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Petition to Eva Air Management to begin talks with FA Union

Petition to Eva Air Management to begin talks with FA Union

Old Jun 22, 2019, 8:18 am
  #1  
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Thumbs up Petition to Eva Air Management to begin talks with FA Union

Hello Fellow Flyers,
I created a page on facebook in hopes to collect signatures to petition Eva Air Management to begin talks with the Flight Attendant Union regarding the strike. The strike has been going on for 3 days, and EVA Air Management refused to continue negotiation, and instead, is suing the union. We all know Eva Air cares about their Infinity Mileagelands members the most, so I kindly invite you to go to facebook and search event "無限萬哩遊星空聯盟會員 請願長榮回應空服罷工訴求 Petition of EVA Air members for Strikes"

Dear Eva Air Infinity Mileagelands and Star Alliance Members, do you remember the great care you were given during your previous Eva Air flights? Among all the employees of an airline, we spend the most time with cabin crews. I remember there was once that I ran to the boarding gate to catch a flight. As I boarded the flight, an EVA Air crew handed me some paper towels because she saw that my forehead was completely sweaty. It is these amazing cabin crews that make a difference to our travel experiences. As you know, the cabin crews are going through a strike right now, and being Eva Air management's most valued customers, it is our turn to give back to these crews. I kindly invite you to leave a message below with your Eva Air membership number or Other Star Alliance membership number, if you agree that "Eva Air management shall actively negotiate with the Cabin Crew Union for better working conditions and compensations." If you are concerned about leak of personal information, please feel free to put 1 to 2 "x" in your membership number (for example: UA1234567890 can be input as UA123x56x890) and please do not put your name. I believe EVA Air should have enough information in its data base to locate that the petition is signed by real members. Cabin crews with better compensations will of course give us even better care in return. I kindly invite you to join this petition. Thank you!

各位親愛的長榮無限萬哩遊及星空聯盟會員,你是否記得長榮空服如何無微不至照顧我們? 我曾經在機場跑步趕登機,上飛機後滿頭大汗,長榮空服看到主動遞上紙巾讓我擦汗。我也曾經用哩程換商務艙給 父母,而長榮空服知道後希望幫父母留下好的回憶,一直主動要幫他們拍照。長榮航空最重視我們卡客以及旅客。 這是我們回報長榮空服的時候。如果你同意簽屬此請願,希望長榮航空可以盡快正視空服工會的訴求,邀請您在此 填下您的會員卡號。如有個資洩漏的疑慮,也建議您將會員號碼一至二碼打x (如卡號BR1234567890 可輸入為 BR123x56x890)。請不要寫下姓名或是其他資料。相信長榮航空已有足夠資訊查明留言為會員本人。 拿到更好待遇的空服必然會給我們更無微不至的照顧。我們飛行常客的旅程裡,跟我們相處最久的就是空服。讓我 們挺照顧我們的空服人員吧!
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 10:36 am
  #2  
 
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I am EVA Gold Member BR33xx41408x. I do appreciate FA excellent service based on my previous travel experience.

However, I don't support this strikes and also wondering if they do put their customers' right in their first place? From all statements made by the union, I do not share the same view that they use their customers' right to fight for their(FA) own benefit especially try to increase their own salary. This is not the right attitude

I do support the company to fight back the union so their customers could feel safe to continually choose Eva without worry their flight maybe cancelled due to the strikes in the future once again .

Last edited by Taten_R.O.C.; Jun 22, 2019 at 10:14 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 12:04 pm
  #3  
 
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What a joke.

Good luck collecting support.

I am BR Diamond 13xx4x8xx1 and I do appreciate the good service but I do not support the strike and hope management continues to hold their ground.

Last edited by hayzel7773; Jun 22, 2019 at 2:30 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 1:39 pm
  #4  
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I think if OP were a long-standing member / participant like some of us, his/her words might carry some weight.

I frankly don't know who is right and who is wrong on some of these issues. I am sure BR can treat the FAs better in some areas but the FAs' arguments such as "this is a hard job", "CI gets it, why can't we" and demands such as "no free ride" and "limit to 2 foreign cabin crew per flight" don't resonate with me.

