Cultures actually clash in US Airways-America West merger
Sunday, April 02, 2006
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Excerpt:
But no one is fighting over soft drinks and uniforms -- at least not yet -- which is why the brawl in Philadelphia stands as a particularly harrowing example of the differences that threaten to disrupt labor peace. Again, the two sides differ on the details of what happened, but what all agree is that organizers from the Transport Workers Union were in Philadelphia on Feb. 8 as part of a campaign to gain support from US Airways workers and swing them to the TWU side.
The IAM, in a court filing, claims the TWU organizers tried to force IAM-represented US Airways employees from the Marriott Hotel meeting room and then "physically assaulted" them. The IAM claims its members fought back in self-defense.
The TWU, in a statement to the National Mediation Board obtained by the Post-Gazette, tells a different story. It claims several IAM officials warned them to leave the room and one pointed to a group of men waiting outside, wearing US Airways uniforms, and said: "If they come in here, I can't be responsible for what they are about to do."
Soon thereafter, 25 men rushed into the room, throwing chairs and tables, breaking glass, punching and kicking the five TWU organizers. One TWU organizer said he deflected four or five chairs before being hit with several others. At least five men pulled him to the ground, held him down and kicked him repeatedly, according to the statement.
Another man said he had a hot cup of coffee thrown in his face.
Yet another man from the TWU described being cornered by five men who "rammed" him against the wall several times with a large metal dining cart. The man, according to a statement filed with the National Mediation Board, "became convinced the attackers were trying to kill him." On "sheer adrenaline," he pushed the cart and his attackers back and escaped, only to be pinned against a filing cabinet and hit with repeated blows to his head.
He said he yelled: "Enough! Enough!"
Sunday, April 02, 2006
By Dan Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Excerpt:
But no one is fighting over soft drinks and uniforms -- at least not yet -- which is why the brawl in Philadelphia stands as a particularly harrowing example of the differences that threaten to disrupt labor peace. Again, the two sides differ on the details of what happened, but what all agree is that organizers from the Transport Workers Union were in Philadelphia on Feb. 8 as part of a campaign to gain support from US Airways workers and swing them to the TWU side.
The IAM, in a court filing, claims the TWU organizers tried to force IAM-represented US Airways employees from the Marriott Hotel meeting room and then "physically assaulted" them. The IAM claims its members fought back in self-defense.
The TWU, in a statement to the National Mediation Board obtained by the Post-Gazette, tells a different story. It claims several IAM officials warned them to leave the room and one pointed to a group of men waiting outside, wearing US Airways uniforms, and said: "If they come in here, I can't be responsible for what they are about to do."
Soon thereafter, 25 men rushed into the room, throwing chairs and tables, breaking glass, punching and kicking the five TWU organizers. One TWU organizer said he deflected four or five chairs before being hit with several others. At least five men pulled him to the ground, held him down and kicked him repeatedly, according to the statement.
Another man said he had a hot cup of coffee thrown in his face.
Yet another man from the TWU described being cornered by five men who "rammed" him against the wall several times with a large metal dining cart. The man, according to a statement filed with the National Mediation Board, "became convinced the attackers were trying to kill him." On "sheer adrenaline," he pushed the cart and his attackers back and escaped, only to be pinned against a filing cabinet and hit with repeated blows to his head.
He said he yelled: "Enough! Enough!"
