To: AMFA Members
Subject: Anti-Labor Legislation: Airline Labor Dispute Resolution Act – Senate Bill-1327
Date: 8/08/01
The Situation
The Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is in the process of deciding whether the Airline Labor Dispute Resolution Act (SB-1327) has enough merit to be submitted to members of the Senate.
It’s important that you help us end this Senate Bill in Committee. AMFA vehemently opposes this legislation.
This dangerous bill would be a detriment to the working men and women of the airline industry. It would severely handicap labor unions’ ability to negotiate fair contracts for their members by eliminating due process in the collective bargaining arena.
What You Can Do
O.V. Delle-Femine, AMFA National Director, urges AMFA members and supporters to send members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions a one-page, hand-written letter by (date) emphasizing the damage this bill could do if it were approved. Attached are:
1) A list of Senate Committee Members and their addresses
2) A template for your letter. It highlights several key points; feel free to include one or all of them in your own letter, in your own words.
AMFA has always believed that the Railway Labor Act is in need of an overhaul. As it exists today, it prolongs the conclusion to bargaining issues due to long, drawn out procedures that cause dissension and ill-will among employees.
However, forced binding arbitration, as outlined in SB-1327, is not the answer to the problem. In our opinion, this bill would be the equivalent of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater” if allowed to move forward.
Please Write To The Following Members of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions:
Edward Kennedy (Chair, D-MA)
315 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Christopher Dodd (D-CT)
444 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tom Harkin (D-IA)
731 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
709 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
James Jeffords (I-VT)
728 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
703 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Paul Wellstone (D-MN)
136 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Patty Murray (D-WA)
111 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Jack Reed (D-RI)
320 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
John Edwards (D-NC)
825 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Hillary Clinton (D-NY)
476 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
393 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Bill Frist (R-TN)
567 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Mike Enzi (R-WY)
290 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tim Hutchinson (R-AR)
245 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
John Warner (R-VA)
225 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Christopher Bond (R-MO)
274 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
302 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Susan Collins (R-ME)
172 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
495 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Mike DeWine (R-OH)
140 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
HERE IS A SAMPLE LETTER YOU MAY USE AS A TEMPLATE.
To The Honorable ______________:
I am writing to tell you the Airline Labor Dispute Resolution Act (SB-1327) currently under review is a bad solution to an already broken system.
Labor is already at a major disadvantage under current legislation, which allows the administration to intervene with the negotiation process by threatening to impose a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).
1. This bill, which gives the Secretary of Transportation the authority to force the two negotiating parties into binding arbitration, would completely undermine the negotiating process by eliminating labor’s right to strike and put all the negotiating power on the side of the employer. This amounts to an unfair advantage at the bargaining table for employers who already have the upper hand in the process.
2. Eliminating the legal ability of the employee to strike would no doubt prompt unauthorized job actions like slowdowns and sickouts that could potentially be disastrous for the public. Human behavior is such that if the system does not provide for a fair process, individuals will find a way around that process to make their point and be heard. This could result in problems ranging from disgruntled employees to frustrated employees who leave the industry and produce massive shortages of skilled workers needed to effectively run the airlines.
3. This bill sets a dangerous precedent by eliminating due process as we know it and kills any hope of using the system to achieve a fair result. The system’s intent was to allow employer and employee representatives to come to the bargaining table on a level playing field to negotiate a fair agreement. Now employers, already at an advantage under the current system, will have no incentive to negotiate, knowing forced binding arbitration is around the corner to come to the rescue. It makes an already unlevel playing field that much more uneven.
4. This bill in particular would be damaging to the ongoing effort of the unsung heroes of safety (aviation technicians) who are attempting to elevate the standards in aviation, and thus it would prevent the ability to attract or retain high caliber technicians.
This bill is dangerous and unfair, and it is not surprising that employers would be in favor of it because it completely stacks the deck in their favor.
I urge you to kill this bill in Committee before it can do any further damage to an already broken system.