often try to "clean house," maintaining a higher ratio of units considered "positive." I think it would be difficult to successfully merge two cultures into one positive culture without sacrificing a few for the greater good.
PITbull
Veteran
Historically?
What empirical evidence can you cite.
Mergers all depend on how management handles the process including managing their employees
Gilding the Lily
Veteran
- Oct 30, 2006
- 1,466
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Yes, management is a huge factor in the success of mergers. Sometimes it is the primary factor why a merger is successful. Often though, even with the best management, the merger will be unsuccessful because the culture clash is just too overwhelming. In that scenario, the deal should have never been proposed in the first place. (I can think of a couple airlines that should never merge, in my opinion).
A part of successful managing though is dealing with the yeast that is ruining the bread. After other management techniques are used, getting rid of the yeast may be the best option.
For your 'empirical' evidence... pick-up a copy of "making mergers work." It has way too many charts, lists, and graphs (evidence from hundreds of HR execs involved with mergers)... but it has some useful info. It will give overwhelming support for the role of management in mergers (which we are in agreement about). It also gives charts and stories about the HR execs getting rid of the employees that are preventing a merged, positive culture from forming. Sometimes they are fired, sometimes they are given unwanted work and ignored until they quit. Still in other scenarios the workers are, in essence, cordoned off from the rest of their peer group, limiting their effect on the culture.
Perhaps, some of those techniques would be useful here if those employees cannot be managed successfully.
PITbull
Veteran
Duly noted. You have a unique words of reference when you say "here"...didn't know you work for USAirways or perhaps you are "consulting".
In that case, perhaps the company is prepared to do battle with the respective unions for those unmanageable employees the company chooses to deploy those "techniques" against.
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