US Airways Clamps Down On Employees - (and asks them to work for free!)

[siliconefreak]

US Airways clamps down on employees

Airline seeks no-pay volunteers; threatens discipline

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:47 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2004

PHILADELPHIA - US Airways appealed Tuesday to employees to work for free at Philadelphia's airport over the New Year's weekend to avoid a repeat of a Christmas fiasco that left the airline with too few workers to fly its planes and process baggage.

More... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6763789/

[MissBrooks]

1. How many Christmases did they ruin with their little "sick out"?

[donheld]

3. Exactly right

i think US Airways is just about done.

[bettyellen]

4. oh booo hoo for the xmas travellers ... us air rots!

maybe the CEO's 11 million would have helped make a lot of people happy this Xmas too.

[InvisibleBallots]

22. Is the CEO working for free? Delta's CEO ruined my Christmas

not employees doing a sick out.

[alarimer]

38. mine too

they lost my luggage today.

[Blue_Tires]

40. lost my bags going and coming

[InvisibleBallots]

88. I missed my entire Christmas due to Delta management

:grr: still angry

[MissBrooks]

73. The High Price of CEOs is another discussion

Planning a sick-out where 10,000s of people's Christmases are ruined is something else.

I feel sorry for all the people who slept on the floor in the airports and lost their luggage and all the children that found out there really isn't a Santa Claus because of an airline's labor issues.

That saddens me. I understand the fight for better working conditions, but - Christmas? Don't look at it from our point of view, think of the kids!?!!!

[Robbien]

80. Think of the kids of the employees who have no money for presents

Think of the lives of employees ruined by long unpaid or poorly paid hours demanded by the Airlines so that CEO and stockholders get huge bonuses.

If you want to think of the kids, think of the hard lives of those kids who belong to the working poor. The working poor employees of the airlines.

[siliconefreak]

86. absolutely

I'm so tired of people (mostly Repugs) screaming "Think of the children!" to bolster or justify every opinion or proposal that they can imagine.

[bobbyboucher]

85. Of course it is, Ruse.

Your hairy balls are showing.

:hi:

[havocmom]

96. I feel sorry for employees who have taken large pay cuts with no end of

sacrifice in site for the dubious privilege of working for an airline with management that just doesn't get it. If the public suffers minor inconvenience (a ruined weekend trip as opposed to day in day out abuse from poor management and lower pay each year) well, that part of the public needs to stop supporting businesses which fuck over their employees.

People who work and sacrifice part of their pay do not get lower bills for what they need to pay for. They can only be expected to play nice so long.

The consumer is also to blame when bad management continues at many companies. Consumers should try very hard to NOT spend $$ with companies that have bad ethics. Taxpayers should not have to constantly face airline CEOs pleading for $$ to save their butts.

Use companies which exercise good judgment, offer decent service AND treat employees as human beings. Let the assholes running companies into the ground drown in their own crocodile tears.

[Cobalt Violet]

6. Huh?

These people have had a 21% paycut in October. Why should they put up with this shit.

[bettyellen]

7. i meant boo hoo to those stranded- i feel sorry for the employees!

i was just on one of their understaffed flights. those people worked like dogs. i tell you.

[Cobalt Violet]

10. Your response was to the same post as mine.

At least I thought I was responding to the same one as you. And I think we agree.

[bettyellen]

11. yep and yep! my boo hoo was kinda vague though! LOL!

[MissBrooks]

20. Because, ever since 9/11

many industries have had pay cuts, especially the Airlines.

Everyone had to suck it up a little.

My company had paycuts also. It's better than laying off everyone.

[purduejake]

26. What people don't realize is that with the airlines...

they cut the pay in times of trouble and then they don't raise it back to the previous level when things get straightened out. The money goes to bonuses for the execs, etc.

[kc.ink]

31. work for free??? Slavery was abolished wasn't it?? n/t

[The Zanti Regent]

51. Gary North wants the 13th Amendment repealed.

Mr Jesusista Gary North says the 13th Amendment must be repealed so we can truly live in Jesusland!

[kc.ink]

97. uh you mean all the progress of uniting the people of this nation and

the world for the common GOOD of all people will be TOSSED?

