11/3/10 - ELECTION RESULTS CHALLENGED

Just over 63 years ago in the fall of 1947, Northwest flight attendants signed our first agreement with the company.  The tiny contract was the size of a postcard and could be read from cover to cover in about five minutes.  Many provisions of that first little book have survived over six decades.

This afternoon we learned that we will no longer collectively bargain for our working conditions, benefits and pay.  According to National Mediation Board statute, our union has been decertified, our representation rights extinguished. 

We are now at-will employees of Delta Air Lines. 

The AFA Legal Department is reviewing numerous, unprecedented cases of company interference in our election.  Formal objections will be brought to the NMB within seven business days challenging election results.  AFA-CWA will update us on actions taken.

RELATIONSHIPS

For now, we face cultural immersion at Delta without the protections of a legally binding contract.  A contract never precluded us from having productive, direct relationships with all levels of management, but without explicit, defensible terms of employment, just cause and due process, we can only be cautiously optimistic that one person’s relationship isn’t more direct than another’s.
 
As newcomers to the Delta family business, we hope to see an immediate shift in its depiction of AFA as a “third party.”  Indeed, over 7,000 mislabeled employees are now part of Delta’s extended family.  The onus is on management to facilitate a time of healing and inclusion, and prove its culture exists beyond slogans.  We are hopeful that all flight attendants will be treated fairly, regardless of pre-merger status or union advocacy.

EXPECTATIONS

We have built the second largest airline in the world with record-breaking profits and world-class service, making significant contributions to Delta’s success, yet our pay remains less than it was twenty years ago.  Our management team and unionized pilots have benefited greatly from this merger.  We believe flight attendant compensation should be upgraded from “industry standard” to reflect our ever increasing service workload and safety responsibilities.
 
Will our work rules change without notice one day?  How soon might Delta's compensation package be imposed, and when will that change again?  Will management honor our negotiated subsidized active/retiree/survivor medical insurance?  The short answer is that we don’t know.  We will say that our expectations—and those of thousands of contract supporters—are modest.

REGULATIONS

Only the company can decide whether and how long to keep pre-merger groups under current work rules.  Until management imposes a unified policy manual, we may work using regulations and procedures established in our contract for a time, but they are no longer enforceable. 

There will be no more oversight of air safety, health and security by our dedicated AFA ASHS Committee.  Flight attendants must familiarize themselves with minimum rules governed by the FAA .  If you report violations of rest or safety conditions to your supervisor, and believe you are being discriminated against because of such reporting, call the FAA’s whistleblower hotline at 1-800-255-1111 for information about filing a complaint.

OUR THANKS

Your MEC extends gratitude to all supporters of workplace fairness who sacrificed to help us retain representation at Delta:  fellow flight attendants, our community of CWA brothers and sisters, our union friends across the world, and AFA-CWA outgoing International President Patricia Friend. 

Before talks of bankruptcy, mergers and consolidation, Pat was working to secure bargaining rights for Delta flight attendants.  Today’s vote for representation—specifically new rules governing the NMB election process for our industry—is a direct result of Pat’s leadership, strategic focus and determination to strengthen the collective bargaining rights of all airline workers.  Indeed, this historic vote will be remembered as AFA's greatest challenge during her tenure.

Most importantly, we thank the past and present membership of pre-merger Northwest Airlines.  Our solidarity has been unwavering, even while enduring countless restrictions to our freedom of association.  In the face of unparalleled union-busting, our resolve to maintain our seat at the table symbolizes our commitment to our predecessors, our profession, and to each other.

ALWAYS WELCOME

AFA will continue its work on behalf of our profession, advocating flight attendant issues with government officials and supporting solid employment law advancements that include fair standards of duty time, rest, and safety.  Our former union will defend the flight attendant career on issues of cabotage and outsourcing in all its forms.  AFA will champion workers’ rights and a return to viable middle-class jobs.   

We will always be welcome in the Association of Flight Attendants, as will all cabin safety professionals seeking self-determination.  It is our hope that one day, we will return home.