United Airlines CFO from hell wants airline mergers; hello Teamsters!

jake brace, united airlines chief financial officer, is not a nice man... for some reason, he has managed to stick around at least since i began work there back in 1995, and has occupied the cfo slot since before bankruptcy was declared on my birthday in 2002, a move which wiped out all of my employee stock shares, which were to have been my retirement nest egg...

i was part of the merger team when united and u.s. airways were engaged to be married in 2000, a union which was turned down by the bush administration... it was an ugly mess in a company which was already one of the leaders in rotten treatment of their employees (see below)...

now, jake wants to get bigger... can you smell the greed...?

The US airline industry should consolidate sooner rather than later, and preferably before the end of President George W. Bush's administration, the chief financial officer of UAL said on Monday.

With the US economy slowing and oil prices soaring, US carriers are under pressure to save their fledgling recovery. UAL has been one of the leading proponents of mergers, but has not launched any offers for rivals.

"We want consolidation to happen sooner rather than later and we think that doing something now and getting it done in this administration is a good thing," UAL's CFO Jake Brace said at the Reuters Aerospace and Defense Summit in Washington.

The transition to a new administration could create obstacles to mergers and hinder the progress of carriers pursuing consolidation, said Brace. For that reason, UAL, which is the parent of United Airlines would like to see mergers soon.

"If we were able to control that outcome, that's what we'd do," Brace said.

He declined to say whether he views the Bush administration as receptive to airline consolidation proposals. But he said some industry watchers believe it is.

oh, ya, right... "SOME industry watchers believe it is..." puh-l-e-e-e-e-eze... you're so coy, jake...

and if you don't believe me about rotten treatment of employees, check this...

The Teamsters union is seeking a membership vote to represent mechanics at United Airlines, the group said on Monday.

The Teamsters filed a petition with the National Mediation Board, saying it hoped to conduct a vote within the next six weeks.

United's 10,000 active and furloughed mechanics have been represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) since 2003.

Teamsters represent 40,000 airline workers, including 9,000 mechanics and related employees at 11 airlines. These include UPS, AirTran and Frontier Airlines.

"United's airline mechanics deserve a strong voice that will stand up to management's attack on their economic security and on the flying public's safety," Teamsters President Jim Hoffa said in a statement.

Stephen MacFarlane, assistant national director of AMFA, said the Teamsters "have every right" to pursue United mechanics but AMFA will represent its position.

there's an old maxim in employee relations - you get the union you deserve...

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