Why does AFA wait to see what ALPA gets before serious negotiating takes place?

[safety stud]

As a F/A for USAirways for the better part of 25 years, I can tell you the contracts I have had to vote on since hired have been hard to deal with. Because I was original USAir when we merged with PSA and Piedmont, my contractual status stayed the same. Their's made hefty improvements to their wellbeing. Since the many,(and I use this term loosely)MANY, financial crisis that have hit this company its always the sentiment: "Just don't take what I have now" attitude.

Meanwhile, AFA always waits to see what ALPA negotiated before getting down to the serious negotiating. It's my opinion AFA should no longer take a wait and see attitude. The "Me To" clause has got to go. Sorry to the senior F/A's to me that think we should keep this. During all the downturns ALPA was so willing to give up work rules instead of money, that it effected us also without even having to negotiate it.

Remember the old duty rigs? It wasn't AFA that got rid of them! Thank you ALPA...

The amount of blocks at each base is directly coordinated with a pilot bid for that period(ALPA). There can only be a certain amount of blocks per base per bid. So let's see, less blocks less time... It wasn't AFA that negotiated this... Thank you ALPA...

The nitty gritty of this is change. No one likes change. But the airline industry isn't what it was 25 years ago.
The fact is, F/A's should break from the pilots and fly seperate. Doing so provides much more opportunity. AFA would be able to negotiate a plethera of details that aren't bound by ALPA. F/A's would be able to bid differently, meaning, not being bound by one aircraft only per month. F/A blocks when negotiated effeciently could be set at a higher paramater than the pilot group. Meaning more blocks...more block holders...less reserves!

Everyone I talk to says the company would impose harsher schedules if we flew seperate. That just isn't the case. These fears are just that...fears. You must negotiate how you fly. The company can't impose a set of work rules on a contractual agreement. You get what you negotiate.

So where do you go from here? You become inovative. You become independant. You allow your voice to be heard. The problem is... The same person negotiating this contract for LCC is the same one that gave us concessions in the past. While she has a vast array of experience. It is... the same ol same ol.

The idea of signing a 7 year agreement was ludacris. Getting a 2% raise per year was ludacris. Inflation goes up an average 3.9 to 4.5% per year. So in actuality... You lost usable spending money with the pay raise this year. And the company takes this all the way to the bank.

Change NEEDS to occur. Let the negotiating team no your concerns. Im tired of the "Same ol Same ol" way of thinking.

Just my opinion...

 

[LCC_#1]

It's all about fear.

Me too has done more to screw the f/a's then any one issue.

It's time to get rid of Me Screwed NOW!!

 

[N109UW]

Wow, thanks for getting on board. I have been saying this for years. All I ever got was, "We don't want to do that, they will screw us" or "At Piedmont we did that and we got screwed". Hello, that was almost 20 freakin years ago. Don't be afraid to take a step forward and quit riding on the pilots coattails. Are we not strong enough to do this on our own? What gives? Grow some "nads" people. Become our own voice, not the patsies we seem to be. Wait on the pilots, no more.

 

[allstrike]

Wow what a concept.You go it on your own,no more me too's.But then again why cant all the unions get together and back each other.I got it.

usairways employee union

all for one and one for all...

 

[lgwcalling]

Wow what a concept.You go it on your own,no more me too's.But then again why cant all the unions get together and back each other.I got it.

usairways employee union

all for one and one for all...

There was a time in this country when Union Members supported other Union Members. One wouldn't dream of crossing a picket line or doing business with a company that was dealing with labor strife involving Brother/Sister Union Members. There are many theories as to why this not not apply today, but I'll give you my take on it - FASCISM! The Corporations of this Nation have found a willing participant in the Republican Party and, under the guise of Nationalism/Patriotism, they have set up a system where control of everything is in the hands of a few. Union has become synonymous with Socialist and that's un-American! Human beings, by and large, are easy prey to this clandestine prestidigitation. They've tricked us into believing that it's every man/woman for themselves. And, we have become self-involved, fearful, lazy & ignorant. Union membership in this country is at an all-time low because people have been tricked into believing that they're better off going at it alone. Fascism is winning.

