UAL ALPA letter to Tilton
05-30-2007, 03:25 PM
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Da Man
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
Position: DC-10 F/O
Posts: 436
UAL ALPA letter to Tilton
Head of United pilots union wants contracts reopened; warns of 'deteriorating'' labor relations
By James P. Miller
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 30, 2007, 1:16 PM CDT
The head of United Airlines' unionized pilots, who is also a member of the board of directors at United parent UAL Corp., said that UAL Chief Executive Glenn Tilton should open negotiations for new labor contracts in August, with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 -- the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11."
United's existing contracts with pilots and others don't expire until late 2009, and re-opening talks now would mark a major concession on the part of UAL management.
The request came in a scathing letter dated Tuesday by pilot Mark Bathurst, who is head of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and is ALPA's representative on UAL's board. The letter expressed "deep concern'' about the company's future and "the deteriorating relationship between the management and employees.''
A copy of the letter was obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
United, Bathurst tells Tilton bluntly, is "not in a good place." But despite its troubles, he contends with surprisingly frank language, company officials appear content to let UAL remain stuck in a "fog of mediocrity."
A representative from United couldn't immediately be reached.
The carrier's profitability lags that of most major rivals, the pilot's union official contends, and United consistently ranks at or near the bottom of airline-quality surveys conducted by outside parties.
"We are the only network carrier without a new aircraft order and, seemingly, without a vision for the future," Bathurst contends. What's more, labor relations "are at their lowest point in years and getting worse."
The letter, with its confrontational tone, isn't a complete surprise: Earlier this month, about 400 United pilots, flight attendants and mechanics marched outside the site of the company's annual meeting, protesting what they say is a management team that is overpaid and out of touch with workers.
At the meeting, one pilot pressed Tilton about what she said are morale problems and worker stress caused by his lean staffing strategy, and told the CEO "employees are no longer behind you."
The workers' position is that they made big sacrifices -- by accepting pay cuts and workforce reductions -- during the troubled period when United was struggling to remain a viable company.
The big dropoff in air travel following the 9/11 attacks, combined with continued inroads by low-cost rivals such as Southwest Airlines, caused a number of major carriers, including United, to temporarily seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Industry conditions have improved over the past couple years, and UAL emerged from bankruptcy fifteen months ago.
United workers were outraged to learn in the spring that Tilton had last year been granted 545,000 shares of UAL stock, valued at about $20 million, as a reward for his stewardship of the company during its tough years. The shares vest over four years.
A number of major carriers, including Delta Air and Northwest Airlines, are similarly finding that the accommodative "we're-all-in-this-together" atmosphere that prevailed between labor and management earlier is dissipating now that the immediate dangers are past.
In September, 2002, Bathurst says to Tilton in his letter, "You arrived to save this company from a jumble of failed programs and failed managers.
"'Shared sacrifice' became your mantra,'" the pilot/director tells the former Texaco Inc CEO. "We sacrificed - we provided you with the tools you asked for -- so you could change our company."
But now, Bathurst tells CEO Tilton, United continues to struggle.
"Why?" he asks rhetorically.
"Why do American and Continental do a better job than United at managing revenue? Why do American's non-labor costs remain lower than ours? Why is Delta expanding its international reach every month while we can't make our international operations work as well as others? ... It seems to many employees that management has given up -- that they are content to muddle along in the middle of the pack, collecting their stock and limping through the next several years in a fog of mediocrity."
United, the director tells Tilton, has "reached a crossroads." As CEO, he continues, "You can either take bold, dramatic steps now to reverse the decline or stand by and watch things continue to deteriorate."
Bathurst winds up his letter by suggesting that Tilton listen to the concerns of United's workers. "Engage us constructively," he urges.
Second, he tells the company's top executive, "demand a management team that can get the job done." In comparison to rival airlines, he asserts, United's management team has been an underperformer.
Finally, he suggests that Tilton should open negotiations for new labor contracts in August, with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 -- the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11."
United's existing contracts with pilots and others don't expire until late 2009, and re-opening talks now would mark a major concession on the part of UAL management.
By James P. Miller
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 30, 2007, 1:16 PM CDT
The head of United Airlines' unionized pilots, who is also a member of the board of directors at United parent UAL Corp., said that UAL Chief Executive Glenn Tilton should open negotiations for new labor contracts in August, with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 -- the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11."
