AKMD80GUY
Angle Lakes Bitch
- Joined
- May 3, 2005
- Posts
- 200
On September 13th, 2007, Alaska Air Group announced that its board of directors, citing confidence in the company's financial position and future business prospects, approved a stock repurchase program authorizing the company to purchase up to $100 million in its common stock.
Our company enjoys the best cash position of any airline relative to its revenues. We are pleased our company enjoys such a strong financial position and that our future prospects are good. However, we find it reprehensible that our management chose to spend up to $100 million on a share buyback, which primarily placates its shareholders. It is shocking that management would choose to gamble on the uncertainty of the stock market rather than invest in the one sure thing – their employees. Yet again, management has missed an opportunity to demonstrate faith in us by sharing our company's prosperity.
Alaska Airline's strategic goals for 2007 rely on the "Virtuous Cycle," which depends upon employees who are "valued, committed and connected" so they will be driven to run a reliable, on-time airline that will keep and win customers. If we do this — according to the Virtuous Cycle — everyone, including our investors, will prosper. To work, though, this cycle must begin with the first critical step of valuing the employees.
Not only is this announcement an affront to our pilots, who continue to sting from the effects of the dramatic pay cuts management requested and obtained two years ago, but it is also an insult to our Seattle ramp workers who were locked out of their jobs in 2005 and every other employee group on this property. If you want evidence of what happens when employees are undervalued, look no further than what has happened to our ground operations over the last two years. We sincerely hope this is not the future management envisions for its flight operations.
Attached is a thorough explanation of share buyback programs and how the Air Group's announcement in particular might impact our negotiations. We would like recognize and thank the members of ALPA's Economic and Financial Analysis Department, especially Marcia Eubanks, for their excellent work preparing this analysis.
Finally, it is important to note that in addition to being stakeholders in our Air Group, your senior managers also count themselves among the major shareholders. As such, they stand to benefit greatly from any program that enhances share value. If you want to browse the last two years of their stock transactions, you may do so by clicking here.
Our company enjoys the best cash position of any airline relative to its revenues. We are pleased our company enjoys such a strong financial position and that our future prospects are good. However, we find it reprehensible that our management chose to spend up to $100 million on a share buyback, which primarily placates its shareholders. It is shocking that management would choose to gamble on the uncertainty of the stock market rather than invest in the one sure thing – their employees. Yet again, management has missed an opportunity to demonstrate faith in us by sharing our company's prosperity.
Alaska Airline's strategic goals for 2007 rely on the "Virtuous Cycle," which depends upon employees who are "valued, committed and connected" so they will be driven to run a reliable, on-time airline that will keep and win customers. If we do this — according to the Virtuous Cycle — everyone, including our investors, will prosper. To work, though, this cycle must begin with the first critical step of valuing the employees.
Not only is this announcement an affront to our pilots, who continue to sting from the effects of the dramatic pay cuts management requested and obtained two years ago, but it is also an insult to our Seattle ramp workers who were locked out of their jobs in 2005 and every other employee group on this property. If you want evidence of what happens when employees are undervalued, look no further than what has happened to our ground operations over the last two years. We sincerely hope this is not the future management envisions for its flight operations.
Attached is a thorough explanation of share buyback programs and how the Air Group's announcement in particular might impact our negotiations. We would like recognize and thank the members of ALPA's Economic and Financial Analysis Department, especially Marcia Eubanks, for their excellent work preparing this analysis.
Finally, it is important to note that in addition to being stakeholders in our Air Group, your senior managers also count themselves among the major shareholders. As such, they stand to benefit greatly from any program that enhances share value. If you want to browse the last two years of their stock transactions, you may do so by clicking here.
