They Must Be Scard Now!

[enough already]

Yeah I know, I spelled scared wrong...

From the TWu 514 website:

http://twu514.org/blog/2010/09/01/decertified/#more-1388

DECERTIFIED!

After the 2008 election the AFL-CIO Transportation and Trades Department filed a petition with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to change the election rules under the Railway Labor Act (RLA).

Under the old rule the union asking for an election had to have 50%+1 of all the workers in the craft or class who are eligible to vote actually vote for union representation for the union to win. The workers in the class and craft who did not vote were counted as no votes or votes against representation

Example: 400 workers in the class and craft

*100 voted TWU

*99 voted AMP

*201 did not vote

Winner = No Representation

Because a majority did not vote for representation they were counted as “I do not want a union.”

Unions have long complained that the rule was unfair for organizations seeking to represent unrepresented workers. They felt the rule should be the same as in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) where the choice receiving a majority of the workers that cast a ballot is counted as the winner. On that ballot there is a choice for union “A” or union “B” (if there are two unions running), but also a choice for no representation or no union.

The NMB did make a rule change to now reflect that only the workers that actually vote will be counted and the choice receiving the majority of votes cast will win, but they will also now include a “No Representation” choice on the ballot, a choice not previously offered on NMB ballots. While this is helpful to unions seeking to represent unrepresented workers it creates some serious risks in a situation where one union is seeking to raid another.

Example: 400 workers in class and craft; only 251 vote

*TWU 100 votes

*AMP 25 votes

*126 No Representation votes

Winner = Decertification. You no longer have any contract or union.

Therefore, in a raid situation far less than a majority of the class and craft could vote for no representation and cause decertification and void the contract. This rule is similar to the rules under the NLRA and, unfortunately, these rules are often manipulated by management and total loss of union representation is much more common under that law. One of the reasons for this is that once the “no representation” choice is on the ballot managements have the right to advocate for this position and they commonly do.

However, the new rule is being challenged by the Air Transport Association (ATA) in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and one of the many issues under challenge relates to decertification procedures and the ATA’s demand that they be made even easier. The rule could be shot down by the courts or changed at anytime by the NMB but one thing is for sure, there has always been a way to lose union representation in an election under the Railway Labor Act and that remains the case. With the new rule you could actually be decertified with less than a majority in the class and craft voting for this result.

If there is a tie there will be a run off election.
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Posted in TWU-ATD.

Tagged with AMP.

By admin – September 1, 2010

 

[nbmcg01]

Yeah I know, I spelled scared wrong...

From the TWu 514 website:

http://twu514.org/blog/2010/09/01/decertified/#more-1388

DECERTIFIED!

After the 2008 election the AFL-CIO Transportation and Trades Department filed a petition with the National Mediation Board (NMB) to change the election rules under the Railway Labor Act (RLA).

Under the old rule the union asking for an election had to have 50%+1 of all the workers in the craft or class who are eligible to vote actually vote for union representation for the union to win. The workers in the class and craft who did not vote were counted as no votes or votes against representation

Example: 400 workers in the class and craft

*100 voted TWU

*99 voted AMP

*201 did not vote

Winner = No Representation

Because a majority did not vote for representation they were counted as “I do not want a union.”

Unions have long complained that the rule was unfair for organizations seeking to represent unrepresented workers. They felt the rule should be the same as in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) where the choice receiving a majority of the workers that cast a ballot is counted as the winner. On that ballot there is a choice for union “A” or union “B” (if there are two unions running), but also a choice for no representation or no union.

The NMB did make a rule change to now reflect that only the workers that actually vote will be counted and the choice receiving the majority of votes cast will win, but they will also now include a “No Representation” choice on the ballot, a choice not previously offered on NMB ballots. While this is helpful to unions seeking to represent unrepresented workers it creates some serious risks in a situation where one union is seeking to raid another.

Example: 400 workers in class and craft; only 251 vote

*TWU 100 votes

*AMP 25 votes

*126 No Representation votes

Winner = Decertification. You no longer have any contract or union.

Therefore, in a raid situation far less than a majority of the class and craft could vote for no representation and cause decertification and void the contract. This rule is similar to the rules under the NLRA and, unfortunately, these rules are often manipulated by management and total loss of union representation is much more common under that law. One of the reasons for this is that once the “no representation” choice is on the ballot managements have the right to advocate for this position and they commonly do.

However, the new rule is being challenged by the Air Transport Association (ATA) in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and one of the many issues under challenge relates to decertification procedures and the ATA’s demand that they be made even easier. The rule could be shot down by the courts or changed at anytime by the NMB but one thing is for sure, there has always been a way to lose union representation in an election under the Railway Labor Act and that remains the case. With the new rule you could actually be decertified with less than a majority in the class and craft voting for this result.

If there is a tie there will be a run off election.
Print


You would still have a contract.
Posted in TWU-ATD.

Tagged with AMP.

By admin – September 1, 2010

 

[aapitbull]

This is also found on the 514 website for now

THIS WAS ON THE 514 SITE UNDER COPE TAB


‘Democracy Won Today’


Posted By Mike Hall On May 10, 2010 @ 1:52 pm


A new rule issued this morning by the National Mediation Board (NMB) means airline and rail workers will now be able to choose whether to join a union under rules that are more fair and more in line with democratic principles.

For decades, the deck has been stacked against workers covered under the Rail Labor Act (RLA) because every worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote. The new NMB rule says that an election’s outcome will be decided by the majority of votes cast, just like every other election, from city council to the presidency.

Patricia Friend, president of the Flight Attendants-CWA ([1] AFA-CWA), says that flight attendants and other aviation and rail workers “have faced significant obstacles in their quest for collective bargaining rights.”

Outdated and unreliable voting procedures have fostered a unique culture of voter suppression as companies understand that impeding union organizing merely requires preventing employees from voting.

Employers and their outside union-busting companies engaged in the most undemocratic of practices by openly encouraging workers to destroy ballots and to not vote. Those days are now over.

Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department ([2] TTD), says the change in rules guarantees
only workers who cast a vote will be counted…which ensures greater fairness in union elections for airline and rail workers across the country.

Janette Rook, AFA-CWA Northwest President, says, “Democracy won today.”

The over 7,000 Northwest AFA-CWA members look forward to voting in an election where there will be a level playing field. Northwest flight attendants have had union representation and a legally binding contract for over 60 years and we have worked tirelessly to maintain those rights. Since the recent merger with Delta, Northwest flight attendants have been concerned our rights would be taken away. However, today democracy has prevailed and every vote will be counted.

AFA-CWA says it will file for an election in 30 days when the new rule becomes effective.



Article printed from AFL-CIO NOW BLOG: http://blog.aflcio.org

High speed cio any of you guys want to take issue with this article seems there was no problem in May but it is a whole different story now.