ALPA supports AFA

Date: April 7, 2016
Type: AFA Article

Ms. Sara Nelson
President
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA 501 3rd Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

Re: ALPA Statement Regarding the UFAA Campaign to Unseat AFA at United

ALPA and AFA have a longstanding relationship advocating for the common benefit of our members and all airline employees. Before AFA received its own charter from the AFL-CIO to represent flight attendants, it was a division of ALPA. Today, AFA is the most effective flight attendant union in the industry, looked to first for guidance on federal legislation, workplace safety, and other matters affecting flight attendants.

ALPA and AFA have supported each other on many fronts. In contract negotiations, we have fought to achieve improved working conditions, pay and benefits. Mutual support has also been provided when our employee groups have been involved in picketing and striking, including during ALPA’s 1985 strike at United. We have often worked together on many other critical issues affecting both of our professions, including: numerous air safety issues, such as secondary cockpit barriers, the threat posed by subsidized middle-eastern carriers, Norwegian International’s labor-protection evasive schemes, lithium batteries, bankruptcy reform, and many others.

AFA is now under attack from an independent group – UFAA – led by Lee Seham, an attorney who exploits internal union conflict to undermine existing bargaining representatives by selling frustrated employees promises of so-called independent representation. ALPA is, unfortunately, very familiar with the sorts of “independent” unions sponsored by Seham. Some of the significant fiascos in the modern industry were produced by Company unions created through decertifications and counseled by Seham. In 2008, USAirways pilots left ALPA for a Company union called USAPA based on the representation that professional negotiators supplied by Seham’s firm would produce a better agreement and adjust a binding seniority integration arbitration award. Neither result occurred. Contrary to Seham’s prediction, the Company never agreed to adjust seniority or modify the award and USAPA never negotiated a collective bargaining agreement, depriving USAirways pilots of hundreds of millions of dollars in pay and pension improvements. Seham’s firm was terminated long before USAirways merged with American, after being called a “single point of failure” by that organization’s leadership. This was not an unusual result. Seham’s firm was also fired by the Allied Pilots Association, and since that time Seham and his firm have counseled a group trying to decertify that organization.

These problems have not been limited to pilots. The Northwest (NWA) mechanics’ strike was conducted by another Seham client, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA). The strike was preceded by several lost arbitrations which cost thousands of mechanic and related jobs and thousands more were lost as a result of the strike. There were close to ten thousand mechanic and related employees at NWA when the IAM was decertified in favor of AMFA. When AMFA lost representation at NWA (after choosing not to challenge for representation at the Delta/NWA combined carrier) there were approximately only a thousand mechanics left to take positions at Delta. This is a sad history of empty promises sold by these so-called independent unions, aggravated by isolation from the rest of the labor movement, leading to truly tragic outcomes.

Signing an authorization card with UFAA will only serve to weaken AFA at the bargaining table when it is at a most crucial period of negotiations for a single contract with fresh corporate leadership that could positively affect the entire industry. A unified and strong AFA is the best way for United Flight Attendants to achieve their legitimate contract goals, advance your profession and our industry.

ALPA stands 100% behind AFA as the most experienced and effective union with the resources to represent the best interests of United Flight Attendants.

Fraternally,