Shoot the bast*rd. . . . . . .

eom

[0007]

65. How many CEO's does US Air have?

junior will just give more money to fuck it up again and again.

[reprobate]

98. My question: if they cut pay, what's happening to maintanence?

I WILL NOT fly on any american airline anymore. Too many of them are trying to copy Alaska Air now. When they show me that upper management are taking the same cuts that lower level workers do, and they open their maintanence logs to the public, then maybe..MAYBE I'll fly again.

[BiggJawn]

62. 1-20-01, not "9-11"...

Lay the blame where it belongs, Miss Brooks.
The ONLY thing 9-11 did was give the BFEE Carte Blanche to bend us all over and fuck us.

And if you consider taking pay cuts of 21-30% sucking it up a "little", all I can do is shake my head and wonder.

[atreides1]

68. And

When was the last time your company asked you to work for free?

[daa]

69. Bullshit

When the CEOs feel some pain then everyone else can give some up. When a CEO gives up 2 mil and still have 11 mil left that is not pain. When a flight attendant or ramp worker gives of * thous that is their rent.

I used to live up north and all the steel mills gave wage cut and wage cut and you know what, they sucked it up and the mills are gone.

[October]

87. You said it!

USAir treats their employees horribly...always has.

And then the CEO types manipulate the stories in the press to be totally anti-labor.

The masses are all anti-union, even though many enjoy a 5-day week (40 hours), overtime, vacation, sick pay...health benefits...

We've always suffered from short-term memory loss in this country.

[Ripley]

71. RW talking points.

I suppose you think they should bust up the airline unions too?

[sbj405]

44. Yes. On top of their previous pay cuts.

And in the last round of cuts, those making less than 20k weren't exempt.

[Walt Starr]

47. I stand behind the workers on this one!

The CEO got $11 million last year. I'm GLAD the mployees did this!

[AliciaKeyedUp]

48. Will you be just as glad

When they are on the unemployment line because their airline goes under?

[Walt Starr]

52. The airline will go under regardless

That's the fact in this matter.

[yltlatl]

95. No

we will keep bailing them out.

[jdj]

74. the employees are victims here.

I think they are trying to show the airlines what will happen without them.

I worked with a man who was laid off by US Airways, he got called back to work right before they filed bankruptcy. They told him he would NEVER be laid off again. They sold all of them a bunch of bullshit, then recalled them and filed.

These suits are scum, they have every move planned out.

[bobbyboucher]

84. Another Ruse quote, nice.

You can do better than that.

:evilgrin:

I see you.

:hi:

[girl gone mad]

94. The privatized airline industry has a high rate of failure anyhow.

Maybe it's time to try something else.

9/11 was the biggest failure of all, btw. The airlines and airports didn't do better passenger screening because it would have cost too much and made their customers unhappy.

[LostinVA]

64. Give Me a Break

US Air is the Scrooge, not the sickouts. My partner's Dad worked for Piedmont Airlines for almost 20 years. US Air bought them, and kept him on with a 25% pay cut. Eight years ago they gave him a choice: retire now, with half your retirement, or you'll lose your job. Of course, we'll hire you back part-time at half the wages, with no benefits... after we fire you. So, he "retired," and got a small job. His US Air medical insurance went from $300 a month to over $900 a month. On January 1, he and his wife are losing it altogether. His wife is very sick and needs the insurance, but too bad. Plus, they don't qualify yet for any Federal assistance.

US Air has done this, raided the pilots pension, consistently cut jobs and screwed the American taxpayers. They suck. I drive 2.5 hours to an airport that doesn't have US Air when I fly. I try to fly Southwest or JetBlue if I can... I know I always can't.

So... good for their sickout. I know people had their Christmases upset, but the CEOs and management could have had their asses out there helping, and they didn't.

[underpants]

66. EXACTLY!-US Air is in the wrong here-13% cut 2 days before Xmas?

Welcome to DU :hi: Richmond here.

your story is very representative of the "unregulated" airlines. I don't see any railroads going out of business.

[LostinVA]

76. Hello, Underpants!

Charlottesville here!

[underpants]

78. Oooh the liberal bastion

:hi:

[LostinVA]

79. That's Right!

And I love it -- it's why I put up with sky-high rent, and housing prices out of my reach...

