Comments on: This Miracle Brought to You by America’s Unions

By: JoyB

JoyB — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 05:27:05 +0000

Excellent addition to an excellent post!

As a former AFA member, I’m grateful. Yesterday’s successful ditching made my week.

By: Funnydiva2002

Funnydiva2002 — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 02:09:54 +0000

Hey, EW!
Rachel Maddow’s all over this right now, too! Not connecting the union piece, but certainly the training and good construction, etc.
She advocates examining what went right in this disaster as a model for how we should be rebuilding our country.
Interviewing Stephen Flynn…
The pilot also just happens to run an aviation safety consulting company…

Happy Friday, Pups.
And thanks for the story, Issacs

FunnyDiva

By: isaacsgs

isaacsgs — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 01:53:09 +0000

The author forgot a very important union that is near and dear to my heart: the UAW 647 in Cincinnati, Ohio that built the CFM56 engines on the plane to such quality that no shrapnel exited the casing to injure any passengers. Lots of hard work goes into producing engines that don’t turn into M67 frag grenades when something is sucked into the engine and causes a catastrophic failure.

So, without blowing my own horn too much, my dad and his coworkers down at the shop are at least partially responsible for the miracle that no one was killed. Would you mind adding the UAW 647 into your piece?

By: bmaz

bmaz — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:41:41 +0000

Ah, wise input seeing as how it is put forth by an auto-troll who knows a few things about making a fool of himself. Jolly good show!

By: biodieselvw

biodieselvw — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:16:49 +0000

Bs, just because the unions fought for it doesn’t mean that the non-union employees wouldn’t have been capable of doing the same. You’re stretching this event verrrrry far. With all of the news going on in the world today you decide to write about how the unions saved everyone on the flight? What a joke. Human beings and courage saved everyone. Not a democrat, a republican, a union member, or Jebus as one poster wrote.

Communications system? Without unions they would have non? The FAA requires the training for the pilots and attendants, not the unions.

By: tejanarusa

tejanarusa — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:08:01 +0000

Thanks for posting this, Marcy. I hadn’t thought about it, but you are absolutely right.
Maybe non-unionized workers would have done as well - but you point out how many of the safety training programs came about because of pressure from the unions.

And whoever mentioned the pilot’s age - that he’s approaching mandatory retirement. I’m with you on that (of course, my recent 59th birthday may bias me ; ) ). I’d support frequent testing of reflexes, vision, etc. after a certain age, and 60 is as good as any. I know I have to work harder than when I was young to keep my strenght and balance. But retirement requirements should not be one size fits all.

I heard the pilot “walked the aisle of the plane” TWICE to be sure all the passengers were off. (compare and contrast, Michael Brown had to make his dinner reservation! And nobody even expected him to dive in the N.O. water to make rescues personally)

By: emptywheel

emptywheel — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:03:32 +0000

Well, without the firefighters and police unions, would we be sure they had the communications systems to pull this off?

And without the unions, would we be sure all the people involved, from the pilot to the flight attendants to the ferry crews, had the training to pull it off?

The answer to both questions is, probably not, as those are both things that the unions have fought hard to win.

By: biodieselvw

biodieselvw — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:54:27 +0000

You’re assuming the same rescue would not have been made without a union? Come on now. There are ways of promoting unions, and then there are ways of making a fool of yourself and your website. This is the latter.

By: Petrocelli

Petrocelli — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:54:11 +0000

Adding … after intense Waterboarding of these detainees, we’re in Hot Pursuit of the mastermind behind these Terra attacks, one Mr. Honk ! Honk !

By: klynn

klynn — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:28:40 +0000

That was the intent of my comment @ 18…At least the hopeful thinking of such a possibility…