United Airlines Ground Workers Threaten Strike--15 minutes ago

[blondeatlast]

MAY 11, 2005 -- Elk Grove, Ill. -- United Airlines ground workers have voted overwhelmingly to strike the bankrupt air carrier if United abandons its collective bargaining agreement with the workers' union.

Today's announcement, by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), comes one day after a federal bankruptcy judge in Chicago authorized United to terminate workers' current pension plans under an agreement between the airline and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a non-profit corporation set up by the federal government to protect pensions. The deal could result in retirement benefits cuts of up to 60 percent.

(snip)

"Our members know the risk of a strike," Canale said, "but if United fails to respond to our members needs, it is a step they are prepared to take. United used the bankruptcy court to point a gun at their employees--they can only blame themselves if it backfires."

more...

http://www.successmtgs.com/successmtgs/headlines/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000919137

[yorkiemommie1]

1. GOOD!!!!!!

n/t

i know some UAL workers who have worked very hard for the company.

[blondeatlast]

2. If the unions don't act on this, the labor movement is dead.

There has never been a better time to revive the labor movement. The ripple effect of an empowered American workforce will be the death knell for this misadministration and the neocon domestic agenda.

Strength, brothers and sisters!

[MindPilot]

3. I'm all in favor of this BUUUUUUT

I start my vacation Tuesday and there are a couple United flights in my itinerary. Oh well we all gotta sacrifice.

[blondeatlast]

5. As an ex-travel industry employee, I suggest you rebook ASAP.

And still cross your fingers. I expect if UAL workers strike, Delta workers will follow, and so on, and so on, and so on...

[mike_c]

11. I am about to cancel some travel plans....

I'll cancel my plans before I'll fly on an airline that treats it's workers this badly. Funny thing is that I haven't flown since 2002-- I got so tired of being treated badly by airport security that I simply stopped using the airlines. This summer I was planning to fly again for the first time in nearly three years. No way I'll subsidize the betrayal of airline employees, however.

[blondeatlast]

14. Consider southwest. I have friends that work for them, and they LOVE

their jobs.

Union shop, with virtually no unrest. Sure it's no frills, but I choose them every chance I get.

And they REFUSED the post 9/11 bailout--and still turned a tidy profit.

[MindPilot]

19. yeah if SW went where I needed to go...

they are my favorite, but I still miss PSA.

[DS1]

44. Hey, no frills in reality translates to no crap food

I fly Southwest whenever possible.

[blondeatlast]

51. LOL! I'm gonna pass that on to my friends! nt

[rndmprsn]

17. amen

I'll cancel my plans before I'll fly on an airline that treats it's workers this badly

amen to that!

[MindPilot]

21. I have non-refundable tickets

if I cancel my plans, I'm literally making a donation to those pricks. And it will cost me a small fortune to rebook.

[Purrfessor]

28. Same here.....

We have 4 tickets to Maui in early July. I hope it doesn't come to a strike.

[Ariana Celeste]

35. So do I,

my husband and I were (hopefully ARE) flying to WA in late May so that he can meet my family. So far we have had zero problems, and were looking forward to a smooth trip, a nice vacation, and a weepy flight home a few days later. Damn it.

The lady I spoke to at United Reservation said they really don't know whats going on, and she can't tell me anything for sure, but that if they indeed strike, that another airline might honor my tickets.

:: sighs ::

[Jensen]

25. If is anything like when Eastern when down...

I would suppose everyone else will continue to fly after all it can not happen to them!

The poppy administration took down PAM AM and Eastern. We all know boy * will have to take 2 or more to make him feel superior.

Wake up America!

[makhno]

4. Good on them

What do they have to lose? I wish the FA and pilot unions, as well as workers at other airlines, joined them in a show of solidarity and shut down air travel in the country for a day or two. That might get management to pay attention.

[blondeatlast]

6. FAs are right on the verge of it. They've thrown down the gauntlet

(along with the mechanics) at the CEO--resign, or we walk:

http://www.unitedafa.org/mec/president/ltrs/details.asp?ID=125

More power to them!

[TNOE]

8. Pardon my ignorance

but is FA - all Federal airlines or what??