[mahatmakanejeeves]

102. "I don't see any railroads going out of business."

When railroads go out of business, the process is manifested as an abandonment of lines.

Back in the 70s and 80s, quite a few lines were abandoned, notably in the Midwest. I'm thinking of the Rock Island and the Milwaukee Road. The Milwaukee Road used to go all the way from Mishawaka, Indiana, to Tacoma, Washington. Well, it is gone now. Once you get west of South Dakota, all those tracks have been pulled up, and there is nothing there. Railroads most certainly have gone out of business.

The 70s, 80s, and 90s saw huge consolidation in the rail industry, largely as a result of - yes - deregulation. Richmond used to be served by the Southern Railway; the Atlantic Coast Line; the Seaboard Air Line; the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad; and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. In the early 1960s, the C&O merged with the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad to form the C&O-B&O. In 1967, the ACL and SAL merged to form the Seaboard Coast Line. In the 70s, the Seaboard Coast Line, the Clinchfield Railroad, and the Lousville and Nashville merged to form the Family Lines, later known as the Seaboard System. That merged with the C&O-B&O to become CSX, which also include the old RF&P.

Meanwhile, the Southern Railway merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway to become Norfolk Southern. A few years back, NS and CSX gobbled up Conrail, which itself was formed from.... Well, you get the point.

Now that all the dust has settled, Richmond is served by NS and CSX. In the United States, there are four big railroads: NS, CSX, Union Pacific, and Burlington Northern Santa Fe. There are a few medium-size railroads too. Quite a few old mainlines have been torn up. Secondary trackage has been sold off to short lines.

Railroads most certainly have gone out of business.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

103. "My partner's Dad worked for Piedmont Airlines for almost 20 years."

Were you the one who posted the link to the Winston-Salem Journal about the pensions cuts back around the beginning of December?

Cutting Benefits

>>
Sunday, December 5, 2004
Cutting Benefits
US Airways shrinking its commitment to retiree health-care

By Richard Craver
JOURNAL REPORTER
<<

[bobbyboucher]

83. Straight from Ruse Limpdick's mouth to the forums of DU.

Was that word for word or did you mix it up a bit?

I suggest a mass ignore for MissBrooks, as soon as you get done ridiculing his obvious ass.

[bettyellen]

2. while the CEO gets 11 million this year??

04/19/2004
Airline CEO Gets Big Pay Package


The directors of US Airways have awarded chief executive David Siegel a compensation package with a potential value of nearly $11 million, even as the airline tries to wring more pay concessions from its rank-and-file workers.


Union leaders called Siegel's pay package hypocritical.
http://compensation.blr.com/display.cfm/id/153715

[mahatmakanejeeves]

104. David Siegel

I'm not going to defend David Siegel, but before you head off to US Airways HQ to burn him at the stake, I think you should know he left the company eight months ago. Ironically, it was on the day that the linked article was published.

>>
04/19/2004
Airline CEO Gets Big Pay Package

The directors of US Airways have awarded chief executive David Siegel a compensation package with a potential value of nearly $11 million,...

Airline CEO Gets Big Pay Package
<<

From that article:

>>
The Associated Press reports that a proxy statement, filed Friday, indicates Siegel received a salary of $600,000 and no bonus in 2003, plus other cash compensation of $98,890. He was also given 1.13 million shares of US Airways stock, valued at $8.3 million under Securities and Exchange Commission accounting rules.

He also received an option on 669,600 shares of stock, with a strike price of $7.42 a share, valued at $1.9 million, assuming those shares increase in value 5 percent a year through 2010.
<<

Maybe his compensation package once had a potential worth of $11 million, but what it's worth now, I can't say. Without checking the SEC's Edgar site, I don't know what he did with the shares he was given. I do know that if the company liquidates, his options will be worthless. I will let someone else look up the share price.

But:

US AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES THE RESIGNATION OF DAVID SIEGEL AS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

>>
US AIRWAYS ANNOUNCES THE RESIGNATION OF DAVID SIEGEL AS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Board of Directors Names Bruce Lakefield Chief Executive

ARLINGTON, Va., April 19, 2004 -- The US Airways Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: UAIR) Board of Directors today announced the resignation of President and Chief Executive Officer David N. Siegel, effective immediately.

