Brickner, New Orleans, The Struggle
The Remarks of Thomas F. Brickner, Airline Coordinator, Transportation Department, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Before the Officers and Members of District Lodge No. 141 General Chairperson Conference New Orleans, Louisiana January 27 – 30, 2009
Thank you, President Delaney and the officers and members of District 141, for the kind invitation to attend this important Chairperson’s Conference here in New Orleans. It seems very fitting that you gather together here in this city that has suffered so much in recent memory through no fault of its own, and continues to struggle to recover and be reborn. Our members have also suffered in recent memory and struggle to recover. We have a difficult road to recovery ahead; your work here can be a very important step on that journey.
The Chairperson’s Conference was always my favorite when I was a Local Lodge 1322 and District 141 representative. I’m sure that was the case because I always gravitated toward your work – the union work of contract negotiation and administration. After over thirty-five years of such work, from shop steward to airline coordinator, I know from experience that Grievance Committee Chairpersons are the heart and backbone of our negotiation and contract administration work. In large measure, our members judge the effectiveness of their union on what we achieve at the bargaining table; and how well we use the grievance procedure to protect the compensation, benefits, work rules and rights achieved there.
I know that such work is accomplished most effectively where we have dedicated, capable Grievance Committee Chairpersons, who have formed productive working relationships with the assigned District General Chairperson, and who have earned through their work, the respect of the members they represent, their fellow union representatives and company representatives. The members that elected you look first to you for leadership. That leadership is always important to your union, but it is never more important then when we are at the bargaining table, and you have very important negotiations just ahead. The airline industry has always looked to the United Airlines (UAL) Agreements to establish a standard for the industry – post-bankruptcy, and in the midst of the current economic crisis that is no less the case. To say the very least, bargaining in this environment will be challenging, but then, when hasn’t bargaining in the airline industry been challenging? We have been tested before.
When I look back in my minds eye on our bargaining experiences at United, I see strikes in the 1970’s caused, for the most part, by the prevailing labor relations philosophy of the then senior management (the last of those strikes in 1979 lasted 59 days); the struggle to forge a more constructive bargaining relationship in the aftermath of those strikes, a relationship that produced industry-leading contracts in relatively short negotiations in the early eighties; and a month-long pilot strike in 1985 that set the carrier on a course to Stephen Wolf and the speculating investors that followed him from carrier to carrier – investors that never cared if UAL survived as long as they realized their short term investment goals.
I see the impact of such short-term investors and the leveraged buy-out frenzy of the late eighties and early nineties on our bargaining; when we negotiated extraordinary protective covenants into our contract and made effective use of the threat of a strike to prevent the carrier from taking actions that threatened to destroy it.
I see our actions at and away from the bargaining table in opposition to the pilot’s efforts to force us into ill-conceived and poorly designed Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP).
I see us forced by events beyond our control to overcome our philosophical opposition to Employee Stock Ownership Plans, and engage in the pragmatic, creative bargaining that produced ESOP collective bargaining agreements with extraordinary scope provisions and extraordinary corporate governance as the only viable alternative to the break-up of United and the loss of jobs.
I see mid-term ESOP compensation bargaining, and the negotiation of the first Public Contact and Instructor Agreements.
I see us at the bargaining table with United at the National Mediation Board (NMB) headquarters in Washington, DC, in the dark, wee hours of the morning of September 11, 2001, on the verge of achieving post-ESOP, industry-leading agreements, when the mediator ordered the parties to return to our hotels to get some rest and return to the NMB bargaining table that afternoon to close the deal. I can still hear the phone ringing that awakened me later that morning to the attack on our country, our industry and our bargaining. And the bargaining struggle that ensued and ultimately culminated in some of the best agreements ever achieved in the industry for ground employees.
I see our work before a Presidential Emergency Board on the post-ESOP United Mechanic and Related Agreement that culminated in a contract that set a standard for compensation and job security across the industry.
I see how our bargaining power was diminished by the loss of our Mechanic and Related membership that fell prey to the philosophy of AMFA, that somehow smaller and weaker is better at the bargaining table. And, how the bargaining power of those mechanics was diminished even further and the losses they suffered as a result.
And, I see how our bargaining power has been enhanced by the addition of our public contact and instructor members. I see our bargaining struggle through three separate labor cost restructuring efforts at United in the longest, most expensive bankruptcy reorganization in the history of the industry – and our union’s work in the courts, in the court of public opinion, in the boardroom, in the streets, on the job, and at the bargaining table that got us through it.
We lived to fight another day because of that work, your leadership, and our solidarity.
