Aisle Hopper:
I will speak to some of the concerns that you posed. First of all, having "assurances" from your management doesn't mean very much from a legal stand point if those "assurances" are not binding. The way in which to ensure promises from management are kept or adhered to, is by having a collective bargaining agreement. I am am not suggesting that it has to be AFA. As I mentioned, it gives your work group some leverage in which to negotiate with your company's management. With where the industry may be headed, it is important to have a legal framework with which to draw from.
As far as the AFA spending our dues money to help organize Delta F/A's; I happen to be one of the few flight attendants out there that support this. If collectively, we are represented by the same union, it can help us to raise the bar in terms of negotiating similar work rules and rates of pay at all airlines. Furthermore, it also helps to level out the power structures so that for example, flight attendants at smaller AFA represented carriers have a voice during voting and resolution-building at Board of Directors meetings. That way, an airline such as the United MEC (with large numbers of flight attendants) isn't over-exerting their power. The more airlines that come into the fold under one union umbrella helps to create a more balanced BOD. Any organizational structure is going to have this dilemma. The point is to establish some equalibrium so that no one group (in this case, airline) is too powerful.
During the late 1980's and early 1990's, there was a woman by the name of Susan Bianchi-Sand who, in my opinion was a visionary. She really envisioned a flight attendant union that sought to bring as many airlines as possible into the AFA fold so that our collective interests were represented more universally. She has gone on to do great work with women's caucuses in Washington, D.C. and I had the privilege of meeting her on one of my flights when I first started flying with UAL in the mid 1990's. So, a percentage of my dues to continue her visionary legacy, in my opinion, is money well spent.
I am sure you will find many UAL flight attendants that begrudge the AFA, and admittedly, we have rather apathetic participation by the membership, but, having been through restructuring, and having seen the term sheet of concessions the company was asking for during bankruptcy, I am thankful we had SOME leverage in which to negotiate. Our union representation helped minimized our give-backs considerably. We operate in a super-capitalistic environment, with market forces working against all that has been fought for and achieved in 50 years of barganing. If one is going to continue in this profession for the long term, then it is important to have protection that is legally bound by both parties. A little bit of negotiating leverage can go a long way and I never want to be in a position where my company can unilaterally impose whatever work rules and/or concessions they deem appropriate.
I think it's great that Delta has a culture that tries to foster a spirit of cooperation. I also know that you all have been through a number of different management regimes during the past decade and have been at the affect of different corporate strategies and furthermore, had no say in the concessions that were to be imposed during your court restructuring. The carrots being dangled right now could easily be stripped away during the next economic downturn without your work group having any freedom to choose. Some things to consider...
