Strike Talk Grows at United Airlines

[blondeatlast]

United's 15,500 flight attendants and 6,800 mechanics already have vowed to strike if they can't come to terms with the airline.

(snip)

In the meantime, United customer service agent Carla Skukan said, she "will try to stick it out" as United maneuvers to survive. Her hourly wage already has dropped to $19 an hour from $24but "it's happening to all of the airlines," she said while taking a break at LAX. My note--no, it isn't happening at all the other airlines. Southwest and Northwest are both making tidy profits, have happy employees and have not been bailed out by the government.

She added: "The only bad thing is, how are people, customers, going to respond to us?"

I for one, will support the employees 110%, whether they strike or not.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-united12may12,1,3925236.story?coll=la-headlines-business

And all of this could be avoided if Glenn Tilton resigns and is replaced with someone who actually has a management skill or two. But it's up to the employees to save United now?! Give me a break.

Note how often every difficulty United has is blamed on their employees in the article.

Yeah, right... :sarcasm:

[Sperk]

1. It's time for a massive union strike. If United is allowed to get away

with this, NO pension is safe. The American worker is under attack. When will people "get it"? Consumers need to boycott United also. Corporate America needs to be sent a message...."STOP SCREWING YOUR WORKERS, or WE WILL SCREW YOU!"

This reminds me of the stolen 2000 election. That should have been nipped in the bud too.

[Demeter]

2. At the Very Least

Managements pensions and perks should be the first to go.

[mopinko]

3. i know it would hurt a lot of people, but

(and they would be here in chicago) i think it would be great if the employees struck and sunk this airline. this pension crap is the s&l ripoff all over again. labor needs to strike back. i would take them coffee and donuts.

[Jensen]

4. You have a Republican Judge appointed by Regan 1987...

You have a CEO whos retirement is safe no matter what of 4.2 million dollars, who gave himself and the top 6 members a 1.2 million dollars bonus for a job well done, just last month.

I have concluded that the Republican party is part of the old south plantation owners and do to the "Equal Opportunity" both black and white have become slaves(the have & the have not).

I hope America wakes up and the DNC uses United Airlines as a example as to what could happen to hard working Americans and how much indeed we need Social Security!
My 2cent worth!

[whistle]

6. Who owns United Airlines, who are the top executives

...isn't the company headquartered in Chicago?

[blondeatlast]

8. Glenn Tilton, CEO

Do a search of articles on him. The business press PRE-UNREST has not been kind to him, but note the subtle turn of events now that a strike threat looms.

The flight attendants refuse to come to the table until he resigns.

[BiggJawn]

5. If they want to go out, I'm for 'em.

Something needs to be done, before Murkan CORPO figures out that they too can fuck their workers bloody and give themselves fat "bonuses"...

[blondeatlast]

7. Delta is already considering bankruptcy filing... bet it looks much

prettier for them now.

I have lots of friends in the airlime biz (I was a travel agent for a while). This is so tough for them--they want to save the airline, but they feel they have to take a stand.

I suspect if United calls a CHAOS strike (the current plan), other airline unions would follow suit.

Tilton could prevent making AMerica come to a standstill if he'd just resign (he managed the airline into this mess anyway), but you know damn good and well that isn't an option.

Hell--I could manage United and do a far better job of it.

[Jensen]

9. Yeah you probrably could and not be asking for so much in compensation!

[makhno]

10. The tone of the article is unbelievable

"We think our employees understand that any disruption to our operations really does nothing but punish our employees and our customers," United spokeswoman Jean Medina said.

"It may be a feel-good strategy, but it is not a good long-term proposition for the employees," said Jon Ash, president of InterVistas-GA2, an airline consulting firm in Washington.

Because United is in bankruptcy, "a full-scale strike by any major union would be financially devastating and could lead to liquidation," analyst Philip Baggaley of Standard & Poor's said in a note to clients Wednesday.

American Airlines' pilots also engaged in an 11-day sickout in early 1999 that disrupted travel for more than half a million people.

To survive, the carrier not only has moved to shed its pension obligations, but also has been trying to get more than $3 billion a year in wage-and-benefit concessions from its workers.

"The service is already so bad," UCLA student Ann Matooka said as she waited for a United flight. Another traveler, Jennifer Cole of Los Angeles, agreed and said, "I don't think I'll be flying United anymore."

Fuck you, Jon Ash, the strategy of the American worker at this point is survival, not feel-good, you piece of shit. Fuck you, Ann Matooka and Jennifer Cole, for blaming employees for a work environment where they just don't give a shit anymore. And fuck you, the LAT, for so brazenly shifting the burden of the deregulated capitalist clusterfuck onto the shoulders of the company's workers.

I better go do something else. This article really, really pissed me off.