For over three decades, I have witnessed and experienced the devastation wrought by airline deregulation. In our country at large, we have seen where deregulation, privatization, out-sourcing and off-shoring, globalization without fair trade policies, a government that embraced unfettered capitalism like a religion, and attacked workers and their unions continuously, has brought our nation – to the brink of economic collapse.
Hopefully, if our country has learned nothing else from the last three decades, it is that government and strong unions are a necessary check on the abuses of capitalism, and, that treating workers well and sharing the wealth is good corporate and government policy.
We gather here together today because we share certain core beliefs that wed us as union sisters and brothers. We believe in the foundational principles of industrial trade unionism. We do not have to be convinced; we do not question these beliefs – to us they are as natural as breathing because we have lived by these principles and we have benefited from their application in our own lives.
We know there is an inherent conflict between capital and labor, and we know that within that conflict there is no voice as feeble as that of the worker who chooses to stand alone. We know this to be truer today than at any point in our lifetimes because capital is more mobile and relatively more powerful than at any point in our lifetimes. We know that capitalism unchecked by strong, free, democratic labor unions leads to immoral greed, risk, abuse of workers, an undemocratic society, and ends badly for all.
Although these truths are more evident than they have even been, the assault on workers over the last three decades has left many of our members disillusioned and demoralized, leading some to question the value of unionization and worker solidarity.
Those of us who believe have to treat each day as a new opportunity to demonstrate to the organized and the unorganized the importance of solidarity with their fellow workers and the relevance of the union.
Our members attention is never more focused on the union than it is when we go to the bargaining table (well, with the possible exception of when dues are raised), so we need to see each negotiation as an opportunity to demonstrate the wisdom of our beliefs, and to win member support. Never lose sight of the fact that negotiations cannot be truly successful without such support.
If you have heard me speak about our struggle for economic justice through the process of collective bargaining in the past, you know that I often compare the work of our negotiating committees to that of mountain climbers. The climbing team seeks the peak of the mountain; our negotiators seek the peak of economic justice. No matter how experienced, well prepared, well equipped and capable the climbers, they often experience conditions that are beyond their control during their assault of the peak that can and do impede the climb.
At times, conditions are favorable and the climb is swift and straight. At other times conditions are such that the climbers are forced to move laterally. And, at times, conditions are so bad that they reluctantly, but wisely, move back down the mountain until conditions improve, the climb can continue, and the goal can be achieved.
Our negotiators were never more prepared, experienced, and well-equipped to bargain than they were in this decade, but they were forced to take steps back down the mountain due to bankruptcy reorganizations and the worst political, social, and economic environment we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. But, through it all, we persevered and we have not lost sight of our goal of economic justice.
Now, with bankruptcy reorganization behind you at United Airlines, you are preparing to continue your climb at the bargaining table. I can assure you that your elected and appointed negotiators will be well-equipped and well-advised by our professional staff of economists, attorneys, and Grand Lodge Representatives. Our Strategic Resources Department is currently doing research for an up-to-date report on the state of the industry and United Airlines for your committee’s consideration. Our Winpisinger Education and Technology Center will conduct United-specific negotiations training with your committee before bargaining commences. Proposals are being solicited, and bargaining issue surveys prepared for distribution. Your committee will be as prepared as any we’ve ever sent to the bargaining table. So what kind of conditions – political and economic – do they encounter as they approach this leg of the climb?
As I indicated, our Strategic Resources Department is preparing an analysis, which will be presented to your committee in a few weeks – but there are obvious conditions we can all see just by reading the newspapers, or watching television; some conditions appear favorable and others very unfavorable.
United just posted a $5.3 billion net loss for 2008, including a loss of $1.3 billion in the fourth quarter. The carrier has announced domestic and international capacity cuts of around 15% in 2009, and a fleet reduction of 100 aircraft by year end. United’s fuel expense was 80% higher than its next highest cost; and, like most carriers in the industry, it lost billions of dollars on fuel hedging due to the volatility and unpredictability of oil prices.
Airline industry analysts seem to agree that the industry will lose about $50 billion this decade, but economists disagree on how the decade will close out for the industry. Some predict that 2009 will be a better year for the airlines. With fuel prices down, other costs contained after the bankruptcy reorganizations and capacity drastically reduced, they predict modest profits. They believe the airline industry is uniquely positioned to absorb the impact of the recession better than other U.S. industries because the wave of bankruptcies preceded the recession and forced early capacity cuts and cost containment measures.
Other economists are saying that the significant reduction in the cost of fuel and the capacity cuts will have a favorable impact, but that they won’t be enough to offset the reduction in demand the industry is likely to experience as the economy continues to weaken through 2009.
