For at least the last three years I have said that the labor movement in the airline industry needs to be restructured.
Having several unions representing the same type of workers that refuse to compete only weakens all of our positions, not strengthen it. AFL-CIO affiliation is weak because each union pursues its own interests, and none of those representing ground workers is primarily concerned with the airline industry. TWU-any and all with a nexus to transportation, IBT-truckers, and any one else they can get, IAM- machinists and anyone else they can get.
These unions cannot directly compete for members. While the payoff is greater union harmony, no raiding like we saw in the 30s & 40s, the cost is also high. The cost is less accountability to the members and a weaker movement.
AFL-CIO affiliation does provide some benefits on the political scene but is that enough? Is it feasible to expect that all our challenges can be met through the ballot box alone? Is it reasonable that we should expect to sit back, pay our dues, flick the right levers and pull the handle and expect that is all that is required?
The labor movement in this industry has failed its members. Utterly and completely. I thought it was bad back when I wrote to Sonny Hall, Hoffa and Barfengberger about combining the three ATDs into a single entity.
Sonny and I entered into a dialoge on the issue. He even admitted that consolidating the ATDs was a good idea.
Hoffa and Buffenberger never responded.
I even spoke of this with Jim Little and Mike Bakala, both from the airline industry and both agreed that it was a good idea. (I spoke with Little when I drove him to LGA in late 1999 and Bakala while at the Meany Institute.) Both said that the top people would never allow it. Sad, isn’t it?
I even wrote to the AFL-CIO. They responded to the idea very favorably and encouraged me to go forth with it. They declined to give open support because of the political upset it would cause among the “old boy†network that runs the “Union†industry.
My point to all of these officials is that the labor movement should evolve. That change should come. That change MUST come. That it would come, either through evolutionary or revolutionary means. They have it in their power to make it the less disruptive evolutionary way. They choose not to. Unfortunately they see no reason for change.
Under the status quo, they live quite nicely.
They live like executives. Wear suits to work. Free cars. Expense accounts. Titles. And all they need is a few more years out of this gig.
We don’t have that luxury.
Nothing bad could come from supporting this new union. At the very least it will wake up the three current unions. Unfortunately they will focus in on the fact that this is another one of the “McCormick Group†organizations and not step back to see how they have failed their members.
Ramp workers should go for this. If they can all get in one union they will have more power than they could imagine. After a few years they could even petition to join the AFL-CIO. What the hell the AFL-CIO let a new Air Traffic controllers union in, and they were basically scabs right? The replacement of PATCO? If not, they could start to form a competeing organization of unaffiliated unions.
This new organization could include several pilots unions, at least two flight attendants unions, a mechanics union and now a baggage handlers union. You might say well whats the difference?
In the AFL-CIO we have a pilots Union-ALPA, a flight attendants union-AFA and a railroad union-TWU, truckers union-IBT, and a machinists union-IAM.
See the difference? In the present structure, pilots are represented by, pilots. Flight attendants represented by flight attendants, truck drivers, bus drivers and machinists. Truck drivers, bus drivers and machinists represent mechanics. Truck drivers, bus drivers and machinists represent Baggage handlers.
