Crafts union courts mechanics at AA
By D.R.STEWART World Staff Writer
6/19/99
A Minneapolis-based crafts union that seeks to represent 8,000 Transport Workers Union mechanics at American Airlines in Tulsa will hold two informational meetings for airline workers Saturday, union officers said on Friday.
The informational meetings to discuss affiliation with the upstart Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, a 40-year-old crafts union that represents mechanics at Northwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines, will be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 10918 E. 41st St., at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., officials said.
A spokesman for O.V. Delle- Femine, who is national director of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association and will preside at the two informational meetings, said they are being held because of increased interest in the union following two informational sessions in April.
"This (AMFA) thing has basically swept through our system," the worker said. "The last real battle is in Tulsa, and Tulsa is going to decide the issue."
Out of 14,988 aircraft mechanics in American's system, 8,664 work in Tulsa. Nearly all are members of the TWU, which has represented mechanics at the airline for decades.
The April meetings were held despite vigorous efforts by members of the Transport Workers Union. Union representatives persuaded officials at Owasso High School and the Radisson Inn-Airport to withdraw permission for AMFA use of their facilities after TWU members implied that the meetings could trigger violent confrontations between the two sides.
In April, the informational sessions eventually were held without incident at the Ramada Inn, 8861 E. Skelly Drive. More than 100 American Airlines mechanics, all members of the TWU, attended the AMFA meetings in April.
Delle-Femine said AMFA has been organizing at American bases around the country for the past year. AMFA needs 51 percent of TWU members to sign cards certifying their interest in AMFA membership to call an election by the National Mediation Board. An election would determine union representation.
Dennis Burchette, president of Local 514 of the Transport Workers Union, said TWU members will not picket the AMFA meetings.
"It's an emotional issue and our people don't like it, but we are going to let them have their meeting," Burchette said. "What they have is a small group that is very vocal and very persistent."
A 13-year veteran American mechanic and TWU member who attended the last AMFA informational sessions and plans to attend those Saturday, said interest in AMFA continues to grow among mechanics at American's Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport. The mechanic asked that his name not be used.
"Interest in AMFA is increasing, but it is very difficult to quantify because (American Airline) behavior rules prohibit a great deal of (individual) flexibility," the American mechanic said. "The TWU says it doesn't care and it won't be there, but I keep hearing rumors that they are going to be there picketing."