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Delta AFA Flight Attendant Hotline 7/16/2007Today is Monday, July 16th, 2007 and this is an updated hotline message for all Delta Air Lines flight attendants. SAS based flight attendant and AFA supporter, Mark Stell reporting... What’s standing between us and our vote for union representation?For this week’s hotline message I am going to give you a short script of one of my 'organizing moments'. Hopefully it will inspire you to have similar conversations with our colleagues as our campaign zooms forward! The Scene: We’ve just finished deplaning the aircraft and I am walking up the Jetway. Our Atlanta based K-Line, Debbie (of course), catches up to me and we have a brief conversation. Debbie: Hey Mark, I didn’t get a chance to say how much I like the way you’re wearing your union pin - smack in the middle of your bright red tie! Mark: Thanks, Debbie. I see you have one on as well. And thank you for doing your part to help the campaign. Every time we wear our AFA pins, put our AFA bag tags on our luggage and give our AFA cards to our flying partners we get that much closer to calling for an election. Debbie: Speaking of...why do you think it’s taking so long to get there? Surely 35% of our colleagues have signed cards requesting the National Mediation Board (NMB) to call for a representational election? Mark: Actually, you are correct about that, Debbie. While we may have more than 35% and while that may be enough to legally call for a vote, this campaign has no intention of calling for a vote until we are confident we will win the vote. Debbie: Okay, what is going to make the "powers that be" confident we will win a vote? There’s no way 100% of the Delta flight attendants are going to sign cards. Mark: LOL, I like your sense of humor, Debbie. But just for the record, the "powers that be" are actually Delta flight attendants who have agreed to be on the Delta-AFA National Steering Committee. We are all working to help our colleagues understand and appreciate the benefits of being members of the Association of Flight Attendants. To do this successfully we have to have a vibrant structure of Regional and Base leaders gathering input from as many of our peers as possible. Debbie: So let me get this straight, it’s not just getting cards signed? Mark: Bingo! From the very beginning of this campaign, one of my biggest fears was winning an election based on flight attendant backlash after experiencing more than 40% wage and benefit cuts. If we’re serious about being a part of the AFA, we have to have an internal representational structure that is ready to step in and "BE" your association until we can have formal elections. And, we need to have that structure in place for a contract campaign as we will begin negotiating with Delta management right away. Debbie: Dang, I hate to sound so naive, but who would have thought of this? Mark: I wish I could take the credit - my ego could use a boost these days! But truth be told, the Delta-AFA flight attendant leaders have some amazing mentorship from AFA. Yes, sometimes we do get antsy and tired of working on this campaign without compensation or immediate gratification. On occasion many of us have pushed AFA to be more aggressive in calling for a vote. But then we all sit down and think it through by asking ourselves, "If we won an election tomorrow would we be ready to follow through with our campaign goals of representing our peers on the following issues:"
The truth is we have more work to do before we can call for a vote. Debbie: What kind of work needs to be done? Mark: Gosh, Debbie, I hope this isn’t a rhetorical question (Wink!) What the campaign needs more than anything else is for flight attendants like you to step forward and become a flight attendant 'Base Mobilizer'. Currently, we have more than 700 Delta flight attendants identified as either "base" or "phone" mobilizers. Hopefully, most of these flight attendants are carrying authorization cards, union pins and bag tags on every trip they work. If they are really dedicated to the effort, they are checking their rotations before their flights to see whose authorization cards are expired and they are always ready to have an informative and enlightening conversation regarding the benefits of joining AFA. Debbie: How many flight attendants do we need? And yes, sign me up (wink back!) Mark: Awesome. (Done winking!) Once we have 1200 Delta flight attendants committed to the campaign there is no way we can lose our representational election. Once we have all the leadership positions filled on our Delta-AFA National Steering Committee we will have a viable group of representatives immediately available to lead our Delta Master/Local Executive Councils until we can have elections. It’s simply of matter of building on the incredible momentum of our campaign. Debbie: Well, I’m sincerely inspired. I never understood exactly how this worked. Until now, I just thought I signed a card and the rest of it was like "magic". Mark: In all honesty, in the beginning I did too! But I am even more inspired by this conversation. It’s great to have you onboard the campaign, Debbie. All we need is 499 flight attendants like you and we’ll be negotiating a contract before we know it! Did You Check the "I Want to Help the Campaign" Box on Your Authorization Card?Speaking of 499, we have well over that number who have checked the "I want to help the campaign" box on their authorization card. The campaign has been trying to contact many of you via phone and we have been leaving phone messages like crazy. We all know the hectic pace a flight attendant life can take, so if it is easier to email your communication co-chairs, Mark Stell at Mark4AFA@cox.net or Paul Tanner at afa4dal@mac.com we will be happy to forward your email to your base/regional chairs. Just let us know your name, base, phone number, and when it is a good time to reach you. And if you have the time, energy and passion for a leadership role in the campaign (especially DCN, MCO and FLL or KY and MA FAs!) we’d love to get you more involved! The sooner we hear from you the sooner we’ll be calling for our representational election! Atlanta Activism is a Huge Hit!Who say’s labor activism is impossible in the south? Our Delta-AFA colleagues in Atlanta are proving this myth to be unfounded. Their success is inspiring the system and it’s great to know their passion for representation is growing every day. If you’re looking for a place and time to be involved, please contact Al or Marilyn. You’ll be so happy you did! WHEN: Every Tuesday thru Thursday That's it for this week's hotline. Please stay safe and support each other. Staying informed about the campaign is easy and please share your findings with others. I encourage you to subscribe to JoinTogether by sending an email to jointogether@afanet.org and to visit the Crew Lounge discussion forum at www.ItsTimeDelta.net. And don’t forget the best AFA website on the internet, http://www.deltaafa.org. -- To Listen To The Hotline, Call 1-800-424-2401, Press 1 Then 720 # -- |
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# |