The Rest of the Story about Delta Organizing
- Why the AFL-CIO Needs Us -
When activists try to explain to you why you should sign a card,
they will often use well scripted slogans like "we want to have the
respect and dignity of a contract," "I’m pro-Delta and
pro-union," or more recently, "pro-Delta, pro-union, and
pro-USA." Activists may also try to wave the bloody flag and incite
our emotions about the carpetbaggers who have left with healthy severance
packages while we near bankruptcy. While
these activists are concentrating on issues that the afa-CWA organizing
department has designed for Delta, many of them do not know the larger
forces driving the organizing campaign at Delta.
This article explains why Delta is so important to the afa-CWA, and why
they have continued for the last decade to try to represent us. It will
also give a brief background on organized labor and explain the role that
it plays in the Delta organizing campaign. When you examine afa-CWA
information, you will have the background to decide whether you
are going to support someone else’s national agenda, or continue the
course and work for our own long term success.
The Role of Big Labor
The main push to organize Delta did not begin in Atlanta or New York.
It began in Washington D.C. In October 1995, John Sweeney
was elected President of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of
Industrial Relations (AFL-CIO). Sweeney’s vision was to reverse the four
decade long decline in the power of organized labor (Big Labor) in this
country. In 1955, Big Labor represented 35 percent of the U.S. workforce.
By the mid-1990's, the ranks of organized labor had dwindled to 15 percent
of the U.S. workforce. If this trend were allowed to continue, Big Labor
would slowly become a curiosity only discussed in history books.
Mr. Sweeney and his leadership team created the "New Voice
Campaign" to try to reverse the decline in power of Big Labor. The
cornerstone of this campaign was to increase the number of union members
through organizing. Mr. Sweeney pledged to devote one third of the AFL-CIO’s
budget to the AFL-CIO Organizing
Institute and joint organizing campaigns with the major internationals
and local unions. In return, a number of the major internationals greatly
increased their organizing budgets. With its war chest full, Big Labor
started to look for companies to organize.
Big Labor also switched tactics. Gone were the days of waiting for
"oppressed" workers come to a union and ask for help in
organizing. Now, the international and local unions would go looking for
workers to aid it in its quest to expand. Big Labor felt that it must
organize entire industries, entire geographic regions, and entire
corporations if it were to build real and lasting power. Only through
industry dominance would Big Labor have the political and financial power
to accomplish its agenda. Given this backdrop, it is only natural that
Delta would become a target for Big Labor.
Big Labor Targets Delta
Traditionally, airlines have been one of the few private sector
industries that have been receptive to unionization. If the strategy of
the labor movement is to organize entire industries and companies, the
largely non union Delta workforce would have to be brought under union
dominance.
Enter the Association of Flight Attendants-Communication Workers of
America (afa-CWA). The afa-CWA is a member
of the AFL-CIO, and the afa-CWA has the stated goal of representing all flight
attendants at all carriers. Since the afa-CWA had been trying to organize
Delta since 1996, it was natural for Big Labor to add its resources to the
afa-CWA to ensure a quick union victory. However, there was one problem.
Delta has historically provided its employees with equal or better benefits
than the unionized carriers. Delta management and Delta employees
have traditionally had a good relationship, working together to build a successful
company in a very volatile industry. While our competitors were striking,
Delta was flying full. When our competitors were leaving families
stranded, Delta was ensuring that they made it home for the holidays (with
the exception that Christmas when ALPA’s local Delta chapter acted up.)
Our hard work in partnership with management has built a company with a
strong balance sheet to handle the ups and downs of this industry.
Why Big Labor Must Win at Delta
But to Big Labor, a successful Delta was the non union thorn in the
side of the union dominated airline industry. Big Labor needed to remove
this thorn for three reasons:
First, Delta sets a bad example for unionized employees at other
airlines. With Delta maintaining industry leading wages and benefits, it
makes the unionized employees at other carriers wonder why they are paying
dues. Also, the recent downturn in the industry showed that a legally
binding contract cannot protect jobs. As union flight attendants hit the
unemployment lines, Delta flight attendants are still working. If Delta
were unionized, Big Labor could take credit for our working conditions
instead of trying to explain to an out of work flight attendant that they
are better protected than the still employed Delta flight attendant.
Secondly, Big Labor needs Delta for political reasons. Delta flight
attendants would provide thousands of potential votes and campaign contributions
that Big Labor could use to influence politicians to support their
legislative agenda. Big Labor can trade its financial support in elections
for political support in organizing campaigns. Remember which
representative provided the most congressional support for the
"Appeal for Fairness?" Are you aware who provided the largest
percentage of his campaign contributions? For more information, click
here to see the AFA's Wiener.
Finally, organizing Delta flight attendants would greatly increase the
income of the afa-CWA. According to recent LM2's, the afa-CWA has had financial
difficulties. The Delta campaign has drained it of funds that should have
been used to maintain its membership. Organizing 20,000 Delta flight
attendants will put an additional $9,360,000 per year in the afa-CWA's coffers
to stabilize its finances. In addition, Big Labor would get a percentage
of our dues as a type of tax that it levies on local member unions.
Conclusion
Tracking the motivation of the union movement’s attempt to unionize
us begs the question: Are there real problems at Delta that we need a
union to solve, or is the union manufacturing problems to access our
pocketbooks?
We have seen that labor was in a steady decline when John Sweeney
became the AFL-CIO President. Even though he has thrown millions of
dollars into organizing, Big Labor’s decline has continued. According to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership decreased again last
year. In 1999, 13.9 percent of all workers were union members. In 2000,
the percentage of union membership slid to 13.5 percent with a slight
decline in the actual number of union members. In 2000, actual union
membership was down slightly from the 16.3 million members in 1999. http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm
This steady decline in the union workforce shows that Big Labor is in
trouble. Even with thirty percent of the union budget going into
organizing, union membership is still declining. Unions are desperate to
reverse this trend. As we all know, desperate people will take extreme
measures to get what they need. Right now, the union movement needs Delta
more than Delta flight attendants need a union. The afa-CWA has the motivation
and incentive to say or promise us anything in order to try to get our yes
vote.
When activists ask you to vote yes, remember that they may not
understand the big picture. The afa-CWA activist may honestly believe what he
or she
is telling you. The activist will be convincing. However, activists are
trained and mentored by professional union organizers. When activists look to the organizer for support and information, the organizer knows
just what to tell the activists to keep them motivated. While our activist
friends might not see the big picture, these puppeteers controlling our
activists know exactly the stakes of this game. Their future depends on
us.
To comment on this page, go to the DeltaFA
Talk Discussion Board
Further Reading
Print
Not Your Father’s Union Movement Inside the AFL-CIO, ed. by
Jo-Ann Mort, Verso, 1998.
Essays on the union movement and the election of John Sweeney.
Internet links
AFL-CIO Organizing Institute http://www.aflcio.org/orginst/
Bureau of Labor Statistics http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/union2.nr0.htm
Open
Secrets
http://www.opensecrets.org