Mediation Board Proposes Changes to Democratize Union Elections at Airlines, Rail
Bt a 2-to-1 margin, the National Mediation Board (NMB) says it’s time to bring democracy and majority rule to rail and airline workers voting whether to join a union.
The NMB today proposed changes to airline and rail election rules to mirror the rules that govern every other democratic election—the outcome is decided by the side that receives the majority of votes cast. Under current rules, every worker who does not cast a vote is counted as a vote against forming a union.
Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says the NMB’s proposed changes are “fair and sensible.”
The deck is currently stacked against airline and railroad workers. The NMB is proposing new rules that would finally permit airline and rail workers to vote for unions under the same standards found everywhere else in our system of democracy. With this change, never again will workers in these industries seeking to form a union be thwarted by such un-democratic rules.
Trio of Unionists Confirmed for Obama Administration Posts
Three former union members and leaders—with the Air Line Pilots (ALPA), Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) and Seafarers (SIU)—won U.S. Senate conformation last week for top posts in the Obama administration. All three were approved by voice vote.
Capt. Randy Babbitt, a 25-year veteran of commercial airline and a former two-term ALPA president, will steer the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
ALPA President Capt. John Prater says:
Babbitt’s experience as an airline pilot, union president, aviation consultant and member of numerous government and industry advisory committees will serve him well as he leads our industry.
Former AFA-CWA President Tabbed for NMB Post
Linda Puchala, former president of the Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA), was nominated Friday by President Obama for a seat on the National Mediation Board (NMB). She currently serves as a senior mediator with the NMB and was AFA-CWA president from 1979 to 1986.
Current AFA-CWA President Patricia Friend says Puchala’s
consensus-building skills and commitment to the collective bargaining process will be a valuable addition to the agency, which is so critical to labor relations in the aviation and railway industries. There are difficult issues in front of us in both industries so we urge the Senate to move promptly to confirm Ms. Puchala so that we can look to a board functioning in every respect for guidance and assistance.
