Welcome To Member Engagement
The union's most important resource is our membership. We are committed to
a strategy of increasing our power through membership education and
activism. That is the basic premise of member mobilization. Fundamentally, a
union's power at any point in time is nothing more than the total energy and
support of its mobilized members.
Message of Solidarity
From the hard-fought battles of our predecessors comes the REAL milestone on Monday: A Delta flight attendant uniform with a union insignia proudly displayed. This is going to be the true story of the day, though it’s certain to get lost in the rest of the message tomorrow. While we have every right to be thrilled to change uniforms I would ask every former Northwest flight attendant to understand the significance of this seemingly minor adornment.
Our Delta brothers and sisters who are working tirelessly for collective bargaining rights certainly understand. It is a corporeal sign of solidarity. It is going to be a sign of 21,000+ people who are working toward common goals; protecting our career, not maintaining, but bettering our lives through collective bargaining efforts. The new Delta Air Lines cannot ignore 21,000 voices resonating in a single, rhythmic cadence. Our combined group will be historic.
If wearing this tiny emblem seems insignificant to you please reconsider before laughing at my effusive prose. It’s a clear message when seen that cries, “We will not waiver in our belief of our worth. We are strong in our solidarity.” Wear your new uniform proudly with that powerful talisman on your breast. Don’t dismiss those three little letters. Many brave souls fought hard for all of us to wear
that piece of tin. I honor them every time I pin it on my lapel.
“In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as ‘right-to-work’. It provides no ‘rights’ and no ‘work’. It’s purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining...We demand this fraud be stopped.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.
In solidarity
-Kim Evasic
Posted by
NWA Webmaster on 04/01 at 10:11 AM
Unionism
If you are feeling apathetic and are wondering where to muster up some energy for your union, please read below:
Hello my NWA and Delta f/a’s, my brothers and sisters.
Here is my latest Member Engagement, “Norma Rae” message:
When does the honest hard working American citizen get to reclaim the respect and dignity he/she used to get in putting in a hard days work? When are the CEO’s CFO’s and every other “good ‘ol boy” going to realize, that taking hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and bonuses from their corporations, is not the right thing to do? All the while, the majority of their employees are laid off, under paid and can’t afford to be sick or go to the doctor. How did this become a commonality in the great United States? When will we as a country and a workforce, unite for the good of all and form unions that are made up of each and every one of us to get what WE have earned? When do we let the corporate giants that look out only for themselves know, we are done taking it!! It’s our turn brothers and sisters, let’s set a standard in this new era of hope and show this country how strong and united WE are. When we stand together, work together and win this election for representation, maybe the rest of our fellow countrymen will follow suit and decide to stand together at their companies and decide they want a voice in their futures with job security, a livable wage, affordable decent health care and a solid retirement program.
These are all benefits that unions brought this country decades ago, but with the decline in unions, went the decline in our benefits. We only have ourselves to blame for standing by silently and letting this atrocity occur. Let’s not further the atrocity in declining wages, unemployment and health care benefits by not exercising our right to keep our union on the property at the new Delta.
Last week President Obama had a “State of the Union” address. Please notice the word union in that phrase. This whole country is considered a union! Yet we rank last in industrialized nations in organized unionism. Isn’t that a contradiction of our freedom and what this country was founded upon? Equality for us all! That is what being a member of a union affords you, me, we, US!!! Let’s get back to the way America was intended to be, with us all having the opportunity to a fair and equal chance at success, not just for the corporate fat cats that are/have been bleeding us dry.- Submitted by Angela Brewer
Posted by
NWA Webmaster on 03/09 at 10:34 AM
September 2008
Dear IMPACT Leaders,
In early 2008 we sent you a bulletin addressing the possibility that NWA AFA might face a combined union representational vote involving both Delta and Northwest Flight Attendants, in the event of an
approved merger. With the final approval of the Delta/Northwest merger apparently imminent, that possibility has now become a reality. The merger will significantly affect all Flight Attendants at
Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines, and it is important that we be well informed and ready for the union representational election.
IMPACT was created so that we would be prepared for the challenges associated with a merger, including the combined representational election. In other words, the joint campaign is absorbing the
IMPACT team into the joint organizing structure. As a current IMPACT team volunteer, you will be transitioned into the joint campaign as Phone Info Reps. However, volunteers are needed for State
Chairs and for Visibility Info Reps, if that is preferable.
Campaign Volunteers Needed:
State Chairs and Info Reps (Phone & Visibility)
What's At Stake? Just to Name a Few:
- Hard won protection against outsourcing
- Legally binding contract that cannot be changed at managementʼs whim
- The ability to negotiate a new industry leading contract, rather than simply having to accept what management offers
- Date-of-Hire seniority integration and a ʻfence agreementʼ between both groups, to protect our flying until we can negotiate an industry-leading contract together
- The right to Due Process and to union representation for disciplinary matters
Our most important resource now is our membership. Our power exists in the total energy and support of flight attendants who can be mobilized to collective action. We must be prepared to win the
election, to avoid losing our bargaining rights and union representation altogether. Only then can we mount a strong and effective contract campaign, to restore our pay and benefits losses incurred
during bankruptcy. Together, we must secure our futures and dispel the rumors that create division in our ranks.
The right to collective bargaining gives us the power to determine our contract and have a voice in our careers. As members of one union, our voices will be 22,000 strong. If you know of any flight attendants willing to join the fight to protect our future in a merger by securing union representation at the world's largest airline, they can contact us by e-mailing our at impact@nwaafa.org or call the office at 952-241-4108. For more information on the joint campaign structure, please visit www.deltaafa.org.
In Solidarity,
MEC Member Engagement Committee
impact@nwaafa.org
August 2008
A lot of changes have been going on at our union this summer. The MEC appointed two new leaders to the Member Engagement Committee: Angela Brewer and Jarrod Anderson, Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. In advance of the Delta/NWA merger, the MEC and LEC also appointed a Campaign Coordinating Committee (C3) that will build a strategy and campaign for the representational election if the Department of Justice approves a single carrier.
The C3 has four Northwest and four Delta Members and in July, they met at AFA headquarters in Washington D.C. to develop the framework for the campaign and create training models for those who volunteer for the campaign.
Jarrod and I will be working directly with the C3 and will be folding the IMPACT program into this endeavor. Our main focus right now has to be maintaining representation once we merge as a single carrier. In late August, we will receive more information from the C3 detailing our next steps for this campaign, and will pass that along to our volunteers.
It is more important than ever that our group stay informed and educated! Read emails and check our website periodically to stay abreast of the latest developments. We can't afford to lose over 60 years of bargaining rights.
