I copied this from another bulletin board. This is awesome. Way to go UAL flight attendants!
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. Today is
Friday, May 6, and this is AFA Denver Council 9 volunteer Allen Ward,
reporting.
We are fully prepared to defend our pensions in the bankruptcy court
on Tuesday, May 10 and throughout the rest of next week even as
executives remain obsessed with termination of all employee pension
plans -- save one Glenn F. Tilton $4.5 million pension trust. Our
CHAOSTM campaign continues to escalate as we educate management, the
creditors, the media and the bankruptcy court about the potential for
CHAOS strikes up to and including a system-wide strike action. It
should be clear that we are not on strike at this time. But, if our
Contract, or any part of our Contract is unilaterally altered or
abrogated by the company, we are legally permitted to strike or
engage in CHAOS work stoppages. There won't be a 30-day cooling-off
period, or a specific strike deadline as in more traditional
negotiations we are accustomed to under the Railway Labor Act if
United management persists in abrogating our contract through the
bankruptcy process in order to terminate our pension. It is that
unilateral change to our agreement that triggers our right to strike
in response.
In the heavy-handed management style we have all come to expect from
United executives, the company issued a letter to AFA and copied
immediately to the media intended to misinform, intimidate and
threaten Flight Attendants from exercising our right to strike under
the Railway Labor Act. The Chicago Tribune thoroughly addressed the
issue of an airline worker's right to strike today and quoted Douglas
Baird as a "bankruptcy expert at the University of Chicago Law
School" stating that it's an unprecedented argument the airline is
making. "There's a deep-seated principle that's working here
independent of the airlines," he said. "This is a country where we
don't force people to work under terms and conditions they never
agreed to." The counter point quote in the article was provided by
an attorney recently on the payroll at United and who has represented
US Airways in its efforts to terminate its contract with the
machinists.
United's propaganda letter is posted on our website in the CHAOS
section along with a response from AFA General Counsel David Borer
which rejects the trumped up legal smoke and mirrors meant to
dissuade you from challenging the greed of current mismanagement and
fighting for our airline and career built on the backs of front-line
employees. Our letter exposes the amateur attempt by United's
General Counsel to cite a case decided under the National Labor
Relations Act, not the Railway Labor Act (RLA), and does not apply to
airlines. Instead, our letter refers United to the leading case on
the subject of intermittent strikes under the RLA, which happens to
be AFA versus Alaska Airline, Inc. That court refused to declare
CHAOS unlawful under the RLA and went on to enjoin the carrier
from "indefinitely suspending, discharging, or threatening to
discharge flight attendants who participate in CHAOS intermittent
work stoppages" and ordered the reinstatement of seventeen flight
attendants indefinitely suspended as a result of their participation
in an intermittent work stoppage.
Flight Attendants can expect to receive some form of intimidation
from United management in the form of a letter or some other
communication. Reject those union-busting tactics and tell this
greedy, inept management, "I will not be threatened or intimidated
from invoking my legal right to strike. I am committed to defending
my career and my airline from the destructive tactics of current
management and you should know that a commitment tested in fire only
grows stronger."
AFA will take swift and decisive action to defend the rights of our
Members. Stand strong and rest in action based in truth and
solidarity.
Our CHAOS campaign struck campus Wednesday night when a contingent of
Flight Attendants in neon green CHAOS T-shirts "stormed a class room"
to deliver 12,000 petition signatures to United Board member Dipak
Jain, just before a scheduled lecture at Northwestern University.
The petitions called on UAL executives to "give back the money made
on the backs of employees." We launched our petition drive when
United's Security and Exchange Commission 10-k filing revealed in
March that executives received huge bonuses on top of their lucrative
salaries, all at a time when they have asked us to make life-changing
sacrifices in pay, benefits and pensions.
Professor Jain is the Dean of Northwestern's Kellogg School of
Business. His lecture was to be in a large lecture hall with theater
seating. At the last minute, we learned that a guest lecturer was
scheduled to address Professor Jain's class. Dr. Jain was no where to
be seen when we entered the lecture hall.
Our spokesperson and MEC CHAOS Strike Co-Coordinator, Sara Nelson
Dela Cruz, headed for the stage with MEC CHAOS Strike Co-Coordinator
Jeff Heisey and MEC Membership Engagement Chairperson-elect Rodney
Wojcik as escorts, one on each side.
A TV cameraman from the local ABC affiliate shot footage from the
aisle as the whole place went dead silent with the announcement, "may
I have your attention." The guest lecturer backed away from center
stage, shocked and confused.
Sara brandished our petitions in one hand as she spoke to the
audience of stunned MBA students. When she finished talking about the
greed of United executives and their enormous bonuses, she slammed
the petitions down on the professor's desk. Then we said 'since the
Dean isn't here we are going to entrust our petitions with his
students, and ask that you make sure he receives them with our
message to the rest of United's Board of Directors. Employees have
had enough! Return the money to bankrupt United Airlines!'
Once in the hallway, someone noticed Dean Jain arriving after all, so
we confronted him in front of the reporters and late arriving
students. Face to face, we told him what had just taken place and
why, and asked him to recognize the hard work of front-line employees
and take action against executive bonuses at United.
Within ten minutes, National Public Radio was reporting that United
Airlines Flight Attendants "stormed the Kellogg Business School
Campus," confronted one of United's Board of Directors and demanded:
Return the Money.
Meanwhile, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers (IAM) continues its roving strike vote throughout the
system. We received a letter from them in appreciation of our
resolution of support in defending the IAM Contracts. President and
Directing General Chairman Randy Canale ends the letter stating, "We
are all in the same boat together, and unfortunately for UAL
Management... the name of that boat is `Solidarity.'"
Thank you for calling and continue to remain informed and engaged as
we stand in solidarity to save our airline and our careers."
"Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. Today is
Friday, May 6, and this is AFA Denver Council 9 volunteer Allen Ward,
reporting.
We are fully prepared to defend our pensions in the bankruptcy court
on Tuesday, May 10 and throughout the rest of next week even as
executives remain obsessed with termination of all employee pension
plans -- save one Glenn F. Tilton $4.5 million pension trust. Our
CHAOSTM campaign continues to escalate as we educate management, the
creditors, the media and the bankruptcy court about the potential for
CHAOS strikes up to and including a system-wide strike action. It
should be clear that we are not on strike at this time. But, if our
Contract, or any part of our Contract is unilaterally altered or
abrogated by the company, we are legally permitted to strike or
engage in CHAOS work stoppages. There won't be a 30-day cooling-off
period, or a specific strike deadline as in more traditional
negotiations we are accustomed to under the Railway Labor Act if
United management persists in abrogating our contract through the
bankruptcy process in order to terminate our pension. It is that
unilateral change to our agreement that triggers our right to strike
in response.
In the heavy-handed management style we have all come to expect from
United executives, the company issued a letter to AFA and copied
immediately to the media intended to misinform, intimidate and
threaten Flight Attendants from exercising our right to strike under
the Railway Labor Act. The Chicago Tribune thoroughly addressed the
issue of an airline worker's right to strike today and quoted Douglas
Baird as a "bankruptcy expert at the University of Chicago Law
School" stating that it's an unprecedented argument the airline is
making. "There's a deep-seated principle that's working here
independent of the airlines," he said. "This is a country where we
don't force people to work under terms and conditions they never
agreed to." The counter point quote in the article was provided by
an attorney recently on the payroll at United and who has represented
US Airways in its efforts to terminate its contract with the
machinists.
United's propaganda letter is posted on our website in the CHAOS
section along with a response from AFA General Counsel David Borer
which rejects the trumped up legal smoke and mirrors meant to
dissuade you from challenging the greed of current mismanagement and
fighting for our airline and career built on the backs of front-line
employees. Our letter exposes the amateur attempt by United's
General Counsel to cite a case decided under the National Labor
Relations Act, not the Railway Labor Act (RLA), and does not apply to
airlines. Instead, our letter refers United to the leading case on
the subject of intermittent strikes under the RLA, which happens to
be AFA versus Alaska Airline, Inc. That court refused to declare
CHAOS unlawful under the RLA and went on to enjoin the carrier
from "indefinitely suspending, discharging, or threatening to
discharge flight attendants who participate in CHAOS intermittent
work stoppages" and ordered the reinstatement of seventeen flight
attendants indefinitely suspended as a result of their participation
in an intermittent work stoppage.
Flight Attendants can expect to receive some form of intimidation
from United management in the form of a letter or some other
communication. Reject those union-busting tactics and tell this
greedy, inept management, "I will not be threatened or intimidated
from invoking my legal right to strike. I am committed to defending
my career and my airline from the destructive tactics of current
management and you should know that a commitment tested in fire only
grows stronger."
AFA will take swift and decisive action to defend the rights of our
Members. Stand strong and rest in action based in truth and
solidarity.
Our CHAOS campaign struck campus Wednesday night when a contingent of
Flight Attendants in neon green CHAOS T-shirts "stormed a class room"
to deliver 12,000 petition signatures to United Board member Dipak
Jain, just before a scheduled lecture at Northwestern University.
The petitions called on UAL executives to "give back the money made
on the backs of employees." We launched our petition drive when
United's Security and Exchange Commission 10-k filing revealed in
March that executives received huge bonuses on top of their lucrative
salaries, all at a time when they have asked us to make life-changing
sacrifices in pay, benefits and pensions.
Professor Jain is the Dean of Northwestern's Kellogg School of
Business. His lecture was to be in a large lecture hall with theater
seating. At the last minute, we learned that a guest lecturer was
scheduled to address Professor Jain's class. Dr. Jain was no where to
be seen when we entered the lecture hall.
Our spokesperson and MEC CHAOS Strike Co-Coordinator, Sara Nelson
Dela Cruz, headed for the stage with MEC CHAOS Strike Co-Coordinator
Jeff Heisey and MEC Membership Engagement Chairperson-elect Rodney
Wojcik as escorts, one on each side.
A TV cameraman from the local ABC affiliate shot footage from the
aisle as the whole place went dead silent with the announcement, "may
I have your attention." The guest lecturer backed away from center
stage, shocked and confused.
Sara brandished our petitions in one hand as she spoke to the
audience of stunned MBA students. When she finished talking about the
greed of United executives and their enormous bonuses, she slammed
the petitions down on the professor's desk. Then we said 'since the
Dean isn't here we are going to entrust our petitions with his
students, and ask that you make sure he receives them with our
message to the rest of United's Board of Directors. Employees have
had enough! Return the money to bankrupt United Airlines!'
Once in the hallway, someone noticed Dean Jain arriving after all, so
we confronted him in front of the reporters and late arriving
students. Face to face, we told him what had just taken place and
why, and asked him to recognize the hard work of front-line employees
and take action against executive bonuses at United.
Within ten minutes, National Public Radio was reporting that United
Airlines Flight Attendants "stormed the Kellogg Business School
Campus," confronted one of United's Board of Directors and demanded:
Return the Money.
Meanwhile, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers (IAM) continues its roving strike vote throughout the
system. We received a letter from them in appreciation of our
resolution of support in defending the IAM Contracts. President and
Directing General Chairman Randy Canale ends the letter stating, "We
are all in the same boat together, and unfortunately for UAL
Management... the name of that boat is `Solidarity.'"
Thank you for calling and continue to remain informed and engaged as
we stand in solidarity to save our airline and our careers."