United's existing contracts with pilots and others don't expire until late 2009, and re-opening talks now would mark a major concession on the part of UAL management.
The request came in a scathing letter dated Tuesday by pilot Mark Bathurst, who is head of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and is ALPA's representative on UAL's board. The letter expressed "deep concern'' about the company's future and "the deteriorating relationship between the management and employees.''
A copy of the letter was obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
United, Bathurst tells Tilton bluntly, is "not in a good place." But despite its troubles, he contends with surprisingly frank language, company officials appear content to let UAL remain stuck in a "fog of mediocrity."
A representative from United couldn't immediately be reached.
The carrier's profitability lags that of most major rivals, the pilot's union official contends, and United consistently ranks at or near the bottom of airline-quality surveys conducted by outside parties.
"We are the only network carrier without a new aircraft order and, seemingly, without a vision for the future," Bathurst contends. What's more, labor relations "are at their lowest point in years and getting worse."
The letter, with its confrontational tone, isn't a complete surprise: Earlier this month, about 400 United pilots, flight attendants and mechanics marched outside the site of the company's annual meeting, protesting what they say is a management team that is overpaid and out of touch with workers.
At the meeting, one pilot pressed Tilton about what she said are morale problems and worker stress caused by his lean staffing strategy, and told the CEO "employees are no longer behind you."
The workers' position is that they made big sacrifices -- by accepting pay cuts and workforce reductions -- during the troubled period when United was struggling to remain a viable company.
The big dropoff in air travel following the 9/11 attacks, combined with continued inroads by low-cost rivals such as Southwest Airlines, caused a number of major carriers, including United, to temporarily seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Industry conditions have improved over the past couple years, and UAL emerged from bankruptcy fifteen months ago.
United workers were outraged to learn in the spring that Tilton had last year been granted 545,000 shares of UAL stock, valued at about $20 million, as a reward for his stewardship of the company during its tough years. The shares vest over four years.
A number of major carriers, including Delta Air and Northwest Airlines, are similarly finding that the accommodative "we're-all-in-this-together" atmosphere that prevailed between labor and management earlier is dissipating now that the immediate dangers are past.
In September, 2002, Bathurst says to Tilton in his letter, "You arrived to save this company from a jumble of failed programs and failed managers.
"'Shared sacrifice' became your mantra,'" the pilot/director tells the former Texaco Inc CEO. "We sacrificed - we provided you with the tools you asked for -- so you could change our company."
But now, Bathurst tells CEO Tilton, United continues to struggle.
"Why?" he asks rhetorically.
"Why do American and Continental do a better job than United at managing revenue? Why do American's non-labor costs remain lower than ours? Why is Delta expanding its international reach every month while we can't make our international operations work as well as others? ... It seems to many employees that management has given up -- that they are content to muddle along in the middle of the pack, collecting their stock and limping through the next several years in a fog of mediocrity."
United, the director tells Tilton, has "reached a crossroads." As CEO, he continues, "You can either take bold, dramatic steps now to reverse the decline or stand by and watch things continue to deteriorate."
Bathurst winds up his letter by suggesting that Tilton listen to the concerns of United's workers. "Engage us constructively," he urges.
Second, he tells the company's top executive, "demand a management team that can get the job done." In comparison to rival airlines, he asserts, United's management team has been an underperformer.
Finally, he suggests that Tilton should open negotiations for new labor contracts in August, with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 -- the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11."
United's existing contracts with pilots and others don't expire until late 2009, and re-opening talks now would mark a major concession on the part of UAL management.
05-30-2007, 03:27 PM
#2
Da Man
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Joined APC: Feb 2005
Position: DC-10 F/O
Posts: 436
Mr. Glenn Tilton
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
United Airlines
77 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
Dear Glenn:
As Chairman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, I write to express my deep concern about the future of our company and the deteriorating relationship between the management and employees of United Airlines.
In September of 2002, you arrived to save this company from a jumble of failed programs and failed managers. Over the next four years, you said to anyone and everyone: “Things cannot stay the same. We all have to sacrifice. We need the tools to change. We have to change. We have to do better and get better at everything we do.” The rules of engagement in bankruptcy gave the employees little choice in the matter. We sacrificed – we provided you with the tools you asked for – so you could change our company. “Shared sacrifice” became your mantra.
