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AFA Responds to Management Publicity Stunt
Date:
7/30/2015
PDF version of letter
July 29, 2015
Doug McKeen
Senior Vice President – Labor Relations
United Airlines, Inc.
233 S. Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60606
Dear Doug,
Negotiations for a joint contract for 24,000 Flight Attendants requires serious attention. On July 28, Jeff Wall wrote a letter to our MEC presidents offering to meet on August 11 to continue joint contract negotiations with AFA. Within hours, and without waiting for our reply, management distributed the letter publicly to the entire Flight Attendant workforce. I know a publicity stunt when I see one, but what’s needed from management is a good faith effort to improve our collective bargaining agreement and to conclude these negotiations.
In an effort to keep the negotiations moving toward a successful conclusion, the parties had a conference call on July 22, during which it was agreed to jointly request that the NMB conduct a status conference to discuss next steps. The NMB has already agreed to conduct a meeting on August 10 at which the parties will address issues such as concerns about the bargaining process, the role of the NMB going forward, and our future negotiations schedule.
Since the NMB has already agreed to conduct that meeting, we were somewhat taken aback by United’s July 28 letter. The letter, its timing and its distribution seemed calculated to distract the Flight Attendants from the real problems we have identified; or, it may have been intended to undercut the meeting with the NMB. Neither approach is conducive to good faith bargaining.
Distracting antics like sending Jeff Wall’s letter out to the entire workforce are exactly the kinds of problems that must be discussed on August 10 at the NMB. We will, of course, need to publicly respond. Instead of more of this sort of thing by your negotiating team, I would encourage you to instruct them to go into the August 10 meeting with a genuine commitment to starting the next phase of negotiations on the right foot.
In closing, let me be absolutely clear: AFA is very interested in returning to the bargaining table and reaching an agreement that meets the needs of Flight Attendants. But the fact remains, as I have indicated to you previously, we have grave concerns about management’s conduct of these negotiations. Those concerns need to be discussed and addressed to set the stage for concluding these negotiations. Flight Attendants breathe life into our airline’s celebrated slogan, Fly the Friendly Skies. They take their work seriously and perform it with pride. They expect the same commitment and serious approach from management so that together we can reach an agreement on the terms of a new contract.
Sincerely,
Sara Nelson
International President
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
cc: Greg Hart
Linda Puchala
Michael Kelliher
Pat Sims
AFA Joint Negotiating Committee
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