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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2012)
Appeals Court to take CWA case against American Air As three other unions deal with the airlines in bankruptcy court WASHINGTON, D.C. (PAI) — A federal appeals court will take the Communications Workers of America (CWA) case against American Airlines’ blockage of the union representation election for passenger service agents, CWA President Larry Cohen an- nounced. The case is important because a fed- eral judge in Fort Worth, Texas, where American Airlines is headquartered, ruled — for the first time in history — that the scheduling of a union certifica- tion election could cause “irreparable harm” to a company. American, the nation’s third largest airline, filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011 — with $4 billion in the bank. In bankruptcy court the company has tried to void its union contracts with the Allied Pilots Associ- ation, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, and the Transport Workers Union, which represent 55,000 pilots, flight attendants, and me- chanics. AUGUST 3, 2012 If successful, the carrier will dump its pension plans onto the federal gov- ernment (taxpayers) and fire thousands of workers. The New York Times reported that American’s management team stands to make between $300 million and $600 million in bonuses if American Airlines emerges from bankruptcy as a stand-alone company. CWA’s election among 10,500 pas- senger service agents had been sched- uled for this summer, until the judge called it off in July. He also accepted the airline’s argument that CWA did not file enough cards petitioning for the union recognition vote. After a long organizing drive, CWA filed cards from more than 30 percent of the workers last December. But American Airlines filed lawsuits and caused other delays, which prevented the National Mediation Board from rul- ing on the union’s petition for an elec- tion until May. The National Mediation Board is the government agency that oversees labor-management relations in the airline and railroad industries. By May, Congress had changed the elec- tion rules. Now, rail and air unions must obtain authorization cards from an absolute majority of workers in a bargaining unit before the National Mediation Board will schedule a vote. U.S. District Judge Terry Means said CWA failed to meet that standard. “Even in bankruptcy, American was able to stop an election by finding a judge who sided with them because it (the election) would ‘hurt morale,’ ” Cohen sarcastically said during a con- ference call late last month. “The U.S. Court of Appeals” in New Orleans “will hear that lawsuit and the Department of Justice is carry- ing that lawsuit, too,” Cohen said. Last month, 121 members of Con- gress wrote American’s CEO Thomas Horton, urging him to drop the legal maneuvers and let the election go for- ward. Among those signing the letter were U.S. Representatives Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter De- Fazio, and Kurt Schrader of Oregon and Adam Smith and Jim McDermott of Washington. All are Democrats. “We are disappointed that you sought the injunction instead of pro- ceeding with the union representation election once the statutory require- ments for holding that election were met by the passenger service agents,” they wrote. The congresspeople pointed out that when debating the bill that contained the higher threshold standard for trig- gering a union election, it was con- firmed that it would not impact appli- cations that had already been filed. “We are confident that congressional intent on this issue is clear, despite the recent (court) ruling,” the letter states. Caregivers picket St. Charles Hospital BEND — Hospital workers and members of the community held an informational picket July 25 at St. Charles Medical Center, where 600 caregivers are trying to secure a first contract. They are members of Serv- ice Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49. “Caregivers have had over 40 bar- gaining sessions to date and have yet to see management address their main concerns around having a voice in pa- tient care, having good jobs with liv- ing wages, and affordable health care,” said union spokesperson Felisa NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS Hagins in a press release. The union won a narrow organiz- ing victory in January 2011. Often- times employers in close elections will use stall tactics to avoid reaching agreement because federal labor law allows a minority of workers (30 per- cent) to file for a decertification elec- tion if a contract isn’t in place after 12 months. A decert was filed in February. The National Labor Relations Board has not set an election date, however, as it is investigating several unfair labor practice charges SEIU filed contending that the hospital and its team of hired consultants had en- gaged in illegal and coercive tactics to intimidate employees into voting against the union. Since voting for Local 49, several union activists have been disciplined, and some terminated. St. Charles is the largest employer in Central Oregon. At the same time that caregivers were picketing, hospi- tal CEO Jim Deigal was announcing St. Charles’ intentions of acquiring Mountain View Community Hospital in Madras. PAGE 11
