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Greetings,
September
21, 2009
Dear
Colleagues,
While
we await a Single Transportation determination and
information about our election process from the NMB, we are
pleased to see significant progress over the past several
weeks in our campaign to maintain collective bargaining rights
at the new Delta. As you
know, on 27 July AFA filed for single carrier status
determination with the National Mediation Board (NMB) - a
step that will lead the combined NW and DL flight attendants to
voting for representation. The election timeline and process is now in the hands
of the NMB, but we expect to hear from the Board at any
time. However, of course Delta Air Lines and AFA
represent only a fraction of the work of the National
Mediation Board - they have
a central role in facilitating labor-management relations
(negotiations, mediation, arbitration, and representation
issues) within two of the nation's key transportation modes -
the railroads and
airlines.
WILL OUR ELECTION BE HANDLED UNDER THE SAME
OUTDATED VOTING METHOD?
That
is unknown at this point. However, we've learned that the
32 unions of the Transportation Trades Department of the
AFL-CIO (TTD) filed a petition with the NMB to amend
the procedural manual to require a "YES or No" ballot in
representation elections - the procedure used in every
other election in America. You may have already started to
hear company representatives refer to this
proposed election method as unfair or call it a
"minority" vote. Well, if our executives believe the
method requested in the petition were truly unfair, then
we would expect Delta management to also protest the normal
election process in the United States of America, or even
protest the usual voting method for issues brought before
the Delta Air Lines Board of Directors!
This monumental step would help make the
representation election process for all transportation workers
fair and democratic.
The current "50 percent plus 1" standard that requires
only those who support a union to vote was created not
long after the turn of the last century, when rail was the only
industry whose workers were covered under the jurisdiction of
the Railway Labor Act.
For us at Delta, the right of all flight attendants to
have his or her vote recorded is at stake - whether it is a
Yes or a No. In fact,
American workers that are overseen by the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB), instead of the NMB, already use the
Yes/No voting method for their representation
elections.
IS THE POSSIBLE CHANGE
TO NMB POLICY BECAUSE OF THE PENDING DELTA
ELECTION?
Absolutely not. The TTD petition speaks for all
transportation industry workers. This request for an overhaul of NMB voting
procedures is for all representation elections covered under the
National Mediation Board - it is not specifically
related to our election.
WILL DELTA START A
"VOTE NO" CAMPAIGN, LIKE THEIR 2008 "RIP IT UP, DON'T CLICK,
DON'T DIAL"
ANTI-CONTRACT CAMPAIGN?
We
fully expect Delta to honor their claim that they respect
their employees' right to choose union representation. It is clear that
airline management will vigorously protest any change to the
outmoded "50 percent plus 1" ballot rules. Indeed, many companies
have taken advantage of the outdated voting procedures that
declared everyone a "no" vote until actually voting, by padding
the ranks of the workforce - sometimes with people who no
longer work for the company at all. The Railway Labor Act (RLA) says that a
carrier "shall not interfere.....influence or coerce its
employees in the choice of representative." In short,
representational elections are supposed to be
about the union and the flight attendants. A change in voting
procedures, so that the result of the vote reflects those who
actually participate in voting, is in keeping with the company's
stance on respecting the employees' right to choose.
SO, WHAT HAPPENS
NEXT?
The
Board will review the TTD petition and give its decision. They will provide a timetable
to resolve the ballot question. It is expected that there will be the normal
period for public and corporate comment following the Board's
initial response regarding the TTD petition. When that information is
released we will send it to all members. Other unions have
started to register their support for the
change (AMFA and reportedly the IBT) and a high
powered law firm representing the Air Transport Association of
America (ATA) has already weighed in against the
petition, even though the NMB has not yet responded to the
petition or placed it on the
website.
This may affect the
NMB's timetable for setting the dates and times for our election
as well. We will use this time to continue
our conversations with flight attendants at every base,
explaining how working together will create opportunity and
security for ourselves and success for the world’s premier
global carrier, Delta.
Airline workers have always been subject to constant
highs and lows of a volatile industry, especially since
deregulation. The
past decade has brought us to an almost constant state of
turmoil, dealing with furloughs, pay cuts, and
bankruptcies. We
have seen our numbers decline, while our responsibilities grow
exponentially.
Flight attendants watched with heavy hearts as bankruptcy
courts and a previously anti-worker NMB issued decisions that
left many questioning when frontline employees would finally be
given a fair shake.
We
believe that time is now and we applaud the Transportation
Trades Department for their efforts to turn the tide
towards an environment that will allow renewed opportunity and
fairness for workers, bringing more democracy to all
representation elections under the Railway Labor Act and the
National Mediation Board.
We
will update you as soon as we learn of any new
developments.
Please wear your union pins and display your AFA bag
tags. Take care of
each other and, when it's time, please VOTE so we have the
same opportunity our pilots had - to negotiate a new joint
contract that will strengthen both Our Airline and Our
Future!
In
Unity for a Better Future,
Janette
Rook
Northwest Airlines MEC
President
Association
of Flight Attendants-CWA
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