THEY ALL SHOULD STRIKE - ALL UNIONS SHOULD STRIKE OVER THIS

[hatrack]

9. Flight Attendants - or so I hope and trust

:hi:

[blondeatlast]

12. Indeed--should have made that clear. I'm a bit excited right now--

have many friends in the airlines...

[MindPilot]

23. "resign, or we walk"

I would be more in favor of "re-instate our pensions or we start breaking shit."

[Trillo]

7. Hey you--Jake Brace--

if you're going to terminate and replace the workers' pensions, and force the average tax-paying citizen to help pay for those workers' reduced benefit, then why should United exit bankruptcy as a viable enterprise?

It seems to me corporate United is just a bunch of whining thieves taking as much welfare as corporatism will dole out from citizens' pockets.

[mn9driver]

10. The mechanics put Eastern out of its misery a few years back

after Frank Lorenzo gutted it. Frank was a big contributor to Daddy Bush, by the way. With United in such dire financial straits (due to total management incompetence), a mechanic's strike would probably kill United, also.

Which would be very bad for a lot of United employees, but maybe a little good for the industry as a whole. Maybe. Sad situation.

[Deja Q]

24. Never a good situation but the employees know they're toast.

So why not take the CEO down with them; whose incompetence (and who can't blame it all on 9/11 no matter how much he tries) led to the problem in the first place?

With other industries in dismay or being outsourced/offshored/offpeopled, remaining employees seem to know the scale of it all. A pity... but I can't blame them at all.

[AzDar]

13. GOOD!!! Stand together or fall apart...

n/t

[SlavesandBulldozers]

15. "The deal could result in retirement benefits cuts of up to 60 percent."

ouch.

Where's the chimperor when you need him? Surely the chimp can use his fake southern drawl and get United to "pay them workers their due"
i mean it's only right and fair and just - right? Free countries are countries where it doesn't matter if you're a little guy or a big guy - there's only what's right and what's wrong - with us or against us. Right chimpy? Chimpaerator?. . . oh he's taking a nap he just had a long bikeride shhhhhh he doesn't like to be awoken from his 4pm naps - he gets crabby and starts demanding Hot Pockets and milk.

[saigon68]

16. How Many MILLIONS did the CEO get THIS YEAR ??

[Psephos]

48. Here are some airline CEO pay data

http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1111053350.html

Story ran on March 17, 2005:


Bankrupt United Airlines paid its top executive a bonus of over USD$366,000 last year as the company sought salary and other concessions from union workers, but has cut his pay by 15 percent in 2005.

Documents filed with the government on Wednesday showed that Chief Executive Glenn Tilton's salary plus bonus amounted to more than USD$1.1 million in 2004, even though he accepted a pay cut during the year.

Executive pay at major US airlines has plummeted in recent years as the industry struggles through its worst-ever downturn.

But the millions of dollars that senior officers give up in salary today can sometimes be made up later in stock plans, trusts, buyout deals and other deferred compensation plans.

Bruce Lakefield, Tilton's counterpart at the only other major US carrier in bankruptcy -- US Airways -- has a salary of USD$425,000. That figure is sharply lower than his predecessors, and is in line with counterparts at the low-cost airlines, which US Airways is in many ways trying to emulate.

But Lakefield, a former Wall Street executive, did not take a pay cut when the company slashed wages and benefits for its union workers this year.

American Airlines president and chief executive Gerard Arpey makes over USD$500,000 in salary, while Larry Kellner at Continental Airlines makes about USD$700,000.

United's Tilton received salary payments totalling USD$756,832 in 2004, plus a bonus of USD$366,393. In August of that year, he accepted a salary cut to USD$712,500 from USD$845,500.

In 2005, Tilton will get a salary of USD$605,626, a further 15 percent cut from the August 2004 level, the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed.

United granted more than USD$1 million in bonuses to five senior managers last year for reaching incentive targets, the airline said. John Tague, executive vice president for marketing and sales, received the biggest bonus at USD$444,000. Tague did not receive a bonus in 2003.

[strategery blunder]

18. My mother works for United (and as such is privy to vote totals)

The vote was ninety-six percent in favor according to her!!!

:toast::woohoo::bounce:

[KamaAina]

20. United accounts for 25 percent of Hawai'i's "lift"

that is, all the airline seats to and from the islands.

