Twuer -
Answers -
You and many others know that AMFA has been in existence for many years, as have the industrial unions and their concepts. I see no need to go into that matter as it proves no realistic point or approach.
Many of the airlines laid people off after the 9/11 tragedy. The fact is the only one to attempt to get these people back was AMFA. They knew the "Force Majure" arbitration was a long shot but took it anyway, yes and did lose. Arbitration is a very poor attempt at imitating the legal system, to many possibilities for opinions and corruption(oops did I say that out loud). The other facts are that the lay-offs at NWA were all predicated with a possibility of moving as they could not be laid off if they took the bid. The lay offs at UAL all happened before AMFA was certified as the CBU. Since that there have not been any mech lay offs, in fact the opposite is true. The lay offs at Mesaba were successfully argued and those people are due their jobs and back pay at least for the moment(the company has appealed the decision, gee that is a surprise). How many at AA were laid off and what has the TWU done to get their jobs back?
Starting pay is another issue they have addressed in the past and will address in the future. It is in the contract at ACA that it is negotiable by the prospective employee. When asked about this at UAL the company said it was up to the union to set starting pay, when the IAM was asked they said it was up to the company.(???) Is that available at AA?
AMFA has also taken a strong position against outsourcing both at the company and governmental level on both the job and safety fronts. Remember the TWU "mother" organization the AFL/CIO took a position of support for outsourcing. When UAL wanted to send work overseas the company was told it would be up to the membership and the company rescinded their offer. There is presently a fight developing at NWA over cleaners in Seattle, the new spin by the company "They want to save money" (good luck in court on that one). Refer back to the previous paragraph regarding the Mesaba issue and the lay offs created by outsourcing.
On the issue of safety what is the TWU doing for the whistleblowers?AMFA recently sent a letter to both Marion Blakey and Norman Mineta regarding this. They did in fact save a mechanics job at UAL when the IAM was in place long "BEFORE" they represented mechanics there. There are no less than three whistleblower cases on record in the JFK area. What did the TWU do to support these people?
Retirees at UAL are being represented after a fight that AMFA had to win regarding the representation issue. Has the TWU taken a stance on the retirees from TWA? AMFA also attempted to win back the R&D at UAL and yes the arbitrator ruled against them(refer back to the Force Majure regarding arbitrations) based upon the thinly veiled language that the IAM put into place when they renegotiated the contract during the BK process. This language was hotly disputed by the mechanics but the changes barely managed to pass the vote. The IAM agreed to closing the OAK and IMC while stating they were fighting it.
Another issue is contract negotiations. These are all held in secret at the industrial unions but AMFA keeps them open to the members as well as posts progress reports in a timely fashion with the details of what was agreed to. This is unlike the posts that the UAL mechs got stating "We met with the company and plan to meet next week." What updates do the membership at AA get?
AMFA has also been a strong supporter of the the movement to set aside a day for the remberance of Charles Taylor and to get a bust of him made. What position has the TWU taken regarding anything to honor and support the memory of him?
That is a mere sampling of what AMFA has done and is doing. As AMFA grows their voice for the mechanics and related gets louder. Have they had failures? Yes. Will they continue to have failures? Yes. Will they continue the fight for the mechanics and related? Yes. Will they win more respect for the craft and class? Yes. They already blew the industry's mind when they won the PEB, the IAM made a lackluster attempt to do the same. Do they support the issues that the craft and class feel are important even though they know they may lose? Yes.
The one thing that is very different, that I would ask that you consider, is that when AMFA represents you "They" is actually "You and your peers" instead of "They" being an international that may or may not respect your collective groups desires depending upon what "They" feel is important. Maybe if you took the time away from this board and the TWU offices and looked deeply into the issues surrounding the mechanic and related craft and class objectively, especially if you hold and A&P cert.(I have not seen if you do or not) you might actually understand and possibly agree why there is such a movement for change. The information is there you have to take time to read it, comprehend it, and objectively review it before trying form and defend an opinion and position. This was not true in many of the cases of the IAM wannabes at UAL.
