Electronic Petition Drive Gets Grassroots Traction
A controversial series of YouTube videos mocking a flight
attendant's bosses at American Airlines has morphed into an all-out
grassroots movement to remove the upper-management team now running
American Airlines, which filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection
in November of 2011. The bankruptcy filing was followed by an
announcement of extensive layoffs and planned pay cuts at the
airline.
Gailen David In YouTube Video
A website has been
created to allow American employees, the traveling public and
workers everywhere to sign the petition online asking that the
leadership at American be replaced during the reorganization. Once
250,000 signatures are collected, the petition will be turned over
to Judge Sean Lane, who is presiding over the American Airlines
bankruptcy case. Gailen David, a 24-year flight attendant with
American, has been joined in this campaign by thousands of
supporters gained through the popularity of his videos and
blogs.
"The current management team has led American though more than a
decade of profound decline in customer service, leadership,
financial stability and employee morale. The time has come to take
a new direction. We ask Judge Lane to put an end to the madness and
bring in proven, competent leadership to help create a new American
Airlines," says David, who recently released a series of videos on
YouTube poking fun at the management of American Airlines.
A "Message to American Airlines Flight Attendants" was the first
video released on YouTube by David -- now on a leave of absence. In
the video, dressed as a female airline executive with a Texas
accent, Mr. David reads a letter sent to flight attendants by
American's Vice President of Onboard Services, Lauri Curtis. His
tongue-in-cheek, saccharin-laced rendition of the letter resonated
with employees and the public alike and quickly reached viral
status on the Internet.
"The response from other American Airlines staff and the general
public has been overwhelming and has only given me determination to
shine a spotlight on the reckless mismanagement that has been
occurring at American for over a decade. It is time for fresh,
visionary leadership at AA that will make it an airline that people
love to fly and to be a part of once again," David says.
The next videos were based on the movie trailers for the motion
picture "Iron Lady," which starred Meryl Streep as Margaret
Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the UK. The "Aluminum Lady" and
"Aluminum Lady 2" are his spoof on the "Iron Lady" trailers
starring American Airlines' fictional "Minister of Flight
Attendants," a character he created that embodies all of the most
inhumane and avaricious qualities of today's boardroom
villains.
American Airlines was not amused and they quickly threatened to
terminate David's employment if he did not show up for an
investigatory/disciplinary meeting. Following worldwide media
coverage, American's spokesperson, Bruce Hicks, issued a new
statement to the media claiming that they had "no intention" of
terminating David. They only wished to discuss the matter with him
as he returns to work at the end of his leave of absence. The
airline has not yet made a statement since the petition was
launched on February 17, 2012.