Feb 22, 2024 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
ATLANTA, Feb. 20, 2024 – U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) wrote a letter to Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian calling on Delta Air Lines to uphold its reputation for excellence and fairness by respecting the rights of its employees to decide on unionization without interference.
Upwards of 55,000 Delta employees are currently engaged in a campaign to join unions. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is currently organizing Delta ramp, cargo, and tower workers. The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA-CWA) is signing up flight attendants, and the Teamsters are supporting technicians and related crafts.
“My office has heard from different unions about their organizing efforts, and I strongly agree that Delta’s workers have a right to make a decision on unionization without fear of retaliation or intimidation,” wrote Rep. Bishop. “Ialso urge Delta to continue to adhere to the organization process outlined in the Railway Labor Act and to take any allegations of interference seriously.”
In the letter, Bishop also expressed support for the ongoing efforts of Delta employees to organize and urged Delta Air Lines to maintain their well-deserved status by respecting its employees’ decision whether or not to organize.
This latest letter comes after five more Republican members of Congress penned a letter to Delta CEO Ed Bastian. The Congressional Labor Caucus letter garnered 146 members of Congress to sign on, including Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.).
Delta Air Lines management has threatened employees with termination for union activities. It hosts an anti-union website and distributes literature threatening workers seeking to organize.
Delta Air Lines is the only U.S.-based mainline carrier where a union does not represent flight attendants, fleet service, and mechanics – only 20 percent of Delta workers are unionized.
Unionized Delta pilots recently endorsed the joint IAM, AFA-CWA, and Teamsters campaign to organize Delta workers.
“Delta workers are being subjected to an immense amount of pressure, simply by exercising their federal right to join a union,” “It’s time to put an end to the intimidation and give Delta workers the voice on the job that they deserve.”
“We applaud Rep. Bishop’s courage for taking a stand to level the playing field for Delta workers,” said IAM Air Transport Territory General Vice President Richie Johnsen. “He has a long history of fighting for workers throughout Georgia. His support reinforces the importance of fairness and respect in this organizing campaign.”
Read the complete letter here.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the manufacturing, aerospace, defense, airlines, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
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Feb 13, 2024 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2024 – 146 members of Congress signed a letter confronting Delta Air Lines over its anti-union practices. They strongly urged the airline to adopt a neutrality agreement to ensure a fair and unbiased union organizing campaign.
This letter comes after the Congressional Labor Caucus recently heard from Delta workers during the IAM’s visit to Capitol Hill.
Delta Air Lines is the only U.S.-based mainline carrier where a union does not represent flight attendants, fleet service, and mechanics – only 20 percent of Delta workers are unionized. Unionized Delta pilots recently endorsed the joint IAM, AFA-CWA and Teamsters campaign to organize Delta workers.
Delta Air Lines management has threatened employees with termination for union activities. It hosts an anti-union website and distributes literature threatening workers seeking to organize. Delta also spent approximately $38 million to oppose a flight attendant union campaign in 2010. Its anti-union activities have caused brand damage, including broad media coverage of a 2019 anti-union flier that told employees to spend money on video games instead of union dues.
“A neutrality agreement would simply free Delta workers from intimidation and allow them a pathway to join a union and collectively bargain if they wish,” said IAM International President Brian Bryant. “It would ensure that employees decide to unionize without undue pressure or interference from Delta management.”
Since November 2022, Delta employees, including flight attendants, fleet service workers, and technicians, have been actively working to form a union. The company’s resistance to unionization efforts has sparked concerns about workers’ rights and fair labor practices.
A neutrality agreement would require Delta to refrain from engaging in any activities that could influence the outcome of unionization efforts. By committing to neutrality, Delta would demonstrate a commitment to respecting the voices and rights of its employees. Neutrality agreements are a common practice in industries where unionization efforts are underway.
“A neutrality agreement consists of an employer agreeing not to engage in pre-election activities that influence workers’ freedom to form a union,” reads the letter from members of Congress. “Your commitment to neutrality would ensure that management does not pressure workers into voting against unionization or delaying the election process. We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard that Delta should meet in respecting workers’ rights and comply with the Railway Labor Act’s directive to not “interfere… influence or coerce” its employees in their choice of representative.”