Bruce R. Lakefield, chairman of the Board of Directors’ Finance and Strategy, and Human Resources committees has been named the chief executive officer, effective immediately.
<<

David Siegel is not the only person who has had his hand in the cookie jar at US Airways. I'll let you Google.

Google for david siegel us airways

[siliconefreak]

5. I'm on the employees' side

I know they screwed things up for a lot of people, but I fully support their actions. They're fed up and unfortunately, this might have been the best way to get management's attention. And now the company wants them to volunteer?!

[NYC]

9. Looks like they are not getting management's attention.

From a post above:

The directors of US Airways have awarded chief executive David Siegel a compensation package with a potential value of nearly $11 million, even as the airline tries to wring more pay concessions from its rank-and-file workers.

[InvisibleBallots]

27. David Siegel, the Corporate Crook, is getting $11 million?

While asking his employees to work for free? Outsource his job to India - we can get a super smart Indian guy to run the airline for one tenth the cost.

[NYC]

35. I wonder if they are so blatant about their high bonuses while

expecting workers to work for free because they see this as their last chance to grab the money before the bubble bursts. ???

[NorthernSpy]

33. this David Siegel sucks $11 Million out of the till...

... while working class Americans are expected to work for him for free? Who the hell does he think he is?

Things need to change in this country. Ordinary people are getting screwed out of any semblance of a decent life.


:(

[NYC]

34. The haves and the have nots.

The distance between them grows.

[R Hickey]

50. Eleven million could have provided employee christmas bonuses

Eleven million...lets just say David Siegal keeps one million for his job...

OK, so he could have given $1000 Christmas bonuses to ten thousand employees... or $5000 apiece for two thousand employees.

It looks to me like David Siegal destroyed the airline to line his pockets.

I can guarantee you one thing. I will never ride on that airline in the future.

[Bark Bark Bark]

13. Thanks!

I'm with United. (To all: that's not an invitation for anyone to scream at me. I work there; I'm not responsible for everything that goes on there. Okay?)

We're gonna take (YET ANOTHER) eleven-percent-or-more paycut early next year. Our CEO told everyone he didn't NEED a salary when he took over, but he still gets almost a full million every year in salary and benefits.

Naturally, he thinks an eleven-percent paycut is nothing.

He called a press conference to loudly announce United didn't need that Federal loan guarantee; two weeks later, when the Fed said, "Fine, we won't give it to you," he was singing a different song and rattling a tin cup in our faces.

This is what USAir employees are faced with. (USAir's current Perfect Leader is one of United's previous 'catastrophic successes.') And it's a perfect representation of what Americans in general are faced with; incompetent, self-rewarding, shameless 'leadership' that exists to drain wealth into their own pockets without a thought about the future.

Think Christmas was inconvenient? Just wait for the Uprising.

[Cobalt Violet]

15. Please don't be bullied into working for free.

Why don't they charge passengers enough so that they can pay the help? And if they go out of business so be it.

[siliconefreak]

19. Yep

Yet I hear people complain on a regular basis about how high the airfares are. Please! Adjusted for inflation, I believe that airfares are the cheapest they've ever been.

[bpilgrim]

29. if we OUTSOURCE our CEO/CIO/CTO/CFOs ad infinitum

how many TRILLIONS could he save, hmmmm...

peace

[spinbaby]

45. They're ridiculously low

Pittsburgh to Florida $103 round trip. Pittsburgh to Tokyo under $700 round trip. It's no wonder they're gong out of business. (But, yes, I AM taking advantage of the low fares.)

[bpilgrim]

28. these clowns don't realize they actually NEED some of us little people

at the 'switches'

tell'm they can all tell'a commute, bill gates i'm sure will show'em how :evilgrin:

peace

[bpilgrim]

25. DITTO

and MANAGEMENT screwed things up... the union told them they didn't have enough to cover the holiday season especially with the expected sickout.

anyway it's beyond time for Americans to stand up to these corporatist thugs.

peace

[Javaman]

8. Sounds like the soviets, "volunteer or else!"

[reprobate]

99. What it resembles is Russia before the 1917 revolution.

Could it happen here? More and more likely every day.

