from bedeltabedifferent.com
Voting for or against the IAM may be one of the most important decisions any of us make about our career. The outcome of the election will have long-lasing consequences—possibly for the remainder of our careers. For some of us, this is a very emotional decision. We are passionate about being a member of a union or not being a member of a union. For me, however, this is a business decision that must be based on the facts. I would like to share with you the facts, conversations, and experiences that shaped my decision
1. A conversation with an IAM representative from Baltimore
A year ago, I was close to neutral concerning union representation for Delta flight attendants. I recognized the many improvements I had personally experienced since integration, but my attitude was, “either way, we’ll be OK.” Even so, I had a reputation of being “anti-union” and a MSP activist asked if an IAM representative from Baltimore could call me. Of course, she called me when I was very busy, but I took the time to ask her two questions.
First, I said, “I have friends who were ticket agents in OMA who are still angry with the IAM because they feel the IAM sold them out when NWA outsourced their station. Because there are two sides to every story, I want to hear the IAM’s side.” She told me, there was nothing the IAM could do to protect their members’ jobs in stations like OMA, the best they could do was to negotiate a severance package. “OK. Then what can you do for me if Delta should ever decide to outsource my job?” Again she said negotiating a severance package would be the best the IAM could do.
Then I moved on to my next question. “Delta is extremely innovative. For example, buying an oil refinery. No one expected that. However, when I look at your business model, it looks to me like you are doing things the same way you’ve done them for thirty years or more. Tell me what you are doing to say relevant in the future?” Her answer was, “We use technology.” At that point, I realized there was nothing else to discuss.
2. The experience of PMNW employees with the IAM
The Friday after the IAM filing, I was walking through the MSP airport and ran into an ACS above wing agent I know. He asked me what thought of the IAM. “I’m not impressed with them,” I said, “but you were a dues paying member for years. What do you think of the IAM?” He replied, “The way the IAM [mistreated] us, they’ll never come back to us.”
As I mentioned earlier, my friends who were agents in OMA, are still angry with the IAM for their lack of support during a difficult time. Last weekend, one of them said to me, “The IAM is like a double-bladed knife.” She was talking about a knife that cuts both you and your enemy. In her opinion, the IAM will hurt both the flight attendants and Delta.
At NWA, the IAM represented thousands of employees—ACS above the wing, ACS below the wing, reservation agents and clerical workers. Even our schedulers were represented by the IAM. If the IAM provided excellent benefits to all these work groups, why are they all not working to get the IAM back? The IAM is promising to negotiate “industry leading” pay and benefits for Delta flight attendants, but were they able to do that for any of the Northwest work groups they represented?
By speaking out against the IAM, many of you will call me “anti-union” or even “anti-flight attendant.” Neither of those things is true. My husband was an IAM-represented mechanic and marched with Caesar Chavez in college. I brought my children to union meetings and marched in informational picketing while holding my son in a snowsuit. I was on the GUTS list with the AFA, and was willing to risk my job because I was told that my union was unable to negotiate a contact that met “industry standards.” And, anyone who knows me understands that I am committed to supporting flight attendants on and off the job.
I have an allegory for the choice we will have to make. Imagine you own a business, and someone comes to you and asks you for a job. The position is important and can make or break your business. It pays very well and once someone has the job, it is very difficult to terminate that employee. This candidate for the job makes many promises but has no substantiation that he or she can keep any of these promises. Oh, and this candidate has been fired for doing the same job at five similar businesses. Would you be willing to risk your business?
We all want the same thing. We want the best pay, benefits, and work rules in the industry. We want to have the best product, the best routes and the strongest brand in the industry. I believe that the best route to reach these goals are to work together with out the hindrance of the IAM. The Delta Air Lines I’ve experienced is thoughtful, reliable and innovative. I have yet to see any of these qualities in the IAM.
Tamzan Miller – MSP
