Garfield 1966 writes:
I sure as hell know that if I were to start any type of company I would shut the company down before I let a union walk through the door.
Art responds:
Garfield 1966, You paint a very broad stroke against unions but you must admit that unions have accomplished much good over the decades as wel. I am not looking to get into a philosophical battle over the pros and cons of unionism, but I would like to proffer one small example of how I thank God my workgroup is unionized. Before I do so, let me tell you that I agree wholeheartedly that it is frustrating and a shame that union dollars are too often spent defending blatant thieves and slackers, but it is the union's legal (i.e.: fiduciary) responsibility to protect the interest of all its members. If the union did not defend every member, including the slackers and thieves, it would find itself in court fighting lawsuits. If the company has a solid case against an employee accused of theft or other such activity, the case should stick. The flight attendant you are referring to in the above post will be investigated pursuant to your write-up and if your accusations bear out, she will be disciplined accordingly. Having said that, let me tell you a story about how the union saved my butt from AA's shady dealings. It is a bit long, but if you read through it, you will see why I still value unionism.
Back in the dark ages, I was heading to the plane from operations in RDU. It was raining hard and we had to climb stairs to gain access to the terminal as the elevator was broken. As I was climbing the stairs with my bags, I slipped and broke my left ankle. I had three witnesses. I was removed from the trip to Paris that evening and allowed to "D-2" home (I was a commuter at the time and I did not realize my ankle was broken; I thought I had badly twisted it so I decided to fly home to BNA where I immediately sought medical attention at Vanderbilt Hospital; yes, it was a long and miserable flight). Brief, AA denied me the injury on duty because the company claimed "I was not performing any flight duties at the time of injury." Even though I was signed in for the trip, in full uniform, walking from operations (where we are required to check our mail and manual revisions before all flights) to the departure gate, the company still argued that I was on my own time!
The company drained my sick bank and I began receiving voided checks. In the interval, I filed a grievance through the union. I lost the case on the local base level (surprise), so the grievance went all the way to system level. I had to fly to Dallas and literally sit on trial with two company reps, two union reps, and an arbitrator. My supervisor lied through her teeth and claimed I NEVER tried to call her about the incident. Fortunately, I had the long distance phone records of the various calls I made to her office. Brief, because of my union's tenacity, I won the grievance and the company had to reinstate my sick time and cut some checks to me. Sadly, I had been a very positive and pro-company employee up to that point, but after the grievance I realized what kind of company AA is. The honeymoon was over! The American (as in United States) way is: Employees may be screwed over in order to save a buck. Period. Furthermore, do you think the company reprimanded or terminated the supervisor who lied through her teeth? Hell no! She's still employed at AA.
So the sword cuts both ways. You can bash unions all you want, but they serve a good purpose as well. My story is not unique so please don't tell me it is exceptional because the company normally acts in a scrupulous manner. I have been flying a long time and I've heard some outrageous stories over the years of abuse at the hands of the company. The union, with all its warts, still serves a purpose. Now, I cannot and will not defend my union over the 'restructuring' debacle, but for purposes of base grievances and such, I'll take it any day over the tyranny of management.
Respectfully,
Art Tang
