The questions passed to AMR will initialize them to begin answering, in detail, thus providing TWU negotiators an opportunity to look deeper into their financial methodologies and how AMR arrived at their numbers. This will help direct the unions drafting of counter proposals.
On Tuesday, company presenters reviewed spread sheets showing the projected cost savings needed from all work groups. Needless to say, their incessantly used “working together” slogan of the past 10 years was not mentioned once. That slogan was replaced by one word – outsourcing. We are determined to try and keep these jobs here for our members.
Job classifications presented for outsource:
- Day line cabin cleaners
- Air cargo operations
- Baggage – transfer personnel, expediters, encoder, and bus drivers
- AMT reductions at line stations due to new departure cap
- Close AFW maintenance base – AMT positions and Title II and V outsourced
- Reduce Tulsa maintenance base AMT positions by 40 percent – outsourced
The negotiating team heard the financial experts explain their methodology of compounding and “assumptions” used to arrive at ridiculous cost savings. In several break downs, the numbers were hard to believe and made you wonder, “Where the heck did they get that?” How did they get that? During one presentation for the Fleet Service group, a company analyst actually said, “We have built in some assumptions.” That was a no brainer; it was obvious to everyone in the room.
TWU International President James C. Little stopped in to address the Negotiations Committee on Wednesday, laying out the union’s external strategy and encouraging everyone to keep up the hard work, saying, “Evaluate everything and take nothing for granted from this company.” Labor attorney Mark Richard helped steer the committee’s and kept them updated and focused on the union’s internal and external moves over the next few weeks. Negotiators have become hyper-vigilant in their review of company provided cost outs and their savings.
Tom Roth of The Labor Bureau Inc. joined the TWU financial advisory team this week and met with our negotiators briefly on Thursday afternoon, along with John Donnelly Director of Strategic Research for the TWU. Both gentlemen are working with our negotiators daily to help decipher and analyze company spreadsheets.
Next week we anticipate receiving requested documents from the company. Several TWU negotiators are working through the weekend to prepare for next week’s busy agenda.