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"United pilots replace vinegar with sugar in talks"

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densoo

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Nov 2, 2004
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By JOSHUA FREED, AP Airlines Writer

Thursday, January 7, 2010
(01-07) 1405 PST , (AP) --
Union pilots at United Airlines will dial back confrontational labor tactics in hopes of reclaiming some of the pay given up five years ago to help save the company.
The pilot union had taken a hard line in recent years. But on Thursday, the union's new chief said she'll be taking a different approach.
"Since engagement is not appeasement, we intend to engage them at every level," Wendy Morse said.
"If we get to a point that we have to be confrontational ... we're certainly capable of doing that, and we will," she said. "But that is not our first choice. Our first choice is engagement to move forward."
Morse, a Boeing 777 captain based in Chicago, was elected in October and became chairman of the union's Master Executive Council on Jan. 1.
Under the last pilot chairman, Steve Wallach, the union ran a Web site dedicated to criticizing CEO Glenn Tilton. Things got so bad that in 2008 the airline sued the union and a few pilots, alleging a coordinated work slowdown. A judge ordered the union to knock it off.
Now, the anti-CEO Web site is gone. So is the so-called "hat switch," which directed pilots to remove their hats when the were near managers to protest. Morse says she is planning to meet face-to-face with Tilton.
Morse was clear, however, that the union would not buckle.
"The last thing we want to do is stand out of the way and let the company do things that are contrary to our interests," she said.
Morse was on the negotiating committee in 2000 when the union won what it considered a favorable contract.
"All I know of Wendy is she's a hard-nosed unionist," said Herb Hunter, a 747 captain who has been with United for 31 years and has acted as a spokesman for the union.
Morse expects raises and believes the company does, too.
"I'm sure that they do not expect to get out of this contract negotiation without significant pay raises," she said.
United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy agreed. Referring both to pilots and other workers, she said, "United wants to find opportunities for our employees to make more money," but the company wants better productivity in return, she said.
Other unions want lost pay and benefits, too. On Thursday, flight attendants picketed at 17 airports around the world to protest the lack of a new, better deal. The Air Line Pilots Association encouraged its members to join them.
The Association of Flight Attendants said the airline has failed act quickly enough on a new contract. Their contract opened for changes on Thursday, but talks began in April.
Flight attendants have also been frustrated that United has not met with them outside of the sessions run by a federal mediator, as it has done with other unions.
McCarthy said there haven't been extra meetings because the union has not been willing to negotiate on some key points.
"We've repeatedly presented proposals to the AFA that were dismissed outright without even a counterproposal or any type of negotiation," she said.
Shares of United's parent, Chicago-based UAL Corp., rose 28 cents, or 2.1 percent, to close at $13.55 in afternoon trading.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/07/financial/f092616S80.DTL
 
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I already called Glenn to congratulate him on his good fortune. Having the pilots elect a concession stand manager was something I always dreamed of, but never got while I was running airlines into the ground.

Glenn already invited me to be part of the concessions-extraction team. I think it will be a hoot. The script is old, but tried and true.

We invite the pilots in, and make them feel like they are part of the team. Tell them we want them to be part of the decision making, and that we feel that we can work with them. "There is no need for all of this confrontation. We need to be working together towards a common goal. And that goal is returning United Airlines to the biggest and most powerful airline in the world!" The pilots love this. They soak it up like sponges. If it looks like the pilots aren't buying the lame platitudes, we throw in the lie "we want the pilots of United to be the best paid in the industry!" The effect of that line on concessionary pilots is like alcohol and drugs combined.

Shortly after this touchy-feely meeting, the pilots start serving up chunks of the contract on a silver platter.

It's a beautiful sight to behold.
 
Hey, Frank! Don't forget to pull out the old "hey, we've got a deal with Boeing for new airplanes but we've got to find X dollars in the contract to make them competitive".

That gets them every time.

;)
TC
 
Hey, Frank! Don't forget to pull out the old "hey, we've got a deal with Boeing for new airplanes but we've got to find X dollars in the contract to make them competitive".

That gets them every time.

;)
TC

... also don't forget the old divide-and-conquer technique. Convince the Pilots that the Flight Attendants' and Mechanics' interests are divergent from theirs and get them to stop supporting their efforts at getting a fair contract. Blue Skies all over again!
 
Wasn't it great that Jeff Sleeze-nik decided to give the change from his Porsche ashtray back to Continental until it is profitable again?

Working together is so much fun when you're an undeserving, scumbag, no talent deca-millionaire.
 
What a joke. United pilots had a chance with Wallach. Now they put Miss "sugar pants" in the driver's seat let's see where this gets them.
 

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