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In This Issue - More Demands From Management-  Round TWO of Concessions - A Few of the ‘Low-Lights’ the Company Seeks from AFA - AFA Given No Say and Much More!

IMPORTANT READ: This is the PHL News-Line 70 from Mollie McCarthy LECP. This newsletter is also available on the PHL page of AFA US Airways. Subscribe to News-Line 70 from here. If you would like to respond to Mollie, please use this email address mmccarthy@afausairways.org.

  
December 1, 2002

Dear Members of Council 70, 

More Demands From Management

The Company has issued a new list of demands they feel are necessary, if we are to meet the conditions for the ATSB loan and our future security. The vast majority of our rank and file will not be happy with these demands. Some of you will say, and rightfully so, that management has gone back on their initial promises. 

I know many of you are well aware of what our ‘Labor Friendly’ CEO is now demanding. I ask that you keep your anger focused where it rightfully belongs, at management, not at each other and not at our passengers. 

Our ‘New’ CEO and his right-hand man, Executive VP of Labor Relations, have stated that management will not be taking any additional cuts. In the words of our new CEO, those presently in the ranks of ‘upper management’ can make more money and find better jobs elsewhere. He fears losing these ‘experts’, and will not be asking them for any additional cuts in pay or perks. WE, however, should just be happy to have a job because where else can we find equal employment? I personally would never want to be in a ‘foxhole’ with anyone who thinks the way our present management does. I question if, during this time of crisis, we really need folks who are only all about the ‘Almighty Dollar’ rather than the survival of this company? To paraphrase one of our flight attendants, “If they are on the 'team' and want to have the airline survive, they will sacrifice with the rest of us. If they walk, we didn't need them.”

Round TWO of Concessions 

Management has stated they need a commitment from all labor groups for additional concessions in order for their ‘New’ plan to meet the qualifications for the ATSB loan. 

It is my opinion, and I may stand alone on this, that the company’s move on November 26, was thought out and planned well in advance. You’ve heard a lot about what they are asking for but did you know…what they now want is much worse than what they wanted this past summer and they want it PERMANENTLY? 

A Few of the ‘Low-Lights’ the Company Seeks from AFA

Reserves right to pass & pick trips by seniority-gone, Bid Sheet-gone, Right to trip improve-gone, unless on the same day and only for more time, SAP- gone, Secondary Lines- gone, Reductions in duty rigs, (a four –day trip would now be worth an average of 16-hours pay, Reductions in Long Term Disability, Salary continuance-gone, Sick claim capped to minimum guarantee, Rescheduling changes that pose a real nightmare for single parents or pet owners as return to base can be 12-hours late for domestic and 24-hours late for International, (I wonder if that means the islands also?). This is not even the tip of the iceberg. There is the retirement issue, something we can never touch. And one of my biggest fears on their list of demands is the one that ‘looks’ the least menacing…putting MDA (Mid Atlantic) with mainline. I will go into that more after I research a few things. 

To see the full list of their demands, from AFA, read the list of Company proposed concessions Click HERE or go to ‘Home Page’ of www.afausairways.org. Please remember, this is just a PROPOSAL. AFA has NOT agreed to any changes and we are NOT currently in negotiations with the company. See ALPA proposal here. See IAM proposal here. 

But here is what the company thinks is the ‘good news’…new cap for fleet size, only if all labor groups agree to their entire personalized concession package. They will increase the minimum promise of aircraft from 245 to 279 with a Force Majeure exception. 

Please do not get too excited, this promise of not going below 279 a/c will not necessarily save jobs. The new Force Majeure language will now include acts of terrorism, (which can mean almost any event anywhere). The new terrorist category, along with the previous categories stipulated in Section 1 of our FA agreement, would allow the company to change the minimum number of promised aircraft at almost any time without negotiation. 

Add to that the known fact that increases in productivity equate to fewer bodies required to produce the same amount of work. The company’s promise of 279 a/c has little, if any, weight or guarantee. The only way to avoid more furloughs (yes, that means more than the 810 just announced for January 7, 2003) would be to increase aircraft utilization on an equal ratio. For January, Reserve will go to 13-years in PHL, just by the company going to staffing minimums on almost all aircraft. With no growth anytime in the future (exception of MDA) and the company’s ability to reduce aircraft through a Force Majeure event, the 15-20 year career reserve will again become the norm. 

