CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With an eye toward their critical upcoming contract negotiations, United Airlines flight attendant union leaders for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) this week elected a slate of officers with a reputation as tough and militant negotiators. The 14 AFA-CWA Local Council Presidents who form the Union’s United Master Executive Council (MEC) re-elected Greg Davidowitch as President; Linda Farrow as Vice President; and, Jeff Heisey as Secretary-Treasurer.
The full press release can be found here.
Wow, militant?!?! It’s no mystery that I’m generally against unions, but I try to be open-minded. As soon as words like “militant” are used I have a hard time taking an organization seriously though. I know FA’s have had a LOT taken from them throughout the various “negotiations,” and while that is normal in tough times, upper management has at the same time taken too many bonuses in my opinion, so I understand their frustration. They don’t seem to understand the concept of “shared sarcrifice,” and cuts coming from the top first.
Obviously the unions are going to play hardball when negotiation time comes around, and I think the flying public will be the one that suffers from that, which isn’t necessarily wrong, assuming management isn’t reasonable. I just think the use of the term “militant” is outrageous, but I guess we’ll see. Maybe it will be an accurate description, in which case I’m guessing the summer of hell will look like nothing. Just another reason to check the AFA and ALPA website daily!