Four and half years later, and 15 months out of bankruptcy, where are we now? We are not in a good place. Let’s face it: United currently lags behind its peers by most measures. Our operating margin is among the worst of the network carriers. Our operating costs are still not where they should be – despite the lowest-cost labor contracts in the network industry. Our revenue performance last quarter was unacceptable. We are the only network carrier without a new aircraft order and, seemingly, without a vision for the future. United consistently ranks at or near the bottom of airline quality surveys by institutions such as the University of Michigan. To compound matters, labor relations are at their lowest point in years and getting worse.
Why? Why do American and Continental do a better job than United at managing revenue? Why do American’s non-labor costs remain lower than ours? Why is Delta expanding its international reach every month while we can’t make our international operations work as well as others? Why are we reducing mainline domestic flying – and shifting United routes to United Express or code share partners such as Aloha – while our competitors are enhancing their domestic systems? Why are we hearing rumors concerning the sale of aircraft to Aloha (if you believe Aloha’s Chief Executive Officer) when we’ve heard nothing from United? What happened to our ability to compete in the marketplace with United pilots flying United aircraft? It seems to many employees that management has given up -- that they are content to muddle along in the middle of the pack, collecting their stock and limping through the next several years in a fog of mediocrity.
From where the pilots sit, this growing sense of lost opportunity resonates throughout every aspect of the company – every employee conversation, every flight and every day. The employee survey results reported on Skynet, as bad as they were, are just the tip of the iceberg. The hundreds of employees, not just pilots, who showed up at the UAL shareholder meeting to demonstrate their anger with management were not symptomatic of a “vocal minority.” They are fully representative of their peers across employee groups and divisions. Most United employees are gravitating toward a deeply cynical view of management: You demanded sacrifice, and we gave it. You took your reward at a level higher than other airline managements exiting from bankruptcy, and we will be left with what--the mess?
Glenn, we have reached a crossroads, an inflection point in the lifecycle of United Airlines. You can either take bold, dramatic steps now to reverse the decline or stand by and watch things continue to deteriorate. What can you do? I have three basic suggestions:
· First, meet with the leaders of the six unions, and representatives of the salaried and management employees. Listen to our concerns. Engage us constructively. Since consolidation seems to be high on the list of the plausible, negotiate agreements that ensure cooperation and provide appropriate protections to your employees if we do have to march down the consolidation path.
· Second, demand a management team that can get the job done. When will United hold its managers accountable? American, Continental, Delta – even US Airways – have brought in managers that perform quarter after quarter. It appears that our managers do best at making excuses. The current management team has had their shot with every employee sacrifice needed to make United better. We gave you the tools you said you needed. It’s time to reassess.
· Third, open negotiations for new labor agreements on August 1, 2007 with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 – the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11. We will jointly declare that day as a new beginning for the new United. Why not? What should we be afraid of? I strongly urge you to consider the following: last week, the Chief Executive Officer of Continental Airlines reached out to the ALPA MEC Chairman at Continental and offered to talk about opening pilot contract negotiations a full 18 months ahead of the December 31, 2008 amendable date. The world did not end. To the contrary, Wall Street continues to value Continental at a 25% or better premium to United. I think Continental clearly understands labor relations in the 21st Century. Do we?
Now is the time to save our company. You came here in 2002 with the respect and goodwill of your employees. You asked us to sacrifice and we stuck by you through a terrible 39 months in Chapter 11. You said that you would change the company for the better. Employees from all divisions are looking to you for hope, any hope, that their sacrifice and sweat equity have not been for naught.
It’s not too late to respect and recognize the most important part of United Airlines: the people who, day in and day out, make our airline fly. We’ve done our part. It’s now up to you. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Captain Mark Bathurst
Chairman, UAL-MEC
Cc: UAL-MEC
United pilots
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
United Airlines
77 W. Wacker Dr.
Chicago, IL 60601
Dear Glenn:
As Chairman of the United Master Executive Council of the Air Line Pilots Association, I write to express my deep concern about the future of our company and the deteriorating relationship between the management and employees of United Airlines.