[Wilber_Stool]

12. I understand flight attendants are making $12,000 a year now

At that price, I wonder what kind of stock they'll get to replace them.

[siliconefreak]

14. It's an outrage, no doubt

And I'm waiting for the day that Wal-Mart announces their new startup airline. I honestly won't be surprised if it happens someday.

[arikara]

17. Wallyair... instructions to the passengers on how to get food stamps

Hang in there, airline workers. These pay cuts for workers and big bonuses for CEO's are a slap in the face to everyone who works for a living. I would rather pay more for a ticket knowing that the people who work on the plane are satisfied with their job. For safety reasons as well as moral reasons.

[InvisibleBallots]

30. oh God don't give them any ideas, please

:eyes:

[markus]

16. Um, uh, isn't that illegal?

My wife's in HR but asleep. I am pretty damned sure you cannot ask your hourly employees to work without paying them. Period.

[bettyellen]

18. theres a paylevel you have to be above - oh! here it is

Under the new FairPay rules, workers earning less than $23,660 per year — or $455 per week — are guaranteed overtime protection. This will strengthen overtime rights for 6.7 million American workers, including 1.3 million low-wage workers who were denied overtime under the old rules.

[JDPriestly]

21. In California,

you can ask exempt (salaried) employees to work overtime for free, but you have to pay nonexempt (hourly) employees. There are a lot more rules, but in a nutshell, that's it.

[HockeyMom]

67. True

But flight attendants, reservation clerks, baggage handlers, etc., are all HOURLY NON EXEMPT employees. These are the people they are asking to work for FREE. Nope. ILLEGAL.

[cleofus1]

23. damn dimity dum damn!

They fucking get millions and then expect us to work for free?!!The mans got balls the size of churchbells!

[bpilgrim]

24. GET BACK TO THE PYRAMIDS or ELSE!

peace

[Gman]

32. Working for free is expressly AGAINST THE LAW

according to the Fair Labor Standards Act. Additionally, it also amounts to falsifying their corporate financials on salary and wages. And, USAir should have to show the wages not paid as "negative" wage and salary expense which is not truly revenue, but has the same effect on the company income statement. Furthermore, having workers work for free could also be construed as being anti-competitive to USAir's competition. There should also be a real big fat unfair labor practice charge to be filed at the NLRB (for which hell would freeze over first before any action was taken).

Heard some mouth sitting in on some talk show today talking about how there ought to be a federal investigation into the USAir union over what happened last weekend. There out to be a big investigation into USAir's business practices if they have anyone work for free.

[stackhouse]

36. screw US Airways ...

what cheap bastards...i hope they go down maybe some other small (blue) airline will take over their stuff

[mhr]

53. Yes, And Those Employees Will Be Paid Ridiculously Low Wages Too

eom

[SheilaT]

37. Employees at USAir have been

getting pay cuts for over ten years now. The company is simply walking away from pension obligations.

Even in the "good old days" dealing with the traveling public was an incredibly difficult job. I worked as a ticket agent at National Airport in Washington DC from 1969 to 1979 and NOTHING I have done since, including childbirth, has been half as difficult.

Employees on the front lines, the gate and ticket agents, flight attendants, get it both from management and passengers.

And several months ago there was a thread here on DU where some of our more charitable fellows said they didn't care if USAir went bankrupt and as far as they were concerned every USAir employee deserved to lose their job and be without a pension. It was so charming.

[siliconefreak]

39. another fact

Studies have shown that employees actually CAN be content working for less if they feel that the company they work for is treating them well and is a good "corporate citizen". Southwest Airlines is a good example of that. Even Ralph Nader raves about Southwest.

US Airways (and other airlines) are not only cutting employees' pay, they're also treating them like crap. It's a lose/lose situation for everyone involved. Make that lose/lose/lose... The employees, the customers, and even management will lose in a situation like this.

[kalibex]

58. Hmmm...

Is there a business world equivalent of the 'Darwin Award' for short-sighted execs...? :eyes:

[JHB]

77. That would imply they care if the company survives...

...rather than just considering it another stepping stone on the way to their next multi-million dollar gig.

