Court Upholds Democratic Election Rules for Air, Rail Workers
A federal court upheld new democratic voting procedures for workers in the airline and rail industries who want to form unions. Earlier this year, the National Mediation Board (NMB) issued a new rule that says air and rail union elections must be decided by a majority of votes cast.
Previously under the Railway Labor Act, which covers rail and airline workers, every worker who did not cast a vote in a representation election was automatically counted as a “No” vote.
In May, the Air Transport Association (AT) and 10 of the airline industry group’s members filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block the NMB ruling. The court upheld the new rule and denied ATA’s request for an injunction.
Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department (TTD), says the court’s action brings workers “a step closer to pursuing the power of collective bargaining under fairer union election rules.”
Transportation Workers Face ‘Undemocratic Process’ When Seeking Union
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If a worker in the airline or rail industry doesn’t cast a ballot in a union election, under the rules of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) that nonaction is automatically counted as a “no” vote.
Last week, the National Mediation Board (NMB) held a hearing on a proposed new rule that would stop the automatic “veto by silence” and permit a majority of workers who actually vote to decide the union election.
Flight attendants, union officials and labor experts explain the need for change in a new video report from DELTAAFA, the flight attendants group that is working to win a voice for the Delta Air Lines and former Northwest Airlines flight attendants who make up the merged Delta.