Bear in mind that the bridge is still out :-) and so the "lift" determines the number of people who can travel to or from Hawai'i at any given time, both visitors and kama'aina (local residents; now you know).

It's one thing if they do the "chaos" strikes that would snafu one hub (such as O'Hare) for a day or so. A full-on strike that shut the whole thing down, as appealing as that might sound right now, would have grave repercussions for many Hawai'i residents who have no direct ties to the carrier and are thus "innocent bystanders".

[zach]

22. I couldn't agree more

Many people simply seem to be forgetting about the 'innocent bystanders' that will be forced into a difficult situation due to this, as you so correctly point out KamaAina. This is one of those situations where I simply don't know what side to take, as I dislike what United is doing to it's workers of course, but on the other hand, a United shutdown is something our economy and American workforce DEFINITELY does not need right now.

But I do agree with one thing, the current CEO needs to go...

[blondeatlast]

33. It's going to hurt big time, but... maybe this is EXACTLY what the America

workforce needs.

My sympthies lie with the families affected, but this is bigger than all of us; and with Delta filing bankruptcy claims even as we discuss this, you gotta know it's gonna happen to every airline eventually.

[msongs]

36. United shoulda died long time ago - it has been propped up by

lousy management, and lack of competition, and price fixing in a corrupt industry.

the people in Hawaii have lots of other options (I know of several having actually lived there for years)

airlines that know how to operate are doing well AND rewarding their employees.

Msongs
www.msongs.com/political-shirts.htm

[CountAllVotes]

46. and don't you KNOW that the Unions KNOW this?

Strike is a comin' was the word last night.

And ... United workers (and all other sympathizers :evilgrin: ) will go out to support the Union representing the workers.

So, UNION YES!

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

:kick:

[burrowowl]

47. It is not the workers

who are screwing the economy, it is the RICH. Strikes are virtually the only tool workers have. Everyone should be striking against this regime, which is bringing us a depression. If you read Kelvin Philips (a former Replubican) book: Wealth and Democracy, you will learn that the rich get richer after depressions.

[Toots]

26. Don't worry if United falls there are many to step in.

I think Alaska Airlines is just chomping at the bit. It is still operating at a profit and it's stock is still quite high.

[KamaAina]

31. Aren't they the ones that put Bible verses on the ticket jackets?

Not exactly confidence-inspiring, considering their shoddy maintenance record... :scared:

True, after United went down for good, Alaska and others would move in to pluck the carcass -- but that couldn't happen during a strike, which could drag on for months, right through peak tourism season.

In the long run, 'tis true, things would work out -- but like the man (John Kenneth Galbraith) said, "In the long run, we're all dead."

[NashVegas]

27. Just Heard on the News - Northwest & Southwest

Machinists may join them, in sympathy.

Tomorrow I fly Northwest to London. If they act up, I hope they'll wait til I'm over there.

[Renew Deal]

37. Let them all go.

Ground the whole american fleet.

[JusticeForAll]

50. Agreed - ground 'em all

Airlines SUCK.

Bring big business to its knees. Start with these bloodsucking assholes - I could not think of a more DESERVING industry.

[DS1]

43. Well, better that than mid-flight

;-)

Good luck, both ways

[Zodiak]

29. I hope every union joins in this fight

Followed by all non-union employees as impromptu unions spring up all over the country. Eventually, the matter becomes a general strike, brnging th war machine, the money, the power, everything to a standstill.

And then all those that refuse to wear the shackles throw all of the bastrds out. (if they are indeed bastards).

Pipe dreams are good.

[Tansy_Gold]

39. I agree, Ironfist -- and welcome to DU

I want to see it all come apart, because I think that's the only way it can be fixed.

Those who have read Atlas Shrugged -- the neocons' economic bible -- know that it ws only when the "men of minds" went on strike and brought the whole fuckin' world to a standstill that they could go in and "remake" everything in their favor.

I swear by the moldy bones of Ayn Rand, I would just fucking LOVE to see a strike of the workers bring down this fascist bunch.

[sadiesworld]

30. kick

[Penndems]

32. 100% support for the union here

United's management played fast and loose with the profits. It would be difficult NOT to blame the unions for striking.