FA is not an easy job but their pay is pretty good compared most Taiwanese. They know how disciplined EVA/Evergreen is like but they chose to join. Then the no-warning tactic is just way too drastic and makes it hard to get sympathies from the general public.

Union rights are tied with politics in much of the world. I just hope the members of the union know there are people with political motivation involved and don't take the company down the path of long term decline. You can already see the bonus for all the employees in the company are shrinking and disappearing by the minute...

Last edited by username; Jun 22, 2019 at 1:58 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 2:49 pm
  #5  
 
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My response is no.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 6:24 pm
  #6  
 
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Same here, no offense and not personal butI do not agree with OP. Actually, Im sad to say that although I have preferred Eva many times over the years for family trips to Taiwan and Japan(despite having status with AA), I would think twice about booking BR or CI going forward especially when with family. The strike risks are so much higher now with strong backing of the government and new labor laws. As long as such unions exist with government backing the drama may repeat every year. Even if I were to support the FAs I cannot put my family into such awful situations.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 7:09 pm
  #7  
 
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I think it's the Union that doesn't want to talk.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:07 pm
  #8  
 
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The union is on a legal strike. Unfortunately, this is the only effective bargaining option the union has left. There were 20 rounds of negotiations over two years, during which the company (IMO) refused to provide anything substantive. Nor were customers' needs taken into consideration by the company. When there is a 90% vote in favour of a collective action, then there is obviously a labour problem at the airline. IMO the historical relationship of labour negotiations at EVA has tended more towards strong arm tactics and bullying. EVA's labour relations are like a visit back to 1980's North American airline labour relationships. It took some airlines multiple crises before the unions and management realized that they needed to work together. The classic example is Air Canada. Calin Rovinescu was the outside legal counsel brought in to fix the pension problems and the chronic labour disputes. He became CEO and under his leadership, labour disputes became a thing of the past and now there are long term labour contracts in place. He mentored Benjamin Smith, President of AC, who was recruited in 2018 to run Air France -KLM and to solve the labour issues there. This is basically what EVA needs. That is why a reminder, by way of the OP's activity, is important.

I remind those lambasting the FAs, to take into account the market reality. The world we often term as "developed" is now undergoing a labour shortage and Taiwan has an unemployment rate of less than 4%. In a capitalist free market system, labour is an input commodity. When any commodity becomes scarce the cost of the input increases. In plain language, it is to be expected that wages would increase. During the last hard market, employees were told there was no money available for raises etc., and that the issue would be revisited when times were good. Well, the profitability of the company has increased over the past few years and that profit has certainly not been shared with those who made it possible.

Another important reason why EVA customers should care, is that EVA management is looking to hire foreign labour to work onboard the aircraft. This is reprehensible, Would Americans tolerate a US carrier hiring cheap workers from Honduras? Would Canadians accept cheap Haitian contract FAs? The Japanese would not accept the use of cheap filipino contract FAs, why then should EVA customers be expected to embrace hiring of cheap labour for FA positions?

EVA's FAs may not be perfect, but they merit better treatment from their employer.
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:24 pm
  #9  
 
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Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer
The union is on a legal strike. Unfortunately, this is the only effective bargaining option the union has left. There were 20 rounds of negotiations over two years, during which the company (IMO) refused to provide anything substantive. Nor were customers' needs taken into consideration by the company. When there is a 90% vote in favour of a collective action, then there is obviously a labour problem at the airline. IMO the historical relationship of labour negotiations at EVA has tended more towards strong arm tactics and bullying. EVA's labour relations are like a visit back to 1980's North American airline labour relationships. It took some airlines multiple crises before the unions and management realized that they needed to work together. The classic example is Air Canada. Calin Rovinescu was the outside legal counsel brought in to fix the pension problems and the chronic labour disputes. He became CEO and under his leadership, labour disputes became a thing of the past and now there are long term labour contracts in place. He mentored Benjamin Smith, President of AC, who was recruited in 2018 to run Air France -KLM and to solve the labour issues there. This is basically what EVA needs. That is why a reminder, by way of the OP's activity, is important.

