Possible Union Change at AirTran

SlumTodd_Millionaire

Most Hated Member
This is from our latest union email newsletter:

President's Corner

Representation
There is currently an active card drive to petition the NMB for an election. This is being done by AirTran Pilots in support of bringing the Teamsters on the property. The Airline Division Director of the Teamsters has told me that he is not in support of the card drive and instead prefers to work with the leadership of the NPA to work out what is best for the pilots of AirTran Airways. This card drive has also caught the attention of ALPA.

I cannot say it strongly enough, that if you want to be in control of your own fate, this process must be handled methodically and with all the information. Should the card drives continue, instead of pursuing the possibility of a merger with a national union, you will be turning over your fate to the hands of the National Mediation Board and an election, of which the worst possibility is decertification of the NPA, with no union to replace it. Anyone that tells you this cannot happen is not familiar with the RLA. If card drives that are going on now are successful they will trigger an election, not just a presentation. If fifty percent plus one of the eligible pilots do not vote, we are then considered at will employees. A huge risk that no one wants, including ALPA and Teamsters.

Over the past three weeks, I have been putting the pieces in place so we can have an organized, informed discussion and presentations about national representation. The card drive will accelerate some of this plan. The process will now happen much sooner than previously anticipated. Normally, a representation committee is put together to do the research about national unions and then report to the BOD. At the same time the Pilot Group is polled about their preferences and concerns. Usually, there is a clear leaning towards one group. In this case, we have two national unions competing for the right to represent you. If processed correctly, this works to our advantage.

On December 1st, Wilson Center will start polling on the issue of representation. The December Board Meeting has been extended by two days. It will now be December 9th through December 12th. Both the Teamsters and ALPA will be presenting to the BOD during the BOD meeting. After the Holidays, the new BOD will set up presentations from both National Unions for the pilots. After national presentations to the pilots, we will again poll to see where you sit on the issue of representation. This will give the BOD direction on whether there is strong support for one group, and whether we have enough support to engage in a merger, if that is the will of the pilots group at large.

My goal is for you to have the best representation. I will do everything I can to facilitate that. I recognize that there are strong opinions from all three angles of this issue. Please remain professional and respectful of the opinions of others. This decision does not have to tear apart the pilot group. My goal is for you to get the best deal possible, which can only occur with everyone receiving all the facts and having the opportunity to decide the fate of your union. In the end, your union is what is most important. Regardless of the title, your union is your union.

I am asking that you refrain from signing a card. If you have signed a card under false pretenses, ask for your card back. A card drive puts you in the weakest possible position as far as controlling the fate of you union. In addition, the NPA has set up a new email address, representation@npa-atl.org. Please send any questions that you would like answered about union representation to this address. We will be sending these questions to be answered by the national unions and then posting to the pilot group. Also, look for a new header on the NPA forum specifically for discussions on representation.

We will not defer from other activities during this process. We will continue to press forward, actively pushing the pilot agenda. Please stay engaged.

We have asked outside counsel to provide additional guidance on the card drive issue. Please see the memorandum below.

In Service,
Captain Mike Best
 
So what is your take on this Todd? I don't know enough about unions to know what to think. Is this a positive, in that the NPA is seeking to join a national union, or it is a negative in that the Teamsters are aggresively touting a card drive? I am so interested because unions are fascinating - almost medievel in the complexity of the rules and turf wars, etc.

On a related note - perhaps you guys should join USAPA!? They probably need to dues money.
 
So what is your take on this Todd? I don't know enough about unions to know what to think. Is this a positive, in that the NPA is seeking to join a national union, or it is a negative in that the Teamsters are aggresively touting a card drive? I am so interested because unions are fascinating - almost medievel in the complexity of the rules and turf wars, etc.

Well, I'm obviously an ALPA supporter, so I'm not thrilled about the IBT drive. The only good thing about the card drive is that it forced the NPA to finally do something about this issue. A large portion of the pilot group has been screaming for national representation since the summer, and the NPA still hasn't done anything about it. This card drive finally got them to sit up and take notice.

Now, if things move ahead with the presentations and merger vote, then I feel pretty good about ALPA's chances. An unscientific poll on an internal message board shows that 50% support ALPA, 38% support remaining independent, and 12% support Teamsters. That bodes well for moving forward with a merger vote. I think once the pilot group has a chance to hear from ALPA, it will become clear which union can best represent us. My only concern is that the NPA President favors Teamsters, so I'm worried that he might try to tilt the process in their favor.

On a related note - perhaps you guys should join USAPA!? They probably need to dues money.

Don't make me hurt you, Waco. :)
 
You'd be better off merging with ALPA than to have an election. In an election, there's always the possibility "no Union" could win. And then NPA would be decertified.
 
Yup, needs to be a merger and with ALPA. Reference the one we did at CAL with IACP and ALPA. All the vote was for was whether or not to merge. Not do we want representation or not.

Isn't MB from Lakes? If so, that explains a lot.
 
Yup, needs to be a merger and with ALPA. Reference the one we did at CAL with IACP and ALPA. All the vote was for was whether or not to merge. Not do we want representation or not.

Exactly. This is absolutely what needs to happen.

Isn't MB from Lakes? If so, that explains a lot.

Yes, he was. I voted for him, because he was better than the alternative, but he's been a disaster.
 
You will love the IBT, just love them.

And remember, if you say otherwise, there is always someone waiting to break your knee caps.
 
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