cpamomfromtexas
cpamomfromtexas's JournalDear AMR (parasite (I mean Parent Co) of American Airlines)) Unsecured Creditors Committee
Many have seen the information I've posted on here about the bankruptcy proceedings and the rape of the people that make the company fly. Here is a letter that cannot be improved on, it is a letter to the Unsecured Creditors Committee (UCC) in Bankruptcy from the rank and file:
Dear UCC:
You trusted them. You invested your money. You expected a return ON your capital.
They lied to you. They lost your money. You now want a return OF your capital.
Welcome to the party. They have been lying to us and picking our pockets for decades. There is nothing you can tell us about AMR corporate managers that we dont already know, because we have been in a defacto marriage with these people for decades and it is now time for a divorce.
As you know by now, we (the pilots) didnt sign off on the time honored tradition of letting the investors claw back their money out of our dignity and future earnings. 13.5% of an unknown quantity, with the possibility of the malignancy responsible for the bankruptcy at the helm, along with unreasonable concessions in all areas of our quality of life and job security was not enough to get us to look past where we are. We decided, by a wide margin and against the pressure-cooker tactics by our own union, to go against all conventional wisdom and fight. Our fight is against those that lost our money, destroyed our careers, and sullied the most storied name in commercial aviation; we have no quarrel with you.
We have no quarrel with you so long as you do not seek to enrich yourselves at our expense. We can be your biggest asset in returning a great investment to you, or we can be an insurmountable hurdle to you ever seeing another dime. The choice is exclusively yours.
Pilots of American Airlines (not AMR or OneWorld) want what you want. We want the airline that hired us the premier name in commercial aviation; the leader in innovation; the most feared competitor; the categorical best airline in the world; the most reliable airline; and the first choice of the premium passenger. We want to return to what we once were the New York Yankees of airlines. We want this airline to be the best return on investment for the capital markets. In short, we want to make a lot of money for you, us, and our shareholders by being the best.
AMR corporate managers do not see it that way. They are content, even proud, to offer a product that is just good enough, while running from the competition. Accountants do not lead, nor are they visionaries. Their myopic greed has resulted in two of our fleets being grounded for improper maintenance. One wonders what other surprises will float to the surface.
They have not had any plan, other than strip-mining their employees and cheapening their operation for almost two decades. And what has it gotten us? Dirty, broken airplanes and a surly labor force. In a capital intensive, customer service industry that is a death trap and thats where your money is.
Everyone knows the only solution is to merge with US Airways. That would put us back on top and offer the premium passenger the most comprehensive network for destinations. We know it. You know it. Wall Street knows it. AMR management knows it. The difference is AMR wants it to happen after bankruptcy so they can achieve a windfall payout a payout for doing nothing more than losing your money, our pension, our shareholders equity, and our collective reputations. If they were serious about restructuring and returning your capital, they would come to you with this plan. They have not because they are only serious about enriching themselves, as other airline executives have done.
Lets be frank in our discussion. You have allowed this because you want to see if you can take us down as an easy source of recapitalization. We saw this in the so-called Last-Best-Final-Offer and handily rejected it. That isnt going to change. We wont allow our union to attempt such a sell-job again. You are not going to get your money out of the pilots in that fashion. If you want your money back, work with us. Give us the tools to charge forward in the market and rebuild the best airline in the world and we will return your money beyond what you ever expected.
If you cant use the current management to strip us to the bone, what good are they? Why let them toy with your money? Why allow the very people that lied to you and destroyed your investment the ability to get paid for it?
End this destructive conflict and join with the pilots to rid the industry of this malignancy. Listen to what the US Airways executives have to say and how they want to run an airline. You will be stakeholders in the largest network on earth, with executives that want to make it the best, and employees that can deliver on that vision.
There will be four large airlines left: American, United, Delta, and Southwest. Give us a three year contract that uses the remaining three airlines as comparators with no erosion in scope-of-flying, no demeaning or petty sick leave clauses, and a stake in the new airline commensurate with our losses, and see what 14,000 highly motivated pilots can do for you.
