Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Friendliest aviation Ccmmunity on the web
  • Modern site for PC's, Phones, Tablets - no 3rd party apps required
  • Ask questions, help others, promote aviation
  • Share the passion for aviation
  • Invite everyone to Flightinfo.com and let's have fun

United's last stand?

Welcome to Flightinfo.com

  • Register now and join the discussion
  • Modern secure site, no 3rd party apps required
  • Invite your friends
  • Share the passion of aviation
  • Friendliest aviation community on the web

Tim47SIP

Serving for the USofA
Joined
Dec 5, 2001
Posts
1,157
Just read this article:
United's mechs vote to strike and turn down the boards reccomendation.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/yho...o&guid={0AD80730-92EE-4C83-AF5D-E372ABEE6469}

Now what will happen. I hope this dosn't go to far as United in bankruptcy status could cause the rest of the majors great harm do to United's lower operating costs while in restructuring. So exactly how much blood do they want?

Don't know why the whole url won't come up but click on the above url, go to News and Comments, Markets, United Mechanics reject proposal. Sorry for the inconvenience.
 
Last edited:
Tim, I just went to your news source and it says the news was in error and the results aren't in yet. Most of what I've read says there wont be a strike even if they reject the contract, but you know alot of potential customers are going to be disgusted with the whole mess. I think you are right, if one of the big boys go bankrupt, everybody else will be trying to match their low fares and its a mess for the whole industry.
 
I humbly apoligize as the news article has in fact been pulled as an error. The union put out the statement on their web site in error???? and has recanted. So the above URL will get you the right page and then stay on the main page and you will find the new article stating the old one was incorrect. Sorry for the missinformation. My personal guess is that the union realized the blunder and is now trying to backpeddal. But who knows. Time will tell!
 
If the United mechs strike (and I don't think they'll be allowed to by Dubya), I'm sure they will file Chapter 11. All of the other majors will immediately follow, since that will be the only way to remain competetive with United. That will be ugly if it happens. Let's hope it doesn't.
 
Tim, I wouldn't apoligize so fast, I think these employee/owners will reject the contract. I believe the statement the IAM 141 leader put out yesterday about how he doubts the contract will pass was his secret coded message to vote no. He says one of the things lacking in the contract is job security. I'm not sure if he is keeping up with current events, but I could have sworn UAL lost 2 widebodys about 6 months ago. You aint going to get job security from a piece of paper. But see that's the advantage of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The employees act like owners and are concerned with the price of all their stock and health of their company. What I just say?
 
They might attempt to strike, but I'll bet dollars to donuts that congress will intervene and force the PEB results on their conctract. I personally feel that the bad press this is going to get will be a killer for future union support. They are all comming accross as very greedy and selfish even though that might not be the intent. Unfortunately for United, this could very much bring down the giant and a much smaller United emerge. That means a whole lot more job cuts and furloughs. This union is calling Uniteds bluff and I am not sure they are going to win it. Additionally, it will be interesting to watch and see how the pilots will support this action. Will they distance themselves from it or support it as they also are seen as an exrteemely greedy group in the public eyes. If they do side with them (probably no choice) then the mechs will get absolutely no public sympathy. This could be a loose/loose situation for all concerned.
 
I doubt the press, gov't, or public will give the UAL mechs any sympathy. The issues are usually too complex for any 'outsider' to understand anyway. They all think we airline folk make $200,000 a year and live in la-la land. - Not the generic label buying doggies we (especially us commuter folk) really are!
 
Not that my opinion counts very much, and I am no more in the loop than anyone else, but I doubt very seriously there will be a strike. After having lived through the Comair strike last spring, I came to realize how important it is for unions to have a negotiated settlement and not one rammed down their throats. This was very evident during the so- called "final settlement offers" that Comair and the NMB came up with last spring that failed to bring us back to work. The contract that the UAL mechanics voted down was, I believe, concocted by the three person panel that the PEB created. This was not a negotiated agreement that management and the union came up with. It would not surprise me to see negotiations resume and very quickly an agreement is reached that is not very different from the one that was voted down. This way the union can save face and say that they negotiated the agreement and it was not forced upon them. This in turn will preserve the collective bargaining process. If this is not the case and I'm wrong and they strike, than we'll be thrown back to the EAL, CAL, and Pan Am fiasco and it'll take some time for the industry to recover.
 

Latest resources

Back
Top