This article from NYTimes.com has been sent to you by psa188@xxxxxxxxx /-------------------- advertisement -----------------------\ Explore more of Starbucks at Starbucks.com. http://www.starbucks.com/default.asp?ci=1015 \----------------------------------------------------------/ Union Sees Opening in United's Turmoil June 12, 2003 By MICHELINE MAYNARD The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, the upstart labor group that has been an irritant to bigger, more powerful unions over the last decade, is now after its biggest prize yet: the 14,000 mechanics at United Airlines. An election that starts today promises to add a further layer of turmoil at United, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. A successful drive at United would more than double the size of the association, known as AMFA, which has about 11,000 members at seven airlines, and is not affiliated with the A.F.L.-C.I.O. AMFA is facing off against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the powerful union representing more than 100,000 airline mechanics across the country. United is the first bankrupt carrier where a rival union has begun an organizing drive. AMFA beat out the Machinists in drives at Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines, and it has also persuaded members of the Transport Workers Union and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to join its ranks. The election is a test of employee sentiment at United given the financial chaos surrounding the airline and the industry, according to Robert Mann, an industry analyst based in Port Washington, N.Y. In an interview this week, Mr. Mann said he expected AMFA to use United's financial problems to persuade mechanics, long the airline's most militant employees, to defect from the machinists' union. AMFA will argue that it can look after their interests better than the giant union. "If you judge turmoil to create opportunity, there isn't a much better time than now," Mr. Mann said. The voting will continue through July 14, but on the surface, it appears AMFA may have a good chance of winning. United's mechanics were the only group at the airline to reject contract concessions last year, a move that derailed the airline's application for federal loan guarantees and forced it into bankruptcy. More than 63 percent of United's mechanics signed cards supporting the election, which the National Mediation Board will conduct by telephone. AMFA needs support from a majority of those voting to win. But Gary Chaison, a professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said the outcome was uncertain. In times of crisis, he said, workers may prefer to stay with a union they know, rather than switch to an untested rival. "When you move from one union to another union, it's a leap of faith, especially in troubled times," Professor Chaison said on Tuesday. The vote is AMFA's third attempt in a decade to organize United's mechanics. It lost in 1994 by about 500 votes, and withdrew plans for an election in 2000. This time, however, AMFA has the momentum of its victory earlier this year at Southwest, and the clout provided by its biggest union group, Northwest Airlines, which it organized three years ago. AMFA's national director, O. V. Delle-Femine, is relishing the United contest. In a telephone interview last week, Mr. Delle-Femine said United's mechanics were upset with the secrecy that has surrounded their current union's relationship with the airline, where it holds a seat on the board. Prior to the bankruptcy filing, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers shared "supermajority" status with the pilots' union, allowing them to veto the selection of a chief executive, a provision that expired when an employee stock ownership plan dissolved earlier this year. Mr. Delle-Femine said United's mechanics received only limited information about the concessions sought by the airline, which workers approved after United asked a bankruptcy judge to impose cuts in wages and benefits. "How can you be on the board making decisions when you can't tell the members what the decisions are? What are you there for? It's a farce, it's folly, it's a snow job," Mr. Delle-Femine said. But Robert Roach, vice president for transportation at the Machinists union, said it was his union's clout that protected United's mechanics. He said the decision to call for an election was "an emotional reaction" to United's troubles. "It always happens when the carriers are in trouble and our members are upset. They think by signing cards, something's going to change," Mr. Roach said. AMFA's campaigns focus on its independence from big labor. Founded in 1962, it holds direct elections for union positions, refuses to accept seats on company boards, and vows to resist concessions and to uphold job security. Its no-concessions stance has not yet been significantly tested. But barring an unforeseen decline in business at United, it will not be challenged anytime soon, since United's latest contracts do not expire until 2009. Executives at Northwest have said it is in danger of filing for bankruptcy protection, and they are seeking $1 billion in concessions from its major unions, including AFMA. The unions are resisting the effort. AMFA's positions have not shielded its members at Northwest from layoffs. The union agreed in 2001 that Northwest could contract out some maintenance jobs. And since 2000, Northwest has laid off more than 40 percent of its mechanics, due both to the outsourcing agreement and the airline's decision to invoke an emergency provision allowing it to furlough workers without notice. The layoffs at Northwest are proof that AMFA would not be an improvement over the union that United mechanics have now, said Randy Lynch, a Machinists union organizer in San Francisco. "Up until five or six years ago, AMFA didn't have a track record," said Mr. Lynch, a 14-year United employee. "They've got one now. What we're telling people on the floor is, `Look at what's happening at Northwest.' " Still, United mechanics have also endured significant layoffs, most recently when the airline closed maintenance bases in Indianapolis and Oakland, Calif., forcing more than 1,600 workers off the job. Some workers transferred to the airline's remaining base in San Francisco. Regardless of the results of today's vote, AMFA plans to move beyond United. Its organizers are now collecting signature cards from mechanics at US Airways, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this spring. Mr. Delle-Femine said AMFA planned to petition the mediation board to hold an election there by fall. And he said the union was also seeking support from mechanics at American, which won $1.8 billion in wage and benefit cuts from its union in April but says it still may file for bankruptcy protection. Professor Chaison said AMFA's challenges enable workers to send a signal to leaders of existing unions, without actually having to follow through. That lets them blow off anger short of rejecting a contract. "Workers will say, `Hey, at least we've got these guys shaken up, but let's not really do it," ' he said. Earlier this year, Mr. Roach accused Mr. Delle-Femine of endangering United's future by announcing an election at a time when the union was deep in talks on concessions. With the airline still preparing a restructuring plan, Mr. Roach said Tuesday, "there's no time for grandstanding in bankruptcy." But Mr. Delle-Femine disagreed. "Everything's competitive," he said. "That's what makes this country great." http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/12/business/12AIR.html?ex=1056425239&ei=1&en=aafdc8167a77564d --------------------------------- Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imagine reading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like! Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoy now for 50% off Home Delivery! 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