Sister McBitter Gives United Airlines A Tiltonoscopy

Crain's Business Revue made available its annual list of the Chicago area's 100 highest-paid CEO's, ranked by total compensation. With an annual booty of $39 Million dollars, United’s Glenn Filthton topped the Pig Fest. In the Non-ceo category, Tilton’s fellow pigs also topped the pork pile.

While UAL executives skim over the top of the salary ladder, UAL performance barely scratches the bottom. This is not to discredit Sisters & Brothers who do their jobs well everyday under poor conditions. Rather it is to underscore the utter fallacy of UAL rhetoric claiming top pay is needed to keep and retain top executives.

39 Million? That's more than two thousand times the salary of a starting flight attendant. Let's just take the number, thirty nine million, and try to grasp that number. Here's a way of putting 39 Million in perspective.

What Does Glenn Tilton Have To Say?

"Low employee morale is only a problem with a vocal minority."
Are you a member of the Vocal Minority?

"A Vocal Minority" -- Airline Analyst Disagrees

"The hands-down winner of the 19th Century Robber Baron Award goes to United Airlines. Never has so little been rewarded with so much," said Mike Boyd, an airline analyst known for his blunt talk. Boyd is a principal with Boyd Group of Evergreen, Colo.

United Airlines June Traffic Dips; Rankings Tank

United Airlines RPM's, Revenue Passenger Miles dipped as a result of reduced capacity. Load factor reached a stifling record high of 89.1 per cent. What that means is that United Airlines is stuffing more people into its aging fleet of planes without placing any new aircraft orders to accommodate the load. Why? Glenn Tilton would prefer to put off the expense of new aircraft while conducting a delusional search for a merger partner. United is the only Big six airline not to place new aircraft orders. What is the effect on Customer Satisfaction? No surprise. Old, dirty, crowded airplanes with too little staffing has resulted in United taking the Number 18 spot in customer complaints. That's among the worst. Way to go, Glenn Tilton. Is it time for another Tiltonoscopy?

Enjoy A Little House

Greg Brown hosted classes aimed at Members who want a good home, but who feel locked out of the Bay Area housing market because of Airline salaries. The goal is to for Members to collectively purchase a small, multi unit residence. It’s a new concept for the Bay Area, although Unions engaged in similar projects back in the 1920’s. More

Member Spotlight:

Steve Sundquist (Southwest Airlines) Walking In The AIDS Walk in San Francisco

Follow This Link to visit Steve’s personal web page and help support the AIDS Walk. Mike Mancini said, “I made a donation online. Let’s put Steve well over his goal of $500.00 by each making a small donation!”

Member Spotlight:

Tip Ford, (United SFOCS) Airline Ambassadors International

Tip’s sister and brother-in-law founded this charitable group. Tip herself just got back from Thailand where a collaborative team provided bunk beds for impoverished children at the Soonthorn School in Ayuthaya, Thailand. The group’s mission on this trip was to improve the educational lives and raise the hope of young children in need.

Fighting The Workers Comp Disaster

Labor is sponsoring a legislative package to restore benefits and get injured workers back on the job. Take a minute right now to send a letter to Schwarzenegger in support of important bills, which he has already promised to veto in support of wealthy corporations.

Schwarzenegger's workers' compensation "reform" has proven to be a disaster for injured workers. Medical treatment is routinely delayed or denied. Benefits for permanently and temporarily disabled workers have been slashed and capped. Schwarzenegger rules have cut permanent disability benefits by 50% and nearly 1/3rd of injured workers that would have been considered permanently disabled now receive no benefits at all.

Meanwhile, employers are saving $9 billion a year, and insurance companies are enjoying historic profits.

IAM National Pension Fund Web Site Data

After a Member accrues 600 or more hours of credit, those credits show on the IAMNPF web site. For verification of credit earned or needed, Members can call IAMNPP at (800) 424-9608. “Verification” does not include a retirement quote over the phone. If Members are planning to retire, Members should email the request to the IAM Pension Fund at iamcontact@iamnpf.org or fax the request to (202) 857-3713, Attn: Record Dept. In the request they need to include their name, last 4 digits of their Social Security number, employer, years of service, age and what they want to do.

Recent short term glitches with the site have been reported and fixed.
 
IAM Assistant General Chair (AGC) Rachel Davis is also available for questions from Members.
 
Protecting Children at Work

To mark the World Day Against Child Labor, California Congressman Tom Lantos (Democrat, 12th District) will re-introduce legislation that will modernize America’s child labor laws and prevent employers from giving children dangerous work or keeping them on the job beyond a reasonable number of hours per week. “Our children may no longer be working in the coal mines as they were 60 years ago, but incredibly, our safety record is worse now than it was at that time, with a young person killed on the job once every five days,” Lantos says. Previously introduced legislation was defeated in republican Congresses.