I remind those lambasting the FAs, to take into account the market reality. The world we often term as "developed" is now undergoing a labour shortage and Taiwan has an unemployment rate of less than 4%. In a capitalist free market system, labour is an input commodity. When any commodity becomes scarce the cost of the input increases. In plain language, it is to be expected that wages would increase. During the last hard market, employees were told there was no money available for raises etc., and that the issue would be revisited when times were good. Well, the profitability of the company has increased over the past few years and that profit has certainly not been shared with those who made it possible.

Another important reason why EVA customers should care, is that EVA management is looking to hire foreign labour to work onboard the aircraft. This is reprehensible, Would Americans tolerate a US carrier hiring cheap workers from Honduras? Would Canadians accept cheap Haitian contract FAs? The Japanese would not accept the use of cheap filipino contract FAs, why then should EVA customers be expected to embrace hiring of cheap labour for FA positions?

EVA's FAs may not be perfect, but they merit better treatment from their employer.

You clearly did not avail yourself to the updates during their 20 negotiations and are just blinded because it's a union.

Throughout the 20 negotiations, BR has promised a minimum-60 hour work/month, axed the 3-day SFO trip, allowed the union to join the dispatching decisions on bad weather days (typhoons, earthquakes etc.), changed their vacation policy, changed their annual leave policy, invested in a million-dollar intranet for FA's to apply for vacation/leave, removed their previously strict medical leave requirements, and increased per-diem from the old NT60 to NT90. That's just to name a few things they've done throughout those negotiations. So no, they did provide something substantive. The only demands the union has kept up through 20 negotiations is the NT150 per diem and the 2x pay on holidays. Everything else has only come up in the last 6 months. The company has made itself clear that it wants to know where the NT150 calculation is coming from, and so does the government/media. However, the FA's could not come up with a reason and simply cite "record profits and our fellow CI FA has it" as their reason.

Funny thing about your "there's a shortage" is Eva hasn't hired in over a year already and let their FA numbers drop by over 1000. The labor market supply for FA's is still massive, with the last recruitment event having an acceptance percentage of just 3%. Additionally, BR HAS raised the wages for flight attendants. The base pay, from 2016 and beyond, has gone up around 20%! And monthly bonuses have been held steady at 4 months, which is pretty generous considering they were previously known for giving just 1 or 2 months base pay, not overall salary. The per-diem has increased from NT60 to NT90 as well and flight pay has also gone up ~8%. This is all reflected in BR's CSR and annual reports.

Secondly, Eva has not run off to hire foreign FAs. Their foreign FA count has actually decreased by around 200 since they first started hiring foreigners. The Thai, Japanese, and Vietnamese (and also Korean but they have been axed) crew were hired as part of the airline's strategy to go international back in the late 2000s. The union introduced the foreigner x2 limit when they ended regular negotiations because they "feared" the airline would run overseas for candidates. Yet there is no proof of that and here you are saying Eva is outsourcing and blah blah blah. The best part is the foreign FA is actually paid the same or more (Japanese FA's get more when you convert the salary). Classic union tactic.

You say the strike is legal, but many say it isn't. The labor director demand makes it illegal (and not just BR is saying this, lots of law professors and scholars are as well). We will have to let the courts decide that one.

Last edited by hayzel7773; Jun 22, 2019 at 11:30 pm
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:30 pm
  #10  
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Originally Posted by Transpacificflyer
...
I remind those lambasting the FAs, to take into account the market reality. The world we often term as "developed" is now undergoing a labour shortage and Taiwan has an unemployment rate of less than 4%. In a capitalist free market system, labour is an input commodity. When any commodity becomes scarce the cost of the input increases. In plain language, it is to be expected that wages would increase. During the last hard market, employees were told there was no money available for raises etc., and that the issue would be revisited when times were good. Well, the profitability of the company has increased over the past few years and that profit has certainly not been shared with those who made it possible.

Another important reason why EVA customers should care, is that EVA management is looking to hire foreign labour to work onboard the aircraft. This is reprehensible, Would Americans tolerate a US carrier hiring cheap workers from Honduras? Would Canadians accept cheap Haitian contract FAs? The Japanese would not accept the use of cheap filipino contract FAs, why then should EVA customers be expected to embrace hiring of cheap labour for FA positions?...
You obviously know a lot of these things than I do and as I said, I am sure BR is not 100% in the right and can do better. The company is disciplined and has tight control on everything. So, this is like a rebellion and has to be eliminated Imagine other groups in EVA and Evergreen start doing the same thing!

