Letter fron NWA AFA Vice-President

[Danny Campbell]

Dear Delta Flight Attendants,

I am currently serving as the Northwest Master Executive Council Vice President and I am a flight attendant, based in Detroit. I write to you at this critical juncture in your careers, in order to express my strong support for your efforts to join the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. It has come to our attention that DAL executive Joanne Smith met with NWA management this week, in order to create a common strategy to pit NWA and DAL flight attendants against each other, and to weaken the Delta AFA-CWA voter turnout. NWA flight attendants already experienced this kind of bitter and divisive merger strategy, between Northwest and Republic Airlines, and we don’t want to live through that again. We are all flight attendants, seeking a common goal of bargaining strength and job protection, in a changing world and an uncertain economy. Because this organizing campaign is so important to the future of our careers, several Northwest Flight Attendants have volunteered to fly to Atlanta and be available in the airport for your questions.

We may have the opportunity to be the largest organized group of flight attendants in the country. Following your choice to join the Association of Flight Attendants, together we can negotiate a legally enforceable merged contract which solidifies our work rules and protects our flying. However, we also see the alarming possibility of becoming the largest flight attendant work group in the country with no power to influence our work rules, pay, or benefits. As the push for globalization and “open skiesâ€￾ continues, the legislative and legal initiatives of AFA-CWA will continue to protect our profession.

With all of the money and resources that Delta executives are pouring into this anti-labor campaign, I hope you’ll take some time to scrutinize the claims that they are making and ask yourselves why they are so opposed to flight attendants having a combined voice. I am proud to be a member of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and a professional flight attendant with an excellent work record at Northwest Airlines. We hope Delta Flight Attendants will seize this important opportunity to negotiate your own collective bargaining agreement, just as your executives and pilots do. Does DAL CEO Richard Anderson or your pilots work without a legally binding contract? The answer is no, and I don’t believe professional flight attendants should have to either.

I look forward to meeting many of you at May 15th rally in Atlanta, in support of your organizing campaign. I join members of Atlanta unions, the religious community, and allied organizations to show Delta flight attendants that we fully support your choice to vote for AFA representation in your campaign to become a key part of the labor community.
In unity,

Janette Rook
Vice President
Northwest Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

 

[cooper43]

Dear Delta Flight Attendants,

I am currently serving as the Northwest Master Executive Council Vice President and I am a flight attendant, based in Detroit. I write to you at this critical juncture in your careers, in order to express my strong support for your efforts to join the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. It has come to our attention that DAL executive Joanne Smith met with NWA management this week, in order to create a common strategy to pit NWA and DAL flight attendants against each other, and to weaken the Delta AFA-CWA voter turnout. NWA flight attendants already experienced this kind of bitter and divisive merger strategy, between Northwest and Republic Airlines, and we don’t want to live through that again. We are all flight attendants, seeking a common goal of bargaining strength and job protection, in a changing world and an uncertain economy. Because this organizing campaign is so important to the future of our careers, several Northwest Flight Attendants have volunteered to fly to Atlanta and be available in the airport for your questions.

We may have the opportunity to be the largest organized group of flight attendants in the country. Following your choice to join the Association of Flight Attendants, together we can negotiate a legally enforceable merged contract which solidifies our work rules and protects our flying. However, we also see the alarming possibility of becoming the largest flight attendant work group in the country with no power to influence our work rules, pay, or benefits. As the push for globalization and “open skiesâ€￾ continues, the legislative and legal initiatives of AFA-CWA will continue to protect our profession.

With all of the money and resources that Delta executives are pouring into this anti-labor campaign, I hope you’ll take some time to scrutinize the claims that they are making and ask yourselves why they are so opposed to flight attendants having a combined voice. I am proud to be a member of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA and a professional flight attendant with an excellent work record at Northwest Airlines. We hope Delta Flight Attendants will seize this important opportunity to negotiate your own collective bargaining agreement, just as your executives and pilots do. Does DAL CEO Richard Anderson or your pilots work without a legally binding contract? The answer is no, and I don’t believe professional flight attendants should have to either.

I look forward to meeting many of you at May 15th rally in Atlanta, in support of your organizing campaign. I join members of Atlanta unions, the religious community, and allied organizations to show Delta flight attendants that we fully support your choice to vote for AFA representation in your campaign to become a key part of the labor community.
In unity,

Janette Rook
Vice President
Northwest Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

Thanks for the letter Danny and we really thank you and your fellow flight attendants at NW for your support. I too support a collective barganing agreement. Unfortunately I and many other DAL f/a's do not support AFA's automatic DOH policy and if and only IF the AFA campaign is unsuccessful it will be because of the DOH policy. That is why we would rather AFA change this policy or and I can only speak for myself (but there is a growing number ) we will have to pass on this vote and have the right to negotiate a fair intergration policy. By voting for AFA now we are getting just the opposite of what AFA claims they will do for us, and that is negotiate on our behave. The purpose of having a union is COLLECTIVE barganing, that also means negotiating a fair intergration policy, and I dont care how you say it DOH is only fair for a few people. DOH sounds fair but it is not based on the fact that 2 seperate companies have had different hiring plans.