Community Service--Locals Keeping The Pressure On

Local IAM leaders are grilling the San Francisco Airport Commission on labor issues including safety and compliance under “Quality Standards” ordinances. Our sister Local President Carl Finamore addressed a 7-Point letter to the Airport Commissioner as follow-up to previous meetings.

Treat It Like An Economic Epidemic

International President Tom Buffenbarger addressed the Senate Democratic Steering Committee this week and urged lawmakers to treat the nation’s manufacturing crisis like an economic epidemic.

“We cannot afford to be anesthetized by incremental improvements in one index or another,” said Buffenbarger. “Since 1999, we have lost over 43,000 manufacturing plants and more than 3.2 million good-paying American jobs. No economy can continue to absorb that kind of damage and hope to survive.”

We need tax incentives for renovating and retooling older factories. We need an alternative to college for high school graduates that provides the skills needed to compete in the global economy, and we desperately need to put a tourniquet on trade deals and tax breaks that are killing jobs and hope for so many American families.”

More YouTube

The IAM’s Machinists News Network is expanding its presence on YouTube, the massive video sharing web site. Now featuring the IAM’s latest 47 videos, the Machinists News Network on YouTube allows viewers to rate and comment on the latest news from the IAM.

United's Top Bean Counter Says Merger Still A Goal

Speaking at an elite Merrill Lynch conference, United Airlines Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace said old No. 2 remains interested in consolidation, in spite of the industry’s apparent lack of enthusiasm for it.

Your Sister McBitter took this one on in a full article several months ago, and in the Fog Report (pdf). The important thing is quite simple. Once Tilton dumps United into investor’s hands, his golden parachute opens to the tune of $36.3 Million dollars. That’s why United is for sale, with all other reasons being a minor consideration.

Eight’s Not A Magic Number, Declares Southwest

Southwest has been growing about 8 percent a year by adding planes and serving more cities, but occupancy has fallen, fuel has gone up and ticket prices are wobbly.

CEO Gary Kelly says Southwest is still a growth company, but 8 percent "is not a magic number." He said it is logical to think that "if the revenue environment is weaker perhaps we should grow slower, and that's just something that we're thinking through."

United Hires Pilots In Time For Winter Slow Season

United Airlines says it will hire up to 100 new pilots and recall more furloughed ones. This is the first time it has done so since 2001. United Airlines suffers monthly crew cancellations, especially at the end of the employee’s flying cycle. Unlike with Customer Service, the federal government regulates abuse placed on in flight crews.

Machinists Demand More FAA Oversight of Maintenance Repair Stations

Earlier this month, United dumped it’s internal safety department in order to “focus on its core business.” Hello? Safety IS it’s core business.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. today testified before the United States Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security regarding the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of foreign aircraft repair stations.

"Airlines utilize these facilities to take advantage of the low wages and lax regulations available at overseas repair stations when there are many U.S. repair facilities available and underutilized, such as the state-of-the-art Indianapolis, Indiana facility abandoned by United Airlines, one of the most advanced repair stations in the world." said Roach. "Cutting back on food, pillows and other in-flight amenities is a business decision that only inconveniences passengers, but cutting costs in aircraft maintenance has serious safety implications."

The IAM's testimony focused on the lack of FAA oversight of independent repair stations, shortage of FAA inspectors and the disparity in regulations for workers in domestic and foreign aircraft repair stations.

"Our members have seen aircraft return from independent repair facilities with the flaps rigged improperly, engine fan blades installed backwards, improperly connected ducting that resulted in pressurization problems, airspeed indicator lines disconnected, inoperable thrust reversers and over-wing exit emergency slides deactivated," said Roach. "These aircraft had all been deemed airworthy by the repair stations."

"There should be one standard for safety, security and FAA oversight at all aircraft repair facilities working on U.S. aircraft, regardless of where they are located," said Roach. "This must include equivalent standards for criminal background checks, drug and alcohol testing of workers and tightening the security at repair facilities."

The Machinists Union was the only airline employee union testifying at today's hearing. General Vice President Roach's complete testimony is available at www.goiam.org/transportation.

If You Can’t Shake Your Booty, Then Flex Your Wrists

Here’s a quick series of On-The-Job exercises to avoid wrist injury, courtesy of your Safety Committee

1) Extend your arms in front of you. Flex your hands as if pushing against a wall. Hold and count to five.
2) Make a tight fist. Think of Glenn Tilton. Scratch that. Make tight fists and bend both wrists downward. Hold and count to five.
3) Straighten your wrists and relax your fingers for a count of five.

You Know You’re Getting Old When:

You Remember Wal-Mart Being American As Apple Pie

Sam Walton made a promise that Wal-Mart would buy everything possible from America. Now, Wal-Mart's values are no longer America's values. Profit and greed have replaced patriotism and morality. ‘Buy China' has replaced ‘Buy America.' And, because of Wal-Mart, middle class American jobs are being shipped overseas. Enough is enough! Write your Member of Congress and tell him or her to stand up for America; not Wal-Mart and China.