They all seem to be summarizing their positions with the same closing thoughts: that the airlines must continue to contain costs due to the volatility and unpredictability of both the industry and the economy. I shouldn’t have to tell you that we have a tough fight ahead of us, given the economic conditions at hand. We have been engaged in tough bargaining for months with Hawaiian, Air Wisconsin, Southwest and a number of other carriers that all seek to contain labor costs.
Of course, the inauguration of President Obama, and the swearing-in of the 111th Congress, with its complementary strong democratic majority, gives us a ray of hope for the future. We believe we elected a President that shares our core beliefs in the principles of trade unionism, and that he believes America can’t have a strong middle class without a strong, independent, and vibrant, organized labor movement. He also shares our belief that government has a role to play in checking the inherent abuses of our economic system.
At the same time, we all recognize that he has inherited one hell of a mess from his predecessor, and the full measure of change we hope to see may come more slowly in some cases, if at all in others. In the near term, we hope to see bankruptcy, pension, and labor law reform, and the appointment of a more worker-friendly National Mediation Board, that will create an environment that makes it easier for workers who want a union to organize and get a fair shake at the bargaining table. We hope we elected a government that, at least, has an open mind about some sane, limited re-regulation as a means to stabilize the airline industry.
We have hope, if for no other reason, this Administration, as opposed to the last, is at least listening to us. Just as in negotiations, there always seems to be hope if there is dialogue. I can report that labor has had an ongoing dialogue with the Obama Administration long before the inauguration.
The IAM Transportation Department has been working with the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD) as part of the Obama Transition effort taking place in every government agency that affects transportation. We have had significant input into the development of the AFL-CIO TTD recommendations for the incoming Administration regarding appointments, legislative priorities, and policy.
Among our recommendations is a call for the appointment of a Presidential Task Force to examine the airline industry and make recommendations to the President and Congress to stabilize the industry. We believe an industry so vital to the nation’s commerce that has suffered so much particularly over the last eight years, deserves such attention. And we hope to have an opportunity to argue our case for some sane, limited re-regulation before such task force.
We hope that the problems plaguing our industry don’t get pushed onto the backburner again due to the larger crises at hand. And, we hope that the new Administration will reject the master plan of the current airline senior management to fix what ails the industry. They believe the industry will stabilize and prosper with further consolidation, greater foreign ownership and control, greater anti-trust immunity, taxpayer financed infrastructure improvements, tax breaks, and weaker unions.
My mother always told me: “God helps those who help themselves.” Hopefully, we did something to help ourselves by electing President Obama and a Democratic majority, but, although early signs are good, only time and experience will tell.
Regardless, we know we will face some of the worst economic conditions we have ever faced at the bargaining table. So what else can we do to help ourselves?
First and foremost, the most important thing we can all do to improve bargaining conditions across the airline industry is assist our organizing efforts in the industry, particularly at NWA-Delta, and at Continental. The already consummated merger of Northwest and Delta creates the largest airline in the industry, with 20% of total capacity, over 500 aircraft, and 75,000 employees. There will be representation elections among the classifications we represent at the combined carrier in the near future, and the outcome of those elections will have a profound impact on bargaining across the industry.
It is possible, some say likely, that United and Continental will announce a merger proposal before the upcoming United negotiations culminates in an agreement. A United-Continental merger potentially creates an even larger carrier than Northwest-Delta, and we would then be confronted with the prospect of representation elections on a massive scale. And, if we won representation rights, transition negotiations to combine labor agreements, or bring non-union Continental employees under labor agreements at the combined carrier. We recently experienced this in the U.S. Airways-America West merger, so this District understands the difficulty of the potential task ahead, and your recent past experience should serve you well as we go forward.
We will certainly find ourselves in a fight for the survival of collective bargaining for ground employees in the industry if we lose representation rights at either the new Delta, and/or a combined United-Continental. Try to imagine bargaining with U.S. Airways or Hawaiian Airlines if the two biggest carriers in the industry, and a substantial majority of airline employees in your classification across the industry, are non-union.
In the current representation dispute at Delta, and a potential representation dispute at a combined United-Continental, our task is even more difficult than at U.S. Airways. As opposed to U.S. Airways, where the classifications we represented were also unionized at America West, at Delta and at United-Continental we have to organize the organized and unorganized ground employees in preparation for representation elections. Every vote we win among the unorganized at Delta and Continental can be offset at NWA and United if our own members aren’t supportive of this union and fail to participate in the election. We need support form 35% of the combined classifications to get an election, and 50% plus one of the combined classifications must participate in the election for representation to be certified.