We didnt break this airline and we didnt lose your money. We didnt incur a $162 million fine for shoddy maintenance, and we are not responsible for the fine that is coming for the substandard maintenance on our 757s. We hired on with the airline that was the gold standard of airline maintenance and dependability. We were once proud of what we called the ON-TIME MACHINE. In 2003, we gave AMR corporate managers everything they wanted and willingly worked with what we perceived as a new management team to forge a restructured American Airlines. All was working smoothly right up to the point where AMR executives rewarded themselves for our sacrifice, taking what little profit was gleaned in a decade of $10 billion in losses. By giving AMR executives what they wanted, they destroyed the airline. They now want you to trust them as we did a decade ago. Please learn from our lesson or be doomed to repeat our mistake. We wont repeat it.
We know that capital and labor rarely find common ground in modern America. Where it does, the results are inspiring (think Southwest). You can view us as your partner, or you can view us as your adversary. The choice is yours, but you also need to know we are not going to go along with the further destruction of our careers, regardless of what the courts say we must do. That avenue is closed to you.
Sometimes opportunity knocks and sometimes it kicks down the door. This is the latter. We can view each other as our most valuable assets or we can continue this futile exercise of trusting imbeciles to deliver on promises they have no intention of fulfilling. They are only in it for themselves and they should be thrown to the curb by all of us they have betrayed before they do it again.
We are neither your adversary nor your cash reserve. We are your most valuable asset. Forge on with that in mind and lets become Something Special in the Air once again.
//Name Withheld//
American Airlines pilot
New York, NY
My brother dated Ryan's wife when they were kids
He watched the convention just long enough to see a picture of her, then he wanted me to turn it off, as it absolutely nauseated him.
We teased him about her a bit, and my kids got a hoot out of it.
Still not sure how Democrats could raise a kid that would marry a Republican. Especially one that's such a liar.
I've already told my kids not to bring a Republican home. They agree.
FOX Fair and Balanced? Not in this case!
From the Allied Pilots Association News Digest (The American Airlines Pilots Union)
Fox News: Fair and Balanced?
Earlier this week, we reported that APA requested that Fox News correct the title of a story that ran Tuesday concerning the sabotage allegations regarding 757 seat installation. While we have no objection to how the story depicts the current situation at American Airlines, the story's title on the Fox News web site appears to draw a connection between our pilots and the loose seats, which is wholly inaccurate.
To see the clip:
http://foxnewsinsider.com/2012/10/02/american-airlines-loose-seats-pilots-accused-sabotage-union-battle/
Then Thursday, FoxNews.com published an article that included several inflammatory comments by Kate Hanni, executive director of FlyersRights.org, a California-based airline passenger rights group. The comments included this quote regarding the loose 757 seats: "This was definitely a PR move on behalf of the American pilots' union."
APA Communications Committee Chairman FO Tom Hoban was asked to respond to the accusations, and he was also quoted in the article, saying Ms. Hanni's claim was "completely baseless."
Later Thursday, in an e-mail exchange between Ms. Hanni and one of our pilots, Ms. Hanni wrote: "I was misquoted by Fox. They made up my quotes out of thin air. And they are not writing a retraction."
To date, Fox has not responded to either APA's or Ms. Hanni's complaints about their coverage.
Text of APA's retraction request:
I am writing to strongly protest the title of the Trace Gallagher piece, “American Airlines Planes Grounded for Loose Seats as Pilots Accused of Sabotage,” which was posted to your web site at 4:51 EDT on Tuesday, Oct. 2. This title draws a connection between the pilots of American Airlines and the loose seats. The piece itself doesn’t make any such connection.
On behalf of the Allied Pilots Association (APA) and the 10,000 pilots of American Airlines we represent, I request that you modify the title immediately. Once again, as is, the title suggests a connection between the pilots of American Airlines and the loose seats when no such connection exists or has been alleged to exist by anyone close to this issue.
From firsthand experience I know Fraser Seitel to be a highly capable public relations consultant and I believe he describes the current situation involving APA and American Airlines quite accurately. However, the online title is anything but accurate.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions. Thank you for your prompt attention to this request.
