October 2009 Issue

Download the full October 2009 Delta-AFA Newsletter HERE
eNewsletter Link for Sharing  HERE

NMB Petition for Yes-No Ballots to Affect Delta Vote
Finally! A Chance for the Majority to Rule

The Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO has filed a request with the National Mediation Board to amend the Railway Labor Act procedural manual to require a Yes-No ballot in representation elections, like every other election in America.

For too long, transportation employees have been subject to a 50 percent plus 1 plurality judgment, in which those who do not vote are counted as “No” votes. Twice before, the majority of voters in Delta representation elections have voted for AFA, but the arcane RLA procedures have foiled their desire for representation.

“The majority of Delta flight attendants have signed cards asking for representation in every campaign,” said Mollie Reiley, a pre-merger Northwest flight attendant, “but Delta’s anti-union campaign encouraged people to NOT vote, which is undemocratic. Everyone deserves a vote.”

Transportation industry management has indicated in letters that it will vigorously contest the change, so we can expect delays on our vote – possibly until December. This delay is regrettable, since Delta AFA filed for single-carrier designation in July because flight attendants indicated they are ready to vote.

“We don’t want to wait, that’s for sure,” said Angela Winningham, a Delta Air Lines flight attendant who flies out of Fort Lauderdale. “We hope Delta management will quickly agree to the Yes-No ballot, so we can move on with the election, and with creating a single carrier that will be the best in the world.”

At press time for the Delta AFA newsletter, the NMB had yet to respond to the petition, or lay out a process and time frame for commenting on the request. The decision would affect employees in both the rail and airline industries, in crafts and classes of workers represented by as many as 48 different unions.

The RLA was created in 1926 and has been updated only once – in 1936 to cover airlines. The NMB, which oversees labor relations under the Act, has the authority to change the voting procedures without congressional action.

“The law has been used against us twice already,” said John Jablonski, a Delta flight attendant based in Atlanta. “So this is good news for Delta flight attendants. Finally we’re going to have the majority of voters decide on representation.”

Delta flight attendants are ready, willing and able to negotiate an industry-leading contract that benefits both Delta Air Lines and its flight attendants, said Danny Campbell, a pre-merger Northwest flight attendant and union activist.

“We are seeing an upswing in support not only from pre-merger Northwest flight attendants, but also from pre-merger Delta flight attendants,” Campbell said. “Delta no longer can defend its wage and benefit structure, in light of the latest numbers showing Delta at the bottom of the industry in compensation.”

Delta also faces a series of five representation elections for different classes and crafts of 30,000 workers at Delta/Northwest with the Machinists, likely to cause more delay. A quick resolution is the best in every case.

“I think we all want to move on to integrating our two different groups, and flying together, and this vote is a critical first step in that process,” said Simone Cerasa, a Delta flight attendant based in New York. “Delta management should just agree to this more democratic process and let’s have the vote.”

Even though they’re eager to vote and get started with the bargaining process, Cerasa and other Delta flight attendants are taking advantage of the opportunity to meet and discuss the issues with their colleagues, sitting in lounges in New York, Atlanta and other airports.

“We’re getting great responses from flight attendants here in New York,” Cerasa said. “People understand that this is a critical vote for their future, so they want more information about what representation can mean to them. It’s all good.”

The flight attendant election at Delta is the largest organizing campaign in the labor movement in years – more than 20,000 employees in one world-class bargaining unit.

“This is our opportunity to join together to set the standard for ourselves and our industry,” said Janette Rook, president of the Northwest AFA Master Executive Council. “We know the former Northwest flight attendants overwhelmingly support representation, and a new industry-leading contract. We believe the majority of the pre-merger Delta flight attendants do as well.

“Now, if the NMB agrees to a majority Yes-No ballot, then we will see what the majority says,” she said. “No more votes where the minority sitting on the sidelines decides the election."

‘A Days,’LODs, Contract and All That Jazz . . . 

Kim Evasic, a 25-year flight attendant joining Delta from Northwest, has been making friends in the A Lounge in Atlanta as she answers questions about Delta AFA. You will recognize her as the diminutive flight attendant perched high on her uncomfortable café chair and chain-drinking coffee.

Herewith, Kim answers some of the most common questions she hears, in her inimitable cheeky style. You can enjoy more of Kim’s running commentary on the World Class Delta Flight Attendant group on Facebook. If you have a question for her, send it to DearKim@me.com.

Dear Kim: Will we have A Days or a reserve system when we merge? – Love My A Days

Dear Love: We will negotiate whatever flight attendants prefer. From what I’ve heard from Delta flight attendants, A Days is the preferred choice. At Northwest, once we understand A Days, I think it will be consensus there, too. OR, maybe there’s a better system we don’t know about yet. We look closely at what flight attendants’ surveys say and consensus wins. This management team believes in keeping things “lean.” Whatever is cost effective (and again, who knows if it’s A days) will be utilized without a contract. Personally, my knee-jerk reaction as a 1985 hire was, “No way - I’ve done my reserve time. I don’t want to go back.” Once I found out what it entailed, I have changed my opinion. A Days are fine and some people desire them. Also, the industry has changed. I was on reserve for only 6 months. Now it’s become a career.

