US airline workers, angered at concessions to which their unions have agreed, are rebelling, forcing out long-established unions at two major carriers.
In a big upset at United Airlines, mechanics voted out the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and instead joined the smaller rival Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA). In June, Northwest Airlines flight attendants voted to quit the Teamsters after 26 years and join the Professional Flight Attendants Association, a new independent union with no ties to other organised labour groups.
AMFA had courted mechanics at United for years, but IAM, their dominant union, had held off the upstart in several elections. Based in the small New Hampshire town of Laconia, AMFA ousted the Teamsters from Southwest Airlines in January. Labour expert Neil Bernstein of Washington University in St Louis says the votes show "enormous frustration by the workers, who believe that their union has let them down".
AMFA, which won a similar upset election among Northwest machinists three years ago, will more than double its membership by adding the 13,000 mechanics at United. It may try to win over disgruntled mechanics at American Airlines and hopes to organise non-union maintenance staff at Delta Air Lines. AMFA's appeal has long been to workers angered at both management and traditional trade union leadership.
The existing IAM contracts with United run through April 2009, and AMFA cannot immediately change them. However, the new union could become a party to the United bankruptcy reorganisation.
In its campaign at United, AMFA charged that the IAM failed to communicate clearly with its members about the concessions it endorsed, and vows to change this. It refuses as a matter of policy to accept seats on airline boards, and says that IAM board membership at United was a conflict of interest.
AMFA also states as a matter of policy that it would not negotiate a concessionary contract.
The IAM still represents another 26,000 United employees, including ramp workers, baggage handlers, ticket agents and customer service representatives. They were not eligible for the vote as they are covered by a different labour contract. The union vowed to "continue to represent them aggressively".
Before the election, the IAM represented more than 100,000 workers in aerospace, including those at Boeing.
DAVID FIELD WASHINGTON
Source: Airline Business
