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Location: Alerts for 3/03/08

Discussion: Should labor get a voice in mergers?

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jimglab	Should labor get a voice in mergers? Feb 29 2008, 2:03 PM EST The Delta/Northwest merger – and others – might be in jeopardy due to pilots’ failure to agree, or to other labor groups’ outright opposition (see this week’s story). Our question: Are labor groups right when they charge that mergers usually benefit top executives, but not workers or passengers? Should labor be allowed to have a say in mergers, or should management be free to do what it believes to be in the best interests of the airline? Post your comments here. Quote & reply Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 3 2008, 4:05 PM EST I am sick and tired of AIRLINE PILOT'S Greed. The UAL pilots have conveniently forgotten that it was their slowdowns etc. that helped drive customers away and UAL into bankrupcy. UAL and other airlines won't survive if not allowed to merge. The unions have to think about the entire company they work for and not just their little corner. Foreign ownership would straighten the US Airline Industry in a hurry. Quote & reply Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 3 2008, 5:27 PM EST Letting labor groups make the management decisions is like the tail waging the dog. Pilots jobs are to fly airplanes, mechanics to fix airplanes,e tc, and managements job is to successfully and profitably run an airline. These are the people that need to make opeational and merger decisions, not pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, ramp agents or anyone else. Labor groups need to quit crying and do their jobs, and leave management do theirs. Quote & reply Post reply 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you find this valuable? Do you?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 3 2008, 9:04 PM EST They all need to work together so they should at least get a chance to weigh in. Management can go ahead and ignore them but at least include them. Yes the pilots were an obstruction I suppose. But greed? Did Glenn Tilton really deserve $15 million once UAL came out of bankruptcy? Give it back to the suffering customer. Update the flight status program. I am sick of sitting in airports wondering when or if my flight will leave. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 4 2008, 7:48 AM EST Too bad, labor does not have a voice. Rumor is a deal must be presented to DOT and DOJ by March 6, to ram-rod through Bush administration. The Congress and the unions can not stop it. The pilots can iron out seniority like America West's pilots for the next 10 years... The skids and all are greased. Second, in the old days, the stockholders interests came first, now we have self-seeking executives and unions more interested in their own survival. All the NWA labor groups took a big hit during its bankruptcy, but for the flight attendants, they got rid of two unions in the process. The stockholders got wiped out, while the executives took a token cut. The executives are taking it all now. The NWA stock went from 28 to 12. The NWA labor unions will not survive the merger either, as new votes must be taken. Who will benefit from the merger, the customers, the workers, the stockholders, the states' and the Federal coffers, or none of the above? Tax write-offs should last them 10 years or more. Interesting footnote in the NWA financial statement, on line, aircraft maintenance costs are higher due to contracting out, rather than doing it in-house. Two negatives make a positive, lets take two poorly managed companies and combine them, that should do the trick. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 4 2008, 6:53 PM EST No, labor unions are a large part of the problem. However, all events and negociations and executive payouts should be thorougly checked and re-checked by the stock-holders. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 6 2008, 10:32 AM EST "I am sick and tired of AIRLINE PILOT'S Greed. The unions have to think about the entire company they work for and not just their little corner. " Greed has nothing to do with it. Pilots on both sides have a vested interest in the newly-merged company's future, and will do everything they can to protect their seniority. Airline managers can hop-scotch from one airline to another, and usually get promoted. Pilots must start over at the bottom of the new seniority list, at the lowest pay scale and position.Many past mergers have resulted in big management bonuses while employees suffer by getting furloughed. It is right to make sure labor groups get protection, by including them in the process. If labor approves, then the subsequent merger and integration will succeed. I enjoy your articles, Jim. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 8 2008, 5:56 PM EST "Greed has nothing to do with it. Pilots on both sides have a vested interest in the newly-merged company's future, and will do everything they can to protect their seniority. Airline managers can hop-scotch from one airline to another, and usually get promoted. Pilots must start over at the bottom of the new seniority list, at the lowest pay scale and position.Many past mergers have resulted in big management bonuses while employees suffer by getting furloughed. It is right to make sure labor groups get protection, by including them in the process. If labor approves, then the subsequent merger and integration will succeed. I enjoy your articles, Jim." Greed has everything to do with it. We don't live in a perfect world and when company's merge whether it be an airline or anorther type of business things change. The Pilots are only thinking about themselves and not the customers WHO PAY THEIR SALARIES, Let the foreign airlines fly in this country and we will see good service from merged airlines like AF-KLM and Lufthansa-Swiss. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?
Anonymous	RE: Should labor get a voice in mergers? Mar 9 2008, 4:03 PM EDT Yes, they seem to be the only one's that have the same interest as the passengers. The only people that will benefit from the DL-NW merger as it stands is the executives=the greedy selfish executives. Definetely not the passengers or the loyal frequent flyers from NW. I might feel different if it was the other way around with NW being the surviror. Quote & reply Post reply Do you find this valuable?