So, if you want to improve your position at the bargaining table, there is no greater contribution you can make than to join our effort to organize the organized at Northwest and United, and to organize the unorganized at Delta and Continental. Creating solidarity among our members and mobilizing support for negotiations is important as we approach each and every negotiations, but given the potential stakes we face now, it is more important at United this time than at any point in our history. In any negotiations, you can’t achieve good contracts without membership support, but in this upcoming negotiation, the very survival of collective bargaining at United could be at issue. It falls largely to the sisters and brothers in this room to carry that message back to the membership, make the union relevant to them on a daily basis, and generate the support that will help us win these representation disputes and the generous contracts our members have earned with their work and their sacrifice. Our solidarity and our ability to work effectively together in this effort will likely determine not only the outcome of the upcoming United negotiations, but the survival of District 141 and our union in the airline industry. Given the unpredictability of the industry, there may never be such merger, but good leaders prepare for the worst. The experience here in New Orleans with Katrina certainly proved that.
We have been bargaining in RLA negotiations with Hawaiian Airlines since early last year, and with Southwest Airlines and Air Wisconsin since mid-2008 – obviously, these negotiations, although with carriers that hold very different positions in the industry, have all been impacted by the volatility of the industry that adds to the downward pressure on wages and benefits across the industry. All these talks are being conducted in direct negotiations, but we have communicated to the Districts involved our desire to see them moved to mediation in the near term. Most of you may be aware that the current United Agreements that become amendable on December 31, 2009, have an early opener that will have you at the bargaining table this Spring, and provide for a joint request for NMB mediation services on August 1, 2009. We have notified the National Mediation Board that they are likely to realize an unprecedented mediation burden in 2009.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the District 141 Air and Ground Safety Representatives for their contribution to the success of our Joint Air Transport Safety Committee (JATSC). The JATSC is a committee we formed last year, comprised of key safety representatives from all of our airline districts, including District 140 in Canada., to more effectively wed our safety programs in the industry, provide guidance to negotiating committees in advancing the safety and health of our members, and to work directly with our legislative department on safety and health legislation and policy. At my request, the committee recently completed a collection of sample contract language regarding safety and health in a “buffet” type of offering, so that sections and parts can be selected as might be appropriate for each carrier and contract need. This safety and health language will be made available to all of our airline industry bargaining committees.
We also intend to provide our bargaining committees going forward with a similar “buffet” of contract language regarding scope and job security provisions and healthcare insurance issues.
In February and March of this year, every member of the fulltime IAM Transportation Department staff, including all the General Chairpersons and Grand Lodge Representatives, will be attending a one week Foundational Skills Refresher Program at the IAM Winpisinger Center. This program is designed to refresh our knowledge about our union, the fundamental principles that are our foundation, and the skills necessary to properly represent the membership.
Many of your recently elected District representatives are also scheduled for more advanced classes in arbitration, communications, political mobilization, pensions, healthcare issues, and collective bargaining throughout 2009.
District 141 experienced a dramatic change as a result of your most recent district election – at your District Convention last October, our International President swore-in a newly elected President and Directing General Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer, four new vice-presidents and many new Assistant General Chairpersons. It was an unprecedented turnover in representation at the District level. And, quite honestly, a less than smooth transition of authority ensued after what could only be characterized as a rather divisive election.
It is my hope that all that is behind us now. I can tell you that from my viewpoint at headquarters, despite the transition issues, your new representatives have hit the ground running and they are implementing some very worthy improvements in a number of areas. They have been working effectively with us at headquarters and making good use of the available resources to improve their representation skills and offer quality, effective leadership. I look forward to building on the working relationship we have already established as we go forward in the face of major negotiations, industry consolidation, an unprecedented economic crisis in our lifetimes, the changing political environment, and the many other unforeseen challenges we will face and overcome together.
In my personal experience, we have persevered through over thirty years of deregulation, strikes and difficult negotiations, mergers and acquisitions, many threats to the existence of the carriers we currently represent, and the loss of some carriers, despite our best efforts, and we are still standing in the very best traditions of District 141 and the fighting Machinists. There are many new representatives in this room at the local and District level – I’m sure you know that a legacy of hard work and sacrifice produced the union and the standard of living you are inheriting in new positions; and that maintaining and advancing it will certainly require a similar measure of belief, dedication, hard work, creativity, and sacrifice.
As usual, District 141 has its work cut out for it – Despite your fine work on Aloha Airlines during the liquidation, you now face an IBT raid at Aloha Air Cargo. You still have work to do on U.S. Airways to fully integrate the America West members to the IAM. You have tough negotiations with Hawaiian, and you have to build solidarity and mobilize the membership for negotiations with Mileage Plus and United. All this while you are attempting to improve on every area of representation.
But we are District 141 and our history tells us no challenge is too great for us. I look forward to working with you all, and I’m very proud to be a member of this district. Thank you.