Thinking of Working?
The emperor's new clothes...please read on.
Forget the media hype and the BA news hysteria.
British Airways is not going out of business and is not going to be
destroyed by you taking part in lawful industrial action - but your union
will be if you don't.
The only person increasingly likely to damage British Airways is Mr. Walsh
and he is doing a pretty good job of that all by himself.
What CEO in their right mind would drag their own company through a month
of bad publicity just to prove a point? Trouble is nobody will tell him;
anybody that dared to air an alternative view has been silenced, or has
simply moved on.
If you choose to go to work over this next dispute, then you too are
playing along with the "I am backing BA, flag waving crowd" - sadly this
is an empty chant, invented by cynical managers who have worked for this
company for a couple of years, yet this "sound bite" is also being
unquestioningly and naively swallowed by people who have worked for BA for
decades who really should know better. Their loyalty should be to the
airline that they remember, not to the one being rebuilt in Mr. Walsh's
image. For when it's their turn to be sacrificed for greater profit, make
no mistake, they will be, pilots included.
We are all British Airways, not just those who work in Waterside; what
gave them the right to hijack our airline's good name for their own ends?
If the same number that broke the strike before do so again, then it's
over; your union has been destroyed, not by Mr. Walsh - he could never
achieve that - but by you from within, by deserting us when the going got
tough.
We all have to decide what we want; we are grateful for everybody that
believes they are standing up for their union, though we greatly
appreciate that, we want you to know that this is really all about
standing up for YOU.
At the end of the day, it's your job, your life, your career and your
bills that have to be paid. British Airways no longer wants you to have
your flying agreements, they have told you that; that's why they have
already introduced new contracts and soon, a new fleet.
What stops them from putting you on new fleet, declaring you surplus,
ending any part of any agreement they choose? Not a lot to be honest.
90 days notice, that's about it.
Only a few hurdles are still in their way - cabin crews' belief in their
own rights and a strong union to fight for them.
If you chose - and it will be your choice - to break the strike and go to
work, you have effectively and actively chosen to serve notice on both of
these, in that one gesture.
The strike is over imposition. Why? To send a clear message to British
Airways that you value your agreements and are willing to fight to protect
them; this resolve is what will protect you in an uncertain future. If
you're not bothered, then let's stop fooling ourselves, it's over.
Unite has compromised so much to try and get a deal and thus avoid you
having to go on strike, as we know this can be a daunting prospect, but
let's be brutally honest, this has been to the point of being seen as
almost desperate and at times almost embarrassing how conciliatory we were
all prepared to be. While Mr. Walsh has persistently rejected every
compromise, remained openly provocative and deliberately confrontational.
If you are not concerned by all of this, fair enough. Go to work and be
counted by Willy Walsh every single day, on every single news channel
around the world, as a number, a statistic he can use to show how much
cabin crew "support him" and his actions.
It's a blunt message but a true one; there are no hiding places left for
any of us, no fence to sit on - you're either with Mr. Walsh and Mr.
Francis and ALL that they stand for, or your colleagues that are standing
up for what's right. There is no middle ground left anymore.
No second chance, right or wrong, this is a moment in your personal
history.
It's up to you; by all means go to work, but in doing so you are making a
bed for us all to lie in, that is why we are appealing and pleading to
every single person, no matter what decision you made over the previous
strike, to now support yourselves before its too late.
We are sorry if this message sounds a little harsh or even negative, but
what needs to be said needs to be said, before it's too late. If it is
over and your union is destroyed, then your job will change beyond
recognition in the years to come. We do not want there to be any doubt
that we tried to warn you.
Tuesday 18th May - See you there or not, It's up to you...
If you have already decided to break the strike, there are no hard
feelings you are still fellow crew, we would only ask you to consider
printing this out, putting it away in a draw. In few years from now, you
may across it and reflect what might have been.
"If we fight for our rights and our dignity, we cannot promise you that we
will win but if we don't, then we have already lost them."