From a PMNW F/A someone who ACTUALLY IS A F/A for DELTA
While I respect the rights of those colleagues who feel compelled to join a union, I no longer feel the need to be gracious and accommodating to those who feel this way.Faced with the arduous and contentious battle a few years ago when Delta Air Lines flight attendants, including those newly joined from the ranks of my fellow NWA Flight Attendants said “NO” to union representation, I am resentful of this group bring yet another plague of treacherous, contentious, ill-informed, money hungry, misleading third party folks who care nothing about the business of Delta Air Lines and only in the survival of their own business.
You want to change the way I work. I do not want to fall back on the old routine of “the company leaders are out to get you and the union is the only folks fighting for the benefit”. It’s not true and no matter how many times they say it, it won’t be true. But some of you who don’t have a real sense of business acumen need someone to point to and make them the “villain”. I’m not willing to return to those days – being pitted “us against them”.
I remind my fellow former NWA colleagues that while Delta Air Lines flight attendants have maintained the direct relationship with Delta Air Lines Leaders for close to 80 years, we could never agree and find a union that really suited us. We had many representational elections over the 30 years I have been flying. And as many of the former Republic Flight Attendants may recall, our induction into the Teamsters, who won the representation election after our merger with NWA, we were often ignored and treated very badly by our “brotherhood,” often having to take matters into our own hands and levy assessments to file breeches of contract with NWA in Federal Court when the Teamsters could not intervene.
I like the current continuous improvement method of changes to our work rules through the EIG, and to our compensation package over the endless and contentious negotiations, phony calls for strike, having to give up something in order to get a change to the existing agreement, and side letters of agreement that I don’t have a say in developing. Not to mention paying increased dues.
So NO, I am not going to stand idly by as you folks try to dismantle the forward thinking, employee centric culture that I have come to know and enjoy at Delta Air Lines and replace it with a third party culture of mistrust, combativeness and antagonism. Delta Air Lines Leaders are NOT and will not be cast as the enemy. The way you see your career in the future is diametrically opposed to the way I see mine, and I’m going to fight you, right along with the other Delta Air Lines Flight Attendants who feel the same way.
The gloves are off.
IAM – stir up your nonsense somewhere else! IAM NOT INTERESTED!
Sincerely,
Jim Rodriguez
Former Union Activist
Former NWA/Delta Air Lines Leader
Current Delta Air Lines Flight Attendant