Comair flight attendants vote to let union leaders call strike

[Larry]

It is common knowledge that anyone who works in the airline industry today is underpaid and overworked. This is the case because people will work for what the companies are willing to pay. The bankruptcy laws have destroyed the lives of the senior employees with the help of the Government watching and doing nothing. Both parties are to be blamed. As long as someone will work for less that is what will be paid. The senior employees have lost most of all that they worked so hard to get and will lose more. Do not feel picked on the other industries in this country have had or will have to deal with this injustice as you are dealing with it now. Look carefully at your choices. The rich get richer and the mid class become the poor, alas.

[had enough]

Larry wrote:

It is common knowledge that anyone who works in the airline industry today is underpaid and overworked. This is the case because people will work for what the companies are willing to pay. The bankruptcy laws have destroyed the lives of the senior employees with the help of the Government watching and doing nothing. Both parties are to be blamed. As long as someone will work for less that is what will be paid. The senior employees have lost most of all that they worked so hard to get and will lose more. Do not feel picked on the other industries in this country have had or will have to deal with this injustice as you are dealing with it now. Look carefully at your choices. The rich get richer and the mid class become the poor, alas.

I think it would help a lot if the union did it's job.They sold us out with promises that they would save the pension. Isaid show me the money now--but the war crywas pensions . of course management just needs a -gee we can't pay- and poof-no more pensions. I have planning for my own retirement as I have never trusted the company that the pension would br there. Now with a 40% pay cut and 23+ days of flying I cannot save and I can't do work on the side to subsidize. Thanks ALPA!!

[blueskies]

whatever wrote:

<quoted text>
GO get another job. It's not like you have a skill that is not transferable. Flight attendants are replaceable in TWO weeks-that is the length of the training. How it ever became a career field is beyond the imagination. Oh I know many of youn have a college education--use it to get a real job!!The 70+ year old FA are NOT going to save my life I can assure you!! This is not a career someone is supposed to "retire" from-kind of like the bag smashers. If you like it and have fun doing it stay-but if you are in it for money-forget about it.

I think that you have inhaled too many fumes from Westvaco! Your'e "driving the bitter bus" because your union doesn't have any ba@#s!!

[sally]

Friend of FA wrote:

<quoted text>
The starting pay for a Comair FA is less than 18k a year, the more senior FA's made that change long ago.

everybodys starting pay is low. that is why it's called starting pay but how come no one ever states top out pay?? HUH??

[justme]

Actually making it to top out pay is the bigger question. How many are Actually on the top pay scale vs. mid-lower range

[flygirl73_mco]

sammy wrote:

Quit your crying and take the pay cut. Everyone else has had to give something up. The only reason you have to give more is because you are over paid. If you cant live on what the company can afford, find another career. Of the three unions in the company, you are the only one who needs just a high school diploma. The rest of us had to go to school or the military to perform are jobs. Don’t make the rest of us suffer because you are under educated and stubborn.

Sammy, Sammy, Sammy, Why are you so mean? You make such nasty comments. First off...we aren't crying. We are strong and are standing up for what we and ALL flight attendants deserve. Second, ALPA did have an agreement, an agreement in which we learned from. They took a pay freeze with a promise of new jets....where are those jets? We are not overpayed. Every time I am stuck on a runway in JFK for 2 hrs and have to use my "people skills" to maintain control of all 50 irrate passengers all by myself, everytime I have to prepare the cabin for an emergency landing because we lost our right engine on takeoff, or because our landing gear isn't going down still after 3 attempts, everytime I have had to assist a choking child because the mother is in a state of panic and can't do it, the time I had to hold a woman's hand and keep her calm as we divert because her throat is closing up due to an allergic reaction, Every time I have to hook a Passenger up to the AED to monitor their heart because they think they are having a heart attack, Everytime I say Merry Christmas to my family from Jacksonville, and Happy Thanksgiving from Flynt, and on and on...we are earning what we make.

[flygirl73_mco]

sammy wrote:

Quit your crying and take the pay cut. Everyone else has had to give something up. The only reason you have to give more is because you are over paid. If you cant live on what the company can afford, find another career. Of the three unions in the company, you are the only one who needs just a high school diploma. The rest of us had to go to school or the military to perform are jobs. Don’t make the rest of us suffer because you are under educated and stubborn.

