"NO"  to New Co & “No” to Opening the Contract with AMFA

We came here to work for United Airlines. We sought employment here because we wanted to work for a major airline. What we thought would be a great and rewarding career has instead been a volatile ride. Who would have known the turbulence we would have to endure. After two rounds of concessions in bankruptcy we thought that the worst might be over, but instead we are now faced with a new threat—a threat that the AMFA is ready to entertain but does not know how to handle.

The company has stated its intentions of a majority sell off of the maintenance base. With this idea a large portion of us would no longer work for United Airlines, but would instead work for a “NewCo”.  They also state that they want a “labor friendly” agreement to accomplish this. If the company was interested in being “labor friendly”, we wouldn’t be talking about this. What’s worse, AMFA is not capable of protecting our jobs from this threat against our workplace and is ready to bargain away our scope language.

This spin-off will divide us for good. If the company gets what they’re wishing for, mechanics at the base would no longer be working under the United Airlines Mechanics Collective Bargaining Agreement. Divide and conquer by breaking the line from the base is a company strategy which would severely affect the ability to negotiate contract improvements for the remaining line mechanics. Everyone loses—except UAL.

A recent financial report from Credit Suiss shows that UAL is in tremendously good financial health. But they refuse to spend money on maintenance due to “internal competition for capital”. What they have forgotten is that maintaining our aircraft is a normal expense that comes with running an airline. Some industry analysts suggest that this spin-off could be a prelude to a merger with another airline (i.e., Delta, which has its own MRO). UAL has been an outspoken proponent of industry consolidation.

Our contract limits the company to a sale/lease back arrangement and/or a joint venture for capital improvements. The contract does not allow them to sell the facility unless the company is selling all or substantially all of its assets. In order for the company to get what it has stated it wants, they would have to open the contract to bargain for it. In their Sept. 30^th letter, the AMFA Local 9 reps Joseph Prisco and Malik Miah have stated their willingness to open the contract early. They are now playing right into the company’s hands. We have never seen a union repeatedly give in to the company as this one has. By opening the contract, AMFA is giving up its greatest leverage for protecting jobs.

One thing is for sure: We must not go into negotiations with AMFA as our bargaining representative! This is the most concerning part of it all. This Committee has said it over and over—The AMFA has no leverage at the bargaining table. One needs to look no further than what happened at Northwest Airlines to understand this. We must not put ourselves at risk with them. The company knows they can work with the AMFA by dangling a prize in front of them, such as stock options, to get a compromise. It will then be promoted in hopes of getting just enough people to vote yes. For the ability to bring this to an election, the company needs to get this done with AMFA.

The Committee for Change strongly believes the timetable for this proposed sale has been accelerated by the company due to the organizing drive for the Teamsters, which has had great momentum in the last several months. The Teamster reputation for protecting jobs has preceded them. UAL management knows they won’t get their way with the IBT. Teamsters do not trade short term financial gains for the permanent sacrifice of the scope provisions in their contracts.

If the timeline for these plans stated in the Prisco/Miah letter is correct, there is time to get to an election first. The urgency to get this drive done has been heightened. We need anyone with an expired card (12 months) to renew at this time. For anyone still undecided about having an election: It’s time to make a decision. For those with mild interest: It’s time to talk it up. And for all of our strong supporters: Thank you and keep up the good work!