[ObamaFan2500]

41. Two Sides to Every One of these things

Honestly, I bang in for my bus route sometimes. Tired or hungover, but I don't feel bad because the head bus driver is probalby rich in some mansion... SO what givesS/

[Pooka Fey]

42. HAHAHA!! I thought people only asked musicians to work for free!! n/t

[Walt Starr]

59. Well, everybody seems to think Computer Techs work for free, too

At least, everybody who finds out I work with computers relate their computer woes and ask for my assistance gratis.

[Cooley Hurd]

63. Boy... isn't THAT the truth!

Even though I work with a specialized clientele, their office staffs are ALWAYS sucking off my techie tit for free advice...:grr:

[Cronus Protagonist]

72. By musicians, do you also mean drummers?

Drummers being people who hang out with musicians... :)

Speaking of drummers, what do you call a homeless drummer?

Single.

(just joking, I'm a "musician" too)




http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[Pooka Fey]

93. A musician = not a drummer, not a vocalist. n/t

[Tight_rope]

43. WTF!...Why can't the CEO, CFO, VP'sand higher uppers take a pay cut!

After all...how many yachts do they need. In addition, they could use a little fewer vacations to the French Riviera.

[durablend]

56. Can't do that...too much of a hardship.

The lowly pee-ons have less to begin with so they won't mind having their pay cut even more (since they're already used to it)

[ixion]

46. oh, I'm 'sure' that all USAir execs are going to work for free

NOT!

You know, I've had the happiness of being screwed out of valuable stock because some CEO decided he wanted a better cut, and that somehow those of use who had been working on the project from the beginning didn't deserve to receive the stock we were promised.

I say if they want to save money, they could save millions by cutting the pay packages of execs, who don't do anything anyway and get paid millions for it.

I'm for the employees here. I say they should tell them to take a flying f**k at the moon!

[area51]

49. working for free

Asking people to work for free is disgusting. Also, I fear it's too many bosses' wet dream.


"Prosperity is just around the corner." -- Herbert Hoover
"The economy has turned a corner." -- GW Bush

Herbert Hoover = GW Bush

Neither man cared about the Depression their economic policies created.

[mhr]

54. Unemployed 55 Months Now - I Hear You Brother!

eom

[durablend]

55. Just a trial run...

Don't you worry...* will make some degree of unpaid servitude mandatory for all workers before he finally gets kicked out.

[saigon68]

70. THE BEST CHIMP SLOGAN

"WE ARE ON THE CUSP OF THE RECOVERY"

[Catchawave]

57. Outsource the CEOs, Save thousands of jobs!

Excerpt from article:

Talk about overpaid: American CEOs used to make 30 times as much as the average worker. Now they make 400 times as much. Add in the stock options, mega-pensions, corporate jets, club memberships, loans that don’t have to be paid back, and the CEO total take is even richer.

There’s the fat to cut, the waste to eliminate.

Other countries get fine executives for a fraction of what we pay here. Many big European and Japanese corporations, those same outfits American companies cite when pleading that outsourcing is a necessity to stay competitive, pay the top bosses only $250K to $400K or so, and with minimal extra benefits and stock options.

And most of them already speak English.

...more at: http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12092004/biz_nati/52998.htm
---------------------------------
As any high school kid who takes Business 101 knows the magic formula for a successful business includes:

1. Pay your bills
2. Pay your employees
3. Pay yourself

BushCo Amerika needs to get back to basics:mad:

[Ramsey]

60. They are not being asked to work for free

This story was intially reported incorrectly. NPR reported a corrected version after saying the employees were being asked to work for free. Later in the morning they said they were told by a USAir spokesperson that there was a misunderstanding over the term "volunteer". Employees who were to have vacation days are being asked to voluteer to work during the New Years holiday due to the massive problems over the last weekend, mainly as greeters, bag handlers and other airport staff. They will be paid and they are not being required to give up their vacation.

[jdj]

75. what can be said about the state of labor in this country

when this initial story is automatically so believable.

We've Walmart to thank for this.

