Third Party?

You’ve heard it all before.

“The Union is an outside third party that comes in and makes promises, ruins relations between employees and employers and might just destroy the company. Oh, and by the way, you, the employee gets charged a fee for this service.” This refrain is repeated over and over by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and of course Delta Airlines. It is part of their ‘union avoidance’ program.

They make it sound like it’s not a very good deal. In fact, they want you to think, who in their right mind would vote for such an arrangement? Of course – none of it is true.

Who are these nameless third party people who swoop in to collect money and ruin things? They are an imperfect group to be sure. Let’s start with shop stewards. They are baggage handlers, ticket agents, stock clerks, clerical workers, simulator technicians and reservation agents. They are your coworkers. You elect them. If you want, you can run for the position.

What do these individuals do? If you are having trouble with a coworker, they might be the ones who help resolve the conflict. If you are at your wits end because of a child who is addicted to drugs, your steward might be the one helps you find a drug treatment program. Problem with a manager, attendance, payroll or safety issue? Your shop steward will get involved if you ask and is trained to find solutions. How much do they get paid? Nothing. Stewards are all volunteers who work right next to you.

Leading the stewards are members of the Shop Committee or Grievance Committee. They are also elected by people you work with, usually for 3 year terms. Again, any member can run for this position. They regularly meet with management to resolve problems and settle grievances. They oversee the activity of the stewards. They make sure union newsletters and reports are distributed. They are the leaders of the union in their station. What are they paid? Nothing. They are paid the same hourly wage as their coworkers. Not exactly outsiders.

General Chairs are above the shop committees. Elected by their coworkers, they are paid by the IAM and work full time for the membership. Their salaries are governed under bylaws voted on by members. They meet with upper management to resolve problems and often have many locations they are responsible for. They also negotiate union contracts beside members from the rank and file. The President of an IAM Airline District Lodge, also elected, oversees the General Chairs and all union activity at their respective carriers like Northwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Air Wisconsin, United, US Air, Continental and many more.

Even at the International level, officers are elected. They oversee hundreds of union contracts and hundreds of thousands of members. Before they were elected, they were just like us – machinists, baggage handlers, technicians, clerks and other work classifications.

So these are the ‘outsiders’ that make sure a worker doesn’t have to go it alone against a multi billion dollar, global employer. Sounds more like ‘insiders’ when you know the truth.

The real outsiders? Those are the guys Delta has hired to spread misinformation hoping to sway your decision away from being union.

All we ask is for you to think about it. Who do you trust? Those you work with and have a common stake in your future – or – those hired guns trying to manipulate your decision?

Happy New Year