Dear Kim: I’ve heard Northwest doesn’t have LODs. Is this true? – Bilingual

Dear Bilingual: For the 8,763rd time, NO, resoundingly – Northwest has an LOD program AND it’s legally binding! This makes it superior to Delta’s because LODs are protected with a legally binding contract. The positions have been negotiated and are guaranteed. But Delta can capriciously take positions away at their discretion on the DAL side. We will also be negotiating for a better program this time since both DAL and NWA have successfully come out of bankruptcy and we are the largest U.S. carrier. Being goal-oriented, I am now working on my status as an LOD. I feel confident that I will have mastered at least one other language by the time I’m 68 years old.

Dear Kim: If I vote for a union do we have to work under the current contract that NW has now? I don’t want to work with a contract I’ve had nothing to do with at all. I don’t even understand what’s in it. – Confused

Dear Confused: You would NEVER work under the contract we got from Northwest. We would work together to negotiate an industry-leading contract while you work with your Delta rules and we work with the NWA-AFA contract. The truth is I can’t wait to dump our current contract, though it saved us during the Steenland reign of terror. Without the scope language, many of us would have been outsourced. Our old union, PFAA, negotiated the preliminary contract, and we were pretty much forced into voting for it due to bankruptcy. NOW we are not in bankruptcy. NOW we are solvent and Richard Anderson’s contingent has taken bonuses. We will cherry-pick the finest of both our worlds. We can and will negotiate a world-class contract because, as Anderson told me at the stockholder’s meeting, eyeball to eyeball (well, sort of, as he’s quite tall and I’m an elf), we are the BEST. Richard said our customers demand the best, so he should be willing to pay for the best, right? He should not only be willing, he should be proud to pay us because he believes we are superlative—his words.

Dear Kim: I don’t want to go through AFA to talk to my manager. Why would I want a third party interfering with my relationship with management? – Connected

Dear Connected: First, AFA isn’t a third party. A third party would be a company like Sedgewick, which has taken over the administration of Delta benefit programs. AFA is comprised of flight attendants – you and me. We are the union. And here’s the thing, I’ve never taken a union representative in with me to speak with a manager in almost 25 years of flying. I walk in and talk to whomever I want whenever I want (yes, I’m that brazen) and I’ve always walked out with an answer to my question. But, if something happened that’s out of my control – say, I’m riding a jump-seat and get accused of aiding and abetting someone stowing away on the flight I was riding on – I am confident knowing I would have the full backing of union representation and I would receive due process under the law. I would receive a fair hearing. THAT is what union representation is all about.

Dear Kim: Why should I spend $43 a month in union dues for something I don’t need? – Tightwad

Dear Tightwad: I gladly spend $43 a month for union dues because I do need a contract. I find it extremely shortsighted to think otherwise. The Department of Transportation stats for last year clearly show Delta Air Lines at the bottom in total compensation for all the majors. And it’s a deficit of more than $516 a year. There’s a guy in A Lounge in Atlanta that I see weekly. He doesn’t want to pay dues and he wants more money – I call him “Show Me the Money.” Well, SMTM, even before we negotiate a new post-bankruptcy, superior contract you’d still be ahead of the game paying $43 a month. But you don’t have to pay a dime until you actually have a contract. The tired SMTM argument is fueled by the company, which wants you to think you’re better off than other flight attendants. In the words of the Who, “We won’t be fooled again.”

Dear Kim: I like to fly 100-plus hours monthly. I’ve heard NW caps their flying because the union puts limits on how many hours flight attendants can fly. Is this true? – The Fly

Dear Fly: NOPE! It is just not true. Fly till you die. No cap nowhere, no limits – except for FAA safety limits. I am not a huge fan of the 200-hours-a-month club, but that’s not the point. The point is that NW and DL flight attendants are not capped. My own humble opinion is that, perhaps, negotiating a living wage might be the prudent way to go now that we’re not bankrupt and the higher-ups have taken their piece of the pie. Working fewer hours for higher wages? I know what you’re saying: That Kim is such a radical. I’m a renegade, no question. I only ask that you all think about this crazy, out-of-the-box notion.

Dear Kim: What’s with the red dress grievance? – Sharp Dresser

Dear Sharp: OK, here is the final word on the grievance process. And you’d all better listen real good, ‘cause I’m not saying it again. A grievance takes about 30 seconds to file, first of all. Secondly, this particular grievance was filed because it is longstanding practice that all members receive all uniform options in the sizes we wear. PERIOD. That’s it. So, if you’re still laughing why don’t you look in a mirror and see if you like yourself wearing hateful and petty.

Postscript: A very senior Delta flight attendant commented to me recently that she was worried about the integration because Northwest flight attendants are mean and lazy. They are also very bad pass riders – demanding and rude.

Now, I would like you all to realize this lady was speaking to me as a supporter of the union and definitely knew I was a pre-merger Northwest flight attendant. I was in a bit of denial initially – I kept thinking, “She must think I’m Delta.” But finally it dawned on me that this is going to be our reality in a short period of time.

Here’s the truth, folks: We are all professional, caring, qualified, intelligent and worthy flight attendants. We do the same job everyday out of a thousand different locales. Please be tolerant of different ways of achieving the same goal. We want to provide a safe, happy flying experience for our customers.

It may take a few crossings, but we’ll all learn to co-exist at 39,000 feet. Please be respectful as we get to know one another. It’s only taken me 20-plus years to love all my Northwest Orient brethren.

Keep it real out there!