AA FUBAR - No Pilots

[audreyh1]

So, are they going to make everyone sit on the tarmac waiting for their vacation to be over?

I don't see how unions are any worse than not-unions. It's a "depends on whose ox is being gored" thing. Personally I am ambivalent about unions. The worst thing about them is they are actually a business. They are in the "business" of labor. Hence they succumb to the same things that drive businesses. No one, at least in this culture, seems to be ale to rise above things.

And it was a business management act to screw up the vacation schedule. The union didn't do that. The union is just reacting the way a businessman would react if he thought he could scam something extra. Again, cannot seem to rise above things and find --The Best-- solution.

Agreed. Companies ride roughshod over workers all the time. Otherwise unions wouldn’t exist. The pendulum swings one way and then the other.

 

[JoeWras]

The obit thing reminds me of some of the going away emails at Megacorp. Give it a rest, people. We know just how "wonderful" your time here has been. Right.

 

[Big_Hitter]

The obit thing reminds me of some of the going away emails at Megacorp. Give it a rest, people. We know just how "wonderful" your time here has been. Right.

read dozens if not hundreds of those over the years

idk about 10 years ago or so an exec abruptly retired and we got an e-mail entitled "happy trails" from him - that was hilarious

 

[travelover]

Agreed. Companies ride roughshod over workers all the time. Otherwise unions wouldn’t exist. The pendulum swings one way and then the other.

Yep. It is foolish to try to broad brush unions and management as being "good" or "bad".

 

[Red Badger]

AA also acquired US Air a couple years ago. The enmity between the unions and US Air in the Charlotte area (US Air HQ) was palpable.

 

[ls99]

My last plane ride happened to be on AA, over ten years ago. In my book they were a perfect example of SNAFU.

 

[Texas Proud]

Didn't spend a lot of time in a union, but this was my experience as well.

When I was in college, I worked in a unionized grocery store. I worked in the Produce Dept, which was right next to Dairy. On holidays and busy weekends, occasionally the milk case would get wiped out and I could see customers standing there wondering how they could get a gallon of milk or some half-and-half. So, I'd run over and pull out a couple of cases of these items from the back to tide things over until the dairy guy restocked everything.

Turns out that was a violation of the union contract - only the dairy guy was allowed to stock the dairy case.

The customers didn't care who put out the milk, and the store manager sure didn't; it was the union who threatened me. The union rep told me that if I did it again I would be kicked out of the union (no union card, no job).

To me, it was a customer service thing. Happy customers are good for the company and good for the union. But, the union didn't care about the customers, the company, or, for that matter, me.

Your union was a bit different than mine... mine said that the store mgr could have someone else do the job as long as they were higher up in the pay scale...

Here is my strange union story... I was a sacker... the lowest of the low for the union... I was really good at bagging baby food... you know, those little jars... I would throw one up in the air toward the top of the bag, the other had would catch it and put it in the bag where it should be while the other had was already throwing another bottle... well, one time I put the jar in the wrong place and my hand did not come out of the bag to grab the flying jar.... it was interesting as I was staring at the jar as it passed by the catch point and I keep an eye on it all the way to the floor... OH MAN!!!! Well, there was glass over a wide area and I started to clean it up... That was a mistake... the store manager came running and told me not to touch it, but to keep sacking... HE cleaned it up ... Come to find out that the person who mops etc. are paid more than a sacker and it would be a violation if I did the cleaning... manager did not want to wait to get someone who was at the right level to clean so he did it....

This was my one and only union job and it taught me a valuable lesson about how bad unions can be... BTW, the store chain went under.... heck, all the union stores went under here....

 

[omni550]

Looks like the pilot issue has now been resolved....

https://www.wthr.com/article/american-pilots-reach-deal-to-avoid-canceling-flights

omni

 

[tinlizzy]

In Illinois this week. Management chose not to evacuate employees from the building because the fire was "localized". Accusing the union of making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

[JoeWras]

Let me just say:
- unions screw up
- non union management screws up

Frankly, I see madness on both sides!

My dad was in trades and I heard all the stories about unions. But I want to say thank God for the union when he was sick. Their system supported their brother big time.

That said, dad had issues (Chicago union) where he once had his hand on a shovel and got written up for stealing a Labor Union job. (AFL-CIO watches). I also attended one union meeting where I got a scholarship when I was going to college. Wow! But the meeting was nothing but disciplining brothers about stealing work from others. Bizarre. This supports all the stuff about cleaning up glass or whatever when you make a mistake.

Now I'm working on a Saturday (in a small break as I type) and worked on Thanksgiving. No compensation. I have to say, as an IT engineer, unions look pretty good to me.

I see issues on both sides. This FUBAR also shares blame on both sides.

 

[Alan]

Now that the dispute is resolved the Moderator team has decided to close the thread to stop its drift off topic into more contentious areas.

Thanks for a lively discussion.