THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

FLEXIBLE STAFFING MODELS SPELL DOOM FOR OUR FUTURE
ACS BOSS SAYS GOODBYE TO PERMANENCEY


Times are tough and the airline industry is experiencing the most difficult days of its existence. Airline execs are beside themselves with worry and anxiety. They are unsure of our continued viability and continuity, they are discombobulated and in complete disarray. This is not a good time to be a new airline employee and the future prognostication for a stable career is disheartening, to say the least.

A couple of days ago our Airport Customer Service leader, Gil West, an airline veteran from Northwest Airlines, announced that the future model for hiring new employees at our combined carrier would be a “more flexible staffing model to manage the peaks and valleys in our operation that occur in our daily, weekly and seasonal schedule.”

He continued by saying that in the future “we must continue to use this strategy going forward — hiring ready reserves to backfill vacant positions as much as possible…” As all employees must know by now, ready reserve positions are un-benefited, non-permanent slots that are temporary and transitory.

Some cities, such as SLC have large percentages of ready reserve employees that are only allowed to work 999 hours a year. Last year these fine workers, just before Christmas, were sent home and not allowed to continue working for Delta because they had maxed out their hours. Apparently, if Delta works ready reserves beyond the 1,000 hour limit, they are required to make them permanent and offer them insurance and benefits.

We who are full-time, part-time and benefited need to stand by our ready reserves and realize that the treatment of our new hires is and will be an indicator of our future treatment by our Delta management team. What Delta does to our new employees is exactly what they will do to us, should the opportunity arise for them to save money in the short term. This new Delta management team does not possess a long term strategy for success in the airline world. Their decisions are based on short term market perceptions and they have no vision or strategy that takes into account the needs or wishes of customers or employees.

Arguably, the most successful investor in the world, Warren Buffet said this; “I strongly recommend avoiding companies where there’s optimistic press releases, overly generous compensation or option grants, and frequently blaming external circumstances for operational shortcomings.”

We are experiencing a management team that is beginning to blame others for their shortcomings and will extract a pound of flesh and the necessary funds from the meat of this airline (us) in order to continue on long enough for these greedy money managers to raise the value of Delta stock high enough for them to cash out and race off to another venue of opportunity.

We, as dedicated, long term airline employees, need to band together and organize our collective power and determination towards a successful strategy for our customers and ourselves; unionizing will send a strong message to our leaders that we are not temporary or unnecessary. We will not settle for seasonal work, part-time existence, or fall into Delta’s plan to be a temporary and replaceable workforce in the future. We are, without question, the meat and potatoes of this endeavor and this airline. THIS IS OUR DELTA!

Let’s stand tall and voice our permanency and our spirit; we are here to stay. Power to the workers! Send in your IAM A-card today – Vote IAM and secure our future.