But Big Labor ignores the obvious when workers aren't that into them. So does the Obama administration. The airline and rail industry's counterpart to the National Labor Relations Board is the equally overreaching National Mediation Board (NMB). And it's doing its darnedest to arrange a three-way marriage between two unions--the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and the International Association of Machinists (IAM)--and Delta Airlines. Delta and Northwest Airlines merged in 2008. After Barack Obama was elected president, the IAM and the AFA indicated that it would hold off on calling for unionization elections for Delta employees until the pro-union president named two board members to the three-member NMB. That happened the following year--and Delta issued a statement supporting Linda Puchala and Harry Hoglander, whose appointments were confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support.
In July, 2009, the two unions filed for an election. But in September, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO sent a private letter to the NMB asking that the panel upend 75 years of labor law stipulating that a majority voting for the union, but not a majority of the workforce, to become the threshold for a union to win an organizing election. True, we have the same law for our elections for public office. But anywhere from two to six years later, voters have the opportunity to throw the bums out. Not so with unions. In fact, no union representing rail or airline employees has ever been decertified.
NMB got that rule changed last year--and the unions lost--despite the pro-labor playing field. Did the AFA and the IAM accept their defeats? No, that autumn they filed an interference claim with the NMB. In June, the NMB agreed to investigate that charge.
In the case of the Delta flight attendants, it was the third time the AFA lost a Delta election in the last ten years. Overall unions have lost eight out of eight recent elections at Delta.
Unions: Delta workers just aren't that into you.
Three years after the two airlines merged, Delta hasn't been able to integrate its NWA employees. But in less than a year, United Airlines, which merged with Continental last fall, has been able to integrate the other carrier, sparing UAL the expense and hassle of having two workforces.
Running an airline is difficult enough in a weak economy, but the NMB is making it even tougher for Delta.
Related post:
Flight attendant testifies on NMB overreach; says union has "held us hostage"
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