Fashion over financial freedom!

A spokeswoman for the flight attendants union didn't return media calls seeking comment on union representation, which begs the question:

Fashion over financial freedom?

The last sentence in a July 24 Detroit News article regarding union representation (link here: http://www.detnews.com/article/20090724/BIZ/907240338/Delta-works-to-settle-employees--union-representation ) for the Northwest and Delta flight attendants says it all: “A spokeswoman for the flight attendants union didn't return calls seeking comment.”

What!?!??!??

Where was the AFA spokeswoman and why was no one available to comment on this important issue that affects the daily lives and the finances of over 20,000 flight attendants? Why did AFA make spokespeople available for media questions regarding the red dress grievance, but not on our union vote? It’s a matter of relative importance.

In a July 15, 2009 “Special Hotline” responding to media coverage about the red dress grievance, MEC President Janette Rook and AFA try in vain to sell their passive excuse that “The media is chasing this story. It was not brought to the newspapers by the Union,” they claim.

Wrong Janette: the media receives the MEC hotlines and the NWA MEC did report the red dress grievance to flight attendants and the media in a July 3, 2009 hotline message. Additionally, AFA further helped the media by providing spokespeople for the red dress story. What is notably absent in that hotline and in any other communication from AFA is news regarding the important issues that affect us each and every day, including the secret meetings with the NMB.

On July 24, Janette sent out an embarrassing response to the Detroit News NMB Article, where she tried unsuccessfully to tie the Delta NMB meeting with lobbying efforts as reported in a Forbes article (Link here: http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/07/24/ap6697496.html ). As Forbes reports, Delta spent money “to lobby on passenger issues, international alliances between carriers and airline personnel training.” It has nothing to do with the pending representational election. Wrong again, Janette.

Janette talks about being brought up to industry standards in the hotline, but refuses to lay out AFA’s plan of how they will do their job in accomplishing that goal. Janette is wrong if she thinks that she is justifying her salary, expense account and perks by simply whining about our deplorable conditions, rather than laying out a plan that she, as our principal union officer, will enact to achieve that goal. Whatever happened with Janette’s letter to Ed Bastian demanding an apology? And what about this important issue from Janette’s June 11 email to us: “I was also informed this morning by a pre-merger Delta flight attendant that a response to my April 22nd letter http://nwaafa.org/docs/merger/seniority/Mark_Clarke_Ltr_04_22_09.pdf (to our colleagues in the Delta Seniority Integration Committee) had been posted on DeltaNet. I have not yet received that response via email, fax, nor U.S. Mail. However, once we have done everything that we can for our members in regards to the recent news regarding an increased Reduction in Flying, I will seek out the posting.” Janette promised to follow up on two important matters in that hotline (1. What has she done for our members with regard to the upcoming reduction in flying and, 2. Has she sought out the letter from the Delta Seniority Integration Committee – and what is her response?) Why has there been no follow through, Janette?

The simple truth is that if AFA were truly interested in bringing us off of these 40% pay cuts, they would have had the election long ago and we would already be well into contract negotiations. As anyone who has been through an airline merger before knows, it typically takes 30 to 36 months after the representation issue is resolved before we could have a combined agreement and fly on each others aircraft. If AFA called for the election today we would still be under this onerous contract until at least 2013. If anyone doubts this, just look at the US Airways/America West merger that was completed nearly 4 years ago. Flight attendants are STILL under their AFA-ravaged concessionary contracts and are restricted to flying only on their pre-merger aircraft.

It’s time that Janette and AFA stop putting out illogical, nonsensical communications that embarrass our profession and start answering some important questions:

***** 1) What is the AFA timeline for the election?

***** 2) How does AFA plan to have seniority issues resolved and a combined agreement in place by April 2010 when cross-training will be complete?

***** 3) When was this meeting with the NMB? Who attended? Why was it kept a secret? Is this a throwback to the secret Pat Friend/Doug Steenland meetings where no NWA flight attendant was allowed to attend?

***** 4) Why did we have to learn about this meeting from the media rather than from the union staffers who take our hard earned money each and every month?

***** 5) What is the plan that Delta laid out for integration?

***** 6) What are the specifics regarding AFA’s discussion with the NMB? Why are the members intentionally left in the dark on these important issues? Why did we not hear about this meeting earlier?

***** 7) Where is the transparency? Where is the democracy?

Is it any wonder that the media is reporting on the red dress grievance, when that is all the information AFA is putting out (well besides a weekly hotline that keeps repeating the same old videos and tired news from last May over and over and over . . .)

Who is in charge of our communications? Why was that appointment made in secret? Why were NWA flight attendants not allowed to apply for the position? Certainly it’s not possible to do worse than the current lack of communication. Maybe this is just one manifestation of International Vice President Veda Shook’s promise to NWA AFA staffers in July 2007 to “lower flight attendant expectations of the union.”

Hey Veda – our expectations are low enough – you don’t need to lower them any more.

Months since our contract was decimated: 26.

AFA has held us captive to this deplorable contract over two years now. First, they forced it down our throats through shady manipulations with the balloting process and throwing out over 400 flight attendant votes and then they failed to enforce important me-too clauses that would have gotten us significant raises.

It’s time to get the representational vote done so that we can all move forward.

Sincerely,
Jose Arturo Ibarra