08-13-2009
11:14 AM
2 Loves
Dear F9 FA,
Wait right here, I'll get a pen for you!
In 2004 I made 40K as a UA FA with 8 years. I was an international purser and sat reserve every other month. In 2005 I resigned from UA to work for WN just as the bankruptcy court had imposed a second round of concessions on UA's employee groups. Had I stayed at UA for the remainder of 2005 I would have been back in the 30K earnings range...for the 3rd time.
As an AFA volunteer I argued emphatically against the proposed 2nd round of wage cuts. As such I researched the collective bargaining agreements (contracts) of other airlines' Flight Attendents. Then something VERY interesting happened. I requested a copy of the contract between WN and the Transport Workers Union Local 556. After reading through the contract twice my thinking shifted from arguing against further concessions at UA to "Wow! I really think I should work at Southwest!" Was I insane? My supervisors at UA thought I was because after all, WN was THE enemy!
I began to crunch the numbers in spreadsheets from the UA and WN FA contracts for side-by-side earnings projections. The most I could hope to make at UA was in the 40K range, even flying some purser, int'l and holidays. I found that I could make well into the 90K range at WN flying a moderatedly busy scheule. And even flying "my line" at WN with comparative seniority would net me 10K more than flying the max at UA. Plus I would get many more days off at WN on reserve months and the scheduling flexibility was unbelievable. Maybe you should contact TWU556 at www.twu556.org, ring them up, and request a copy of the 2008 contract. We just got raises again. Also you can check out the UA FA agreement online at www.unitedafa.org
Needless to say I was REALLY getting interested. I started talking to WN employees on ground tme and overnights. You know I couldn't find one WN employee to say anything negative about the company. I was amazed! Now having been here for 4+ years I can tell you that I love working for Southwest! The company treats us REALLY well because they LUV their employees. WN is not anti-union. They do an excellent job at working with their employee groups and their respective unions. That's part of their success.
Now before you dismiss my post as "WN company Kool-Aid" I want you to do something for me. Walk through Concourse B at DEN and try and engage UA FAs in dialogue about how things are at the big U and how they are treated. You might notice how low the employee morale is. Yeah, that was me in the beginning of 2005. Now I'm one of those bubbly, happy, WN cheerleaders who loves my company and my union!
There must be something in the Kool-Aid!
Wild Turkey?
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