Victory At Ford, Stellantis, and GM
Delta workers! You need to pay attention to what is happening with union auto workers (Ford, Stellantis and GM) right now. Because they stuck together, here is just a little bit of what they just won:
- A 25% raise over the life of the contract and an 11% raise over its first year;
- A 168% raise for temporary workers;
- A 67% increase in starting wages; that’s $28/hour and $40/hour after 3 years on the job.
- An end to wage tiers;
- The right to strike over plant closures, product, and investment;
- Increase in pension and 401k
- Guarantee that electric vehicles will be made by union workers;
- Cost of living adjustments to keep pace with inflation;
- Enhanced profit sharing;
This comes on the heels of big gains by 340,000 UPS union workers, 75,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers and thousands of writers at the Writers Guild.
Still think a union can’t do anything for you? Sign a card! Join the wave! Change your life!
More Tasks But No More Staffing in MCO
Do any other stations do their own potable water service? In MCO, they just ditched the outside company that did the potable water on our planes. Normally I’d be all for bringing jobs like watering and lavs and catering back in house if it meant more open positions for Delta workers, but we’re not getting any extra people. It’s just another task for already time crunched crews to do. If watering airplanes meant more Delta employees, cool. But we’re not bringing anyone on to do this task.
Workers Comp With a Union and Without One
You just can’t take it anymore. Your shoulder is killing you. You’ve been trying to work through it, but you haven’t had a good night’s sleep in a month because of the pain. You go to the clinic and they refer you to an orthopedic doctor. They say you might have a tear in your shoulder. And they pull you out of work until you see that doctor.
The first difference you encounter between a union and no union is with a union you get full pay from the first day because your contract gives you OJI pay, no waiting for seven days until worker’s comp kicks in. No need to use PPT.
Next you have to deal with Sedgwick. Your caseworker may be giving you a hard time. Without a union, you just wait for Sedgwick to decide what’s cheapest for them and not necessarily what’s best for you. With a union you have trained union reps who work with worker’s comp lawyers and give you a definite advantage when dealing with Sedgwick. The union rep is available to answer questions and walk you through all aspects of making sure you get what’s best for you.
If your injury is serious and requires months and even years to resolve these union resources can become a lifeline and help make sure you don’t just get pushed out the door.
Inside a Delta Anti-Union Training Session In ATL
True story. You’re an OSM from LAX. You arrive at the meeting room where there are a number of attorneys from a union avoidance law firm. Delta has paid big bucks to retain this firm. There are also Delta attorneys and top management. Security people tell you to turn off your phone and put your phone away. They carefully observe you through the entire session to make sure your phone stays in your pocket. The attorneys give you a full rundown on what you should and shouldn’t say, what’s legal and what’s not and what is a gray area. How should you relate to pro-union workers? What should you do if you see workers handing out literature to their coworkers in a breakroom? By the end of the session, you understand that Delta will try damn near anything to keep workers from getting a union.
House Calling in New York
It’s Oct. 17, the first day of an eight-day tour of house calling in New York, the city that never sleeps. Excitement is growing at our home base, the IAM Local in Queens. Collecting there are Delta worker volunteers as well as union airline workers from New York and around the country, there to help out. How will the effort go? Volunteers are hoping to get 50% of those they talk to to sign union cards and hoping some will help out with the campaign.
Engines are running. We’re ready for the road and everyone is eager to crack the foundation in New York. After countless hours on the road through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx, volunteers count up the results. Beyond all expectations, we get 70% of all workers we talked to to sign cards, along with a new crew of volunteers. On the inside, pro-union workers collect dozens more cards. Thank you, New York! The Big Apple has proven that we are on our way to an election. Even with everything Delta has thrown in our way, this proves that we, the workers, want a union.
Meanwhile at JFK
While house calling is going on, an OSM explains in a briefing that pro-union workers are not allowed to collect union cards in break rooms. A pro-union worker pushes back and calls the OSM’s attention to the Delta Advocacy Policy. Clearly stated is the fact that union activity is permitted in non-work areas (such as breakrooms), during non-work times (when a worker is not actively involved in work). The OSM says he needs to check and says he will get back on this matter.
The next day, the OSM explains that, yes, in fact, the pro-union worker is correct, but that no union advocacy can take place during a company briefing. Probably a good idea to get your facts straight before you shoot your mouth off.