iLuvPX
3rd Jun 2008, 23:08
This is a guideline for the president of the AOA. It is a wonderful insight into how airline managements around the world think and operate. Looks like the new APA union president has figured them out. American Airline's management bears an eerily similar focus as CX. Its as though they took a page right from the PW book of mismanagement. He would be a shoe in for a job with American after he leaves. (We should have a countdown timer for this joyous departure day :D)
Its a long read, so ive pasted some of the salient points, the full article is available via this link:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/a...ent-takes.html (http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/aa-pilot-union-president-takes.html)
In addition to the 2003 contractual gutting, under the guise of "getting along" and "building a relationship or partnership," all it truly amounted to was a successful management campaign to lessen resistance for their true mission of cost cutting and pilot persecution.
And for those who remain naysayers, what else happened during this time frame?
In repeated stunning fashion, management took hundreds of millions of dollars just in bonuses, the first of which occurred even before AA enjoyed its first profitable quarter in years. And when employees questioned this abhorrent behavior, management's indignant responses included "we have to retain our managers" and "employees just don't understand management compensation."
As has been done many times in the past, management's excessive greed triggered a relationship collapse with employees. As profitability became reality and as management continued to more than make up for the bonuses they had forgone, they continued to vie for labor concessions. Despite the fact management had squeezed more than they had ever hoped for out of the pilots, and maybe it was finally time to throw the pilots a bone, management did not relent. If there is something to take away from this, it would be management's ingenuity and relentless focus to deceptively extract from labor while giving the appearance of a collaborative effort toward an end that management never intended for labor to enjoy.
First off, stay focused and don't swim with the piranhas. Management doesn't want your help, they don't need your help and history has shown any attempt to solicit your help is just scam. Management looks out for management and only management. Labor is merely a cost challenge to be neutralized. It isn't personal. It's business. And if management has done nothing else, they have demonstrated this particular time honored business 101 strategy with startling regularity.
Secondly, management does what's good for management or possibly what they perceive is good for the Company. Vendors, labor and everything else is only considered as a cost effect on management's plans. Management understands it's about them first and the Company second. There are no other considerations, except in the context of contemplation of impact on those two. Management negotiates solely for these two entities at all times and without exception.
We represent a pilot union - not an airline management team. What we can learn from management is to adopt their focus and never, ever lose sight of this. While there may be some benefit in having a thorough understanding about the Company's fiscal fitness, how, when and where we use this information should be solely for the membership's benefit. As with management's strategy, this should be without exception.
APA's responsibility is to let management know how much it's going to cost to man airplane cockpits. Management doesn't seem to have any problem whatsoever validating their own quite significant management costs, even over just the past few weeks. APA needs to be tone deaf toward everything else. Management negotiates for management, and APA needs to negotiate solely and relentlessly for its constituents - the APA membership."
Its a long read, so ive pasted some of the salient points, the full article is available via this link:
http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/a...ent-takes.html (http://aviationblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/aa-pilot-union-president-takes.html)
In addition to the 2003 contractual gutting, under the guise of "getting along" and "building a relationship or partnership," all it truly amounted to was a successful management campaign to lessen resistance for their true mission of cost cutting and pilot persecution.
And for those who remain naysayers, what else happened during this time frame?
In repeated stunning fashion, management took hundreds of millions of dollars just in bonuses, the first of which occurred even before AA enjoyed its first profitable quarter in years. And when employees questioned this abhorrent behavior, management's indignant responses included "we have to retain our managers" and "employees just don't understand management compensation."
As has been done many times in the past, management's excessive greed triggered a relationship collapse with employees. As profitability became reality and as management continued to more than make up for the bonuses they had forgone, they continued to vie for labor concessions. Despite the fact management had squeezed more than they had ever hoped for out of the pilots, and maybe it was finally time to throw the pilots a bone, management did not relent. If there is something to take away from this, it would be management's ingenuity and relentless focus to deceptively extract from labor while giving the appearance of a collaborative effort toward an end that management never intended for labor to enjoy.
First off, stay focused and don't swim with the piranhas. Management doesn't want your help, they don't need your help and history has shown any attempt to solicit your help is just scam. Management looks out for management and only management. Labor is merely a cost challenge to be neutralized. It isn't personal. It's business. And if management has done nothing else, they have demonstrated this particular time honored business 101 strategy with startling regularity.
Secondly, management does what's good for management or possibly what they perceive is good for the Company. Vendors, labor and everything else is only considered as a cost effect on management's plans. Management understands it's about them first and the Company second. There are no other considerations, except in the context of contemplation of impact on those two. Management negotiates solely for these two entities at all times and without exception.
We represent a pilot union - not an airline management team. What we can learn from management is to adopt their focus and never, ever lose sight of this. While there may be some benefit in having a thorough understanding about the Company's fiscal fitness, how, when and where we use this information should be solely for the membership's benefit. As with management's strategy, this should be without exception.
APA's responsibility is to let management know how much it's going to cost to man airplane cockpits. Management doesn't seem to have any problem whatsoever validating their own quite significant management costs, even over just the past few weeks. APA needs to be tone deaf toward everything else. Management negotiates for management, and APA needs to negotiate solely and relentlessly for its constituents - the APA membership."