In September of 2002, you arrived to save this company from a jumble of failed programs and failed managers. Over the next four years, you said to anyone and everyone: “Things cannot stay the same. We all have to sacrifice. We need the tools to change. We have to change. We have to do better and get better at everything we do.” The rules of engagement in bankruptcy gave the employees little choice in the matter. We sacrificed – we provided you with the tools you asked for – so you could change our company. “Shared sacrifice” became your mantra.
Four and half years later, and 15 months out of bankruptcy, where are we now? We are not in a good place. Let’s face it: United currently lags behind its peers by most measures. Our operating margin is among the worst of the network carriers. Our operating costs are still not where they should be – despite the lowest-cost labor contracts in the network industry. Our revenue performance last quarter was unacceptable. We are the only network carrier without a new aircraft order and, seemingly, without a vision for the future. United consistently ranks at or near the bottom of airline quality surveys by institutions such as the University of Michigan. To compound matters, labor relations are at their lowest point in years and getting worse.
Why? Why do American and Continental do a better job than United at managing revenue? Why do American’s non-labor costs remain lower than ours? Why is Delta expanding its international reach every month while we can’t make our international operations work as well as others? Why are we reducing mainline domestic flying – and shifting United routes to United Express or code share partners such as Aloha – while our competitors are enhancing their domestic systems? Why are we hearing rumors concerning the sale of aircraft to Aloha (if you believe Aloha’s Chief Executive Officer) when we’ve heard nothing from United? What happened to our ability to compete in the marketplace with United pilots flying United aircraft? It seems to many employees that management has given up -- that they are content to muddle along in the middle of the pack, collecting their stock and limping through the next several years in a fog of mediocrity.
From where the pilots sit, this growing sense of lost opportunity resonates throughout every aspect of the company – every employee conversation, every flight and every day. The employee survey results reported on Skynet, as bad as they were, are just the tip of the iceberg. The hundreds of employees, not just pilots, who showed up at the UAL shareholder meeting to demonstrate their anger with management were not symptomatic of a “vocal minority.” They are fully representative of their peers across employee groups and divisions. Most United employees are gravitating toward a deeply cynical view of management: You demanded sacrifice, and we gave it. You took your reward at a level higher than other airline managements exiting from bankruptcy, and we will be left with what--the mess?
Glenn, we have reached a crossroads, an inflection point in the lifecycle of United Airlines. You can either take bold, dramatic steps now to reverse the decline or stand by and watch things continue to deteriorate. What can you do? I have three basic suggestions:
· First, meet with the leaders of the six unions, and representatives of the salaried and management employees. Listen to our concerns. Engage us constructively. Since consolidation seems to be high on the list of the plausible, negotiate agreements that ensure cooperation and provide appropriate protections to your employees if we do have to march down the consolidation path.
· Second, demand a management team that can get the job done. When will United hold its managers accountable? American, Continental, Delta – even US Airways – have brought in managers that perform quarter after quarter. It appears that our managers do best at making excuses. The current management team has had their shot with every employee sacrifice needed to make United better. We gave you the tools you said you needed. It’s time to reassess.
· Third, open negotiations for new labor agreements on August 1, 2007 with the goal of putting new agreements in place for every union by February 1, 2008 – the second anniversary of our emergence from Chapter 11. We will jointly declare that day as a new beginning for the new United. Why not? What should we be afraid of? I strongly urge you to consider the following: last week, the Chief Executive Officer of Continental Airlines reached out to the ALPA MEC Chairman at Continental and offered to talk about opening pilot contract negotiations a full 18 months ahead of the December 31, 2008 amendable date. The world did not end. To the contrary, Wall Street continues to value Continental at a 25% or better premium to United. I think Continental clearly understands labor relations in the 21st Century. Do we?
Now is the time to save our company. You came here in 2002 with the respect and goodwill of your employees. You asked us to sacrifice and we stuck by you through a terrible 39 months in Chapter 11. You said that you would change the company for the better. Employees from all divisions are looking to you for hope, any hope, that their sacrifice and sweat equity have not been for naught.
It’s not too late to respect and recognize the most important part of United Airlines: the people who, day in and day out, make our airline fly. We’ve done our part. It’s now up to you. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Captain Mark Bathurst
Chairman, UAL-MEC
Cc: UAL-MEC
United pilots
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