Agenda Item #12
SUBJECT: Negotiations Policy – Preamble & First Contracts (Section VI.)
STATEMENT OF QUESTION:
Should the AFA-CWA Policy Manual include language in the Contract Negotiations section that supports a focus on timely conclusion of first contract negotiations?
SOURCE AN DATE SUBMITTED: International President – April 15, 2016
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
There is a need to insert a level of “urgency” to all contract negotiations, but especially to that of negotiating first contracts. Consideration should be given to creating urgency around deadlines, defined priorities, and membership engagement.
Negotiation of first contracts in a timely manner is a matter of critical importance to AFA-CWA. Without the protections of a first contract, Flight Attendants will continue to be fired at will with few legal protections. These same Flight Attendants organized in order to gain job security and improve their working conditions, but employers use delay tactics to withhold the protections and full benefits of unionization.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION:
WHEREAS, our primary purpose as a Union is to provide every measure of job security possible; and,
WHEREAS, the benefits of organizing are only truly realized for the membership upon ratification of the first contract;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the following Preamble to Section VI. of the AFA-CWA Policy Manual shall be inserted prior to Section VI.A:
The negotiation of industry-leading collective bargaining agreements covering Flight Attendant rates of pay, benefits, work rules and working conditions, and retirement forms the “bedrock” reason for the existence of all labor unions, and is a key aspect of the Mission Statement of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. To achieve that end, the Union is committed to establishing policies and practices that ensure that its members obtain the greatest benefit possible from the collective bargaining process. Most significantly, AFA negotiates contracts that reflect the priorities of the membership and raise the standard of living for all Flight Attendants.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the following language be inserted as a new Section VI.B.11. of the AFA-CWA Policy Manual:
- First Contracts: The following special considerations shall govern the negotiations of first collective bargaining agreements. Negotiations of a first contract shall be the number one priority of the Transitional Master Executive Council. In order to achieve an effective and expeditious bargaining process, the Transitional MEC President/Negotiating Committee, in consultation with the International President and the Director of Collective Bargaining, will develop a strategic bargaining plan that recognizes both the priorities as identified by our members and the need to achieve the protections of a first contract in the most expeditious manner possible. The timely negotiation and conclusion of a first contract is necessary to continue the momentum from the representation election, capitalize on the new AFA members’ desire for Union representation, and satisfy the reasons these members chose to become AFA Members. Benchmarks will be established to identify management stall tactics and ensure negotiations are being conducted in the most expeditious fashion possible.