AFA Given No Say

To the best of my knowledge, Management handpicked what they wanted to take from our contract, and then fixed the price on what these contractual items were worth. Neither our financial analysts nor our union leadership were part of the initial process. They have been called in now to make the decision to vote either “yes” or “no” to abrogating our own contract. The company picks, they price and now labor leaders get the mess dropped into their laps to do the dirty work. I question just exactly what our New CEO meant when he used the phrase ‘Labor Friendly’ no less than 12 times in his recent speech to the International Aviation Club in Washington DC on September 17, 2002? 

To say I am ‘suspect’ of our CEO’s ‘purpose’ & ‘timing,’ for recent announcements, would be an understatement. This past summer he announces pending ‘Bankruptcy,’ well before we actually filed, thereby giving legitimate concern to our passengers looking to book flights on USA. Then, at the start of the holiday travel season, he ‘Locks down’ one of our maintenance facilities and makes an announcement of an additional 2,500 lay offs. This move only served to anger his employees, on one of the most traveled day of the year. 

These are trying times, yet we must remember that we are US Airway's Flight Attendants. WE are what the traveling public remembers when they fly US Airways. We need them to come back so we retain the valuable revenue dollars required at this time. The best way to accomplish that is to ensure that every flight, during this busiest season of the year, is on time and professionally handled. This is OUR Company and we need to perform to 110% of our ability to ensure it remains OUR Company. Purely of a selfish nature, I never want anyone to point the finger at us or use us as a scapegoat if the company is not successful. WE must keep our planes flying.

A Few Things You Need to Learn Now and Remember Always

1. PLEASE remember, OUR Company’s most profitable time of the year is right now. In other words, if we do not keep our planes and passengers moving, we will only hurt ourselves. These ‘New’ Guys of management, like those before them, will just move on.

2. YOU are the union. Our leadership, which we elect, may not be the best choice we could have made, but the ‘leadership’ does NOT make up the entire Union. What I am trying to say is, the handful of elected representatives are NOT the Union...WE are. Please remember that I am you and you are that flight attendant that shares your jumpseat with you. My paycheck, my job and the wings I wear over my heart are just the same as yours. However, this management with all their 'labor friendly' rhetoric, here less than a year, has managed to break their word and our contract many times over. I tell you this because you will need to identify whom you can trust in the upcoming days. If we stick together, take care of our passengers, next year we may be able to enjoy the holidays. This year, we need to make sure our revenues stay up. 

Who To Count On?

Do you recall Mr. Siegel stating he would not ask for more concessions from Labor? Do you recall that he did not want productivity issues during the last negotiations because it would take 18-months before seeing a return? Do you recall Management’s statement that any further discussions on ‘Productivity’, if agreed to by both parties, would result in the return of lost wages? Do you recall that management had stated they would take retroactive pay cuts and then did not? Do you recall when I told you that giving away our ‘No Furlough’ language, without even receiving one dime worth of credit for it or for the cost of lost FA jobs, would hurt all of us no matter what your seniority may be? And lastly, do you remember that management’s rebuttal was that no one would purchase us with the language in place? 

I know right now many of you question the union (leadership). Some believe union leadership is not telling you everything. Management often gets information out to you hours, even days before your leadership can. Management orchestrates the process to have that very result.

On November 26, while the media and the employees were receiving pre-written press releases and CBS messages, relaying exactly what this new management team wants you to know, labor leaders from all the unions at USA were sequestered behind closed doors, in Crystal City. After the CEO said his piece and left the room, only then did the labor leaders receive the package of demands along with a warning of legal reprisal if confidentiality was broken. 

After seeing how this ‘New’ management operates, I believe labor should never again agree to meet under the restraints of total confidentiality. 

Closed session works extremely well in splitting the membership from their elected leadership; it instills distrust and protects the company's position from public debate. It is then up to the elected union leaders to make the company's case, further damaging their credibility. If I were management, I wouldn’t want it any other way. But as a labor leader, I have a responsibility to report out to you, the members. Given the confines of a signed ‘confidentiality’ agreement, I will give you all that I can. 

Best of the Busters Found Right Here
Excerpts from:" Confessions of a Union Buster" by: Levitt/Conrow  (Written in first person)

"Union busting is a field populated by bullies and built on deceit. A campaign against a union is an assault on individuals and a war on the truth. As such, it is a war without honor. The only way to bust a union is to lie, distort, manipulate, threaten, and always, always attack". The LAW does NOT hamper the process. Rather it serves to suggest maneuvers and define strategies."

"When a CEO hires a Labor relations consultant to battle a union, he gives the consultant run of the Company and closes his eyes. The Consultant, backed by attorneys, installs himself in the corporate offices and goes to work creating a climate of terror that inevitably is blamed on the union."

