Nope, he hasn't done a thing to offend me. My other half works for MS and the pay and benefits are outstanding. We don't pay a dime for benefits, no co-pay, no nothing, for a family plan, and they even throw in a $250K life insurance policy for me. They treat their employees right, which is probably why Bill G has only 38 billion in the bank instead of 110 billion like the Waltons. Poor Bill, huh? But, somehow, he manages to get by.

38% -- Back to remedial math for you!

I don't care if he craps golden poops, he is not worth 3000 plus precent more than a mechanic. And yes, the market will determine the success or failure and I will do my part, while lemmings support driving down American wages so Anderson can afford a houseboy to catch his golden poops as they fall out his hind end.

I generally think of FT as a "priviledged elite" section of society. I mean, even with $200 RT transcons, how many Americans have the kind of discretionary income to fly enough to make elite status. But it seems like most of you are spending well over that each year on tix. Out of pocket or paid by your employer, you're still awfully well off (if your employer can afford to buy you tickets like that, you must be getting paid something worth them spending like that). Therefore, I submit that the majority of FTers are not blue-collar workers and have little right to chastize mechanics for wanting their fair share. How many of you climed and scraped your way up the corporate ladder? I assume none of you will say it all came easy and you had to work to be in the position you're in. I salute you. That's the American spirit. But these mechs have done the same thing, they just happen to be unionized. Their employer is looking to squeeze every last dime from them that they can and they're using what's at their disposal to fight back (the union). I work in IT. I know all about outsourcing. I know all about losing your job to a lower paid xyz. If people who lost their job or were outsourced happened to belong to a union, would you reject your union's attempt to protect your job? Would you willingly be laid off if you had someone their to look out for you? I'd think not, I'd think you'd use what's available to you.

You all seem to think the union is trying to unfairly squeeze the company. Maybe that was often times the case way back when in your high school history books, but I don't think that's what's going on here. I think a lot of this reaction in this thread is rooted with a general anti-union/anti-company feeling that I think many of the "privilidged elite" here on FT have as part of their basic personality. Perhaps i'm wrong, and I apolozige if I unfairly pidgeon-hole any of you into this category, but your posts all seem to follow these "party lines".

Most of the mechanics can't afford the type of flying that I think a lot of us do for leisure, if it weren't for their travel benefits.

I know my general sentiment about this situation is greatly outnumbered here, but I just wanted to voice my opinion so that people know that not everyone on FT is so gung-ho about bashing the mechanic's desire to fight for what they think is right.

There has been a brief mechanical delay.

I think you're right. Many elitists are always happy to crap on workers because they have a "I got mine, screw you" mentality. Nor are their bulbs bright enough to realize that they drive down their own wages eventually when they support driving down others.

Some of us, however, haven't forgotten what it is like to have to scrap for a living, no matter how well off we are now.

Wouldn't it be nice -- and appropriate -- for a civil discussion to ensue here.

Many years ago I recall a grade school principal saying, "There are three sides to every story. Your side, my side and the right side."

(Of course, in the real world there may be more than three sides!)

The labor dispute between NW and the Mechanics Union is complicated because there are valid competing interests and, unfortunately, neither side really has clean hands.

NW needs to reduce costs and overhead. This is a given. Unfortunately, NW has yet to collaborate with its entire workforce and even customers on how to make that happen. (By contrast, AA has collaborated with workers to come up with cost savings.) This is especially peculiar since there are three labor representatives on the NW Board of Directors which suggests that NW's board may be fairly week in terms of corporate governance.

It would be easier to embrace NW's position if the airline was up front, honest and inclusive. It hasn't been.

For the union's part, there is sentiment that it is being unrealistic, but yet the numbers suggest that they were willing to make concessions. Some of what NW sought no union would ever agree to. Some numbers I read indicate that NW wanted to go below the post-bankruptcy cuts approved at UA. There are also questions as to whether NW really intended to negotiate in good faith. Apparently the union was willing to agree to $110 million in concessions and, according to the Detroit News:

"The average Northwest mechanic wage is about $70,000. The company's request for $176 million in concessions would have amounted to about a 25 percent pay cut for mechanics who escaped job cuts. Northwest also sought 2,000 more layoffs - almost halving a workforce that is already half the size it was in 2001."

According to the union, they were willing to reduce 1500 positions and offered $110 million in concessions, which suggests they were willing to meet NW more than half way:

http://www.amfanatl.com/Pages/06_New...date_%2327.pdf

I note that when Chrysler was undergoing financial distress and needed th rebuild, Lee Iacocca went to the workers and included them as part of the solution. Here, it seems that NW has not done that nor did it give the union any asssurance about the security of the jobs for the remaining workers. Chrysler preached equality of sacrafice from the executive suites to the line workers plus promised profit sharing when the company recovered. Kind of sounds like NW's management needs to be reading a different book.

My comapny has had voluntary paycuts in the past. And 99% of the people took those cuts even though there was no retribution to those who didn't.

The mechanics have every right to fight for what they think is right. Thank the Lord that we live in a society where we all have that opportunity. The real question, however, is whether they are making the correct decision based on the economic realities of the situation. The choice basically came down to 50% of the jobs at 75% of the salary or 0% of the jobs at $0 salary. On that basis, it sure seems they made the incorrect decision.

Yep, I pretty much quit flying them around the time they used govt bailout money to give their execs huge bonuses in 2002. Tried them again this year and flew about 22K miles as of last Thurs (3 trancons and few here and there short hauls), chiefly because AS pissed me off. I typically fly about 150K miles a year, much of it with AA, who I think I will stick with and get EXP this year. My company spends about $30-40K a yr on airline travel. My employees will also not be flying NW until they get their management act together.

And yes, I think the slowdowns are stupid. I do however agree with the strike and will not cross the picket line.

Exactly my point. Please help educate me on why it's ok to take both sides of an issue when they fit your point of view? It's ok to own a Honda and support union busting but not ok to fly NWA?

So I'll take that to mean you aren't willing to put your money where your mouth is and tell your boss you would like him to decrease your salary even more. NWA mechanics have taken pay cuts in the past as well (while management was giving themselves bonuses). Tell your boss that you'd like him to take 25% of your pay and give himself a nice bonus with it. Do that first thing Monday morning, okay?

I would not cross a picket line either. But it may be Bye Bye NWA, like Bye Bye Eastern. It is difficult for an airline to survive in the face of rising fuel prices after or during a strike.

Short sighted? Wow....let's put up the protectionist walls again, that'll create the country you so long for

They did, that was NWA's opening offer...the mechanices REFUSED to cut an equal cut