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Dear Mesaba AMFA Members, In recent weeks you have heard from the other two members of your negotiating committee. Their insight to our current situation is invaluable, and I hope that you the membership have taken the opportunity to read their updates. I would also strongly urge you to seek them out so that they can answer any questions and address any concerns you may have regarding contract negotiations. I want to take this opportunity to speak about where we are presently and what our direction is for the future. Our last negotiation session took place on December 14, 2004, in Minneapolis where the Company arrogantly stated, in the presence of the NMB mediator, that they would not be providing us with any future contract proposals, that they were happy with current book, and that our expectations were unrealistic. My first reaction to that statement was one of confusion. Does that mean that the Company no longer endorses their previous proposals for unlicensed personnel, part-time help, and their cross utilization proposal, which would allow them to use us to throw bags or whatever else they desire? After the Company made their statement, we informed the mediator that we thought we were at an impasse since the Company no longer wished to negotiate and that we would like our release from mediation. The Company immediately responded by saying that they did not think that we were at an impasse rather that our expectations were just unrealistic. In case you're confused by the Company’s doublespeak, let me translate for you: as long as we agree with the Company’s position, their proposals and whatever else they desire, we can continue to negotiate. Sound fair enough to you? Since that session in December we have not met with the Company, even though we have repeatedly contacted the NMB requesting them to act and bring the Company back to the negotiating table. Our request has fallen on deaf ears – just as our request for the Company to meet with us at other stations has. The financial burden of the negotiations has clearly been on AMFA. We have pointed this out to the NMB repeatedly, with no response on their part. So where are we now? Since the NMB has denied our request for release from mediation and they have not scheduled any future negotiations, their future plans are uncertain. What can you do about it? I strongly urge all affected AMFA members here at Mesaba to write his or her State representatives and express your displeasure with the NMB’s unwillingness to act. To add injury to insult the Company has been mandoing our membership repeatedly due to the obvious lack of manpower. What is the Company’s response to our low manpower and low performance issues? Hire more management! In the sixteen years I have been with this Company I can’t remember a time when we have had as many managers as we have today. I would also like to request all of our membership to keep a watchful eye for any contractual violations. Although we do not want to unnecessarily generate grievances, our contractual rights are all we have. It would seem the Company is pushing the contractual envelope, and their constant reinterpretation of our current book language should be of great concern to all of our membership. You have the right to question management as long as it is done in a professional manner; and that information, however insignificant you might think, is very important. Communication is vital, so please make sure your Shop Reps and Airline Reps are aware of what is going on. Everyone should have received his or her strike ballot recently, and I ask that you please take the time to fill it out and send it in. If you have not received your ballot yet, you can access either your local website or the AMFA National website (www.amfanatl.org) for information on how to get a replacement ballot. You must also make sure to update your mailing address if you have recently moved to insure future correspondence. Many of our members have asked me when we will be going on strike. It is important to know that we cannot go on strike until we have been released from mediation, which we have not. There has not been a strike date set since we have not been released, and we further hope that the Company will negotiate with us in good faith and will not force us to that extreme. Don’t forget to utilize your Local and National Web sites for up-to-date information, as well as the monthly meetings that are held in MSP, DTW and MEM. So what is our direction for the future? Unfortunately we will have to wait for the NMB to decide when and where our next negotiating session will be. Until that happens we will be in a holding pattern waiting for them to act. We would like to hold some informational pickets, and we ask that anyone who is interested to please make yourself available to your Airline Representative. In closing I would like to strongly urge all of our membership to continue to display the professional attitude that defines us and our craft, and continue to enforce your contract. This letter was written by Jim Schafer, Local 5 Mesaba Airline Representative, on behalf of the Mesaba Negotiating Committee, which concurs with his observations. |