The Threat of a Union is Better Than Actually Having a Union
Of all the reasons to keep the Machinists union
off the Delta property, the most recent (and arguably one of the best), now
comes from the Machinists themselves!
We’ve had the misfortune to endure ridiculous,
incompetent, mostly-false missives over the last 17 months of the IAM campaign
at Delta, but with their November 22 email (to people who never signed up to
receive those emails), the Machinists officially detonate (and we’re talking
nuclear, not TNT) the shaky pillars of any sketchy argument they ever had for
representing the Delta flight attendants.
Here’s the text of the email that IAM sent to
Delta flight attendants on November 22:
“The IAM shows up. Delta proposes improvements.
My dear, that’s a coincidence.”
There’s a truth hidden somewhere in this
statement, but it requires flouting an entire series of other facts. So, for
the sake of argument and to get to the heart of the message that the IAM sent
out yesterday, let’s:
Set aside the verifiable truth that over the past
80 years of its history Delta has always given improvements, whether or not
there was a union drive underway.
Overlook the statistic that Delta has always
provided compensation packages that have been at or near the top of the
industry.
Discount the reality that for the 26 years before
the merger (and if anyone wants to do the math, I’m sure you’ll see the trend
extend back even further), non-union Delta flight attendants earned more than
union Northwest flight attendant. In every single one of those years.
Ignore (for just a minute) that since the merger,
Northwest flight attendants have received improvements of over 35% in total
compensation.
Completely disregard the fact that improvements have
been continuous and frequent since the last laboratory conditions (which were
imposed because of the protracted AFA campaign, which was run by many of the
same anti-company, anti-flight attendant agitators as the current IAM
campaign).
But, even if we wipe away all the facts and
truths and history and industry comparisons and are left with nothing but the
statement that the IAM sent out yesterday, there is still no case to sign an
IAM card. Because what the Machinists really said in their email yesterday is
that the threat of a union works better than actually having a union on the
property, and at a much lower cost to the Delta flight attendants.
Actions That Prove the Machinists’ Point
But it’s not enough for the Machinists’ to simply
make the case that the Delta flight attendants are better off without IAM
“representation”; they prove their own point with two of their most recent
negotiations implosions.
1. Newest
IAM Flight Attendant Contract – it’s Not Pretty
Finally! After five years of stagnation and five
years of laboratory conditions (no pay raises, no work rule improvements), the
Machinists union has reached a tentative agreement for the CommutAir flight
attendants. The highlights of the contract include:
·
A 3.5% pay raise (after five years of no pay raises)
·
For each of the next four years of the contract: 1.5% annual pay
increases
·
No signing bonus
·
No retroactive pay
·
Maximum six legs per duty period guarantee
· Crew
meals – On Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day only. No crew meals the rest of
the year.
The only other flight attendant group the IAM
currently represents is at ExpressJet. They are currently over two years into
contract negotiations, with no end in sight. Just now, the IAM decided to put
out a contract survey to get feedback from the flight attendants on
negotiations priorities. More than two years into negotiations!
To see the survey, link here: http://www.expertscan.autodata.com/default.aspx?webid=877D6C44-2775-4630-B816-87B18A0BE8AE.
And fill it out if you want. The IAM has decided to make the survey available
to anyone with access to the internet, rather than restricting it to the flight
attendants that will actually have to live under the contract that (hopefully.
. .one day) results from this survey.
2. Third-Party
Alert! Duck now!!!
By now you’ve heard about the absolute debacle of
the Boeing/Machinists negotiations in Everett, WA, which blew up so
fantastically that Boeing is now looking to locate the 777X plant outside of
Washington. Boeing is currently soliciting bids from locations in Alabama,
California, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas and Utah, among others. And those
IAM represented employees back in Washington? They will simply lose their jobs.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, news is now coming
out that the negotiations implosion at Boeing was largely a result of union
in-fighting at the IAM! The Herald reports on the takeover of negotiations by
IAM leadership in Washington, D.C. and the exclusion of local union leaders.
“By all accounts, IAM leadership in Washington,
D.C., and Boeing representatives kept leaders of Seattle-based District 751 in
the dark about the contract talks before presenting the proposal to them less
than two weeks ago. The offer called for major concessions -- including trading
pensions for 401(k) plans and increasing health care costs -- in exchange for
placing 777X final assembly in Everett and a $10,000 signing bonus, among other
promises.”
Meanwhile:
“District 751's roughly 32,000 members were
caught off guard.”
That’s right: the members were left completely in
the dark and then caught off guard by the contract proposal because of
infighting within the union. How is this anything but a third-party
interjecting itself into what is best for the employees of a company, to the
complete and utter destruction of their careers, livelihoods and future
financial security?
Read the complete account of the travesty here: http://heraldnet.com/article/20131115/BIZ/711159877/Angry-Machinists-could-seek-leaders-ouster
Case Made – Case Closed
Whether by design, or in utter delusional
ignorance, the IAM and their National Campaign Leaders have made the combined
and irrefutable case that the Delta flight attendants are better off without
IAM representation. And the people who should really be examining their
consciences are the National Campaign Leaders. Instead of trying to cajole and
convince flight attendants to volunteer their own time to man “visibility”
tables, in some “final push” (which is really a last gasp), they should have
spent the past seventeen months putting out accurate, objective, real world
comparisons of what the IAM has achieved, versus the Delta improvements. Of
course, they can’t be truthful and make IAM look good, so they resort to the
same old tricks and tactics of projecting bitterness, attempting to induce
anger, floating hazy “what-if” schemes, and basically invading our privacy –
all in a desperate money grab.
History, facts, truth and now even the IAM emails have shown that
Delta flight attendants don’t need the Machinists union representing them. When
will the National Campaign Leaders wake up and answer the reality phone?
Sincerely,
Jose Arturo
Ibarra
