|
|
NMB
Drops Proposed Rule Changes as AFA Continues
Pressure for
Oversight _____________________________________________
Just two days after AFA-CWA
International President Pat Friend and CWA President Larry Cohen
called on the U.S. Congress to hold public hearings into the
overwhelmingly anti-worker policies of the current National
Mediation Board (NMB), the NMB notified AFA and other parties
that it would withdraw its proposed rule changes that would have
harmed airline union elections.
In a September 8 letter to
Congress and in a widely publicized news release, President
Friend and President Cohen jointly demanded public hearings on
the conduct of the NMB which is charged with enforcing the
Railway Labor Act. "For years there has been insufficient
Congressional oversight of the NMB and little attention paid to
its policies, personnel and actions," said Pat
Friend.
In a move illustrating its
bias toward corporate management, the NMB in July proposed new
provisions and edits to several longstanding statutes which, if
adopted, would significantly hinder transportation union
elections. The rule changes were proposed in the middle of the
Northwest–Delta merger process in which several union
elections will likely occur.
"Over the last eight years,
the NMB has not only neglected its basic role in protecting
the rights of workers, but has served the interests of
corporate management time and time again," said
Friend.
The current chair of the NMB
is a former employee and lobbyist for Northwest Airlines which
throws into question her ability to remain impartial as the NMB
makes critical decisions in the Northwest–Delta merger. To
date, the NMB has turned a blind-eye to Delta management’s
unprecedented anti-union voter suppression campaign in the
recent union election among Delta flight attendants. The NMB is
run by a three-person board appointed by the party of the
President of the United States. Two of the three members are
from the party of the current President.
In response, AFA-CWA filed a
case with the NMB charging Delta Airlines management with
119 separate instances of interference in the election. There is
no evidence, however, of the agency conducting any comprehensive
field investigations in the case. Normally, when charges of such
serious consequence occur, the NMB gathers additional
information from the parties involved.
"Our challenge to Congress
to increase its oversight of the NMB does not stop with the
NMB’s reversal of one biased proposal," said Friend. "We
continue to demand that Congress keep vigil over this agency,
most importantly during the pending Northwest–Delta
merger," said Friend.
In its reversal message, the
NMB indicated an intention to propose new rule changes in the
future so it is important that Congress maintain oversight
pressure on the agency.
_____________________________________________
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA | 501 3rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20001 |
