US Airways passengers and baggage stranded

[75M]

Reading this about a brother who was trying to get Christmas presents to his neices and nephews after their father was killed in Iraq, brings home just how thoughtless the timing was for this job action.

Obviously what happened to the passengers bites, and they're the ones who have justifiaby received the sympathy in this situation. I hope everybody got to their destination in one piece and can celebrate the holiday with their loved ones even if it is a few days late. We celebrated Chrismas on 12/22 as I'm sure many people in the business did.

But Lowecur, do you even know what job action is? It ain't FA's and baggage handlers calling in sick for Christmas, that's SOP and any competent management would be properly staffed and be ready for it. And at the risk of seeming proactive, they could have thought to offer a few extra buddy passes or maybe some other recognition for working. It wouldn't have been a cure-all, but it may have helped to mitigate the situation. I know USAir doesn't have any money, but a little creativity goes a long way in this type of situation.

The old adage that says "If you treat the employees like dogs, they will bite the customer" is once again proven true. unfortunately, management isn't the only party to blame for this attitude. On this board, I've read pilots refer to FA's as "over priced Coke machines" and "cocktail waitresses" on this very thread I saw baggages handlers referred to as "baggage monkeys".

Since we have little control over what management does, the least we can do as pilots (and I do believe pilots are in a leadership role and thus should act like leaders) is treat the other employee groups with respect.

 

[SWA/FO]

Why are people buying tickets on a carrier that is in ch. 11? It would make sense to me that employees losing everthing they have worked for would just say "f*ck it" and stay home with the Family.

I think this is a problem at every carrier, this time of year. Just a little worst at US Airways... or a little worst in the public eye with all the press.

 

[FlyBoeingJets]

"I have seen lots of excuses for why people took it upon themselves to call in sick, such as low morale, poor management, anger over pay cuts and frustration with labor negotiations," Lakefield said. "None of those excuses passes the test." Three times the normal level of FA's called in sick this X-mass. Shame on you.

Hard to believe the judge won't impose some sort of punative action once the investigation is completed.

The punitive action will be failure of the airline THIS YEAR. I wish the best for every employee involved but I can't see another option with the players in this situation.

Lowecur,

Don't fall into the trap of thinking a BK judge and investor (Bonner) can dictate how people will react to the gutting of USAir. They are not junior high students. They have wills of their own and when they see a situation where leaving the job looks better than staying, they will act. Management, or labor, never has all the cards. They have to compromise. If not, disaster will follow.

Management has seemingly unlimited power but that will not last. As it didn't when labor had the upper hand 1998-2000. There are limits and each side pushes the limits. If management doesn't back off, you can say goodbye to USAir and probably UAL.

 

[N8Dogg]

Maybe we are starting to see the first signs of employees that have been pushed to the limit at USAir. I don't blame them. Hopefully this will send a message to the management of this industry that the cost of labor pay cuts can be high. It must be great giving pay and bennefit concesions and then watching some a$$ CEO and his buddies jump out with golden parachutes! If we are going to point fingers, lets point them in the right direction! It all starts at the top!

 

[NEDude]

If we are going to point fingers, lets point them in the right direction! It all starts at the top!

EXACTLY!!!!!

If someone is going to take credit when things go right, then they should take the blame when things go wrong. Management should be responsible for setting the tone and developing the business plan, and the employees should execute that plan. The problem at Airways is management has set a rotten tone and has failed at developing a decent business plan. Can't blame the employees for that, yet management seems to try.

 

[Dodge]

IF this was a sickout by AFA, I would say about time someone at UAIR stood up for themselves. I recently talked to a NWA pilot and he was mad as he11 that the USAIR pilots keep driving down his profession. He said that even though NWA is not in BK court, NWA says they will be if they don't match UAL and USAIR crew costs.

As crappy as it was for the Eastern guys, many of them did get hired on at other majors and retired as captains without watering down the profession for everyone else in the process. Now, UAIR will most likely go down for good, even with all the concessions. As the NWA pilot said, "too bad it couldn't of happened before they ruined it for us too."

 

[BeCareful!]

Boy, do people have short memories. All of this happened in December, 2001, as well. Sure, the company furloughed some 400 pilots on one day, and then asked some of them to fly into their furloughs because they were on trips. Now, that was kinda lame, but so is the current situation, with contentious labor contracts being negotiated during the Hoidays, and the company spewing fear and doom nonstop, which of course makes people not give @ s#!t.

Real, experienced leadership is the only thing that will cure these problems. USAir is going to survive, though. None of this is enough to bring the system down for good, it just makes good newspaper copy.

I flew 48 people to Knoxville on Christmas Eve. We were two hours late because we were waiting on a Flight Attendant, but as we taxied in at midnight she had the pax singing Christmas carols!! Everyone de-planed happy, and they were very complimentary of our (PSA) service.

It's stories like this that keep people coming back, and, trust me, they are the stories you'll never read about in USA Today, Post Gazzette, et al.........

 

[sleepy]

The FAA should just shut USAir down. It is just plain silly to let them continue to operate if this is the best that they can do during the busiest travel time of the year.

 

[BeCareful!]

Yeah, Sleepy, that's it! Comair cancels 1100 flights, but U loses a few bgs and has a minor sickout, and you think the FAA should just pull the plug!

Yeah, that's a good use of my tax dollars.

 

[Tristar]

What you've quoted above has little to do with and employee calling in sick with the squirts, a headache, or a cold that is gone two days later. People should be able to work with those medical inconveniences. I've done it for years.

I'm sure you have, but you don't work in an environment which is subject to pressure changes (can't work with a cold that blocks the ears or sinuses), or subject to the regulation of the FAA (pilots can't work with ANY condition which would render their medical invalid). There's a tad more involved in moving 100 tons of aircraft around than preventing paper cuts and not spilling your coffee.