AFA Delays and We Continue to Pay

AFA Delays and We Continue to Pay

AFA’s recent bizarre actions continue to raise more questions than answers.

If we are to believe AFA’s claim that they have some type of clout as the largest flight attendant union in the world. . .

. . .and if we are to believe AFA’s claim that (if we keep them as our bargaining agent), they will be able to negotiate improvements to the deplorable contract that we are (barely) living under (and which they forced down our throats with a shady vote and hundreds of thrown out ballots). . .

. . . and if we are to believe Kevin Griffin’s statement in his December 15 letter to the membership that “Our focus must continue to be on building a contract that will turn the tide for our entire profession” and to “bring back honor and justice to our chosen careers”,

then we have to wonder why AFA is holding the Northwest flight attendants hostage in their own desperate money grab and stalling the representational election, the integration of the seniority list and the advancement of our careers. A top AFA campaigner admits publicly to their stall tactics here: http://www.sltrib.com/business/ci_11082423 . What she fails to mention (if she even realizes it) is that the stall tactics are hurting no one but the flight attendants.

Here are the facts:

- Seniority integration can’t progress until the Northwest flight attendants and the Delta flight attendants meet. AFA has refused to attend the seniority integration meetings and has failed to get the answers to the very questions that AFA staffer Mollie Reiley admitted (on a December 18, 2008 conference call) that Northwest flight attendants have. AFA knows we have questions and concerns and they have refused to attend the meetings that would provide the answers. How is AFA able to speak for us when they refuse to show up?

- We can’t get improvements until there is a new contract. AFA is delaying the representational election, which is delaying the start of talks on a new contract. Kevin Griffin has stated that “we are not going to rush into this merger, like we rushed into the last one.” Really, Kevin? The last merger took well over 2 years to accomplish. Are you saying that you are perfectly happy to keep the Northwest flight attendants under this sub-standard contract for another 3, 4, 5 years, even as you try to get yourself a raise in your union salary? At a recent MEC meeting, Kevin made the statement that he “couldn’t make it” on his pay of 100 plus hours per month, plus the $1,500 per month in per diem he is claiming from our dues money.

If AFA staffers were confident of their power and clout, they would be proceeding with this integration and with the representational election from a position of strength. They would have communicated a clear plan and strategy about how they will protect our interests and the interests of the Delta flight attendants and win significant improvements for us going forward.

Instead, their campaign has revolved around mindless rhetoric, familiar fear campaigns and destructive stall tactics that do nothing to help flight attendants clothe their families or put food on the table, but do everything to keep AFA collecting our dues for each month that they can delay the election. We only need to look as far as the US Airways/America West merger to get an idea of AFA’s complete and utter lack of competence in fighting for its members. More than 3 years after that merger closed, the seniority integration and the combined contract issues have still not been resolved. And flight attendants at BOTH groups were represented by AFA pre-merger. If AFA can’t even pull together that deal, what hope do they have with the NWA/DAL merger? In light of their dismal track record, it looks like they have chosen the only course of action available to them: to delay their inevitable failure as long as possible.

If there’s a plan AFA, the members deserve to know it. But we are tired of your delays. We are too smart for your fear tactics. And we are disgusted with the desperate money grab displayed by the AFA organization and greedy union staffers. What’s the plan, Kevin? It’s time you stopped worrying about increasing your own take-home pay and started working for the members who are paying your salary and substantial expense account.

Months since our contract was demolished: 18

Months since NWA pilots started pay increases with DAL: 2

Come on AFA, we - and our families - can’t afford your delays!