“The IAM applauds members of Congress for taking a stand against anti-union tactics and for providing support in amplifying the voices of workers in Delta Air Lines,” said IAM Air Transport General Vice President Richie Johnsen. “We are asking other elected officials to add their voice to the call for justice and join the movement demanding Delta Air Lines respect the rights of its employees.”
Congress’s call for Delta to embrace neutrality is critical in this stage of the organizing campaign. As the debate over workers’ rights and fair labor practices continues across the country, Delta Air Lines has the opportunity to allow its workforce the freedom to organize.
Read the complete letter.
The letter was signed by 146 bipartisan Members of Congress, including: Reps. Alma Adams, Colin Allred, Gabe Amo, Nanette Barragán Joyce Beatty, Donald Beyer, Jamaal Bowman, Brendan Boyle, Shontel Brown, Nikki Budzinski, Cori Bush, Tony Cárdenas, André Carson, Troy Carter, Greg Casar, Sean Casten, Joaquin Castro, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, Judy Chu, Yvette Clarke, Emanuel Cleaver, Steve Cohen, Gerald Connolly, J. Correa, Joe Courtney, Jason Crow, Danny Davis, Donald Davis, Rosa DeLauro, Suzan DelBene, Christopher Deluzio, Mark DeSaulnier, Debbie Dingell, Lloyd Doggett, Anna Eshoo, Adriano Espaillat, Dwight Evans, Brian Fitzpatrick, Bill Foster, Valerie Foushee, Maxwell Frost, John Garamendi, Jesús Garcia, Robert Garcia, Sylvia Garcia, Daniel Goldman, Jimmy Gomez, Josh Gottheimer, Al Green, Raúl Grijalva, Jim Himes, Steven Horsford, Val Hoyle, Jared Huffman, Glenn Ivey, Jonathan Jackson, Sheila Jackson Lee, Sara Jacobs, Pramila Jayapal, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Marcy Kaptur, William Keating, Robin Kelly, Ro Khanna, Daniel Kildee, Derek Kilmer, Andy Kim, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ann Kuster, Greg Landsman, John Larson, Barbara Lee, Summer Lee, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren, Stephen Lynch, Seth Magaziner, Jennifer McClellan, Gwen Moore, Jared Moskowitz, Seth Moulton, Betty McCollum, Morgan McGarvey, James McGovern, Robert Menendez, Kweisi Mfume, Frank Mrvan, Kevin Mullin, Jerrold Nadler, Grace Napolitano, Joe Neguse, Wiley Nickel, Donald Norcross, Eleanor Norton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Frank Pallone, Chris Pappas Bill Pascrell, Donald Payne, Scott Peters, Chellie Pingree, Mark Pocan, Katie Porter, Ayanna Pressley, Delia Ramirez, Jamie Raskin, Deborah Ross, Dutch Ruppersberger, Patrick Ryan, Andrea Salinas, Linda Sánchez, John Sarbanes, Mary Scanlon, Janice Schakowsky, Adam Schiff, Bradley Schneider, Brad, Sherman, Mikie Sherrill, Elissa Slotkin, Adam Smith, Eric Sorensen, Darren Soto, Abigail Spanberger, Melanie Stansbury, Haley Stevens, Marilyn Strickland, Eric Swalwell, Emilia Sykes, Mark Takano, Shri Thanedar, Bennie Thompson, Dina Titus, Rashida Tlaib, Jill Tokuda, Ritchie Torres, Norma Torres, David Trone, Lauren Underwood, Nydia Velázquez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Maxine Waters, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jennifer Wexton, Susan Wild, and Frederica Wilson.
The Congressional Labor Caucus is composed of more than 100 Members of Congress working to protect and advance workers’ rights.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is among the largest industrial trade unions in North America and represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in the manufacturing, aerospace, defense, airlines, transportation, shipbuilding, woodworking, health care, and other industries.
goIAM.org | @MachinistsUnion
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Apr 28, 2022 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2022 – The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), the nation’s largest airline union, supports the recent introduction of the bipartisan bill Protection from Abusive Passengers Act (H.R. 7433, S. 4019), which would help thwart passenger assault on airline workers.
