Make No Mistake About UAL Corporation’s Employee “Climate” Survey.

Ual's corporation intends to pour sunshine on your work life? It's as likely as ual's intent to rain on glenn tilton’s parade of cold cash bonuses. In fact, surveying employees and bonusing tilton are connected. How so underscores an urgent need in America to change the way global business treats Middle Class Workers compared to global executives.

The Near Sighted View: Tilton and cronies hire an outside company to document employee DIS-interest. Why? It becomes a ual corporation bargaining chip in 2009, which the corporation will use in bad faith. Union lawyers and negotiators will say to tilton, for example, “more pay” and skewed survey results will hypothetically refute that claim. Tilton wins, you lose, and what’s worse? These same executive morons use their “win” to justify still more bonuses for their “performance.” Wall Street loves this.

There Are Two “Best” Responses To The ual Employee Climate Survey. 1) No response at all. Just ignore the damn thing. If you did so for whatever reason, good for you. 2) If you feel compulsion to respond, as did your Sister McBitter, the other best response is “Strongly Disagree” with anything and everything that remotely casts a ray of sunshine on the corporation.

The Macro View: Tax payers and Middle Class Workers who make up the back bone of the United States of America, find ourselves in a global business environment that actively supports our own demise. Some say corporate governance exceeds the power and scope of our democratically elected governance. True or not, we have an obligation coupled with an opportunity to vote our pocketbooks. You don’t need Sister McBitter to tell you what to do. Pro-corporation Senators, Congresspersons, Presidents, Supreme Court Justices and legislation are yesterday ... unless we vote for more of the same.

Sister Gets Down To Dirt. Here are her responses in the “comments” section of ual’s climate survey.

"What one or two things would help you to deliver a better customer experience?" Well, Geee Wizz, Sister would:

Divert funds from executive pay packages to core business needs such as cleaning filthy airplanes, replacing worn out seats and broken "entertainment" devices, providing employees with reliable equipment ... Ual's immoral executives know the list. Secondly, I would end the war on employees started and continued by executive management. Thirdly, I would quit outsourcing every imaginable job, except executive jobs which should be the first to go. Fourthly, I would equate "differentiated passenger experience" with "finger-lickin' good chicken." The old slogan turns a negative (greasy chicken) into something marketable. The differentiated experience just dresses up a crappy product.

What one or two things would make United a better place to work?

Restore and increase pay stolen from Workers in tilton's bankruptcy. Restore benefits and reduce the cost. Add BP-1 first class seats on an annual basis, similar to what the robber baron executives get. Return the stolen pension funds in full with interest. Less pay for clueless executive bozos that are steering United over a cliff. Eliminate glenn tilton's culture of arrogance.

Use this space to add detail and/or clarification to any of your answers on this survey.

Employees are smarter than ual's corporation thinks. Most Workers I talk to, for example, understand intuitively that this outsourced survey has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with improving working conditions at United. Rather, it is yet another tool commissioned by tilton and his cronies to extract information that will be used against us in upcoming contract negotiations. There's a growing, although vague understanding among Employees that the value of shares of ual stock need to be negatively impacted by things we do (or don't do) everyday. There is a growing preparedness to strike the company if called upon to do so, and to force ual executives to lose their precious share value. These conditions do not have to exist, but do at the willful choice of ual executives.

Local Appoints Recording Secretary, Conductor-Sentinel

Local 1782 welcomes Pat Nolan to the position of Recording Secretary, vacated by Lissette Irrizarry who is pursuing academic opportunities. Pat is stepping into an intense learning period in her new position due to IAM District and National elections which have Department of Labor compliance requirements.

Replacing Pat as Conductor-Sentinel is Marie Ann Tirona. In San Francisco Marie is one of the most well liked and intelligent Customer Service Representatives at United Airlines. Local 1782 is sincerely excited about having both of these individuals in their new union positions. Welcome Pat and Marie.

Merger Drum Beats Off Again

This story is getting older than the oldest profession, except there’s always a new kink. When Sister McBitter looks for Korporate Kink, she need look no further than ual.

Here's the twist.

Corporations fear time is running out in Washington to conduct anti-worker, anti-customer mergers.

Completely unchanged is the idiocy of airline mergers, and executive greed underlying the whole thing. Quoted recently in the Houston Chronicle, Michael Boyd of the airline analyst Boyd Group said, “consolidation is being pushed by Wall Street so big investors can make money ... The reality is that this is business. And business realities are not always consumer-friendly."

They’re not indeed. How on earth did global business devolve to this, and, Sister McBitter wants to know, "what’s on your voting card?"

Sister Spoke. You Listened. Good Work.

In her previous “Hot Off The Skillet Dish,” Sister McBitter observed “On the job stress is out of control, and corporations like ual don’t give a damn.” She went on to advise her loyal readers that FMLA and sick time are the answer, --but-- do it right.

Guess what? You applied for FMLA in record numbers, and you deserve congratulations. You took control of your own lives in a positive way. More broadly, you took a small step that is truly patriotic. By standing up to corporate robbers, one little customer service agent at a time, you are sending a message: “Enough Is Enough.” Labor built America --not corporate bozos; Labor remains America’s backbone, and if this great country is to get back on its feet - Respect for labor must be restored. It starts with each one of us refusing to be abused by the glenn tiltons of the world for even one more day. To everyone who is joining Sister McBitter in her fight in the spirit of patriotism, your Sister sends you her sincere love.

February Meeting To Nominate Contract Negotiators - Wednesday, Feb. 6.

The next union meeting on the first Wednesday is important. Put this in the Last-But-Not-Least category.

Local 1782 Members like yourself will be making nominations for the District Lodge slate. The slate you elect will represent you at the bargaining table for Contract 2009. The slate also will be directly responsible for appointing AGC’s, which are the union higher-up’s that represent you in the event of a serious problem at work. The slate will have other important impacts on your life as well.

Would you like to have a voice? It’s easier than it may seem to the inexperienced. Just arrange your time so that you’re free to attend an Open Meeting of Membership on Wednesday, February 6 at 4:00 P.M. at Union Hall.

Union Hall is located at 1511 Rollins Road, Burlingame, CA. From San Francisco, SFO and the North Bay, get here by taking the first exit off Route 101 south of SFO onto Millbrae Avenue, Burlingame, and the first left on Rollins. If you are driving from the South Bay, take the Broadway Avenue exit in Burlingame, and then turn right at the end of the ramp on Rollins. Sister McBitter hopes to see you there. Snacks and beverages are served afterwards.