The rank-and-file made United their careers, and expected the company to reciprocate and reward their loyalty. In return for their hard work, they got shit on.

Unless and until management comes to a fair and equitable agreement with United's employees, we won't be flying the friendly skies.

[Ariana Celeste]

34. I just talked to a lady at United

apparently nobody really knows what's going on. What they have done to their employees is really awful.

She said there is no way to tell right now whether or not I will be able to make my flight in late May. And I bought non-refundable tickets. She said there is a chance, if they do in fact strike, that another airline might honor my tickets, but who knows. I just need to cross my fingers and pay attention to the news, I guess. Man this pisses me off. We aren't exactly well-to-do people, my husband and I. We can't just purchase new tickets. I have seen my family only once since I moved here a year and a half ago, and my husband hasnt even met them yet- thats what my upcoming trip is all about, hubby gets to meet the family. Of all the fucking problems we could have, it has to be this. I know it's not for sure yet, but damn.

[dionysus]

52. you can't afford to buy new tickets,

THOUSANDS!!!!! of people just got their whole retirement robbed. I'll pull out my miniature violin for you if they strike.

[DS1]

54. It sucks for everyone

There's no need to get so snarky.

I'd be pissed too if I had tickets that were now worthless, despite the rest of the damage that 'activist judges' have just done.

[gardenista]

55. IF all the unions walk, this will be an effective strike.

If they don't, United will probably never recover from this strike, if it happens.

Sigh....

Holding 2 non-refundable International RT tix, one for May, one for August.

Nevertheless, I support the union, and hope that if they go out, everyone does. Unions MUST start to make a difference in this country again.

I hope this works out for everyone involved.

[0007]

38. Every fucking union in the country should walk until United Airlines

comes to it's goddamn senses. Taking away the pensions is no way to treat people. Why don't UA get a loan?

[Imagevision]

40. I agree, ALL unions should stand together on this one!!

[natrat]

41. geez when GM goes down it's going to be loads worse

beginning of some ugly times maybe

[bluestateguy]

42. I wish they would stop pushing paper and just do it

Just walk off the job. Those planes don't fly without them.

[Rainscents]

45. I hope ALL union workers stands together and srike!!!

Every Union member need to go out on strike!!! Shut the fuckin country down!!!!!!!!!

[Sgent]

49. Umm...

No one would give them a loan -- not even the federal govt.

[NuttyFluffers]

53. it's been management's fault for the past 30+ years...

american corporations have lost huge amounts of opportunity and market share due to greedy, short-sighted management. and to this day i'm wondering if america will ever get it. fire the fucking management! they aren't needed! get a fucking magic 8 ball or roulette wheel, you'd get better management out of that and for millions less!

go united workers. if it comes to a strike so be it. it's time to draw a line and kick this barrel of monkeys off our backs. cost too much for bad management, better off with no management.

[Jose Diablo]

56. "What we have here, is failure to communicate"

We can see on this thread the whole gamut of a public response to a general or national strike by workers. It's all here.

From the, 'gee, I just bought 2 non-refundable tickets to Disneyland, what will my children think to the possibility of a canceled vacation', then on to the, 'uh oh, I have an important business meeting, I may not get that important contract', and then there is the boosting of favorite carriers, 'gee, Alaska airlines could really get a lot more business from this'.

The media just loves this sort of shit when workers stand and say "fuck you" to owners. Because we then see all of responses 'innocent bystanders' make as they lament the inconvenience of workers deciding to exercise the only power they have, and that is to withhold their product rather than be exploited by ruthless and greedy people.

Sometimes people just don't get it. The owners just got the green light from a judge (the keeper of laws) to steal the accumulated wealth of the workers stored in the pension plans. This money is not the owners to use, and we have a Federal judge saying it is OK to take this money for the owners use and screw the workers. This is theft, just like if someone entered a home and walked away with the valuables.

Should the workers be concerned about the 'inconvenience' of the owners customers? I don't think so.

The best thing I think customers should do would be to go down to the corner bar and tip a few with the workers, play a game of darts or pool and more or less watch the show. It will get more interesting.

[flygal]

57. I'm traveling soon with small children

I know it will be a cluster-you know what- but I hope they do strike. FIGHT people FIGHT!!