Since you have the ability to change leadership there is no point in going from one independent union to another. However there is weight to the point of having political clout. The APFA should seek to pool resources with the PFAA with the long-term intention of a possible merger. They should also seek to work with the AFA since all three unions are primarily focused on the same issues. Right now Pat Friend seems to be running scared for some reason and is seeking a safe harbor with a bigger union. Those harbors could be mined.
The big three just do not get it. Hoffa, Hall and Buffenbarger are too worried about their own little empires as they help bring about the downfall of the labor movement. Luckily for the workers the movement and ideology of unionism is still within the hearts of many as they seek to get the representation they need.
It seems that even the baggage handlers are finally going for a union that is specifically targeted towards them. The AGW promises accountability, something that all three of the incumbents refuse to give.
Hoffa, Hall and Buffenbarger fail to realize that you can deny accountability when you are getting the members raises and improving their lives, most members don’t care who, what, where, when and why when things get better, but when these idiots are giving away the store as they still reap their huge rewards, rewards that are provided through the members dues, then the members rightfully want answers and accountability. In the past when the losses were minor, compared to what we have just seen, members were content to punish local officials who meekly repeated what they Internationals told them to say. Members realize that changing local leadership will not change the results when the International controls the contract.
The Teamsters probably don’t care all that much. Even if they lose all their ATD they will still be one of the largest Unions in the country with over 1 million members.
The IAM is in the same boat. They are likely to lose at UAL and USAIR before the year is over. A drive for the Independent AGW has started at USAIR and will probably spread to other carriers.
The TWU however is in a different position. The TWU has only around 100,000 members, nearly 50,000 in the ATD, the loss of which would likely mean and end to the flashy Broadway office and maybe a move to the Basement of 80 West End Ave.
However even with this threat they are unlikely to change their ways. Sonny will continue to deny ATD members accountability by putting people like Jim (Chicken) Little in charge. A man that dictates contracts but does not work under the conditions he negotiates nor can the members hold him accountable. Its funny how Jim feels that the pound of flesh, Cartys resignation, should be enough to satisfy the members and help them swallow the Industry Leading Concessions he put in place when in reality its HIS head they want on the spike, not Carty's.
We did not expect Carty to fight for our interests; we expected Little to do that, even though we have about as much choice in choosing Little as we did Arpey. Little put in place the most massive concession package ever, far eclipsing his accomplishments at Eagle (12 year contract?). And there is not a damned thing that the members can do about it. At least as far as the TWU is concerned. "Pay your dues and shut up. We know what’s best for you, even though it’s not good enough for us." (The lower ranking, appointed International reps make 100% more than top paid mechanics)
The AA Flight Attendants realized this over twenty years ago. They made the move and I believe that APFA represented flight attendants make considerably more that TWU represented Flight Attendants. All flight attendants should be in a union where their issues are put first. The flight attendants need to pool their efforts though. Their representation has not saved them from taking cuts also, but at least you guys have recourse against those who failed you. They should make contact with the AFA and use that affiliation to get a back door into the AFL-CIO, which despite the many misconceptions remains a viable route to political influence.
The AFL-CIO is not the monolithic bastion of labor that many think it is. Member unions of the AFL-CIO reserve power for themselves that they deny to their members. Member unions can opt out at any time and go their own way, as the Teamsters have done several times. Ideologies within the AFL-CIO vary greatly, from Craft unions (ALPA, AFA,), to industrial unions (UAW) to business unions (IAM, TWU). There are those in the organization who agree with the idea that unions should specialize so they can focus on a particular membership. One of the possible sources for such support comes from the SEUI, the largest union in the country, also the origin of John Sweeney. The SEIU put out a paper recently that highlights the problems facing today’s labor movement. It is posted with permission on the 562 website. It’s titled "United We Win".
The fact is that change is needed to the structure of unionism in this industry. No other industry has seen such a massive retreat by labor. Our unions, the IAM, TWU and IBT would never commit the full resources of their organizations to our industry. Apparently they will not even give us the benefit of choosing who will have control over our contracts. Their displays of "Solidarity" are a pathetic facade as they use their members as pawns to gain market share of the airline industry. Instead of uniting to resist what has happened they competed to underbid each other with the hope of driving the other unions host company out of business. They hid this game from their members and the only time that they stick together is to fight upstart unions that are the result of their exploitive and negligent management of the affairs of their airline union members, get government handouts to the airlines or convince their members to accept paycuts. The TWU has by far proffered the lowest bid.
If we are to survive and prosper in our chosen professions there must be change. We must have unions that have our professions as their primary interest. If the barriers to change within our current institutions are too great then we must choose another route. Indeed it must be considered if the change needed is at all possible within these structures. The laws of motion dictate that an object in motion will continue in motion on a straight line unless some external force causes it to deviate. Our unions will continue to sell us out and lead us into decline unless there is some external force makes them change their ways. So even if you are unsure of whether or not you want a new union, or new leaders, it’s a good idea to support an election for representation. Elections bring accountability. The incumbents who are now in power should be called to task for the enormous loses suffered by all workers in this industry. Its not enough for Sonny Hall to say that he knows little (no pun intended) about our industry, but then support the actions of his hand picked ATD boss. These losses, these complete unconditional surrenders came without a shot fired. Despite the millions of dollars in dues paid, paid to build up an arsenal to defend our living standards, it was almost as if the unions did not exist, as non-union workers in many cases lost less than union represented workers. This is a disgrace. And one of the reasons why it happened is because the Unions felt that it would be cheaper to sell out the members than to fight the corporate government alliance. They did not want to use their bullets (that we paid for) to defend us. And there is no way that we can make them.
One of the changes that we need is to no longer have workers in this industry divided along corporate lines. If you are a pilot you should be in a pilots union, mechanics in a mechanics union, flight attendants in a flight attendants unions and so on. All of these unions should be in a common association in order to pool resources (Union halls, staff, equipement, information etc) to address those issues which are common to all or that one of the smaller groups need assistance with. This association should seek to become aligned with the AFL-CIO to broaden its access to political power.
Sonny Hall insists that such change is not prevented by him but rather those just below him who are looking to fill his position. He insists that they are resistant to change since they feel that such a change could eliminate their chances for moving up (into that $200,000/year job). In other words while these guys spew rhetoric about solidarity, which requires mutual sacrifice for mutual gain, they will fight to resist beneficial change for the many because it could deny the very very few the ability to make six figure salaries. Now it becomes a little clearer why the labor movement is in such trouble. Our leaders are just as selfish and greedy as our bosses and neither of them are held accountable to us. From where they are sitting there is no need for change. If we were all locked in at $143,000 a year perhaps we would feel the same way.
All those who are responsible for what we have just seen should be removed. That includes any leader that failed to resist these massive concessions. Local Leaders that claim that they were mislead by “the International†are not leaders and they too should be removed. In many cases the entire institution may need to be removed since they prevent the members from getting accountability and restructuring unionism in this industry so this can never happen again.
One thing that is really disturbing is that not once did any of these leaders question whether it would be economically or politically possible for the government to sit by and watch three of its largest air carriers to disappear nor did they even bother to put forth a plan to resist. What is even more pathetic is the only joint demonstration that these pathetic union leaders could put forth was one that called for more government relief for the airlines! This was after the same unions, who gave similar support following 9/11, were given the cold shoulder by the airlines when they asked them to support extending unemployment benefits for laid off airline workers.
55 PM AAmech wrote:
