Questions & Answers
Questions and Answers 28 - 29
Question 28: Depending on who’s doing the talking, this deal with Delta is either a “merger” or an “acquisition.” Does it matter which term is used, as far as our scope language and seniority protections are concerned?
Answer: The words “merger” and “acquisition” can certainly evoke different reactions. One sounds more like a partnership, a marriage of equals, while the other seems to imply control, something dominated or owned. While our emotional reactions to these words are very real – especially when details of the proposed transaction remain guarded – no matter what management or the media call this deal, the reality is that job security, seniority rights and scope protections in Section 1 of our contract remain unaffected by semantics.
We have some of the strongest scope and successor language in the industry, the culmination of years of collective bargaining with union representatives determined to protect us in exactly a moment like this in airline history. Northwest management has always fought to dilute the protections we’ve gained in Section 1. Even in bankruptcy, though, we knew that allowing the Company to chip away at this language would only subject us to an uncertain future in a world of consolidation.
Our seniority protections in Section 1.E. (Labor Protective Provisions, or LPPs) are augmented by legislation in this year’s Omnibus appropriations bill which created a minimum standard of “fair and equitable” seniority integration in a merger. Even more important than that federal authority is the Seniority Merger Policy and Procedures in Section X of our AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws, which guarantees that when two AFA-CWA-represented carriers engage in any consolidation transaction, the full, current seniority of each flight attendant shall be protected.
Our contract, the new federal law and the AFA Constitution and Bylaws have all been drafted very broadly so that the protections apply whether the transaction is labeled a “merger,” or an “acquisition,” or something else. As a practical matter, we still have the same protections regardless of what the airline executives call this deal.
We realize that none of these practical protections will eliminate our natural reaction to the words “merger” and “acquisition”. Our emotional connection to our history as Northwest flight attendants and our perceived loss of that identity in the near future may cause many of us real anxiety. In the coming days and weeks, our EAP representatives will be providing helpful information and support as we begin this phase of our careers together with our peers at Delta.
Question 29: Is it true that Delta is interfering with the representation campaign and preventing AFA-CWA activists from speaking directly to other flight attendants at bases?
Answer: Voting in the Delta flight attendants’ representation election began today and, as expected, Delta management is continuing its years-long battle to prevent its employees from attaining power at the bargaining table.
Reports have come in from around the Delta system already this afternoon, citing subtle and not-so-subtle intimidation of flight attendant activists by Delta managers. From Boston to Los Angeles, AFA-CWA supporters at Delta have been harassed and threatened by Inflight management for attempting to answer election questions for colleagues, or for distributing information to others interested in union representation.
While this is no surprise to those of us who have any experience with the anti-union tactics at Delta, many Northwest flight attendants almost can’t imagine this kind of blatant violation of our right to organize. In fact, if management at Northwest were to attempt such intimidation against us for participating in our union, we have a contractual right to representation in our defense.
The Railway Labor Act (RLA) states, “No carrier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question the right of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizing the labor organization of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees...” Twenty-six members of the U.S. Senate sent a letter to both Richard Anderson and Doug Steenland earlier this week, in anticipation of the Delta vote, urging neutrality in this election. Your union leaders at Northwest AFA-CWA and the Delta AFA-CWA Organizing Committee sent a similar letter to Anderson last week, two days after the merger announcement. You can add your name to this letter by linking here.
Tomorrow, April 24 at 10:30 a.m. EDT, AFA-CWA International Vice President Veda Shook will testify in front of the House Committee on the Judiciary at its Taskforce on Competition and Policy Antitrust Laws hearing, “Competition in the Airline Industry.” Veda will echo our MEC and LEC leaders in support of the right of our colleagues at Delta to finally attain representation without interference, and in recognizing the conditions that must be met for a merger to be successful for all airline employees.
Please visit the Government Hearings and Documents page of our website, nwaafa.org, and click on the webcast icon to watch this important hearing. Members of Congress will be able to ask questions of the participants, and will bring their recommendations to the Department of Justice before it issues a decision on the merger. A Senate hearing is scheduled for tomorrow as well, and written testimony will be provided from AFA-CWA to the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on “An Examination of the Delta-Northwest Merger.”