Q & A
Questions and Answers 34 - 36
Question 34: AFA-CWA is spending a lot of time and effort on the Delta representation campaign. What does Delta’s union representation vote have to do with me?
Answer: Having Delta’s flight attendants represented by our union before a merger is complete is our first line of defense in protecting our contract. If we come into a merger as a union-represented workforce, with both groups of flight attendants represented by AFA-CWA, it will be one less hurdle towards our goal of an improved contract. Also, with an already established seniority integration policy (per AFA-CWA’s Constitution and Bylaws), we can avoid the division in our group that merging operations has caused in past consolidations.
For two perspectives on how it is in our own best interest to help Delta gain the protections of a legally binding contract, please read the letters from Ana Rasmussen, Los Angeles-based Council 98 flight attendant, who recently returned from Atlanta where she spent a few days voluteering at the Get Out The Vote efforts there; and from Janette Rook, MEC Vice President, who is on her way to Atlanta this afternoon.
Question 35: If AFA-CWA wins the representation election at Delta on May 28, how exactly do workrules in a combined contract get hammered out for the group?
Answer: AFA leaders at each airline appoint a merger negotiating committee with equal representation from both groups. Working with a professional negotiator and other consultants and staff, this committee meets with company negotiators to begin negotiations for one contract covering the combined workforce. This process typically starts with a transition agreement that spells out how airline operations will be handled in the interim, while the new contract is being negotiated. At Northwest, we already have contract provisions that will apply to that interim period, for example a “fence"provision that will keep the operations separate until the merged agreement is in place.
A separate seniority integration committee, again with representatives from both groups, will simultaneously initiate the seniority integration process under AFA’s Constitution and Bylaws (protecting our full, current bidding seniority). By policy, once the seniority list is merged, AFA does not turn that list over to management until there is agreement on a contract. In this way the ability to implement the merged seniority list serves as an incentive for management to keep contract negotiations moving because executives cannot realize the full value of the merger until we allow them to implement the merged list.
Negotiations in a merger proceed much like any other negotiations. What’s unique about merger negotiations is that we have an opportunity to try to achieve the best of both worlds while negotiating the combined contract. It’s not a question of which group has it better as a starting point; the goal of merger negotiations is to combine the best things from each group – pay, benefits, work rules – and win improvements that will produce a tentative agreement the members can approve.
Once a tentative agreement is reached, it first goes to the MEC for approval and then to the members of the combined workforce for a democratic ratification vote.
Question 36: Who will negotiate that new contract and is there some kind of law that says the controlling management has to bargain expeditiously? It seems like this could go on for years, as it has at US Airways/America West.
Answer: As discussed above, if our union wins the representation election at Delta, the flight attendants will be represented in merger negotiations by a committee selected by the union leadership at both airlines. The company will be represented by the management of the merged or surviving airline (Delta management in this case). There is no particular legal requirement for expeditious negotiations, but some transition agreements spell out an expedited schedule for merger negotiations. If management – motivated by the need to obtain the full revenue and cost advantages of a merged operation – is willing to work with us on the improvements we need, the process could go quickly and smoothly.
Of course, it’s important to note that we only get the opportunity to negotiate improvements and the details of how a merger will affect us if we win the election at Delta. If our union does not win this representation election, and does not win the election that would then be held at the time of the merger, then there will be no negotiations. Our contract and our union representation will end immediately if we lose that second election. After that, Delta executives would be free to change our pay, benefits and work rules any way they might wish.
Posted by Communications on 05/15 at 05:22 AM