|
CONTACT US |
GET REAL: Real Answers to Important Merger & Seniority QuestionsAFA Sets the Record StraightExecutives at Delta Air Lines recently created an online Q&A pertaining to airline mergers and seniority integration. Unfortunately, most of their response were not factual. It's time to get real.Our management refuses to admit to the most basic fact you need to know about protecting our seniority: the ONLY protections for flight attendants involved in a merger are those secured as part of a legally binding Union contract or those protections contained within a Union 's Constitution.The following 'revised' Q&A will provide you with more accurate responses to the anti-union assertions made by Delta executives who oppose our goal to obtain real merger protections. We've included the exact same questions that Delta management included in their Q&A, but with factual answers and info that management left out.Let's Get Real!
Q1: We're worried that the Creditors' Committee - not Jerry or our own leaders - will really make the final call on this US Airways merger proposal. How do we know they'll decide our way? A1: Let's be absolutely clear about this: only a Union contract can give us legally enforceable seniority protection in the event of a merger. It's really that simple. Management promises mean nothing, especially since our management may not be in a position to decide what happens. How could they - US Airways executives are attempting essentially a hostile takeover and important elements of the Creditors' Committee have already formed an unofficial committee hoping to facilitate making such a deal happen. Let's get real. We have every right to be worried that a merger or acquisition would leave all Delta flight attendants' jobs and seniority vulnerable. Because we have no Union and no collective bargaining agreement [Union contract], we lack the two (2) most essential protections in a merger situation. As history has shown in our industry, employees who lack enforceable Labor Protective Provisions ("LPPs") in their contract, or at least a fair merger policy in their Union Constitution and Bylaws, too often have found themselves stapled to the bottom of another carrier's seniority list, furloughed or forced out of their bases or off the routes they normally fly. While Delta executives loosely attempt to assure us protection of our jobs and our seniority, from a legal perspective, they do not have the power or the recognition to guarantee such outcomes. Only a Union contract can provide the protection we deserve. And remember, the only flight attendant Union with proven experience protecting flight attendant jobs and seniority is the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. AFA-CWA has a fair Merger Policy in their Constitution and Bylaws which guarantees these protections: http://www.afanet.org/cb/default.asp?id=61 If we're part of AFA we have this protection; if we're outside they union we don't. IT'S TIME...we secure these protections. Q2: But, what if the US Airways merger went through, would that airline call all the shots when it came to integrating our seniority lists together? A2: They can say what they want but no promises made by Delta executives are legally enforceable like a union contract. It's nice that they want to talk about helping protect our seniority, but that's all it is: talk. They're hoping that if they talk enough about protecting our seniority we won't want a union and a union contract because that would take away from their control of the situation. Absent a contract our future is left up to them when it's time for a real merger. Let's get real. Whether US Airways, Northwest Airlines or any other carrier who may attempt or succeed in buying Delta Air Lines, it is irresponsible leadership for Delta executives to make any guarantees to its flight attendants. Simply put, Delta executives may have little-to-no say in what takes place in a merger or acquisition - particularly as it relates to the jobs and seniority of its non-union workforce. In merger after merger the only certainty is that executives all get richer. For workers, absent a legally enforceable Union contract there is no certainty. The only secure protections are those negotiated as specific contract language or within the merger policies of the Union 's Constitution and Bylaws. IT'S TIME...we stop trusting our future to empty promises. Q3: Union supporters are saying we need to vote in a union now so that Delta flight attendants will have a voice if a merger with US Airways occurs. A3: While it is very important to have a legal voice as a Union member, AFA-CWA supporters and activists want more than just "a voice," we want a contract. Let's get real. Our focus as flight attendants needs to be on securing iron-clad written contract protections that we can enforce in court, if necessary. The concept of having a 'voice' is Delta management's way of pretending that listening to us, as flight attendants, is all that we want or need. It isn't all that we need and it isn't all that we want. Rather, we want and need actual written contract language - designed to protect our jobs and our seniority. We need actual written language agreed upon in negotiations. And, we need language that is clear and unambiguous - which will hold up in any dispute process in the courts or in arbitration. A simple 'voice' is not enough this time. Our friends and colleagues at US Airways already have a union and a contract to protect them; we need the same for us. IT'S TIME...we obtain a voice AND legal, written protections. Q4: I hear you, but union supporters are telling me that regardless of what happens-whether we emerge from bankruptcy as a stand-alone airline or merge with US Airways now or another airline in the future-that I need a union to protect my seniority and my job. A4: Yes, it is true that regardless what happens, having a Union and a binding contract will provide enforceable, legal protection for our jobs, our seniority, our pay and our workrules. How can that be a bad thing? Let's get real. Look around: it's more imperative then ever that we secure Union protections, now that the specter of airline consolidation looms over our heads. If we have a contract we'll have legal protection and a say in our future. If we don't, we won't. Remember, even if Delta emerges from bankruptcy as a 'stand-alone' carrier, that does not mean the potential for a merger or acquisition is off the table. On the eve of US Airways management's announcement of its intent to purchase Delta Airlines, Dan Akins, who is an expert airline economist, presented a state-of-the-industry report to the AFA Board of Directors in Portland , OR and predicted that; "the airline industry will face another round of consolidation in the near future." Just last week financial publications were speculating that Northwest might make bid for Delta. IT'S TIME...we prepare for this consolidation by joining AFA-CWA. Q5: US Airways and America West merged over a year ago. Both flight attendant groups are represented by the AFA, but I've heard that they still haven't merged the flight attendant seniority lists. Why not? A5: At US Airways-America West, AFA has already completed the work of merging the seniority lists by date of hire in accordance with the AFA Constitution and Bylaws. But in accordance with AFA merger policy, that list is not turned over to the company or implemented until there is agreement on a merged contract. AFA's experience through decades of airline mergers has shown that is the best way to protect the rights of both groups, and the best way to ensure a smooth transition. Once all the contractual issues are hammered out at the bargaining table and a merged contract is approved by both flight attendant groups, then the merger of the operations will begin, and the merged seniority list will be implemented. And that's what's happening at USAirways-America West, where the joint negotiating committee is determined to obtain an acceptable contract with real improvements for both flight attendant groups. Only then will they turn over the merged seniority list to management. Let's get real. Most airline management would love nothing more than to force the two groups together, regardless of seniority rights, and then stall the negotiations over a merged contract. It's easier for them that way, but it's not what's best for flight attendants. IT'S TIME...we join our 55,000 flight attendant peers....IT'S TIME to join AFA-CWA! See Also: Protect Our Jobs & Seniority...Send Your AFA-CWA Card TODAY
Download a card HERE |
|
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
501 Third Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-434-1300 Delta AFA Hotline: 1-800 424-2401, press 1, then 720# |
