I’ve never considered myself anti-union. In fact, if you had asked me a couple of years ago to describe my attitude toward unions, I would have said I’m “pro” union, not “anti.”
But I’ve always been anti-cheater. I’ve always been anti-bully. I’ve always been anti-deceiver.
And because of that, my colleagues and I are working to throw the Labor Union Association of Flight Attendants-Communication Workers of America, AFL-CIO (AFA-CWA) out of our workplace.
Avelo Airlines is a young and growing low-cost carrier. When the company was just getting started, the AFA-CWA filed an application for an election to vote in the union. The company was never really given a chance to meet flight attendant expectations on its own before being organized.
At the time, there were fewer than 100 flight attendants. But through a loophole in the law, only the first 14 hires were allowed to vote. Of those, eight voted for the union – just enough for the union to worm its way into our company.
Today, Avelo has roughly 250 flight attendants, and only a tiny fraction of those had a voice in choosing union representation. But, like a roach motel, you can check in, but you can’t check out. I’m convinced that, if a fresh vote were held today, my colleagues would send the AFA-CWA packing. That is to say, if the union were unable to game the system, it would lose.
The AFA-CWA aren’t just cheaters, they’re bullies. The union uses fear tactics to stir up discord among employees and resentment in the company. They have villainized, ostracized and intimidated me personally for standing up for my co-workers’ right to choose whether they want AFA representation.
During a recent training event, I was accosted by a male union official who accused me of putting all of my co-workers’ jobs at risk. They have accused me of ulterior motives, of being a pawn of management, and have created hostility toward my colleagues who favor a fair vote on union membership.
So the AFA are cheaters, bullies – and deceivers. The AFA-CWA sold those eight employees a bill of goods. While collecting a portion of our paychecks to fatten their executives’ salaries and expense accounts, we have received nothing in return. Negotiations with Avelo management have dragged on for over two years, with no end in sight. This is par for the course. The AFA typically takes years to finalize a contract and uses the time to try to gin up relevance for itself and propagandize employees. At Omni Air International, the AFA’s negotiations took six years. At Spirit Airlines, AFA dragged out negotiations over nine years. Many of the employees who voted them in were probably long gone.
And the union likes to talk about “democracy.” In one recent release, the AFA-CWA proclaimed, “As union members, we understand democracy in our workplaces and in our public square.” What kind of democracy has a handful of people vote in place of 250?
Yes, once upon a time, I could have called myself pro-union. But now I’m fighting back.
For the past several months, with the assistance of the nonprofit Center for Independent Employees, I’ve been working to bring my co-workers a truly representational election on the AFA, which I’m certain will lead to their ouster. I believe most Avelo flight attendants want to forge a direct relationship with management where we feel heard, and our needs are met. Most of us want to cut out the cheating, bullying, deceptive middleman. Avelo gave us more concrete improvements in the ten months preceding the union than AFA has given us in the years since.
If the AFA is the “democratic” organization that it claims to be, surely it would want a fair election to prove, once and for all, that Avelo flight attendants want the union to represent them. The fact that they are fighting tooth and nail to prevent a vote shows just how democratic they are. The fact that they are dipping into our paychecks without yielding us any results shows just how much they care about our best interests.
Even if you’re pro-union, it’s easy to see that’s just wrong.
