Damn in-house unions.....
SWA and Airtran negotiations breaking down?
- Thread starter Jamesrw2002
- Start date
Damn in-house unions.....
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
There's one a few posts up.
surreal1221
Well-Known Member
No, you're certainly not wrong.
falconvalley
Absentee Dad of the OOTSK, Runner, Cat Frustrator
AirTran would have been CRAZY to agree to a staple, IMO. If the integration had gone to arbitration, there was a VERY VERY VERY LOW LOW LOW chance of a staple from an arbitrator. However, a good arbitrator will have a tendancy to not see either side 100% (they really don't give a crap how highly you regard your job versus other jobs), so it's almost always in both sides' best interest to settle without binding help.
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
It varies based on where you are on the list. For some that's all it is, for others, it's far worse. I'll send you an email. Don't want all the details out publicly until the Merger Committees have put everything out on both sides.
WacoFan
Bigly
From this reaction it doesn't sound good for the AirTran guys. Assuming that is the case:
1) ATN in the past has been critical of non-ALPA unions - if indeed SWAPA just put ALPA in shortpants on this integration - is that a reflection of the relative merits of ALPA vs. SWAPA (or other in-house unions) or does it simply have more to do with numbers, acquiring carrier, etc?
2) People, including ATN most notably, have vehemently hated that as "management" I devalue my employees into mere numbers and commodities. They've added to this that I must mistreat them, etc. My only point in any of those posts was to simply say - "if you aren't calling the shots, assume and prepare for the worst" - which never seemed like a bad piece of advice to me. Anywho...seeing "union brethren" stomp on your best interests in favor of theirs, with "brotherhood" not really coming into play (except for the fact that SWAPA didn't push a staple - perhaps they look at that as largese) my question is this: is that better or worse than management stomping on you?
BobDDuck
Island Bus Driver
Probably better, because in the back of the minds of the sane ones involved in this, they realize that they will at some point have to work with these people and it would be best if they don't all hate each other. That's not an issue with management.
edit for clarification.
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
I'd much rather get screwed by management, because there are figureheads you can direct your "feelings" toward. Getting screwed by your "fellow" employees is worse than a stab in the back, I can imagine it's similar to the feeling of getting ratted out by a friend. In fact, the very reason there are unions is to avoid this kind of favoritism.
WacoFan
Bigly
Why wouldn't SWAPA have gone for a staple? I mean, There isn't at present a carrier that could purchase them (therefore "karma building" wouldn't come into play) - so what would be the point of anything other than that? Isn't that what SWA has done in the past with their acquisitions?
wheelsup
Well-Known Member
I don't know how many Airtran pilots there are but you can bet that XX% of the SWA seniority list at that point would do everything in their power (at least for awhile) to slow "the machine" down.
WacoFan
Bigly
Gotcha - but also, from SWAPA's point of view - their only job is to protect SWAPA members, with no regard for anything else - that is how I understood it to be with unions.
Hacker15e
Who am I? Where are my pants?
Doesn't an expansion of the company also benefit SWAPA members, though?
WacoFan
Bigly
Maybe. But only maybe. Did the expansion of DAL with NWA benefit the pilots? Did USAir/America West? Has UAL/CAL?
Maurus
The Great Gazoo
I take it the seniority lists aren't as uniform as one would hope.