Gregg Overman
Communications Director
Allied Pilots
Everything I ever needed to know about Economics rant
Edited for grammer:
When I was about 12 my Dad taught me everything I EVER needed to know about economics. Even now, after all these years in the accounting world, nothing can top it. He said "nothing works if the regular working guy doesn't have money in his pocket to spend." That's it! After that, I always wondered what would happen long term when the outsourcing began in earnest over 30 years ago. NOW WE KNOW. Dr Deming (who brought Japan from the rubble of WWII into the powerhouse that it became afterwards) was a visionary, well before his time). I had the priveledge of seeing him in conference before he died at the age of about 90. I'll tell you what most, most definitely, is not being a visionary. Making money with OTHER people's money, breaking the backs of working people and then making a profit on it without regard for LONG TERM effects to our society. Romney thinks this short term thinking takes talent to generate that profit. No, building it from the ground up with more than slave labor, takes talent. Dr Deming said, short term business decisions that are incongruent with long term goals should be illegal. But what do we have today? An entire business culture whose executives only look at the next quarterly report and calculate their personal bonuses by cutting the legs out from those below them instead of whether they've built something noble and lasting. I call it the parasite class.
Mr President, it's no secret why Bain is handling this Bankruptcy "Reorganization"
It is simple, union-busting 101. All the pilots want at American is pay and benefit restoration from a decade ago (when they took a minimum pay cut of 23%), adjusted for inflation. They are simply unwilling to once again carry the load for the entire airline's operation especially in light of management gaffes over the same time period, some of which I'll cover below. They didn't bat an eye when approximately $80 million was split amongst 2500 flight attendants that are willing to retire early. $75 million would bring pilots up to parity with Delta pay rates--so why no contract after over 6 years in negotiations under the National Mediation Board, and why haven't they been released to self-help under the Railway Labor Act (which by the way, is greatly tilted in favor of management since airline workers cannot strike because their contracts don't expire, they simply become amendable.) United pay rates are almost complete, but the NMB has forced a blackout on information contained in the contract-word has it that it is significantly better pay than Delta. Is your NMB trying to "help out" American's management by declaring the blackout?
Mr President, please ask Mr Hoglander of the NMB, why he told the union's board of directors that "No Major Airline would ever be released to self-help". It sort of proves my point that the Railway Labor Act should be abolished don't you think? The Act simply rewards management for foot dragging on a contract agreement. And while we are on the subject, why aren't airline worker's pensions protected like the railroad workers pensions? I'd sure like to know since my husband's pension is getting trashed this month.
I'm writing this to point out that if the pilots at American were treated properly, they would move heaven and earth to help the airline run properly. The problem is, when their enthusiasm to cover for others on the property runs low, nothing goes well at an airline. But I suppose everyone is starting to see that now.
This guy is the first media person to finally get why AA management is refusing to to the right thing and promptly and fairly settle the last contract and merge inside bankruptcy to being realizing the savings that the combined entity would create.
American Airlines Management Can Get A Huge Payday If It Avoids Merging With US Airways
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/10/01/american_merger_with_us_airways_ceo_tom_horton_gets_a_huge_payday_if_it_can_be_avoided_.html
Make no mistake, AA management would run to the judge if they had a leg to stand on with regards to the alleged "sickout". The point is, they have no evidence but want to create a hostile work environment (as if it could get any worse), with the goal of weakening the pilots to take a substandard contract. So far it is working, many pilots who commute to work are doing so out of uniform since passengers are booing them, calling them "union thugs", etc. I'm sitting here wondering who will be stupid enough to harass my husband.
Read on to find out who the real thugs are, they are the management thugs who ran American Airlines into the ground and their Bain Capital friends who desperately want to outsource all flying.
Now consider these facts concerning AA's allegations of pilots abuse:
They just told one of the Union's Board of Directors he is to report for a hearing on "abuse of sick leave". He is recovering from radiation treatment for CANCER. Great employee relations, AA. How much do you pay for that?
AA is alleging that pilots are "slowing down" the operation for "last minute" frivolous maintenance issues. Now bear in mind, that pilots are licensed by the FAA and the FAA just fined American Airlines for multiple maintenance related safety violations over many years. See here:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?subjectid=45&articleid=20120808_45_E1_DALLAS933913
Largest two fines in aviation history totalling $186 million:
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/08/business/la-fi-amr-fine-20120808
http://travel.usatoday.com/flights/post/2010/08/faa-fines-american-airlines-24m-for-safety-lapses-/109648/1
And letter from FAA to pilots:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/2012/09/faa-to-american-airlines-pilots-yes-were-watching.html/
Now bear in mind, pilots do NOT GET PAID from 1 hour before scheduled takeoff also known as "sign-in" (even after contract abrogation where you'd logically think the Fair Labor standards Act would apply--yes, that is correct, the FLSA doesn't apply specifically to pilots) while they are inspecting the aircraft, nor do they get paid IF THERE IS A MAINTENANCE ISSUE MAKING THE PLANE LATE OR INOPERABLE (they only get paid if the aircraft is moving except when it is getting deiced now that their contract has been abrogated by the bankruptcy court). But they WILL LOSE THEIR LICENSE (AND THEIR LIVELIHOOD, POSSIBLY FOREVER) if they miss an item making the aircraft unsafe. Bear in mind the FAA is all over the place and they must exercise great care in not making mistakes. Not just for the passengers, but also for themselves. I can't tell you how many times over the years my husband would be gone 2 days and not make one red cent because the aircraft was delayed for maintenance then taken out of service completely the next day.
