In another disgusting attempt to dupe the Delta flight attendants, the Machinists union just released another poorly conceived, atrociously executed, third-grade art class attempt at a “comparison” where they try to show the “IAM Difference”. They can’t even keep their “graph” straight, much less their comparison.
How many ways does the latest IAM crap-aganda seek to deceive us? Let us count the ways:
- The IAM flyer ends the comparison in 2013!?!?!? It’s now 2015 . . . a full two years later! Even if the timespan weren’t inexplicably arbitrary (who decided to start with 2001 and why?), why did the IAM leave out the TWO MOST RECENT YEARS in their comparison?!?!
- If the IAM were interested in transparency and honesty, they would have compared the hourly rate, not some obfuscated “average salary” that has unknown parameters.
- How does the Machinists flyer define “average salary”? Is this for two flight attendants who flew equal numbers of hours? Who knows? Surely if it were, the IAM would have clarified that on their flyer. The fact that they are sourcing the Bureau of Transportation Statistics suggests that they got their number from some calculation that began with the average Continental flight attendant flying more hours per year than the average Delta flight attendant. (And by the way, there is no such thing as a Delta flight attendant who is “average”).
- The text in the flyer claims the starting point is $40,000 in annual salary, yet the graph clearly shows a starting point of $35,000. The IAM can’t even reconcile their lies with their own art department.
- This comparison doesn’t show that IAM NEGOTIATED AWAY all rigs and credits, just to preserve the hourly rate – and Continental WASN’T EVEN IN BANKRUPTCY!
- Delta flight attendants have received a 24% increase in the hourly rate, just since 2009. Plus another 16.58% in profit sharing this year alone. IAM-represented ExpressJet flight attendants have received a 0% raise over that time.
- From 2007 – 2015, Delta flight attendants have received pay raises of 31%. The Continental flight attendants (still working under their IAM contract) received a pathetic 9.8% over than some time span, or less than 1/3 of our raises. And those are pure numbers, based on the hourly rate, not some obscure “average”.
- In 2015, the top hourly rate at Delta is $53.52 (add in the profit sharing and our hourly rate is over $60). The IAM Continental top of scale pay is $53.34 per hour, with no minimum duty guarantee, no trip rigs, full month reserve (guaranteed at only 4 hours per day versus our 4:45) and so much more, I mean less. Essentially turning their voice over to the IAM (because who doesn’t already have a voice), costs the Continental flight attendants $7 per hour for each and every hour they fly, plus so much more in quality of life, work rules and pay protections. Gee, thanks IAM, but no thanks.
Finally, and most importantly, look at your Gross Earnings on your 12/31/2014 pay stub. If you flew even 75 hours per month last year, you’ll see that your earnings were way above that “magic average” the Machinists are talking about, proving yet again that the IAM doesn’t know the first thing about Delta or the Delta flight attendants.
If the Machinists can’t even get a comparison right, if they can’t even get the historical facts straight, then how are we ever supposed to believe that they have the capacity to negotiate a contract for 21,000 flight attendants, with all the intricacies that will entail.
Don’t be an IAM dupe. Be Delta, Be Different.
Please share this email with your friends and coworkers.
Sincerely,
Jose Arturo Ibarra
Please find out additional factual information here: http://bedeltabedifferent.com/
