Questions & Answers
Question and Answer 49
Question 49: Northwest and Delta are pushing this merger through the regulatory process like there really is no tomorrow. With all of our SLIP leave flight attendants going off the line, and all of our early-outs gone, will we still have enough to trigger a representation election of the combined group after a merger transaction is complete?
Answer: The number of flight attendants on the roster at Northwest Airlines will not change simply because SLIP participants go on leave of absence. According to the NMB’s current representation manual, employees on leave of absence with “a reasonable expectation of returning to work” are eligible to vote in a representation election, just as are those on furlough or probation. All flight attendants on our seniority list – as of the qualifying date set by the NMB prior to the election – will be eligible to vote.
The key element in the paragraph above is that those are the rules in the current representation manual, as written and recorded today. The National Mediation Board is an appointed body with little governance other than its loyalty to the current administration and former employers. In fact, President Bush’s appointed Chairman of the NMB, Read Van de Water, was once Northwest Airlines’ government affairs director!
The NMB can and does change the rules of the game whenever it chooses. Case in point: on July 15, 2008, the NMB began seeking public comment on its intent to “revise and/or clarify” sections of the current representation manual. Of particular interest to Northwest flight attendants and AFA-CWA, the NMB is prepared to add this qualifying statement to Section 19.7.:
“Where there is a certified representative on one of the affected carriers but no certified representative on the other(s), the Board will exercise its discretion and extend the certification only where there is more than a substantial majority, as determined by the Board. Authorization cards may only be used to supplement the showing of interest necessary to trigger an election; they may not be used toward getting a certification extended.”
Coincidental, isn’t it, that this change is being considered on the eve of a representation election that would preserve or destroy our collective bargaining rights in a merger between Delta and Northwest Airlines? The NMB Chairman’s former colleagues have certainly called in some chips of late, perhaps even promising a future at the New Global Airline when Ms. Van de Water’s appointment expires.
AFA-CWA will submit comment on this and other proposed changes to the NMB’s representation manual before the end of the public comment period. In the meantime, we have joined with our partners in the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO in issuing this statement to the NMB:
“Requiring a union to demonstrate membership of “more than a substantial majority, as determined by the Board” before certification is extended creates an ambiguous and artificially high burden on workers who simply want to enjoy the benefits of collective bargaining. Furthermore, the timing of this proposed change, coming after the merger between Delta and Northwest has been formally announced and is now pending, is especially suspect. We simply see no justification for this change and the Board has offered no explanation for why it is needed or issued any guidance on how the new policy would be implemented.”
The TTD and AFA-CWA have asked for an extension of the public comment period to 60 days from 30, citing the summer recess of both the House and Senate, whose members deserve ample time to address the Board.
Although some of the Board’s proposed representation manual changes are “ambiguous” and “suspect,” what is crystal clear to AFA-CWA and the TTD is that government appointees can too easily affect policy that could be devastating to our collective future and our careers. It is critical that we reverse the tide against our profession and elect a president who will appoint credible representatives to the NMB and to the Department of Labor. Visit the Government Affairs page of our website, nwaafa.org, to read about the importance of your vote and to find out how to register in your state.
The closing date for public comment on the NMB’s proposed changes is 1600 EDT on August 15, 2008.
Posted by Communications on 07/30 at 07:19 PM