"Every Man a King
America"

[sandnsea]

81. Or the state of our journalists

I went back and checked the story, sure enough it specifically says work for free. MSNBC. Obviously some twit doesn't understand that employees are almost always asked to volunteer to work (for pay) over the holidays. Not sure if it's stupidity or another oblivious dimwit who doesn't understand how the real world works. :eyes:

[wolfgirl]

61. Just because the

big shots at the airline said the employees were on a sick out doesn't make it so. I understand that the airline has downsized to the point that if you have folks call in sick, they are under a big strain to meet their obligations.

If the employees were on a sick out, then someone should come forward and explain why.

Those of us in the real world understand that the big shots at the airlines are making huge amounts of $$$ while the working folks are getting shafted coming & going.

I support the employees - these are the ones making the least amount of $$ but are to blame for all the troubles....what a crock!

[The Judged]

82. All the years of taking phony profits have caught up with the airlines?

So we can now blame the workers instead of the shareholders and upper management?

The business was never really as profitable as the upper management and shareholders made it out to be, yet they took profits anyway and made decisions NOT to reinvest when they took money out of the business.

Of course, this is the explanation that no shareholder or management executive is willing to admit to, whether of this airline or any other, or even in other industries where the same phenomena has occurred.

The DOW has gone up over 2000 points since mid-October 2004, and of course the explanation is pure speculation and profit taking.

When the truth becomes unavoidable for those businesses that really couldn't afford such profit taking or sustain such high stock prices, then the lower employees in those publicly held companies will be laid off in cost cutting moves, if those companies survive.

Reinvestment and true cost accounting are falsely treated as a ills, while profit mongering, false upward stock speculation, and reckless economic management decisions toward shareholders, and invisible inflation by virtue of these decisions are treated as healthy economic signs.

[reprobate]

101. But the industry WAS profitable.

It was quite profitable, BEFORE deregulation. Of course, you had to pay what the ticket price was worth.

[The Judged]

105. Profit only existed due to failure to apportion revenues to future costs!

In other words, the airline executives allowed revenues to be distributed as income to executives and shareholders rather than to allocate these revenues to reliable estimates for future costs of doing business.

They did this based on their correct realization that under the Republican Revolution that they would be able to skirt their responsibilities to their workforce and to blame labor excesses for their failure to expend on resources and investments vital to the sustenance of their business, such as new aircraft.

[VegasWolf]

89. Maybe the grossly overpaid CEO can choke up a little money to

help out his employees? Ooops, not the Murikan Way!
Quick, blame the trial lawyers.

[Yavin4]

90. Watch A&E's "Airport"

If you think airline employees are greedy, I strongly suggest that you watch A&E's reality show, "Airport", which is a documentary of the day-to-day life in the airport. It's the employees that have to deal with the customers and their needs, not the CEO. The employees are more important to running an airline than the CEO could ever hope to be.

We're living in a time where CEOs think of themselves as feudal lords whereby they live like kings off of the sweat of their laborers. Until, that U.S. Air CEO takes a 90% pay cut, then I'm on the side of the employees. No one worker is worth $11 million a year.

[yorkiemommie1]

92. A & E's 'Airport'

is indeed excellent. these people are so diplomatic, so patient and resourceful they deserve MUCH higher compensation! Could the CEOs handle a guy wearing a kilt and not much under it? don't think so.

i think every exec no matter what industry, should get into the trenches for a week or so every year... incognito, of course.

[amazona]

91. sheesh...Lincoln freed the slaves

U.S. Airways employees are already so under-paid that I guess asking them to work for nothing was only the inevitable next step.

[NuttyFluffers]

100. Well, shall we boycott US AIr? just finish the job the CEO is doing?

I'm absolutely disgusted by this. this shall not stand. we need to help these people. if that means sympathy consumer boycott (to aid employee strike) until this Catastrophic Success of a CEO is booted out (or mends his evil ways) so be it.

that, and a "Adopt a US AIR Employee" network, would be a good way for our community to handle this. if we can find some US Air employees and help them network for improved resumes and connections for a different job (just in case) or help in other ways, we can perhaps bring positive change to their lives to survive this cruel ass of a CEO 'mis'manager.

evil like this should not be allowed to stand. cool to the employees for the clever sick-out. now it's our responsibility to step up to the plate and support them any way we can. this fight is all of our fights.