Q & A
Questions and Answers 45 - 46
Question 45: With the threat of “headcount reductions” looming at Northwest and Delta, how will that affect the next representation election? Can furloughed flight attendants vote? Can new hires on probation?
Answer: The National Mediation Board representation manual (Section 9) lists both furloughees and new hires on probation as eligible.
When Delta flight attendants voted in their first representation election, Delta management provided the National Mediation Board with a list of “eligible” employees. AFA-CWA disputes Delta’s numbers, saying Delta inflated the list, knowing that a successful election would require a majority of all eligible voters to cast a ballot, as opposed to a majority of those voting, as in other democratic elections.
Many Delta flight attendants on this list were on extended furlough and were without a reasonable expectation of returning to work, which is required in the NMB’s representation manual to meet eligibility. Delta Air Lines has given no indication that these flight attendants will ever return to work: since Delta flight attendants have no contract – and no protective furlough language – they cannot possibly have any “reasonable expectation” of returning to work – and Delta management knows that. Their names were included to make it difficult for AFA-CWA activists to locate them and harder still to reach the 50% + 1 mandate.
New hires on probation are eligible to vote if they have actually performed flight attendant duties before the eligibility cut-off date set by the NMB for a representation election.
You can see how important it is that everyone who is eligible cast a ballot in the combined representation election. Those seeking representation are at a disadvantage right out of the box at the NMB, since not voting is counted as a “no” vote. Without complete participation, we stand to lose our union, our contract and our collective bargaining rights in the next election.
Think the election process doesn’t sound fair? Want to take a first, big step toward making representation and a voice at work easier for all Americans? Join the Million-Member Mobilization for the Employee Free Choice Act, sponsored by CWA. Click here to sign your name to the petition. With your help, CWA will present the new president and Congress with 1 million signatures urging them to enact the Employee Free Choice Act!
Question 46: I have a scheduling grievance filed with my local rep. When we voted for AFA-CWA in our last representation election, the union took on hundreds of pending cases for the members. If we lost our union in a Delta merger, what would happen to outstanding grievances?
Answer: When AFA-CWA became our collective bargaining agent, all outstanding grievances were transferred to our new union. Since that time, hundreds of grievances have been settled and many flight attendants have returned to work after successful grievance arbitrations. Our MEC Grievance Committee continues work on the daily data collection and evidence gathering for grievances so our flight attendants are fairly represented as provided for in our contract.
Without union representation, outstanding grievances, which are filed under the contract, become null and void, just as our contract would be eliminated on the day we lose our union if we are not successful in the combined election. Pursuing a dispute against the surviving management for unjust discipline, a seniority violation in a scheduling issue, or non-payment of wages in a payroll dispute, would become the sole responsibility of the individual flight attendant without a union or a contract, and would be based on Delta’s unilateral internal procedures, if any, that might apply. For most disputes, there will be no remedy under Delta procedures or the law, because most of the rights we enjoy are strictly a product of our contract.
It’s important to remember, everything we take for granted today – from grievances, to scheduling rules, to our representation and contract rights – would be ripped away from us if we don’t participate in the representation vote for the merged flight attendant group. Complacency can have a real impact on our work lives. We all must be certain to vote when the election occurs.
Posted by Communications on 07/14 at 12:14 PM