Words From Your IAM Leadership
Robert Roach Speaks Before The N.M.B

Representing more than 115,000 airline and railroad workers, Robert Roach addresses the National Mediation Board regarding a possible change in the way union elections are conducted under the Railway Labor Act (RLA). Below are clips from Robert's testimony.

"As the National Mediation Board's (NMB) largest stakeholder, we strongly support the proposed change to make union representation elections more in keeping with our nation's democratic principles."

"The current election process has been in existence since the creation of the NMB in 1934. Opponents argue that if the process was broken it would have been fixed many years ago. But sometimes it takes government a very long time to correct mistakes."

"The federal government did not guarantee women the right to vote until 1920, 131 years after the U.S. Constitution was ratified. Although some states conferred limited rights earlier, there were no nationwide constitutional protections until the 19th Amendment. There was fierce opposition to allowing women the right to vote, with ridiculous reasons ranging from 'women really don't want to vote', to 'it would lead to our nation's collapse'. Today, society finds these bigoted excuses offensive. Denying women the right to vote was wrong. People who opposed women's suffrage were wrong. But it still took more than a century for the government to correct it."

"African-Americans were denied the right to vote even longer. While the voting rights of former slaves were recognized by the federal government in 1870 through the 15th Amendment, it was nearly another 100 years before the government finally fixed the process of voting to ensure it was fair to people of all races. It was not until 1965's Voting Rights Act that the government finally outlawed discriminatory voting practices and afforded all citizens a fair voting process. There was violent opposition to granting African-Americans the same rights enjoyed by other citizens. Denying Americans their right to vote because of their race was wrong. Those who opposed eliminating racial prejudice in voting practices were wrong. But it still took 176 years, a Civil War and a massive nationwide civil rights movement for the government to correct it."

"Under the current NMB election process, people who do not participate in an election are considered to have voted against union representation. It doesn't matter why they didn't vote. They may have wanted a union but were unable to cast their ballot. But the government, without regard to a person's true desire, counts them as voting against union representation. They may have even decided not to participate in the election for religious or other personal reasons. However, the government does not allow them to abstain. It counts them as voting 'no.' The U.S. government is impermissibly imposing a viewpoint on a select group of its citizens."

"The carriers and their representatives are opposed to air and rail voters' rights for the same reason people were opposed to voting rights for women and African Americans- they are afraid to upset the status quo and lose the advantages they enjoy at the expense of others. Airlines have enjoyed an advantage in union organizing campaigns for decades. The new rule will not suddenly give unions an edge in elections, as some claim. It will only take the advantage away from the carriers - leveling the playing field to ensure that every voice is heard. It will simply allow workers who participate in an election to vote for a union or vote against a union for the first time."

"The NMB should reject a process in which the government imposes a viewpoint on its citizens. It should support a process where each person has the opportunity to choose for themselves if they want to vote 'yes' or 'no', and those who abstain from the voting for whatever reason do not influence the outcome of the election. If our government had not modified its election rules, 2/3rds of today's NMB and the current President of the United States would not be eligible to vote in public elections I would not be eligible to vote." "It is time for the NMB to change its election rules"