They have between 3 and 4 billion in cash in the bank, this doesn't sound like bankrupt. This was a ploy to hose the employees and some of their suppliers. This self made hari-kari was to dump health care for it's employees, that was stated as goal number one, getting out of the pension business was next, wages after that. This is the wave of the future, or wave of the current era. Speculators say they will now lay off, merge, and lay off again. This will end in lower fares for major heavy use routes, and higher fares on the rodeo circuit, Amarillo, Wichita, Fargo.
Fuck the corporate world, this is a method to enrich themselves further. Ever hear a bunch of businessmen bitching that the lay-abouts declare bankruptcy every few years to get out of their obligations?
Think back to the good ol' daze of Frank Lorenzo and Eastern Airlines. Lorenzo forced labor strife by locking out the mechanics and ramp service employees, which prompted a sympathy strike by pilots and flight attendants. When millions were lost in cancelled flights, Lorenzo attempted to sell the airline to Peter Ueberroth, and DID sell the Eastern Shuttle service to The Donald (Trump).
ReplyDeleteAfter the unions were broken he tried to regain his share of air reservations using non-union labor, but eventually the company declared bankruptcy and dissolved.
The people who are using these slash and burn tactics to reduce labor and pension costs ALWAYS have their own bottom lines at heart, and could care less about customer service or employee benefits. Stockholders and shareholders uber alles.
That's the same reasoning Republicans used when they opposed bailing out General Motors... let them fail, kill the UAW, reorganize with non-union labor and reduced wages/benefits/pensions.
Obama saved GM, and thus the American auto industry. The American airline industry is another highly unionized target of the right, as is the postal service.