Baseball
Thanks to AMFA at Alaska Baseball style arbitration was Introduced to the Airline Industry, During the Last contract talks Alaska used it very successful. Alaska won on all points having to do with Money Issues. Thanks to AMFA this is another first in their long History of working against the Members and for the Company. They won on eliminating Pensions for new hires and reduced Benifits.
Baseball-Style Arbitration in the Airline Industry
The CEOs of American, Delta, and Federal Express have teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to form a coalition called CESTA, or the Communities for Economic Strength Through Aviation, to convince Congress that amending the Railway Labor Act to include baseball-style mandatory binding arbitration in the airline industry “will resolve contract negotiations fairly, quickly and amicably.â€
The proposal is just an attempt to bypass the Railway Labor Act and stack the deck in management’s favor.
It will destroy the ability of airline employees to negotiate a fair contract. It would deprive union members of their right to strike at the end of the 30-day cooling off period while offering management absolutely no incentive to resolve disputes through collective bargaining.
The proposal would also make it easier for carriers to win wage and work-rule concessions, thereby driving down wages and benefits for all workers in the industry.
The airlines are claiming that past strikes have crippled the industry and led to major service disruptions for the public. Not true! The fact is that airline labor unions have successfully negotiated hundreds of collective bargaining agreements under the RLA without a disruption to air service. Not to mention the numerous concessions that workers have made in order to save their airlines.
Since the 1950s, 97 percent of airline negotiations have produced settlements without strikes or lockouts. In fact, according to the National Mediation Board, only four strikes at major U.S. airlines have occurred in the last decade, and one of them lasted only 24 minutes.
Over the last 34 years, there have only been 3 airline Presidential Emergency Boards, and 2 of those were called by our current president, George W. Bush.
But not all the airlines agree with CESTA’s claims. Southwest Airlines—the most unionized air carrier—opposes the effort because its negotiations with labor unions have gone well. This makes an interesting point: If the most unionized carrier has such a great relationship with its workers, then what are the other airlines, like American, Delta, and Fed Ex, doing wrong?
What’s most offensive about this campaign is that at the same time CEOs are claiming that “compensation packages and wages have been excessive†and lawmakers have provided the airlines with a $15 billion bailout package, the so-called “broke†airlines have managed to find the resources needed to finance an anti-worker campaign overseen by a team of high-paid Washington lobbyists, including former members of Congress. Talk about an irresponsible use of scarce resources!
This attack on our rights under the RLA is just the beginning of a trend that we are seeing on the Hill: where corporate lobbyists are fighting tooth-and-nail to destroy labor unions. Today it’s the airline unions. If CESTA’s effort prevails, it’ll be another set of workers tomorrow!
Learn the Truth before it is to Late! Become Informed
Thanks to AMFA at Alaska Baseball style arbitration was Introduced to the Airline Industry, During the Last contract talks Alaska used it very successful. Alaska won on all points having to do with Money Issues. Thanks to AMFA this is another first in their long History of working against the Members and for the Company. They won on eliminating Pensions for new hires and reduced Benifits.
Baseball-Style Arbitration in the Airline Industry
The CEOs of American, Delta, and Federal Express have teamed up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to form a coalition called CESTA, or the Communities for Economic Strength Through Aviation, to convince Congress that amending the Railway Labor Act to include baseball-style mandatory binding arbitration in the airline industry “will resolve contract negotiations fairly, quickly and amicably.â€
The proposal is just an attempt to bypass the Railway Labor Act and stack the deck in management’s favor.
It will destroy the ability of airline employees to negotiate a fair contract. It would deprive union members of their right to strike at the end of the 30-day cooling off period while offering management absolutely no incentive to resolve disputes through collective bargaining.
The proposal would also make it easier for carriers to win wage and work-rule concessions, thereby driving down wages and benefits for all workers in the industry.
The airlines are claiming that past strikes have crippled the industry and led to major service disruptions for the public. Not true! The fact is that airline labor unions have successfully negotiated hundreds of collective bargaining agreements under the RLA without a disruption to air service. Not to mention the numerous concessions that workers have made in order to save their airlines.
Since the 1950s, 97 percent of airline negotiations have produced settlements without strikes or lockouts. In fact, according to the National Mediation Board, only four strikes at major U.S. airlines have occurred in the last decade, and one of them lasted only 24 minutes.
Over the last 34 years, there have only been 3 airline Presidential Emergency Boards, and 2 of those were called by our current president, George W. Bush.
But not all the airlines agree with CESTA’s claims. Southwest Airlines—the most unionized air carrier—opposes the effort because its negotiations with labor unions have gone well. This makes an interesting point: If the most unionized carrier has such a great relationship with its workers, then what are the other airlines, like American, Delta, and Fed Ex, doing wrong?
What’s most offensive about this campaign is that at the same time CEOs are claiming that “compensation packages and wages have been excessive†and lawmakers have provided the airlines with a $15 billion bailout package, the so-called “broke†airlines have managed to find the resources needed to finance an anti-worker campaign overseen by a team of high-paid Washington lobbyists, including former members of Congress. Talk about an irresponsible use of scarce resources!
This attack on our rights under the RLA is just the beginning of a trend that we are seeing on the Hill: where corporate lobbyists are fighting tooth-and-nail to destroy labor unions. Today it’s the airline unions. If CESTA’s effort prevails, it’ll be another set of workers tomorrow!
Learn the Truth before it is to Late! Become Informed
