Vicious Truths – Delta F/A e-mail Newsletter #9                 June 27, 2001

UNITED F/As PROPOSE POLLING MEMBERSHIP RE: CONTINUING TO FUND DELTA ORGANIZING 

The following, courtesy of the UAL afa website, is “the 'rough draft' of the Advanced Agenda Item that is being submitted for the July MEC meeting.”  

“SUBJECT: Conducting a UAL membership poll on the question of continuation of funding for the Delta organizing effort.  

BACKGROUND INFORMATION: The current effort undertaken by AFA to organize and unionize the flight

attendant workgroup at Delta Airlines has spanned a five year period, with over $6.5Million having been allocated to the project to date. This is the second such attempt made by AFA to unionize Delta flight attendants. The question of continued funding arises each year at the AFA Board-of-Directors meeting, and may do so yet gain this October of 2001. The funding question itself has become an issue among the flight attendant membership at UAL…This has contributed to a serious division within the UAL rank and file, and, until a clear direction is given to the leadership by this membership, may serve to further undermine the confidence of the members that their leadership is in fact responsive to the will of the membership they represent… [Note this admission that confidence in afa leadership is already undermined]. This agenda item does not seek to argue the merits of the unionizing effort. Rather, it seeks to initiate an action to gauge the level of support and resolve of this membership in consideration of continuing to finance the Delta effort. The membership has become divided over this issue, with many members feeling that AFA resources may be better used in other areas of service to the current membership. There is also a growing perception that a more accurate process needs to occur in order to determine how the membership wishes to be represented on this issue. A polling of the members at this airline would provide an excellent source of feedback to the elected representatives that will aid in determining the future funding and support for the Delta organizing campaign.

Keeping in mind the budgetary constraints under which AFA constantly operates, the polling process could be achieved with little or no additional expenditure necessary. If approved by this MEC body, one such method would be to utilize the next upcoming issue of Union Update to contain a polling ballot, as well as both a 'pro' and 'con' argument regarding the issue of organizing the flight attendants at Delta Airlines into the AFA union. The polling ballot would be located in the publication so as to include the mailing label. This would serve to minimize tampering [sounds as if tampering is commonplace] with poll results and ensure that a member has submitted only one ballot.  

PROPOSED SOLUTION:  

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the UAL MEC approve a process to poll the flight attendant membership at this airline in order to determine the will of the membership as it relates to continued financial support for the AFA union organizing effort currently underway at Delta Airlines…”

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            Perhaps we’re reading too much into it, but it sounds as if afa leadership at United knows the afa cannot organize us and is looking for ammunition to prevent Pat Friend from obtaining still further funding in the October board of directors meeting. Otherwise it would not be necessary to mention reasons for refusing funding (i.e. five years of failure, $6.5 million expense when continually subject to “budget restraints,” etc.). 

            We believe the ONLY way additional funding can be obtained is if the afa can qualify for an election prior to the October board meeting and, as we’ve reported previously, the afa is having great difficulty obtaining enough cards for an election.  Its failure is undoubtedly due in major part to your efforts to expose the afa and spread the union-free gospel.  Keep up the good work and if at all possible, redouble your efforts for the next few weeks and we may rid ourselves of this menace. 

            RIP UP THOSE CARDS!!!

Lynne Atwood, IAH 610, Editor    ¨    P.O. Box 19484, Houston, TX 77224    ¨    atwood@hal-pc.org