HPTunco
Oct 27, 04, 11:31 pm
What are the odds that these jobs will be coincidentially taken to Alabamy? I'm sure that Billy Bob can adapt his cleaning skills to removing the pen marks off of the FC seats!
All kidding aside, the IAM can, and may, shut down US Airways. They may be left with no choice if US gets the "Draconian" cuts that they're insisting on. The other major carriers will be next in line at the negotiating table at the IAM's expense.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04302/402969.stm
Union says US Airways aims to cut 2,800 jobs
Thursday, October 28, 2004
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bankrupt US Airways wants to cut its maintenance staff by as many as 2,800 people and farm out the work somewhere else, according to a top negotiator with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The proposal would eliminate US Airways' 1,000 airplane cleaners and cut another 1,800 workers elsewhere, leaving the company with about 1,700 unionized mechanics, ground support personnel and stock clerks, according to Bill Freiberger, assistant general chairman for the union's District 142.
The Pittsburgh area, where much of the company's heavy maintenance work is handled, would be hit hard. Although the company did not predict where the cuts would be made, Freiberger estimates that as many as 2,000 jobs could be lost locally.
It "would pretty much wipe out Pittsburgh," Freiberger said.
The proposed cuts, according to Freiberger, were part of a company presentation Tuesday that laid out what the airline wants from the IAM while in bankruptcy. US Airways, which is seeking $950 million in annual concessions from all unions, asked the mechanics for $220 million in annual cost savings. A day earlier, it asked the baggagehandlers, who are represented by the IAM, for about $100 million, according to union officials.
US Airways did not return calls seeking comment.
Although, the company also is asking for pension plan changes and pay cuts, the bulk of the savings it's seeking would result from the outsourcing of work currently done by union members, Freiberger said.
The IAM, which for months resisted any reopening of its contract, has little choice left but to negotiate. In less than three weeks, US Airways will ask a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to throw out the IAM's collective bargaining agreements absent a consensual deal. It is promising to do the same with the flight attendants and passenger service agents -- two other unions that have yet to reach new cost-cutting pacts. Any new contract would supersede a four-month, 21 percent pay cut imposed by the bankruptcy judge on Oct. 8.
At this point, resisting the negotiating process "can be used against you," Freiberger said.
The judge, according to bankruptcy law, is more likely to abrogate contracts if a union refuses to accept a company cost-cutting proposal "without good cause."
"You really have no choice," Freiberger said.
But the IAM is still vowing to put up a fight. It will try to meet the company's cost-cutting targets, but without the large number of job cuts outlined by the company Tuesday. Rank-and-file members, Freiberger said, will not be willing to approve what the company put on the table this week.
"Who is the hell is going to ratify themselves out of a job?" he said.
If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, an "ugly process" could begin, he said.. 'I don't know if the carrier will survive."
"The place would be in shambles," he said.
When asked if the IAM would consider a strike, Freiberger said that "nothing" has been ruled out. But Tom Miklavic, negotiator for the baggage handlers, admitted a strike "could happen" if the company and the union can not agree on cuts. IAM officials, he added, are discussing that possibility and examining their legal rights.
"This is new history," Miklavic said.
Miklavic expects to meet with the company again on Nov. 8.
(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.)
All kidding aside, the IAM can, and may, shut down US Airways. They may be left with no choice if US gets the "Draconian" cuts that they're insisting on. The other major carriers will be next in line at the negotiating table at the IAM's expense.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04302/402969.stm
Union says US Airways aims to cut 2,800 jobs
Thursday, October 28, 2004
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bankrupt US Airways wants to cut its maintenance staff by as many as 2,800 people and farm out the work somewhere else, according to a top negotiator with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
The proposal would eliminate US Airways' 1,000 airplane cleaners and cut another 1,800 workers elsewhere, leaving the company with about 1,700 unionized mechanics, ground support personnel and stock clerks, according to Bill Freiberger, assistant general chairman for the union's District 142.
The Pittsburgh area, where much of the company's heavy maintenance work is handled, would be hit hard. Although the company did not predict where the cuts would be made, Freiberger estimates that as many as 2,000 jobs could be lost locally.
It "would pretty much wipe out Pittsburgh," Freiberger said.
The proposed cuts, according to Freiberger, were part of a company presentation Tuesday that laid out what the airline wants from the IAM while in bankruptcy. US Airways, which is seeking $950 million in annual concessions from all unions, asked the mechanics for $220 million in annual cost savings. A day earlier, it asked the baggagehandlers, who are represented by the IAM, for about $100 million, according to union officials.
US Airways did not return calls seeking comment.
Although, the company also is asking for pension plan changes and pay cuts, the bulk of the savings it's seeking would result from the outsourcing of work currently done by union members, Freiberger said.
The IAM, which for months resisted any reopening of its contract, has little choice left but to negotiate. In less than three weeks, US Airways will ask a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge to throw out the IAM's collective bargaining agreements absent a consensual deal. It is promising to do the same with the flight attendants and passenger service agents -- two other unions that have yet to reach new cost-cutting pacts. Any new contract would supersede a four-month, 21 percent pay cut imposed by the bankruptcy judge on Oct. 8.
At this point, resisting the negotiating process "can be used against you," Freiberger said.
The judge, according to bankruptcy law, is more likely to abrogate contracts if a union refuses to accept a company cost-cutting proposal "without good cause."
"You really have no choice," Freiberger said.
But the IAM is still vowing to put up a fight. It will try to meet the company's cost-cutting targets, but without the large number of job cuts outlined by the company Tuesday. Rank-and-file members, Freiberger said, will not be willing to approve what the company put on the table this week.
"Who is the hell is going to ratify themselves out of a job?" he said.
If the two sides cannot reach an agreement, an "ugly process" could begin, he said.. 'I don't know if the carrier will survive."
"The place would be in shambles," he said.
When asked if the IAM would consider a strike, Freiberger said that "nothing" has been ruled out. But Tom Miklavic, negotiator for the baggage handlers, admitted a strike "could happen" if the company and the union can not agree on cuts. IAM officials, he added, are discussing that possibility and examining their legal rights.
"This is new history," Miklavic said.
Miklavic expects to meet with the company again on Nov. 8.
(Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at dfitzpatrick@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1752.)