The legislation, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), and in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), would direct the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to create and manage a program that bars passengers who are fined or convicted of serious physical violence against airline personnel from flying.
“We greatly appreciate congressional lawmakers for taking the rising tide of passenger assault on airline workers very seriously,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “These hard-working men and women are tasked with getting people to their destination safely, so we should always repay them by ensuring that airport and airline workers have a place that is safe for them too. I urge Congress to move swiftly to pass this legislation and give airline workers the safety and protections they deserve.”
The legislation would also permanently ban abusive passengers from participating in the TSA PreCheck or Customs’ Global Entry programs.
This marks the latest effort by IAM transportation leadership urging lawmakers and federal agency officials to take actions to halt passenger assaults on airport and airline workers.
For example, earlier this year, the IAM joined a letter with other transportation unions, urging President Biden, U.S. Homeland Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to help find solutions to thwart the rising passenger assaults.
The FAA has reported a total of 5,981 passenger incidents in 2021, which is up sharply from previous years.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is one of the largest and most diverse industrial trade unions in North America, representing approximately 600,000 active and retired members in the aerospace, defense, airlines, railroad, manufacturing, transit, healthcare, automotive and other industries.
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Jan 25, 2022 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
At a moment’s notice, a flight attendant may have to address a hazardous safety or security situation in the air. They are the first responders inside the aircraft cabin. Implementing a mandatory 10-hour rest period between shifts for this group of workers is something the Machinists Union has been fighting for decades.
Today, the IAM stands in solidarity with some of the largest airline unions in the world in a letter urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to make this a reality, as soon as possible. Although the regulation was initially passed in 2018 as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act, delayed adoption of the law’s requirements have created loopholes that some airline companies are taking advantage of, and therefore putting flight attendants in unsafe or even perilous situations having to work without the proper rest.
Read the full letter here.
In a joint letter submitted to the FAA and the DOT by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Airline Division (IBT), Transport Workers Union of America (TWU), and the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), the group stresses the importance of adopting this law as quickly as possible.
“In a time of chronic understaffing, economic cutbacks, and egregious customer behavior in many cases, it is now more important than ever that our first responders in the air get the rest they need and deserve,” said Richard Johnsen, Chief of Staff to the International President. “This is an issue that has been in the halls of Congress for decades. It’s time for our federal government to act now and ensure the highest level of safety for the airline workers of the skies and the passengers they serve and protect.”
Right now, because there is no regulation that requires it, various airline companies have found ways around the rule, especially during labor contract negotiations or during peak operations times. Passage of this act would make the 10-hour rest period mandatory, taking away the ability for any group or company to reduce the amount of rest time. Ultimately, this will keep workers, and the flying public safeguarded from unnecessary risks.
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Jan 12, 2022 | Air Transport, Politics & Legislative News
Representatives of Local 625 and District 19 recently held a meeting to discuss issues at CSX with U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter. The idea of this meeting came from Vice President and Local Chairman Pete Gibson at the recent Georgia State Council meeting.
Issues discussed included Precision Scheduled Railroading, forced overtime, excessive discipline and the COVID-19 vaccines.
“At no time in history has it been more apparent that we need to make our voices heard in the political arena than now,” said Gibson.
An in depth discussion about the effects of Precision Scheduled Railroading gave Rep. Carter a chance to understand what our members have been dealing with. Members also had a discussion about a possible vaccine mandate at CSX.
“This was a good opportunity to get our issues out there so that we can find ways to remedy them,” said District 19 Assistant to the President / Directing General Chairman Andrew Sandberg. “It doesn’t matter which side of the isle our Representatives are on, we need to get them involved in our hometowns when possible in an effort to improve conditions for our members. No one can explain our position better than we can and we cannot expect that anyone else will.”
“Engaging elected officials at every level is one of the most vital things we can do,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “Not just at the federal level, but state and local as well, so that the issues important to our members and their families are understood, and their rights are protected.”
“This demonstrates the important work being done at our Machinists State Councils,” said IAM Transportation Coordinator Edison Fraser. “Without the work of our political arm, this meeting likely wouldn’t have taken place. We are very grateful to Local 625 and District 19 for all they do on behalf of our railroad membership.”
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