More ALPA hypocrisy

[DashTrash400]

If ALPA is interested in looking after only pilot interests, and all the other labor unions go to hell, the shrewd thing to do would've been to *support* Bush in '04. He seems to have no love lost for unions, but I'll bet he'd fall all over himself to show support for any union that jumped on the miniscule "Labor for W'04" bandwagon. He was rather vocal about the support from the firefighter's union. Think *they* have some decent pull in Washington right bout now?

 

[100LL... Again!]

The "labor movement" is being taken to the woodshed by market forces. This is bacause it lost track of its real purpose and became a means of extorting ever higher compensation for ever increasingly mediocre work. If the labor movement grows up, it will recover from this and in the end probably be better of.

 

[dogg]

You say that like it's a bad thing!?!?





.

It is only a bad thing if you claim to be a union..... The problem with modern day ALPA is that it claims solidarity only when it suits its purpose....

 

[bman]

ALPA suxs and Unoins in this country are a massive joke they have little sway or power.

NWA ALPA looked at this situation and realized it was a lose lose for the AMFA guy. Hell the AMFA even realizes this is a lose lose. NWA management has decided what they are going to do and nothing was going to stop them. They had been planning for it for nearly two years prior. They had the FAA sign off on it the had Bush sign off on it. It was a done deal!

It would have been insane for NWA ALPA to try and get involved.

This is the sad state of our industry and labor in America in general.

 

[castle bravo]

NWA management has decided what they are going to do and nothing was going to stop them. They had been planning for it for nearly two years prior. They had the FAA sign off on it the had Bush sign off on it. It was a done deal!




Too bad NWA management didn't "plan" as well when it came to their brilliant and masterful (nonexistent) fuel hedging strategy.

Quite an about face for W who proclaimed during his first term that there would'nt be any airline strikes under his watch.

 

[bman]

CB

while I might agree that their fleet age and fuel hedging plan may have been inadequate, but let's face it this ain't about fuel hedging. No company has 100% of their fuel hedged and with oil pushing 70/ barrel EVERYONE is feeling the pain.

This is plainly the fault of the current administrations actions. Anyone who says otherwise is DELUSIONAL! They have done more to promote instability in the world than anything any terrorist could have done. The markets don't respond well to all of the turmoil and the only people who are profiting are Bush's cronies in the oil industry (who have coincidentaly seen record profits and prosperity) while our industry and its employees have seen their wages errode and their jobs "outsourced". Not unlike most labor in america. Wanna know whose profiting from all of this spend some time in Dubai. The arabs aren't over here starving nor is their general pop. inturmoil. They are building islands in the Gulf in the shape of vegetation.

Go W!! Four more years! For more years!

 

[Deli Guy]

I think that had we done nothing in the mid east after 9-11 our situation in reguards to oil would be the same or worse. Had we shown no resolve, Al Quiada (how do you spell that?) would have run the royal family out of Saudi and would have exerted more damaging oil restrictions on the west (great satan) My experience in Dudai was that there was always great affluance there--way before 9-11.
In the case of AMFA, did they not know who was in office? Did they wisely or unwisely push on with a strategy that was going to work with this administration. When NWA Alpa went to AMFA 2 years ago and said "guys, your plan is whacked, we need a combined strategy. Bush is in office and that needs to be part of a bigger picture. Lets get all the unions together at NWA and make this work." AMFA told NWA alpa not only to f#$% themselves, but to f#$% the iguana they rode in on. AMFA then went on to make statements about wanting $100,000 a year for its mechanics. What was NWA Alpa to do?
If you were to compare this to war, It would be like one of the Generals in the battle (supposedly on your side) had gone mad and was actually complicating your battle plan worse than the actual enemy. The worse part was, there was no overall commander to appeal to because the Generals had lateral command. Now NWA Alpa is taking it in the shorts from people who do not really know what has happened. This only further erodes our solidarity and plays into "the evil baby eating republicans" hands.

 

[100LL... Again!]

Ahh yes - Blame Bush for your miserable failures. How easy, such instant gratification.

Sometimes I really wish it WAS Bush doing this to you, just because you so stupidly decide to blame it all on this administration.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

Because NWA Alpa would be unwise to risk putting thousands of their pilots permanently out of a job in order to try and save jobs at another union. It's really not that complicated. Alpa surmised that NWA could not financially weather a systemwide strike and chose to save their battle for a future date. Maybe a little weak but definitely not "anti labor."

Exactly how would ALPA be risking those jobs? If NWA pilots supported the AMFA strike then NWA managment would have requested and most likely recieved a PEB. Mechs would still be working today and maybe just maybe NWA management might bargain a bit more realistically. Keep in mind that managment specifically asked the White House not to order a PEB. Another interesting tidbit is how they chose to discontinue the recent round of fare hikes started by the majority of other majors. Had they simply stayed in line with other carriers they'd be grossing another 10-50 per ticket. NWA management is more interested in busting unions than fixing revenue problems. They've lost a lot of money over the past several quarters but how much of that money was spent training and keeping scabs on the payroll? Months ago a news station showed an article about the NWA mech scabs in training down in TUS or somewhere in that vicinity. How much money was spent on hiring and training replacement FA's? How much of the losses are due to hiring replacement workers and keeping those scumbags on the payroll? You can't keep a workforce of 1000's waiting in the wings without spending some money. What if all of their financial losses of the past few quarters can be tied to those replacement workers? Sounds to me like NWA managment is simply living a lie. Too bad ALPA leadership isn't asking the tough questions.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

You say that like it's a bad thing!?!?





