IAM Gears Up at Continental

[Paul]

The International Association of Machinists is set to unveil plans on Tuesday to organize about 15,000 fleet-service workers and customer-service agents at Continental Airlines (CAL:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take).

The move follows the completion of negotiations between the airline and its flight attendants, who are also represented by the IAM.

"We have received expressions of interest from a large number of Continental fleet-service workers and customer-service agents," IAM spokesman Joe Tiberi said Monday.

In January, flight attendants approved an agreement with the Houston-based carrier that called for $72 million in concessions, but the arrangement also includes a no-furlough clause, increases in some benefits and the retention of a defined-benefit pension plan.

A Continental spokesman declined to comment.

The IAM will begin to collect signed cards requesting an election from Continental employees. Although the National Mediation Board can call an election with cards from 35% of a proposed bargaining unit, Tiberi said the union intends to submit cards from more than 50%. "You need more than 50% to have a successful campaign," he said.

Last July, the Transport Workers Union failed in a bid to organize about 7,000 Continental fleet-service workers. TWU spokesman Jim Gannon said that a new bid is underway and that about one-third of the group has signed cards seeking an election, but labor law prevents filing for a new election until a year after the previous vote.

TheStreet

 

[Bob Owens]

The International Association of Machinists is set to unveil plans on Tuesday to organize about 15,000 fleet-service workers and customer-service agents at Continental Airlines (CAL:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take).

Last July, the Transport Workers Union failed in a bid to organize about 7,000 Continental fleet-service workers. TWU spokesman Jim Gannon said that a new bid is underway and that about one-third of the group has signed cards seeking an election, but labor law prevents filing for a new election until a year after the previous vote.

TheStreet

Well it looks like its open season on raiding. Thats a good thing, or it may be a setup for a truce between two AFL-CIO unions.

Unions have no problem using members to futher their "business" intrests.

Over at USAIR the IAM and TWU are in a dispute over who represents the combined workforce that resulted from the merger between USAIR and the America West.

The IAM represented USAIR is the larger of the two and the TWU is trying to gain the right to represent the combined group despite the fact that when the TWA and AA workforces were combined the IAM did not mount a challenge, which they probably would have won to represent AA.

Perhaps the Continental employees are being used, maybe the TWU will not file for an election at USAIR if the IAM lets the TWU run with Continental.

Bad deal for the Continental workers. Screw both of those unions, you have been non-union for twenty yaers now all of a sudden they both want you? If you want a union go Teamsters. Bigger is better. The TWU is a small corrupt union and the IAM, while much bigger, is dying.Why give either of them the opportunity to use you for leverage in a dispute they have with each other?

Andy Stern (head of the militant breakaway SEUI) recently pointed out that the airline workers saw their compensation crushed because we have too many unions with their own agendas, we need to consolidate. Why choose to keep us all seperate between unions like the IAM and TWU? Going IBT can offer airline workers the opportunity to unite the entire industry under one union because they are no longer AFL-CIO.



The TWU failed to organize Continental and they announced in their newspaper TWU Express that they just launched another campaign, they were already trying to organize JET BLue, but they would not have much luck over there. Many of the Jet Blue guys are guys that quit jobs where the TWU was the union so they wont have much good to say about the TWU.

According to the TWU Express the TWU plans to file for an election at Continental in July of 2006.

Reading the TWU Express article is humorous. They hypocritically complain about NMB rules concerning elections. They complain that people that dont vote are counted as NO votes. I agree this is a flawed process but for the TWU it saves them more often than it hurts them. If the NMB liberalized voting rules the TWU would be ejected from a lot more places.

For instance over at AA over 9000 mechanics signed cards to oust the TWU, well above the 35% that is neeeded to call for an election where there is no union in place. Well above the 50% that were still working-AA has thousands of mechanics on lay-off. The TWU and AA had to add the names of dead people, people who never even worked for AA, people who worked in management, in other departments and retired people in order to prevent an election, and they only just made it. Then they claimed victory in their newspaper. Victory at preventing an election, not victory at winning an election. Now they complain about how the same rules that keep them on the property , keep them off the property.