Originally Posted by
B757200ER
Here were the furlough numbers, YOU decide:
AA Seniority List: 11,600 Pilots; 1100 furloughed (11%, most senior furloughee July '99 hire, FO)
TWA Seniority List: 2400 Pilots; 1900 furloughed (78% of list, most senior furloughee a June '88 CA)
Well? Still think it was shared equally and sacrificed fairly after 9-11?
Your second point about it happening again is false. The Bond-McCaskill bill was created, signed and passed into law because of AA/APA's greed and arrogance. It will NOT happen again.
The thing that 'ticks us off' most is APA, ALPA and AA entered into a secret agreement to subvert the integration process for their own ends. That is what ticks us off.
I understand what ticks you guys off, as I've already pointed out.
You still didn't answer my question regarding "fair" furlough numbers. You just listed a bunch of statistics.
Do you honestly think that AA pilots should have taken the brunt of the furloughs - when it was THEIR OWN AIRLINE that purchased TWA? Does that seem fair?
All I'm trying to say is this - once again - if a large profitable airline purchases a much smaller airline's assets that is close to the financial brink, it is most probable that the larger airline's employees will have more job stability/seniority than the smaller airline being purchased. Along those lines, therefore, it is not surprising that TWA employees suffered most of the furloughs - because they were bought out close to the financial brink by a much larger, more stable airline. You and your pilot group will forever deny that fact, but it will always hold true. This is the corporate world and how it works.
Regarding the Bond-McCaskill bill - all it does is prevents one union from calling all the shots, and submits the whole process to binding arbitration. But, as we've seen in the AWA/US deal, even binding arbitration leads to judgments mostly in favor of the most financially healthy airline. That is what I mean when I say it will probably happen again, even through binding arbitration - because an arbitrator will always take a "snapshot" of both airlines' financial health on the day of the merger/acquisition, and this must be taken into account when figuring job stability/seniority.
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