EASY AS 4, 3, 2, 1 (Well . . . not
really)
Did you see
that recent IAM flyer where they promised a “start-to-finish in about four
months”? (Direct quote from IAM Delta flyer dated November 12,
2014). Well, talk is cheap and actions speak
volumes, so let’s take a look at the history of IAM’s actions:
They’ve done it! They’ve finally,
truly, actually done it!
In just
under SEVEN YEARS, IAM has finally negotiated and ratified its first contract
for the CommutAir flight attendants. Not four months like they “promised”
(wink, wink) the Delta Flight attendants. Not even 14 months or 24 months or 34
months or 44 months or 54 months or 64 months or 74 months, but almost 84 months from
“start-to-finish”! That’s a 21 to 1 margin of error for the Machinists Union!
Since the
IAM was elected as their collective bargaining agent in January 2008, the
CommutAir flight attendants have endured:
-
84
months of NO PAY
RAISES
-
2,520
days of NO PER
DIEM INCREASES
-
360
weeks of NO
PROFIT SHARING (for 2014 alone, Delta’s profit sharing will equal
close to two months of salary when totaling the 5% early payout and the balance
to be paid on February 14, 2015)
-
7
years of NO QUALITY
OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS, including vacation/sick leave accrual, trip
credits/rigs, minimum rest, etc. etc. etc.
In other
words, after seven years of IAM representation, the CommutAir flight attendants
not only saw zero improvements, but THEY LOST the annual improvements that they
would otherwise have gotten! Their new contract provides NO BACK PAY for those
lost wages. At Delta, pay increases ALONE averaged 3.4% per year for each year.
Worth the wait?
Of course,
if the IAM had negotiated an earth-shattering, industry-leading contract after
seven years, then the wait could surely be justified. So let’s take a look at
some of the highli . . . err lowlights of the agreement:
-
This agreement is in effect for four
years. It took
almost twice as long for IAM to negotiate this contract as its duration period.
-
Not all items go into effect on the date of signing. There will
be an implementation period for some of the items. (PMNW flight attendants will
be familiar with the implementation period, as some items in our yellow book
contract took 18 months to implement).
-
Starting pay is $16.50 an hour. This is an improvement from $15.50
that was part of the tentative agreement that CommutAir flight attendants
rejected a year ago. So while they received an extra dollar an hour going
forward, they also were stuck in their seven year old wage rates for an extra
year to pay for that dollar increase.
-
Top of scale pay is $27.13 an hour. IAM agitators at Delta decry our
$53.52 hourly rate (effective 04/01/15) as “poverty level wages” but somehow
think $27.13 an hour is a livable wage?!?!?
-
Per Diem is paid at $1.45 an hour
($34.80 for a 24 hour period). Delta domestic per diem is $2.20 an hour ($52.80 for a 24
hour period) . . . say WHAT!?!? CommutAir flight attendants are supposed to get
by on $18 LESS per day, even if we’re at the same layover cities?!?! Do layover
restaurants charge CommutAir flight attendants 35% LESS for the same meal than
what Delta flight attendants pay? It’s outrageous for IAM negotiators to think
their own members are worth so little.
-
Annual pay increases equal 1% for each year of the agreement. So
at the top of the pay scale, CommutAir flight attendants will receive an
additional 27 CENTS an hour in 2016, 28 CENTS an hour in 2017, and 27 CENTS an
hour in 2018. All in black-and-white, legally-binding contractual language.
-
There is NO language that ties the flight attendant
salaries to a percentage of operating profits (in case you read that joke of an
IAM flyer that tried to compare the industry wages as percentages of operating
profits).
Always Something . . .
Do you know
what’s NOT locked into black-and-white legally-binding contractual language?
IAM dues!! Here’s Question 5 from the CommuteAir contract FAQs:
5. Why are the Union
dues amounts not in the contract?
The reason it is not in there, is because
it is not in any IAM contract. Dues are set by the IAM
Constitution. There are three amounts
that comprise the total monthly dues: The Grand Lodge per capita, the District
Lodge per capita and the Local Lodge per capita. These amounts are what fund
the three levels of our Union. Because these amounts may, or may not, change on
an annual basis, they are not included in Collective Bargaining Agreements
which can last between two to five years, and some even longer. The IAM
Constitution is amended every four years at the Grand Lodge convention by “delegates”
who are IAM dues paying members.
That’s
right: what’s sauce for the flight attendant goose is not sauce for the IAM
gander. The Machinists don’t want to tie themselves down to contractual
language with regard to any of their obligations to their members. Dues “may,
or may not, (sic) change on an annual basis”, just willy-nilly at the whim of
the IAM convention delegates and NOT by a direct vote of the IAM members.
And so we
have to ask once again, who are the silly geese that are trying to force an
inept union down the throats of the Delta flight attendants and why are they so
adamant in agitating for such a weak, ineffective organization?
But
regardless of who they are and where their motivation lies, one thing is
certain: if the IAM becomes our third-party representative, our collective
goose will be cooked!
Read the
news of the long, drawn-out drama of the CommutAir contract negotiations here:
http://www.iamdl142.org/fa/CommutAir/default.htm . Read it and weep. Weep for the
CommutAir flight attendants. Light a candle and say a prayer for them. It could
have been us.
While you’re at the website, note the dearth
of information (seven years of negotiations updates fit neatly onto one web
page) and the long time lapses between updates (sometimes two years or more).
Vote for IAM
and you too can expect to pay $700 per year in dues for this type of lack of
transparency, lack of communication and lack of service to the membership.
Sincerely,
Jose Arturo
Ibarra
