See how U.S. workers are regaining a reputation as being best-in-the-World

The Airlines seem like a good place to start looking. High labor costs and the rising cost of jet fuel has pushed several airlines into bankruptcy. Tens of thousands of jobs have been wiped out. That has made surviving workers a great deal more open towards revising their union work rules and their attitude towards work.

Listen to excerpts from this news item in The Chicago Tribune: “TULSA, OKLAHOMA. A year ago when the vice president of operations tried to run the American Airlines’ aircraft maintenance base here efficiently the union president would come in here and chew his butt. That has changed. They are working together to make the facility efficient and profitable. At a time when struggling airlines are laying off mechanics and sending planes to Central America and even further away – Jet Blue sends its aircraft to El Salvador and United Airlines sends its Boeing 737s to Beijing, China – American Airlines” experience in handling its maintenance is a definite departure. (Already some other U.S. airlines are sending their own work to the Tulsa center on a fee basis because of the high quality and low costs.) American’s CEO called for his Texas-based carrier to save hundreds of millions of dollars by working on its own planes. (continued)

To make the plan work, management and labor had to work together cooperatively in ways unprecedented in the airline industry. They met regularly. Disagreements were still fierce but the ultimate goal was shared by both sides. They sat down and asked: ‘What’s the best way to get where we want to be?’ The union is talking more like business people, says the manager of the base. ‘You wonder what the hell is happening here. We believe we can drive competitive advantage because of our experience level, our history, our volume, our investment in plant and equipment and technology. Each airplane has to come out of here on time and operate reliably.’ To make American’s maintenance efficient, the airline formed joint leadership teams. Pledges were made to avoid layoffs, and so workers committed to embrace continuous improvement efforts. Efforts were made to eliminate wasted time. The contract limits severely the amount of work that can be outsourced. The Tulsa base, which employs 7000, hopes to achieve a half-billion dollars in cost reductions by the year’s end. Mechanics that retire or leave for other jobs are not being replaced. Streamlined work procedures allow more work than ever to be achieved with 10% fewer workers. Employees are now assigned to match the workload at each station, rather than to meet fixed staffing demands by union bosses, as in the past.

“As a result of all changes – many of them suggested by experienced and newly enthusiastic workers who are pleased to see their jobs preserved – the base now can completely disassemble a plane, replace any worn parts, put it back together and test it in 12 days instead of the previous 19 days. Some of the changes are simple but have proved very important. For example, parts are stored much closer to work areas now, drastically slashing to number of steps a mechanic must take to get the parts he needs, Workers even voluntarily gave up their break area so that tools and parts could be stored more efficiently. Six stock clerks jobs were eliminated through attrition as a result. And yet the tracking and reordering of parts is more efficient than it ever has been. Working together and making improvements has become a way of life with everyone at the base. While other firms are outsourcing, America is showing how they can guarantee high-quality at low costs right here in the U.S., and improve profitability.” (End)

What is happening at American Airlines is being replicated in America. We are lean and mean. That makes profits and growth!