ummm yeah right. Nw losing 4 million a day profitable my ......

Definitely agree. Forcing the strike, going into bankrupcy, things like that are calculated risk decisions. Killing the FF program is suicide. That is the last thing they'll do as they shut down, IMHO

Good for you OP. Smart modern 2005 thinking. And be sure to send a big check to the AMFA.

MisterNice

I don't belong to any union. I own a business that realizes that the people who work for it are our greatest asset and deserve to be treated well, for their sakes AND the sake of the business.

As any student of history knows, if it weren't for unions the standard of living in this country would not be anywhere near what it is. We'd all still be working for slave wages like in the days of the robber barons. Unfortunately a lot of people aren't very good students of history and forget that. Either that, or they have a "well I got mine, too bad for you" mentality.

What would I do? It depends on what my options are! In this case, I would look to see what other airlines would pay me as a certified airline mechanic. If this appeared to be better for me than what NW is offering, I would go there and do it. If not, if no other organization in the world would pay me anywhere close to what I had been earning, I would congratulate myself on being significantly overpaid compared to the market for "over 20 years". I would have saved significant sums for my retirement over that time, as I would have been expecting something like this at least since the TWA FA strike.

In this case, NW mechanics have 3 choices:

1. To negotiate the best package they can, and accept it.

2. To take an offer from another employer.

3. To hold their breath until they turn blue.

They have chosen number 3. Past experience indicates that they will eventually accept a contract identical to, or substantially identical to the one now on the table. They will have hurt themselves substantially by foregoing a paycheck for the duration of the strike, and they will have weakened an already tottering NW materially. None of these results are in their own best interest, but temper tantrums rarely are.

They agreed to over $100 million in concessions. I admire them for saying enough is enough.

Yes. That's why so many jobs in the past 25 years have migrated from the U.S. North to the U.S. South, then to Mexico, then to Malaysia, Dominican Republic, et. al, and then to China (Dominican Republic is currently losing a couple hundred thousand textile jobs to China, they could't compete in the race to the bottom).

Where it gets interesting is that the large Chinese corporations are getting very wealthy and sophisticated, and are starting to buy up multi-nationals. In a way, that is a kind of outsourcing of management- Chinese companies will buy US and European companies and replace the overpaid Western management with cheaper Chinese management. Perhaps that's karma too

Jesus man...calm down. What benefits? Sitting in a slightly wider seat? I spend most of my time on RJs anyway. A couple of free tickets per year? I usually give them to my family. I fly NW because generally speaking they have the best schedule for my travels.

And no...no one has heard that about WN. Because it sounds like something you pulled out of your a**.

Have you ever Striked??

What you don't know is that I have supported one strike and crossed on another. Both in the aviation industry. I have been affected by 4 strikes which were not part of my work group; but, effected my position substantially i.e. Pilots strike.

The funny things is that when I went into management, I was labeled as pro-management and anti-union which is why I find your comments commical.

My position, I support an airline unions RIGHT to strike. Why? Because, the process as defined by the NLRB is unlike any other scenario in the workplace. This is the result of YEARS of failed negotiations, Federal oversight, impass and mediation. Without the ability of labor to strike, the process would be inept and the company could unilaterally impose wages and terms.

Do I support this strike?? I honestly do not believe there was a choice. If I were a mechanic, I would have authorized it as I would not be willing to see the jobs of half my co-workers lost without negotiation and hopefully some compromise.

If NWA and AMFA were willing, I believe a comromise could be reaced to retail 80% of positions, consolidate bases, reduce pay and benefits to present industry standards and contract 747 and A330 maintenance to KLM/Air France. Maybe even capitalize on a joint relationship to use some of the empty facilities that NWA is paying for since the base closing.

I am not a huge AMFA fan; but, I beleive they had little if any choice in this matter. This was a predetermined fate over two years ago when the contract expired. This is also a product of the formation of AMFA. The seperation from IAM and the bias towards PFAA has alienated the union and NWA is using this capital well. Were AMFA to have a better relationship with the other unions there would never have been a strike as NWA could not compensate for the rank and file support.

What would I do???? I would place a greater value on family and walk away. Just like I did years ago . . . .

You want to know real hysteria? Imagine your insurance contribution is cut by 50%, your pension done away with, and your boss telling you that as of tomorrow you are going to make 25% less while half of your co-workers are laid off (so you'll be doing double the work).

It's extremely easy to say "oh well, tough luck, don't be so hysterical about it" when it's not happening to you. At least for some people, apparently.

Great...they said "enough is enough". The trouble is:
1. The airline doesn't think that's enough.
2. The airline can very likely replace them and continue operations.

But I hear that McDonald's and Caribou are hiring.

Have you really heard both sides of the story?

As far as NWA goes, they employ almost twice as many mechanics as other airlines, mostly because of an aging fleet, that would have been upgraded sooner if not for 9/11.
No one wants anyone to lose jobs, but if cuts are not made then NWA may go out of business entirely and think how many jobs will be lost then.
It is a matter of a few helping the many!

As far as unions go - yes they did help with wages and safety, but when you look at the teamsters and National Union of Teachers they have done a lot more harm than good. Read this months Readers Digest on the teachers union.

It has happened to me. I found another job.

an accounting genius, I see.

Northwest Airlines, as a whole, is not profitable. certain pieces of it are. The FF program is probably their biggest profit center.

If there were no such thing as strikes option number 1 would never be a possibility. Unions are the reason why Americans (whether union workers or not at this point) don't make 50 cents an hour like workers in Mexico. Might be time to reread your history books.