Now tell me, exactly what incentive do pilots have to slow down the operation? If their flight doesn't go, they won't make this month's mortgage because a single leg can affect their ENTIRE WEEK'S pay.
One of the issues that management keeps mentioning is "coffee pot" issues. The reason they do this is it sounds good, but just like all spinmeisters, the true facts don't back up their sound bytes upon further examination. Consider this: If the coffee pots don't work properly, leaks can occur that can interfere with proper operation of the flight, preventing safe egress at a minimum. Consider this incident investigation for a Qantas flight: A water leak in the galley of a Qantas 747 knocked out 3 of the 4 on-board power systems including all AC-powered systems, as the plane was on descent 25 kilometres from Bangkok airport, leaving pilots just minutes to land on battery power. Investigators found that if the flooding had occurred more than 30 minutes' flying time from an airport or had there been a delay in landing, it would have placed the plane carrying 346 passengers and 19 crew "at considerable risk" as more systems were likely to fail and the leak had already knocked out power to radar, cabin pressurisation, autopilot, auto-throttle and some fuel pumps as the plane descended from 21,000 feet and passed through 10,000 feet. Investigators found that the batteries, which were designed to last a minimum of 30 minutes before depletion, had been running for 21 minutes when the aircraft landed and taxied to the terminal building.
American Airlines has made serious cuts in both maintenance personnel and also has sold off spare parts in recent years to cut "costs" in its maintenance division courtesy of "Barbeque Bob" Redding, who aptly received his name from pilots because of maintenance deferrals which caused several airplanes to catch fire or have serious in flight issues which were averted only because of the skill of American Airlines pilots. If you wonder about Bob Redding, go google him and find out the prior airlines he trashed prior to arriving at American and executing the same song and dance. Maintenance issues for aircraft are just like sick people, if you wait too long to maintain them, you will pay dearly later.
Pilots are the last line of defense in the checks they make prior to departing on any flight. FAA mandates that ANY discrepancy be written up and dealt with prior to departing on any flight. Basically, the company is alleging that there is a problem if the pilots are "not looking the other way".
Here are the procedures from the flight manual:
General Operating Procedures 5.3-3
Flight Manual Part I
5.3.6 Responsibility
A. The Captain is responsible for all flight crewmember entries in the E6 logbook. Refer to the E-6 LOGBOOK ENTRY GUIDE in the front of the logbook for helpful guidance. The Captain may delegate writing entries in the E6 logbook, but no entry may be made without the Captain's prior knowledge and approval.
B. All discrepancies discovered by the flight crew will be entered in the E6 logbook by the flight crew whenever possible. The Captain will sign the logbook with name and employee number after the last discrepancy entered, regardless of whether the flight is a through flight or terminating flight. If no discrepancies are to be reported on leaving the aircraft, the Captain will enter No Items followed by name and employee number.
I have recently looked at the companies numbers for sick usage and there was a 4.94% sick as of 18 Sept 2011 and 7.46% as of 18 Sept 2012, and this is for the OLDEST group of pilots EVER in the history of aviation. Some of whom may have sped up surgeries or other issues, knowing full well the company may cancel their health insurance once the contract was abrogated by the bankruptcy judge. Now would you want to fly with a pilot that didn't have enough financial sense to handle a surgery now when his insurance might be cancelled in the next few weeks or his sick leave balance cleaned out completely under the blessings of a bankruptcy court?
Please support the pilots rights to protect themselves and you the flying passenger by supporting their rights to make sure everything is safe both with the aircraft and with their fitness to fly (which is also mandated by the FAA).
Mr President, if you want any more details and want to meet the people who can give you more information, I know you have people that can find me.
Signed,
Your Fan (but I'd be a bigger fan if you'd weigh in on this like you did the NFL Ref's contract).
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