Jul 6 2010
Approve the contract or authorize strike, TWU tells American Airlines employees
The Transport Workers Union is giving members two choices when they vote on a tentative agreement this summer with American Airlines: “Yes” means they approve the contract, “no” means that they’re authorizing a strike.
The TWU announced that it began sending the tentative agreements Tuesday to the three work groups covered by those proposals: mechanics and related employees; technical specialists; and stock clerks.
Those proposed contracts cover about 13,000 American employees.
Here are the two choices on the ballot:
I VOTE TO ACCEPT
I VOTE TO REJECT AND AUTHORIZE THE NEGOTIATING TEAM TO TAKE WHATEVER ACTION NECESSARY UP TO AND INCLUDING A STRIKE
“The language is simple, but these are not simple choices,” TWU international representative Don Videtich said in the union’s announcement. “It wasn’t an easy choice for our bargaining committees to agree to these TA’s. However, after 30 long months of negotiations and careful consideration they voted to send these agreements out to members for a ratification vote.”
The union said it will mail ballots to TWU members on July 26. The American Arbitration Association will count votes and announce the results Aug. 24.
Usually, strike votes are held separately from contract votes.
The TWU had also reached a tentative agreement covering more than 10,000 ground workers and fleet service employees in late May, but rescinded the agreement last week. It has told its locals to conduct a strike vote covering that bargaining unit this month, with results back into TWU headquarters by July 30.
For a little refresher here: a union can’t go on strike until after the National Mediation Board releases the parties from federal mediation and starts a 30-day clock going.
An Aug. 24 decision to reject the proposals and to authorize a strike would indicate that the earliest that any of those three TWU units would be allowed to go on strike would be late September.
And that’s assuming that the NMB agrees to start the 30-day clock, and I’m making no assumptions either way.
If you care to read the tentative agreement covering mechanics and related employees, click here: <a href="Mechanics and related TA, July 6, 2010.pdf.
UPDATE: American spokeswoman Missy Latham had this to say:
“American believes the Tentative Agreement reached with the Transport Workers Union for the Mechanic & Related workgroup is a fair deal, for both our employees and the company. Both parties put a significant amount of time and effort into negotiating an agreement that recognizes the interests of our TWU-represented employees and will help the company compete long-term.”
No related posts.