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| MECP to the Membership |
At this point in time, the Furloughs (voluntary or involuntary) are a disgrace. The job of a union is to keep everyone employed with the best benefits available. Not to pay benefits to those who are not productive. The benefit that the UA MEC keeps touting (free medical etc.) is not free. The active employees pay for them, as with any "buy outs" that are negotiated at the table. The reliance on the good nature of flight attendants to want to prevent furloughs also prevents the membership from looking below the surface and evaluating what is wrong with the entire program. It was poor AFA leadership that got us here and poor AFA leadership that will keep the program going with no progress elsewhere at the negotiating table. Furloughs should be unacceptable to all of us when it is merely used as a tool for re-balancing the workforce. For your deja vu moment read this article published back on Aug 28, 2008 about 1550 flight attendant furloughs at United Airlines!! http://www.eturbonews.com/4658/united-furlough-1550-flight-attendants
The AFA leadership had several options and obligations as a "democratic" union. The first and most important was to truthfully educate the membership about the labor contracts, and then bring the first offer in May 2010 for a "Continental like contract" to the s-UA membership and let them vote on it. The second was another chance to do so immediately after the representation election instead of going into Section 6 negotiations soley at s-UA. If anything, it would have allowed a pay increase and we would have immediately gone into joint contract negotiations to resolve "metal protection" that keeps us separate, with hiring going on at the s-CO side and furloughs on the s-UA side. In the meantime, what was done is done. Now the time has come and we need to CHANGE leadership! To get a Joint contract means to reform our leadership through new LEC elections as they arise - honestly, do we want Greg D. for everyone at the New United?
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