Like political terrorists, the consultants' attacks are intensely personal. Consultants go about the business of destroying unions, they invade people's lives, demolish their friendships, CRUSH THEIR WILL, and SHATTER their families."

"There are many forms of union busting. Some Labor consultants and attorneys take on unions that already represent a work force, SQUEEZING negotiators at the bargaining table, forcing workers out on strike, HARASSING Union officers. "The enemy is the collective spirit".

In the end a union-busting campaign left a company financially devastated and hopelessly divided and almost invariably created an even more intolerable work environment than before…. Some professionals have built their careers on advising employers how to manage their work force and cope with the maze of federal and state worker laws. Some such professionals clearly are needed, and few even do an honest job. But within the field of Labor Relations the BIG money is in UNION BUSTING. Today there are more than 7 thousand attorneys and consultants across the nation who makes their living busting unions, and they work almost every day. The WAR on labor is a 
$1 billion-plus industry.” 



Another Fitting Quote During These Troubled Times

“If I know you better than you know me, I can influence you. But if I know you better than you know yourself, I can control you.” 

Our management makes a point of having Labor Relations read everything we write. They read our message boards, 
newspaper and television interviews, Newsletters and E-Lines, often before you have a chance to read them yourself. Our CEO has stated on several occasions and even in print that many FA’s have written to him stating that our work rules are ‘bogus’…be careful what you say or write or give away, it makes matters worst for your fellow FA’s. Please help me stay informed, by sharing/forwarding any e-mails you receive from management to mmccarthy@afausairways.org or molliemac@aol.com. Thanks.

What Has Been Accomplished Thus Far 

We have already given $76,000,000 per year in annual savings for the next 7 years. In addition, the loss of our fellow FA’s through the furlough process, generates even more cash flow for the company who in turn refuses to give AFA credit for these savings. The 915 furloughs that are commencing on Dec. 2, 2002 will save approximately $36,600,000 of cost (wages) per year for the Co. ($40,000 per year x 915) and the 800+ furloughs starting in January save another 32M, give or take, totaling approximately $144,000,000 million dollars of savings to the Co. from flight attendants who can barely feed their families. But Mr. Siegel does not see it that way, to him, management is working for less than they could earn elsewhere, while the unionized employees earn more…

I am not unreasonable and I am not opposed to tightening our belts to help our company. But why so much, why permanently, why hit our retirements (That is just plain un-American) and why productivity and benefits that in management’s own words will take at least 18-months to reap any return? 

I must ask myself, what is this management team willing to throw into the pot to help us out of this new crisis? They only give attitude when asked. Who are these guys?

For some perspective as to why I am a bit perplexed, let’s review what the Company has achieved thus far: (Positive)

1. Unanimous approval to received a conditional $900 million of a $1 Billion ATSB loan.

2. Approval from ALPA for approx 465 Regional Jets, thus, allowing the Company to compete with low-cost carriers (operating under a new wholly-owned subsidiary, Mid-Atlantic Airways).

3.Obtained (approx.) over $850 million in annual cost saving ratified contracts from all Labor groups for the next 7 years.

4. Filing of chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 11 whereby giving them protection from major aircraft lease debts and real estate giving the Co. a "fresh start".

5. Government approved alliance with United Airlines to code share.

6. Downsized fleet of 311 aircraft down to 279, creating furloughs of an employee population of approx. 46,000 to approx.32, 000 going into and through 2003.

7. Investment of $240 Million from Alabama Retirement Systems (RSA) in exchange for a 37.5% stake in the newly emerged bankrupt US Airways.

8. Recent financing from RSA of $500 million to US Airways, Group for DIP (Debtor in Possession financing.)

However, with all the positives the company has achieved through their restructuring plan, they say, it's still NOT ENOUGH.

I will not come to you and tell you, you must permanently give away everything that we have obtained through hard work and negotiations over the last 40+ years. This management knew all about our contract when they agreed to work here. They constantly use it as an excuse for their failures. In truth, most of us do not even use it to its fullest intent and flexibility

Sorry for the novel, I just had to vent. I hate constantly being the bearer of bad news. Guess it goes with the job.

I will be in PIT for the next couple of days attending an MEC meeting. Upon my return, I will give you any additional 
information I might obtain from that meeting.

Know my thoughts and prayers are with all of you through this season of holidays and unrest.

Take Care and Fly Safe, 

Mollie McCarthy 
LEC President 
Council 70 -PHL/PHW