 

[700UW]

I was an IAM Member for 20 years at US, been through three mergers and each was DOH, it is the only fair way for intergration.

 

[yoyodyne]

I was an IAM Member for 20 years at US, been through three mergers and each was DOH, it is the only fair way for intergration.

And we see how well it's working for your pilot group

 

[700UW]

The IAM did not represent the pilots, the IAM always uses Dovetail and has worked in every merger, Pilots are unique as their pay is based on what they fly, unlike other workers who are paid the same no matter what job they do.

A mechanic gets paid the same if he fixes a 737 or an A330.

 

[BABABOOY]

The IAM did not represent the pilots, the IAM always uses Dovetail and has worked in every merger, Pilots are unique as their pay is based on what they fly, unlike other workers who are paid the same no matter what job they do.

A mechanic gets paid the same if he fixes a 737 or an A330.

Not all that unique. What about flight attendants? I get paid differently for INTL/DOM. I get
paid differently if I get kicked back to reserve. Not all that different. Let the fence building begin.

 

[1Conehead]

Danny, I was starting to listen to what you had to say until you brought up "religious community", Then you lost credibility.

 

[Danny Campbell]

1conehead:

I wasn't the author of the letter. Look at it again.

 

[LukeAisleWalker]

That is why we would rather AFA change this policy or and I can only speak for myself (but there is a growing number ) we will have to pass on this vote and have the right to negotiate a fair intergration policy.

Cooper...
It is highly unlikely Delta FAs will be negotiating anything in this instance. (This has been explained to you repeatedly before but for some reason you fail to accept it.) IF NW FAs aren't happy (and how will they be if DL FAs are trying anything other than what NW FAs think is fair..DOH), they will send it to arbitration.
How your post above should really read is:
"...we will have to pass on this vote and have the right to accept what an arbitrator hands down to us."

 

[LukeAisleWalker]

Not all that unique. What about flight attendants? I get paid differently for INTL/DOM. I get
paid differently if I get kicked back to reserve. Not all that different. Let the fence building begin.

It's VERY different. You aren't (like pilots) limited to ONE a/c type and ONE position on that a/c.
Secondly, your Int'l Pay is ONLY $1.00 more per hour.
Finally, weren't you (or Jake) extolling the virtues of having 3 A days over a strict straight month reserve program and that it now pays 14:15 minimum for those 3 days ? What's the problem? Good enough for others but not good enough for you?
Finally, if you WANT fences, you should be voting YES...because fences will only be up if DL votes in AFA and then until a combined contract is settled. Otherwise, I don't know what happens....Danny?

 

[NWav8tor]

I was an IAM Member for 20 years at US, been through three mergers and each was DOH, it is the only fair way for intergration.

I am happy that the IAM worked for you, but talk to any former TWA f/a who were supposedly represented by the IAM, and you will hear a different story.

 

[700UW]

That is two fold, because AA would not buy TWA, it was not a merger, it was a buyout unless every union at TWA gave up their LPPs, which they did.

It went to arbitration and since all the AA CBAs contained language specific that no AA employee would be disadvantaged that is why Kasher ruled they way he did.

And do you know CO's FAs have one the best CBAs in the industry, and you know the IAM represents them.

 

[BABABOOY]

It's VERY different. You aren't (like pilots) limited to ONE a/c type and ONE position on that a/c.
Secondly, your Int'l Pay is ONLY $1.00 more per hour.
Finally, weren't you (or Jake) extolling the virtues of having 3 A days over a strict straight month reserve program and that it now pays 14:15 minimum for those 3 days ? What's the problem? Good enough for others but not good enough for you?
Finally, if you WANT fences, you should be voting YES...because fences will only be up if DL votes in AFA and then until a combined contract is settled. Otherwise, I don't know what happens....Danny?

I thought i was on ignore with you?

 

[ual777fan]

I am happy that the IAM worked for you, but talk to any former TWA f/a who were supposedly represented by the IAM, and you will hear a different story.

Completely different situation. AMR bought the assets of TWA out of Ch.7 liquidation. It, for the last time, was many things including completely unfair to the TWA employees, but it was NOT A MERGER!

 

[LukeAisleWalker]

I thought i was on ignore with you?

There's no real Ignore feature here to my knowledge.
Your post was so transparent that I had to express that I could see right through it.