 

[N109UW]

There was a time in this country when Union Members supported other Union Members. One wouldn't dream of crossing a picket line or doing business with a company that was dealing with labor strife involving Brother/Sister Union Members. There are many theories as to why this not not apply today, but I'll give you my take on it - FASCISM! The Corporations of this Nation have found a willing participant in the Republican Party and, under the guise of Nationalism/Patriotism, they have set up a system where control of everything is in the hands of a few. Union has become synonymous with Socialist and that's un-American! Human beings, by and large, are easy prey to this clandestine prestidigitation. They've tricked us into believing that it's every man/woman for themselves. And, we have become self-involved, fearful, lazy & ignorant. Union membership in this country is at an all-time low because people have been tricked into believing that they're better off going at it alone. Fascism is winning.

Yep, that trickery has me working 4 more days a month, lower duty rigs, crappy trips and that is all due to the fact we are riding pilot coattails on a me- too clause. We have been moving backward for 18 years now. It's time to be ourselves, not wait to see what someone else does. I think we have become fearful, lazy, and ingnorant due to the me-too clause. We sit back a wait, getting lazy. It is pathetic.

 

[allstrike]

Yep, that trickery has me working 4 more days a month, lower duty rigs, crappy trips and that is all due to the fact we are riding pilot coattails on a me- too clause. We have been moving backward for 18 years now. It's time to be ourselves, not wait to see what someone else does. I think we have become fearful, lazy, and ingnorant due to the me-too clause. We sit back a wait, getting lazy. It is pathetic.

Well said both of you thanks I agree.

 

[Travelpro72]

Well I can honestly say that I was all for staying together as a crew up until yesterday. Well, I had thought about it a bit before. If all these other airlines do it and operate fine in bad weather for the most part so could we. You are so right when we fly what is negotiated. Just because we possibly split from the pilots does NOT mean we'd have to fly 15 hours in a day. Negotiate it so you don't. I have NEVER for the life of me understood why we always stood in the shadow of what ALPA does. Don't get me wrong, I think for CRM purposes it is definately better but we need effeciency. So you fly across the country and back. I fly a damn 14 hour day on the 7dirty7 now with 6 legs. Boarding and deplaning 6 times. Whats the difference? I say split up and negotiate a contract that works FOR us and not against us. I'm AAAAAAAAALLLLLL for it. Having full crews together yesterday meant absolutely nothing. They split folks up anyway.

 

[safety stud]

Well said travelpro...

It is time to stand on our own. Who knows, we might get something better. Can't be any worse. Now is the time to talk with your fellow F/A's and get their perspective. Let them know how you feel. If enough of us speak up... the negotiating committee will have to listen. Period..

Just my opinion...

 

[lgwcalling]

Yep, that trickery has me working 4 more days a month, lower duty rigs, crappy trips and that is all due to the fact we are riding pilot coattails on a me- too clause. We have been moving backward for 18 years now. It's time to be ourselves, not wait to see what someone else does. I think we have become fearful, lazy, and ingnorant due to the me-too clause. We sit back a wait, getting lazy. It is pathetic.

There's a misunderstanding here and it's my fault because I went off-topic. I agree that we should negotiate our own lines of flying separate from the pilots. This would not affect the pilots adversely and they should support US in this effort. If most F/As prefer this, then that's the way we should go. My previous post was a rant, more or less, about the need for Unions in this country to support each other, strenghen and grow the Union Brother/Sisterhood through education and recruitment, and fight the Corporate Fascists to gain our rightful place at the table sharing power and creating and enforcing (on a national level) policies that benefit all working men and women.

 

[Phoenix]

Wow, thanks for getting on board. I have been saying this for years. All I ever got was, "We don't want to do that, they will screw us" or "At Piedmont we did that and we got screwed". Hello, that was almost 20 freakin years ago. Don't be afraid to take a step forward and quit riding on the pilots coattails. Are we not strong enough to do this on our own? What gives? Grow some "nads" people. Become our own voice, not the patsies we seem to be. Wait on the pilots, no more.

The fastest way to a pilots heart is their stomach. When the pilots started to go soft and give it all away, the FAs should have revolted and told the pilots to get their own da mn bottle of water from the galley, if there was extra. Or then again you could give them lots of water and make them use the latrine in the back!

The pilots are always whinning about respect and pay... with the decissions they have what do they expect?