People in Taiwan beat down the airlines' doors to become FAs. So, BR does not have to worry about supply - even if they just hire Taiwanese FAs.

As far as the internationalization of FAs... Unlike the US carriers where most of the traffic is domestic, most of BR's flights are international and I think a large percentage of passengers on BR are no longer Taiwanese or even speak Chinese / Taiwanese.

Taiwan is full of foreign labor already and, given the low birth rate, it has to be more open to people coming in. I think the Taiwanese are used to foreign labor (whether by visa or by marriage) everywhere and are generally welcoming [but with a hint of snobbishness and discrimination]. What I would like to see is the foreign FAs get the same opportunities as local FAs IF they are as proficient in their work and language skills. Do they now?

On the subject of opportunities and supply/demand, how about male FAs?
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Old Jun 22, 2019, 11:32 pm
  #11  
 
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Originally Posted by username
You obviously know a lot of these things than I do and as I said, I am sure BR is not 100% in the right and can do better. The company is disciplined and has tight control on everything. So, this is like a rebellion and has to be eliminated Imagine other groups in EVA and Evergreen start doing the same thing!

People in Taiwan beat down the airlines' doors to become FAs. So, BR does not have to worry about supply - even if they just hire Taiwanese FAs.

As far as the internationalization of FAs... Unlike the US carriers where most of the traffic is domestic, most of BR's flights are international and I think a large percentage of passengers on BR are no longer Taiwanese or even speak Chinese / Taiwanese.

Taiwan is full of foreign labor already and, given the low birth rate, it has to be more open to people coming in. I think the Taiwanese are used to foreign labor (whether by visa or by marriage) everywhere and are generally welcoming [but with a hint of snobbishness and discrimination]. What I would like to see is the foreign FAs get the same opportunities as local FAs IF they are as proficient in their work and language skills. Do they now?

On the subject of opportunities and supply/demand, how about male FAs?
Foreign FA's do not get to become CP because they can't speak mandarin. DP is the farthest they can get and many quit before because they have to live away from home (even more so than the locals).
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Old Jun 23, 2019, 6:13 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by hayzel7773
What a joke.

Good luck collecting support.

I am BR Diamond 13xx4x8xx1 and I do appreciate the good service but I do not support the strike and hope management continues to hold their ground.
+1
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Old Jun 23, 2019, 6:22 am
  #13  
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In fact, USA carriers do hire "cheap" foreign labor as FAs. DL (and before that PMNW) have used Asian FAs on TPAC and intraAsian routes for at least three decades and moreover, the fraction of foreign FAs appears to be increasing.

BTW, does the OP work as a FA or as an employee of the union? He/she doesn't appear to be an EVA FFer.
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Old Jun 23, 2019, 6:30 am
  #14  
 
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
In fact, USA carriers do hire "cheap" foreign labor as FAs. DL (and before that PMNW) have used Asian FAs on TPAC and intraAsian routes for at least three decades and moreover, the fraction of foreign FAs appears to be increasing.

BTW, does the OP work as a FA or as an employee of the union? He/she doesn't appear to be an EVA FFer.
My thoughts exactly. OPyou need to post more if you want us to really listen to what you say. At least reply to this thread you started! Yes, we are argumentative and take ourselves too seriously lately, but we do appreciate the conversation.
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Old Jun 23, 2019, 9:56 am
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Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
In fact, USA carriers do hire "cheap" foreign labor as FAs. DL (and before that PMNW) have used Asian FAs on TPAC and intraAsian routes for at least three decades and moreover, the fraction of foreign FAs appears to be increasing.

BTW, does the OP work as a FA or as an employee of the union? He/she doesn't appear to be an EVA FFer.
The issue of foreign workers at US carriers was hashed out in bloody negotiations and court battles in the 1990s resulting in caps/restrictions that have lasted to this day. See the recent spate of articles about DYs attempts to circumvent US laws in this regard and AFA pushback. In any event, all the FAs join the same union so they are paid according to the same union contracts.
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