.

One very simple concept, divide and conquer.
PBR
P.S. It's gonna be interesting when they come after the pilots though, and they will. Good luck D. Worthless, bet he will get tough then and rally ALPA around his job. $400k a year with a bottomless expense account makes a guy think funny.

 

[FlickerFade]

Isn't it formerly very powerful Sen. Tom Daschel whose wife is a big time lobbyist for NWA?

 

[JoeMerchant]

Union Leaders Report High Salaries
Tue Jun 4, 3:55 AM ET
By LEIGH STROPE, AP Labor Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The heads of America's major unions are a well-paid
bunch, raking in salaries that far outweigh many of their rank-and-file
members.


The Labor Department (news - web sites) posted union financial reports
on the Internet for the first time Monday. The Associated Press
examined the latest reports for 10 labor groups, including the labor
federation AFL-CIO. All paid their presidents six-figure salaries.
Among them: the Teamsters and unions representing teachers,
firefighters, pilots and postal and government workers.

Union presidents' salaries may seem high compared with what their
members make, but a better barometer is the pay of corporate
executives, said Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell.

"There's just no comparison," Caldwell said. "Corporate salaries are so
bloated that they're beyond reason."

Teamsters President James P. Hoffa was paid $228,713 in 2000.
Allowances and disbursements increased the figure to $262,200. The
Teamsters reported 1.4 million members.

That compares with the $1.1 million base salary that the former
chairman and chief executive of United Parcel Service was paid in 2001
before retirement. The Teamsters are negotiating with UPS for a new
contract. James P. Kelly, who retired from UPS in January, also was
paid $462,600 in bonuses and $53,967 in other compensation.

Unions are required to file financial reports annually with the Labor
Department. That information, including union bylaws and constitutions,
always has been available to the public but not as readily. Access
required a trip to a public disclosure room in the agency or at one of
its field offices and payment of a fee for copies.

The Bush administration has made available online financial reports for
2000 and later, which are free and searchable by union name, file
number, affiliation or location. Users also can conduct searches for
union officers and employees. Reports filed before 2000 are available
at the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

The president of the American Federation of Teachers was paid $337,282
in 2000, according to the report the union filed with the Labor
Department. Sandra Feldman's income was more than six times the salary
of a big-city teacher, and jumped to $523,090 when allowances and
business expenses were added. The union counted 706,973 members that
year.

Her pay compares with the average $51,955 a year earned in 2001 by a
big-city schoolteacher with a master's degree at top scale, according
to AFT's Web site.

Feldman's salary "is definitely more than a teacher would make, but it
is commensurate with organizations of our size and influence, both
labor organizations and otherwise," said AFT spokesman Alex Wohl.

Wohl said, despite what the union reported, Feldman's base salary is
about $265,000, because some fringe benefits weren't broken out on the
reporting form, such as commuting costs between her two residences.

The International Association of Fire Fighters, with 241,933 members,
paid then-president Alfred Whitehead $166,887 in 2000. That increased
to $291,307 when business disbursements were added. Current President
Harold Schaitberger, who took office in August 2000, was paid $15,172
for his partial term. It increased to $21,316 with business
disbursements.

The president of the Air Line Pilots Association (news - web sites)
ranked second in salary to the teachers' union leader in AP's spot
check. President Duane Woerth was paid $313,392 in 2000. His salary
jumped to $425,090 with allowances and disbursements. ALPA reported
49,224 members.

The president of the AFL-CIO, which has 66 affiliate unions with 13.2
million members, was paid $225,000 in 2000. John Sweeney's salary
increased to $279,826 with disbursements.

The largest union in the AFL-CIO, the Service Employees International
Union with 1.8 million members, paid its president $190,561 in 2000.
President Andrew Stern's salary increased to $241,589 with allowances
and disbursements.

Another of the largest unions in the AFL-CIO, the American Federation
of State, County and Municipal Employees with 1.3 million members, paid
its president $267,245 in 2000. President Gerald McEntee's income
increased to $364,445 with allowances and business disbursements.

In other unions:

_Morton Bahr, president of the Communications Workers of America with
617,881 members, was paid $155,597 in 2000, or $179,267 with extras.

_The United Steelworkers of America, which counted 612,157 members in
2000, paid then-President George Becker $135,613, and $175,087 with
disbursements.

_The American Postal Workers, with 312,487 members in 2000, paid
then-president Moe Biller $130,988, or $142,038 with business expenses.
Current president Bill Burrus, who served as vice president in 2000,
was paid $114,061 that year, or $116,848 with business disbursements.

__

On the Net:

Labor Department: http://www.union-reports.dol.gov

 

[castle bravo]

CB

while I might agree that their fleet age and fuel hedging plan may have been inadequate, but let's face it this ain't about fuel hedging. No company has 100% of their fuel hedged and with oil pushing 70/ barrel EVERYONE is feeling the pain.



You are correct, however I wasn't implying that hedging would solve NWA's problems- it's only aother examlpe of NWA mgmt's failure to effectively manage revenue. You could easily add their failure to implement ticket price increases, and the great idea of supplying pax with ticket vouchers to ride on Champion Air etc, etc. as well.