Negotiations Purgatory?

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FOR A COMBINED CONTRACT



AFA Leadership Threatens "Negotiations Purgatory" In the Fall 2011 Issue of Negotiations & You, CWA-afa reminds us that "the power of the Union is only as strong as the number of Members who can be mobilized to action". CWA-afa's new soundbite succinctly and clearly sets the stage for blaming the members who may fail to act as directed, rather than the leadership at CWA-afa accepting responsibility for their repeated and failed leadership. CWA-afa also provides us with a chart and threatens us with "two more years in Negotiations purgatory" if 5,000 flight attendants don't take collective action by wearing the gold ribbons or send a postcard to Jeff. The blame is shifted once again to the membership no longer willing to play childish games and/or engage with union "leadership" that is wasting time on a single contract negotiations. The Fall 2011 issue also warns flight attendants "If you need a pay raise, stand behind the Negotiating Committee fighting for your interests in negotiations. We will not see the pay raise we want in a new Contract just by asking". http://unitedafa.org/contract/negotiations/docs/2011_fall.pdf The inference is that we must wear our pins and ribbons to get the pay raise we want. As opposed to the negotiated give-and-take with the Company in order to achieve anything approaching pay parity with Continental flight attendants. Who knew it could be so simple? SOLIDARITY DOES MATTER. CWA-afa assures us that "our Negotiating Committee is fighting for our collective interest". "Our collective interests" should be understood to include the entire workforce of flight attendants at Continental, Continental Micronesia, and United. We must stand together and demand change - change embodied in a combined contract NOW! IS "Big Brother" Watching? CWA-afa "Disses" Social Media Sites! Abject fear is sweeping through CWA-afa's MEC office as expression of membership discontent grows on Facebook and other Social Media sites (AFA E-Lines on November 23, 2011). CWA-afa states: "Facebook and other social media can be great for entertainment and connecting with other people. They are not places for official information regarding negotiations or what is going on with the company. Why? Because anyone can post without having to be accurate or accountable for their statements or the consequences that can follow inaccurate information". ONLY THE CWA-afa KNOWS THE TRUTH! REALLY?!? A union is only as strong as the leadership that sets the tone for progressive and responsive action - that welcomes and embraces dissent and debate with intelligent, constructive rebuttal and reasoning rather than name calling and hysterics. Defending a poor track record must be very difficult (i.e. 3 contracts in 26 years at Air Wisconsin, 2 in 25 years at United Airlines, 1 in 17 years at America West). Not to mention the three failed attempts to unionize the Delta FA's with our dues money in the last 16 years? Instead, the CWA-afa has chosen simply to shout down the opposition! "Fool's Gold for Sale" What is the REAL reason the CWA-afa is aggressively stepping up their campaign for us to wear gold ribbons?? Psychologists have helped businesses use colors to influence customer behavior for decades. What exactly is CWA-afa trying to sell us? The usual "tired" CWA-afa concessionary contract? Despite the urgency of our current situation, we are instructed to "tie a gold ribbon on the side handle of our crew bag". This is evidently modeled after the "highly successful" AFA green ink campaign of the late 1980's, which led to the "industry leading" 10 year contract of 1987-1996. That contract, you will recall, opened the door for, among other things, allowing the foreign nationals to begin intra-Asia flying and the opening of international domiciles. It also did not prevent the outsourcing of our flying to regional carriers like Skywest and ExpressJet. The next time the LEC officers in your domicile enthusiastically tries to hand these ribbons to you for wear and display, you may want to ask yourself, "Fool's Gold" ANYONE? Combined Contract Now! We are not just 15,000 United flight attendants or 9,500 Continental flight attendants anymore; we are 24,500 strong members! Demand a......... COMBINED CONTRACT NOW! JOIN THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT COALITION FOR CHANGE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!