IAM Victory! EASY AS 4, 3, 2, 1 (Well . . . not really) Did you see that recent IAM flyer where they promised a “start-to-finish in about four months”? (Direct quote from IAM Delta flyer dated November 12, 2014). Well, talk is cheap and actions speak volumes, so let’s take a look at the history of IAM’s actions: They’ve done it! They’ve finally, truly, actually done it! In just under SEVEN YEARS, IAM has finally negotiated and ratified its first contract for the CommutAir flight attendants. Not four months like they “promised” (wink, wink) the Delta Flight attendants. Not even 14 months or 24 months or 34 months or 44 months or 54 months or 64 months or 74 months, but almost 84 months from “start-to-finish”! That’s a 21 to 1 margin of error for the Machinists Union! Since the IAM was elected as their collective bargaining agent in January 2008, the CommutAir flight attendants have endured: •84 months of NO PAY RAISES •2,520 days of NO PER DIEM INCREASES •360 weeks of NO PROFIT SHARING (for 2014 alone, Delta’s profit sharing will equal close to two months of salary when totaling the 5% early payout and the balance to be paid on February 14, 2015) •7 years of NO QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS, including vacation/sick leave accrual, trip credits/rigs, minimum rest, etc. etc. etc. In other words, after seven years of IAM representation, the CommutAir flight attendants not only saw zero improvements, but THEY LOST the annual improvements that they would otherwise have gotten! Their new contract provides NO BACK PAY for those lost wages. At Delta, pay increases ALONE averaged 3.4% per year for each year. Worth the wait? Of course, if the IAM had negotiated an earth-shattering, industry-leading contract after seven years, then the wait could surely be justified. So let’s take a look at some of the highli . . . err lowlights of the agreement: •This agreement is in effect for four years. It took almost twice as long for IAM to negotiate this contract as its duration period. •Not all items go into effect on the date of signing. There will be an implementation period for some of the items. (PMNW flight attendants will be familiar with the implementation period, as some items in our yellow book contract took 18 months to implement). •Starting pay is $16.50 an hour. This is an improvement from $15.50 that was part of the tentative agreement that CommutAir flight attendants rejected a year ago. So while they received an extra dollar an hour going forward, they also were stuck in their seven year old wage rates for an extra year to pay for that dollar increase. •Top of scale pay is $27.13 an hour. IAM agitators at Delta decry our $53.52 hourly rate (effective 04/01/15) as “poverty level wages” but somehow think $27.13 an hour is a livable wage?!?!? •Per Diem is paid at $1.45 an hour ($34.80 for a 24 hour period). Delta domestic per diem is $2.20 an hour ($52.80 for a 24 hour period) . . . say WHAT!?!? CommutAir flight attendants are supposed to get by on $18 LESS per day, even if we’re at the same layover cities?!?! Do layover restaurants charge CommutAir flight attendants 35% LESS for the same meal than what Delta flight attendants pay? It’s outrageous for IAM negotiators to think their own members are worth so little. •Annual pay increases equal 1% for each year of the agreement. So at the top of the pay scale, CommutAir flight attendants will receive an additional 27 CENTS an hour in 2016, 28 CENTS an hour in 2017, and 27 CENTS an hour in 2018. All in black-and-white, legally-binding contractual language. •There is NO language that ties the flight attendant salaries to a percentage of operating profits (in case you read that joke of an IAM flyer that tried to compare the industry wages as percentages of operating profits). Always Something . . . Do you know what’s NOT locked into black-and-white legally-binding contractual language? IAM dues!! Here’s Question 5 from the CommuteAir contract FAQs: 5. Why are the Union dues amounts not in the contract? The reason it is not in there, is because it is not in any IAM contract. Dues are set by the IAM Constitution. There are three amounts that comprise the total monthly dues: The Grand Lodge per capita, the District Lodge per capita and the Local Lodge per capita. These amounts are what fund the three levels of our Union. Because these amounts may, or may not, change on an annual basis, they are not included in Collective Bargaining Agreements which can last between two to five years, and some even longer. The IAM Constitution is amended every four years at the Grand Lodge convention by “delegates” who are IAM dues paying members. That’s right: what’s sauce for the flight attendant goose is not sauce for the IAM gander. The Machinists don’t want to tie themselves down to contractual language with regard to any of their obligations to their members. Dues “may, or may not, (sic) change on an annual basis”, just willy-nilly at the whim of the IAM convention delegates and NOT by a direct vote of the IAM members. And so we have to ask once again, who are the silly geese that are trying to force an inept union down the throats of the Delta flight attendants and why are they so adamant in agitating for such a weak, ineffective organization? But regardless of who they are and where their motivation lies, one thing is certain: if the IAM becomes our third-party representative, our collective goose will be cooked! Read the news of the long, drawn-out drama of the CommutAir contract negotiations here: iamdl142.org/fa/CommutAir/default.htm . Read it and weep. Weep for the CommutAir flight attendants. Light a candle and say a prayer for them. It could have been us. While you’re at the website, note the dearth of information (seven years of negotiations updates fit neatly onto one web page) and the long time lapses between updates (sometimes two years or more). Vote for IAM and you too can expect to pay $700 per year in dues for this type of lack of transparency, lack of communication and lack of service to the membership. Please share this email with one and all and ask others who wish to get the same information to simply submit their email via my BLOG ~ joseaibarra.blogspot/ Sincerely, Jose Arturo Ibarra
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 05:15:08 +0000
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