The President's Report
The NMB has rendered a decision. The decision, simply put, allows for only the votes cast to matter. Here's an example: there are 100 employees at the widget factory, and 45 people cast a vote; if 26 of those 45 vote union then work group is now organized. Under the old rules, at least 50 of the 100 people must vote; and of that 50 at least 50% plus 1 must vote for the union for the work group to be organized. What does this mean you may ask? It means a level playing field, and more democratic process for a representation election; and more importantly, it is what it does not mean. It does not mean that we can rest on our collective hindquarters with this Delta organizing drive; it does not mean that we are assured an easy victory, and it does not mean that Delta will rollover. It means we must redouble our efforts from the organizer to those of you working side by side with the non union workers. It means we are not to squander this opportunity. It means we must continue to demonstrate every reason why organized labor is the best and only answer for the work force in this or any country.
The Executive Board and I have been working extremely hard to ensure that we are in a position to capitalize on every organizing opportunity. We started by taking an aggressive attitude toward budgeting, and every expenditure has been placed on the table for review. Rest assured that even the Executive Board has felt the pinch. We have saved money in every area possible. Continued...
'Organized labor is the best and only answer'
by Tony GibsonThe NMB has rendered a decision. The decision, simply put, allows for only the votes cast to matter. Here's an example: there are 100 employees at the widget factory, and 45 people cast a vote; if 26 of those 45 vote union then work group is now organized. Under the old rules, at least 50 of the 100 people must vote; and of that 50 at least 50% plus 1 must vote for the union for the work group to be organized. What does this mean you may ask? It means a level playing field, and more democratic process for a representation election; and more importantly, it is what it does not mean. It does not mean that we can rest on our collective hindquarters with this Delta organizing drive; it does not mean that we are assured an easy victory, and it does not mean that Delta will rollover. It means we must redouble our efforts from the organizer to those of you working side by side with the non union workers. It means we are not to squander this opportunity. It means we must continue to demonstrate every reason why organized labor is the best and only answer for the work force in this or any country. The Executive Board and I have been working extremely hard to ensure that we are in a position to capitalize on every organizing opportunity. We started by taking an aggressive attitude toward budgeting, and every expenditure has been placed on the table for review. Rest assured that even the Executive Board has felt the pinch. We have saved money in every area possible. Continued...
Do You Have An Opinion?Anyone wishing to submit an article for the Opinion Page can do so by clicking HERE, or by mail: Web Steward, Local Lodge 141, 9335 Middlebelt Road, Romulus, Michigan 48174.
Article Policy:
Local Lodge 141 reserves the right to edit all submissions. No portion of these articles may be reproduced without the expressed written permission from Detroit Air Transport Local Lodge 141.
Articles submitted by name are the viewpoints of the author, and are not neccessarily those of Detroit Air Transport Local Lodge 141.
Article Policy:
Local Lodge 141 reserves the right to edit all submissions. No portion of these articles may be reproduced without the expressed written permission from Detroit Air Transport Local Lodge 141.
Articles submitted by name are the viewpoints of the author, and are not neccessarily those of Detroit Air Transport Local Lodge 141.
Previous Articles
"Give A Rip" will be a thing of the pastWinning together?
The same old song and dance
Delta continues to keep NMB decision and vote 'EFC'
by Chuck Justin, Editor, The TransporterI remember back when I first started working at Republic Airlines as we expanded the size of the company the airport couldn't keep up with the flight schedule. When this happened, flights were delayed in the air, basically circling the airport until there was space available for them to land. So they listed these flights on the screen as "EFC" (Expecting Further Clearance). On the ramp we referred to it as "Endless F#%$ing Circles". That is exactly what Delta is doing with their continued plan to delay the inevitable vote and unionization of their company.
At first, Delta wanted to change the rules to their advantage, but when that didn't work they complained about how the IAM was leaving out the above-the-wing employees when we filed to vote the first time. So we withdrew our application, and the NMB announced the rule change. Delta again complained we withdrew our application, because of the proposed rule change. In their minds this was a conspiracy to hurt Delta Air Lines. After weeks of waiting, hearings, a public comment period that was as lopsided "pro rule change" as was the 1936 Presidential election. (Democrat Franklin Roosevelt defeated Republican challenger Alf Landon by a margin of 523 electoral votes to 8 electoral votes. Roosevelt won every state except Maine and Vermont. He also won over 98% of the electorate.) Continued...
My name is Jonah— Three days in the belly of a whale of an airline
by Larry WebbLooking back on over two years of persistent organizing my travels have consisted of multiple trips to the IAM's W3 Center, Minneapolis, San Diego, Cincinnati, New York City, Savannah, and Washington DC, but until now I never ventured into the whale's belly— Delta's World Headquarters.
I hear about the size of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson Airport each week in conference calls, but to hear something is one thing, to see it with your own eyes is another. Delta handles roughly 60% of the airport's flights with 151 domestic gates and 28 international gates covering six concourses and 5.8 million square feet of space. Planes take off at a rate of 237 an hour at the airport and Delta flies approximately 1,300 flights per day out of its humongous hub. These figures don't even include the new 12 gate, $1.4 billion international terminal scheduled to open in 2011. With five runways and the nation's largest air-traffic control tower (398 ft) the airport is capable of performing triple, simultaneous landings, something only a handful of airports worldwide can handle. Continued...
A True Story: Get To Know The Real Delta Air Lines
By Randy Seim, ESE DTW
I have a friend that I have known for a long time. We belong to the same church--he is three years older than my oldest--I know his parents, and grew up with his mother; they also belong to the same church. The reason for all the detailed background information is to inform you that I am speaking about a real person, one that I know to be well mannered and trust worthy.Sam is employed by Mesaba Airlines in DTW with about two years of working experience. Continued...