About your under educated comment. You are stereotyping and small minded. I have 2 degrees. It takes a special person to be a good FA. You have to maintain a professional demeanor in a fast-paced environments demanding strong organizational and interpersonal skills, be detail oriented and able to multi-task effectively, all while still providing superior customer service after 14 hrs of duty, of which you will only be paid for 4, and the passenger in row 6 just threw up all over your uniform while you were on your way to the lavatory to throw out the dirty diaper that the mother of the screaming baby in row 3 handed me. Despite all of this....I LOVE MY JOB! I love the challenge, I love making a positive difference in a passengers experience. Why should I have to leave when there are other solutions. When United threatened 1113 to their fa group their union didn't fight it. They were raped of everything they deserved. Delta FA's aren't union and they had no say while the company took away everything. Comair will get their concessions...and I am ready to vote yes for the current proposal. But even the Judge ruled the first proposal not fair or equitable. THERE"S YOUR SIGN! You stated,"don't make us suffer", well if you are suffering so bad...why don't YOU take YOUR college degree and go elsewhere for employment. I hear McDonald's is hiring. And I am sorry that you are so threatened by such a strong flight attendant group.

[Another opinion]

What you are seeing is supply and demand at its best. The supply of people to take the FA job if they walk away is there. With a few weeks of training, a FA is flying. The airlines do not care about customer service. The airlines need a warm body per so many passengers because the FAA says so. Only when a passenger will pay for customer service will an airline start to be concern about the quality of the FA. Passengers have proven time and time again that they are worried about one thing and one thing only....PRICE!!!

[Rudy]

flygirl73_mco wrote:

<quoted text>About your under educated comment. You are stereotyping and small minded. I have 2 degrees. It takes a special person to be a good FA. You have to maintain a professional demeanor in a fast-paced environments demanding strong organizational and interpersonal skills, be detail oriented and able to multi-task effectively, all while still providing superior customer service after 14 hrs of duty, of which you will only be paid for 4, and the passenger in row 6 just threw up all over your uniform while you were on your way to the lavatory to throw out the dirty diaper that the mother of the screaming baby in row 3 handed me. Despite all of this....I LOVE MY JOB! I love the challenge, I love making a positive difference in a passengers experience. Why should I have to leave when there are other solutions. When United threatened 1113 to their fa group their union didn't fight it. They were raped of everything they deserved. Delta FA's aren't union and they had no say while the company took away everything. Comair will get their concessions...and I am ready to vote yes for the current proposal. But even the Judge ruled the first proposal not fair or equitable. THERE"S YOUR SIGN! You stated,"don't make us suffer", well if you are suffering so bad...why don't YOU take YOUR college degree and go elsewhere for employment. I hear McDonald's is hiring. And I am sorry that you are so threatened by such a strong flight attendant group.

Wow, Great piece. You should take your 2 degrees and do a lot more with them than be an FA. Your far to articulate to spend your time wiping throw up off your uniform and taking care of dirty diapers.

[What2do]

Another opinion wrote:

What you are seeing is supply and demand at its best. The supply of people to take the FA job if they walk away is there. With a few weeks of training, a FA is flying. The airlines do not care about customer service. The airlines need a warm body per so many passengers because the FAA says so. Only when a passenger will pay for customer service will an airline start to be concern about the quality of the FA. Passengers have proven time and time again that they are worried about one thing and one thing only....PRICE!!!

I do respect your point of view, however I disagree. Only because I have heard it from the passengers mouths myself time and time again. If I do a full service on a water flight, they comment continuously how nice it is to have a choice rather than having a warm bottle of water thrown at them. I hear passengers comment that they are willing to pay higher prices if it means being able to get a cold beer on a 1 hr flight or a pillow on a 2 hr flight. If passengers are only concerned about price and not service, why am I hearing comments during the deplaning process such as...."thank you for the good service, it makes a difference"? Thank you for your point of view, but I do respectfully disagree.

[flygirl73_mco]

Rudy wrote:

<quoted text>
Wow, Great piece. You should take your 2 degrees and do a lot more with them than be an FA. Your far to articulate to spend your time wiping throw up off your uniform and taking care of dirty diapers.

Are you really complimenting me or is this the typical "forum sarcasm"? You never can tell through written words, you know? LOL...But thanks for the suggestion. I did use both degrees until my 30's, and I wasn't happy. I enjoy making people comfortable. Whether it is helping them conquer a fear of flying, clearing off their tray table so they can sit back and enjoy the view, talking to them about their grandchildren to help our 1 hour taxi-out go by quickly, or helping a passenger who is sooooo humiliated because they just got sick in front of everyone realize that it's okay, we all do it at some point. If I were to use my degrees for anything, it would be to start a wheelchair business that actually gets the wheelchair to the aircraft ON TIME! I once had to wait for a wheelchair with a woman on oxygen for 1hr and 20 minutes in JFK. I felt so bad for her. We called continuously, still no chair. My point is, getting back to the subject, I love my job and can't imagine doing anything else.

[flygirl73_mco]

For those of you who are wondering...what2do is flygirl73_mco. I used that name in another forum and forgot to switch it.:-) thanks!

[another opinion]

The passengers might say that while they are on the flight. But when sitting at their computer and booking a flight, price is what they look at. They have alreadt forgotten about the nice treatment from the FA. The statistics prove it. Why would an airline quit serving food or take the pillows off of airplanes if they could make a buck from it?