Its sad how Unions will turn on each other. The problem is in part due to AMFAs position on organizing where they let any clown speak for AMFA. The flyers that go out with terms such as "bag smashers" etc certainly do not foster any "goodwill" from other unions on the property and most Unionists (Craft and Industrial Unionists alike) take offense to a group thats better paid trashing a group thats paid less instead of trashing management. Much of the literature put of by AMFA claimed that mechanics were poorly paid because of baggage handlers and that management would willingly pay them more if they didn't have to pay the baggage handlers more. This of course is a lie, management wants to screw everybody they can but it fueled resentment between mechanics and Fleet service and the company enjoyed that.swamt said:
That said on the other side we see Unions that would rather see other groups fail so their own shortcomings don't look so bad, even if that failure means their own members will suffer down the road. These leaders don't care and rationalize their stance because their pay and benefits, provided and funded by union dues, remains intact.
The position of the TWU at SWA is stupid and divisive, sometimes you have to put differences aside and realize who the real enemy is, AMFA is not seeking the Flight Attendants or Fleet Service workers at SWA, in the end their members will be harmed by the breakup of the Council, not the pilots and not the mechanics. If a company has their pilots and mechanics they have their airline.
The feeling towards AMFA at the TWU is one of pure hatred, even leaders from the transit division hate AMFA. I believe this is prevalent throughout most of the AFL-CIO and I suspect its due to what they have seen come out of grassroots AMFA drives where any clown who steps up can print up whatever they want and put it out as AMFA literature and over the years some of the stuff has been pretty bad. If mechanics want their own Union they shouldn't tear down other work groups to get it. While they may get a few cards signed that way they probably lose just as many, plus alienate everyone else on the property. When AMFA leaders sit back and allow this stuff to go out unchallenged then other Unions see that as a sign of approval, and other Unions are not going to assist a Union that puts out stuff thats degrading and insulting to the people they represent.
Pilots have their own Unions.
Flight Attendants have their own Unions.
Why is it OK for them but not OK for mechanics? The answer is it is OK for mechanics, just as its OK for Pilots, flight attendants, plumbers, electricians etc etc but if mechanics go out and attack other workers, whether they be "Bus Drivers", truck Drivers" or baggage handlers and flight attendants, its going to leave them isolated within the labor movement, even from other Craft Unions. AMFA, due to its history of trashing other workers made themselves so toxic that even the other craft unions avoided association with them.
There is an uneasy alliance within the Labor Movement between hard core craft unions and hard core Industrial Unions, sort of like the alliance between the Allies and Russia during WWII, (with corporations being the fascists of course). Its always been this way and likely always will be. Labor is losing because we have a lot of Neville Chamberlains running a lot of Unions in the labor movement, on both sides, craft and industrial- so the Nazis not only got Czechoslovakia but have taken Poland, the Baltic states and Russia up to the Volga while our leaders are still saying "live to fight another day".
If you were to ask an Industrial Unionist the same question "Why is it OK for Pilots and Mechanics to have Craft Unions but not ok for mechanics to have their own Union" they would not give you an honest answer. Their true belief if they in fact are hard core Industrial Unionists is that the Pilots and Flight Attendants should not have their own Unions, they should be in the same union as everyone else, but they won't say that, they will say "Well those unions aren't raiding". But at SWA AMFA isn't raiding anyone still the TWU at SWA, which is basically two craft Locals within and Industrial Union, and is willing to sit with the Pilots Craft Union has a deep seated hatred for AMFA where they would rather remain divided in the face of management rather than be united.
If you were to ask a Leader from a craft Union the same question you would likely get the same response, because that keeps the fragile alliance between the Unions in place, they don't want to get involved in internal politics of an Industrial Union which they consider to be an OK Alliance partner but basically inferior, thats why the SWA pilots took the position they did (their situation is a little more complex because they are an independent Union that was probably hoping to gain some AFL-CIO support through the TWU and IBT), but apparently they are starting to say enough is enough (realization having set in that the support was not coming) . Deep down most pilots in this industry do feel that mechanics should be in their own Union. Over the years I've had many pilots say just that. But their Unions will not come out and support that for political reasons, and AMFA is responsible for allowing themselves to become so Toxic that even other Craft Unions are reluctant to say they have a legitimate right to exist and will not associate with them.
