Yet because of that so-called democratic union's inability to accept that democratically conducted defeat, collectively we remain in limbo. Thanks to AFA's decision to challenge the election results, all of us are unable to move forward, and many of us are still bound by and to a concessionary contract that AFA officials claim no longer exists.
While I'll probably receive hate mail for pointing out the truth, it's an undeniable fact that since last November we could have all enjoyed badly needed raises and clear improvements to work rules had AFA chosen to accept the democratic voice of the Delta flight attendants.
You may recall, in their campaign AFA claimed (amongst other outrageous lies) that premerger NWA flight attendants actually received better pay and compensation than premerger Delta flight attendants. As absurd as that sounds - especially to those of us who took the time to compare our paychecks to our non-union counterparts - after the representation election AFA assisted a handful of premerger NWA flight attendants (including some former AFA officials) in a lawsuit against the company that actually admits that premerger Delta flight attendants enjoy superior pay, benefits and compensation.
Well, at AFA, it is clearly lying and not honesty that is the best policy; and should their lies not work, there's nothing like challenging their own former members with the truth.
If that's not galling enough, it's also fact that if AFA had stepped aside and graciously respected the will of the democratic majority, any union - AFA, TWU, IAM, IBT, etc… could have been ramping up for a new election. If AFA had done the right thing by its members and the Delta flight attendants, ANY union could have started a campaign here on November 4.
But AFA won't let go so easily. Millions of dollars in dues are at stake, and AFA is nothing but a dues collection agency, always needing more money to up their bloated payrolls and keep their friends off line.
In fact, AFA is so desperate to continue reaching into the pockets of ALL the Delta flight attendants that on a recent conference call, AFA General Counsel Ed Gilmartin (the same one that hurled epithets at Delta flight attendants outside of CWA headquarters) admitted that AFA would invoke the AFL-CIO non-compete clause against TWU, or any other union that was written in on the ballot if the Delta election is rerun. Even if another union won a write-in campaign (something that has NEVER happened with a group anywhere near our size), that union would have to decide between representing 21,000 flight attendants or retaining its affiliation with a millions strong labor federation, and thereby opening the possibility of retributive raids against ALL of the groups it currently represents. Which would you choose if you were president of TWU?
And no one should be surprised to learn that in that recent AFA conference call AFA officials promised to immediately re-file for a new election, should the NMB reject their specious challenge against Delta. Which begs the question - why didn't AFA simply step aside, allow us to receive raises, and THEN re-file in November, instead of dragging us all through an unnecessary investigation?
Instead of AFA organizing both the PMDL and PMNW flight attendants together from a position of equal pay we wait for a final outcome that might not conclude for some unknown time, possibly far into the future. How long does it take to rap up an investigation, and even should that investigation determine a rerun election, how long to prepare for and then rerun that election? And should an election ultimately end in unionization, how long to pull the group together, how long to prepare for and begin negotiations? How long to reach and ratify an agreement?
How much longer are we willing to wait for raises, and how much money are we willing to leave on the table while we wait?
Sincerely,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
