Delta Policy Manual and NWA Contract Comparison

In this email:

Delta Policy Manual and NWA Contract: The Dirty Secret Mollie, Danny and Pat don’t want you to know

Veda Shook or Danny Campbell: Someone has to go NOW!

Janette Rook: Protecting your job or hers?

Delta Policy Manual and NWA Contract: The Dirty Secret Mollie, Danny, Veda and Pat don’t want you to know.

As AFA ramps up for an all out fear-based assault on the Northwest flight attendants, I am committed to providing you factual information so that you can make your own democratic decisions based on truth and accuracy, and not on AFA’s ‘campfire ghost stories’ that do nothing more than cause us sleepless nights.

I have posted a comprehensive comparison of the Delta Policy Manual and the Northwest AFA-negotiated contract, to provide you an objective measure of what we are getting for our dues money – or not. The bigger question is: If AFA bureaucrats and staffers truly believe in democratic principles then why have they not provided you this information? Danny, Mollie, Pat and Veda have not been elected to their positions by the Northwest flight attendants, yet they carry unjustifiable sway into how our dues money is spent and how our financial futures will look. Does this seem democratic to you?

Veda Shook or Danny Campbell: Someone has to go NOW!

In sworn testimony before the United States Congress on April 24, 2008 AFA Vice President Veda Shook claimed that AFA filed for election at Delta with “. . .cards from over 50% of all the Delta flight attendants . . .” (see page 7 on the document here: http://afanet.org/aefiles/House_Judiciary_Mergers.pdf).

Yet, after wasting thousands upon thousands of our dues dollars and spending several months of campaigning, AFA garnered votes from less than 40% of the Delta flight attendants!!! How can this be?!? The answer is simple when we consider that only 35% of the workgroup needs to sign cards to trigger an election at a non-union employer. Either AFA filed with considerably less than 50% and Veda lied to Congress or Danny Campbell completely botched the campaign. Liars or incompetents: there is no room for either among our leadership. It is time for Veda to answer to the membership with the truth and own up to the mistakes (and lies) of the campaign. We deserve more from those who are on our payroll.

Janette Rook: Protecting your job or hers?

MEC Vice President Janette Rook steps up to protect her paid union position by helping to distort the truth to her members.

Section 1 of our contract specifically states: 1.E. The Company shall not enter into any agreement to a Successor Transaction (as defined in paragraph C.1., above) or to any Partial Transaction (as defined in paragraph D., above) unless the other party to the transaction agrees in writing, as a condition of the transaction, to (1) provide Labor Protective Provisions for Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants no less favorable that the Labor Protective Provisions specified in by the CAB in the Allegheny-Mohawk merger, including Sections 3 and 13 relating to fair and equitable seniority integration . . .

While it is clear from this language that Delta must commit itself in advance to the above, Janette is telling members that this language only applies if we retain our union on the property. Not only is this untrue, but statements like this from union staffers, can actually cause harm to the Northwest flight attendants. Once the union starts restating contract terms, the company could make the argument in the future that what the union has been stating was the real intent behind the language.

In other words, if AFA continues to lie to the members about the contract language, the company could use those lies against us at some point in the future. The fact is, our LPPs extend beyond this contract. Janette and AFA continue to provide murky answers, hide truth and damage our future negotiations strength in the interest of protecting their own union positions.

Actions speak louder than words and we have to ask why Janette is acting against the future interests of the Northwest flight attendants. Is it possible that she is placing her own interests above yours? As a part-time council representative in DTW, Janette used her union status to pre-block her SLIC line in order to elevate herself off reserve status out of seniority order. Apparently, living under the terms of seniority and our contract is not good enough for Janette.

Then, with less than two year’s experience as a local council representative, Janette ran for an MEC Officer position in direct contradiction to the AFA election manual, which encourages candidates to work their way up to higher union positions once they gain experience at the lower levels. Janette was not elected based on experience and qualifications: she was elected because of her status as a yes-woman to Danny, Mollie and Pat. Her status is solidified by her desire to remain off the line and off reserve. Do those sound like leadership characteristics to you?

Sincerely,
Jose Arturo Ibarra