141 Update
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nited Continental Merger
Super sizing carriers
District 141 officers and Local Lodge representatives met at the IAM’s training center to formally begin work on many aspects of the proposed merger between United and Continental airlines. This work was part of an overall summit meeting, called by GVP Roach, to bring people from all Transportation districts together to work jointly on the future of union represented employment within the airline industry.
The upcoming representation election at Delta is of crucial importance and concern. A presentation by the IAM Legal Department explained the change in election rules recently enacted by the National Mediation Board. The implications of this rule change, and how it will be handled during the Delta election, will impact and inform District 141 in the future campaign at United/Continental.
All labor organizations see the rule change as a positive. It does set the stage for fair elections, but the IAM emphasized to attendees that this is not the only change needing enactment. The IAM noted that we are the leading organization calling for airline industry re-regulation. We believe re-regulation will lead to a more stable environment, encourage career level airline jobs, and diminish the trend towards part time workers and vendors. | top
Continental on ‘Continental culture’
The initial work of District 141’s merger team focused on learning as much as possible about Continental Airlines, both as a company and from employees’ points of view.
Our group was addressed by senior vice presidents of both carriers, including Doug McKeen, United, and Mike Bonds, Continental. We got the companies’ views of what the proposed merger means to them. They outlined the time line they hope to follow throughout the approval process leading to a fully integrated airline in 2012.
An open question and answer period allowed us to question them about aspects of the merger which are of most concern to our Members. Although most questions concerned how the operation of the new combined carrier would be handled, such as the status of stations and hub operations, questions about how the employees would be treated were also asked.
Concerns about conflicting company policies and how they would be resolved were raised. An example was employee pass travel, and the differences between existing policies. Company representatives said there would be survey type involvement of employees to help shape any new policy. When pressed, they agreed that the involvement of employee representatives (unions from both carriers and all classifications) would be part of the decision making process.
It is significant to note that meetings were held jointly with different District reps, including representatives of Continental flight attendants, so we were not hearing something that may be different than what Continental employees are being told.
In a separate meeting, the United reps heard from Continental employees. We got a background and basic understanding of the Continental employees’ view of their company. It was interesting to hear that most Continental employees have a high regard for their CEO and believe he, and his predecessor, established a
connection with the employees during their tough times — a connection that continued as they recovered from bankruptcies and economic downturns.
The stark differences between management styles were obvious. | top
Teamsters
We also spent time analyzing the structure and policies of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) to compare and contrast their representation organization with our own. We believe that there will be a representation choice made by members of the ramp service classification of both carriers between the two unions, and we want to have real information to share with our Members. The Teamster history within the airline industry was reviewed and their leadership structure was compared to ours.
As more information is gained and verified we will begin communicating with our Members regarding the very significant differences between unions.
Our group then focused on what we need to accomplish within District 141 in advance of a merger. We discussed the communication needs of our membership, and we received training from the Winpisinger staff on communication techniques and styles on which our Members rely. We outlined a starting point for our work for the future.
Additional work will be done by the merger team. They will be reaching out to local committees and Members for help and input. A follow up meeting of the group is already planned for early September to see what has been accomplished and what needs to be addressed.
This is going to be a long term commitment by District 141 to everything we believe we need to do to protect our current membership and prepare to welcome the additional Members of Continental. | top
Officer Election
Also during the past week, District 141 Tellers finalized the tallies of local lodges that participated in recent District Officers elections. Their work was finished at the end of the week, and the successful candidates that received the majority of membership support are listed on iam141.org. Additional information regarding the results of the election will be published in the next issue of the Messenger.
Campaigns sometime bring out the best and worst in candidates, but elections resolve them. This example of Member determination of leadership is one of the most glaring differences between the IAM and Teamsters. As Winston Churchhill famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government until it is compared to all other forms.” I congratulate the successful candidates and look forward to working with each of them. I also thank those candidates that were motivated to participate in this election but were not as successful; Your willingness to put your names forward and ask Members to decide on their leadership is an important and fundamental core value of our union. | top
United Negotiations
Contract negotiations between District 141 and United Airlines resume this week. Mediator Tony Iannone will attend these discussions for the first time as the assigned mediator. Our schedule for future negotiations is set to continue throughout the rest of the month of July and into August in an attempt to resolve the outstanding issues that are preventing us from reaching a tentative agreement. | top