AMFA Rules Let Northwest Close Atlanta Base

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AMFA Rules Let Northwest Close Atlanta Base,
Farm Out Many Hundreds
of Mechanic Jobs;
Will AMFA Lose Continental Mechanic Jobs, Too?

Whenever AMFA makes a claim about their contract at Northwest Airlines, remember that AMFA gave management a green light to subcontract up to 38% of the Northwest mechanic work hours to repair stations, including non-union and foreign stations. AMFA’s job protection loophole increased the amount of permissible subcontracting by almost 150%! That huge loophole has allowed Northwest to shut down its Atlanta repair base just last month and eliminate over 1,000 mechanic jobs. How many mechanic jobs will disappear forever to subcontracting? You can bet AMFA won’t tell you!

Under the IAM’s Northwest Contract the IAM was able to file grievances to contest subcontracting by the Company. AMFA gave up that right when it gave the Company a free hand to subcontract. AMFA can’t do anything about subcontracting so long as NWA doesn’t exceed 38% of work hours. You can bet Northwest management knows how to massage those numbers so it can farm out union jobs to low cost repair stations.

You might ask what union would ever agree to let management eliminate almost 40% of union work through subcontracting? Well, no real union ever would and the Teamsters Union consistently negotiates scope restrictions in mechanic contracts to prevent those management tactics. But the AMFA “Association” with its management lawyers, real estate property managers and nonexistent negotiators lets management get away with it. What else can you expect from a “virtual union” that exists only on the internet?

In fact, AMFA is being sued right now by Northwest mechanics who claim that AMFA blew a grievance against 9/11 layoffs by failing to follow contract procedures and that the “Association” failed to file grievances to dispute Company subcontracting. The judge found that nothing refuted the mechanics’ claim that AMFA had failed to file grievances. Not only did AMFA not file grievances on Company subcontracting, the mechanics claim that it misled them into not filing grievances on their own! AMFA presented nothing to the judge to dispute the mechanics’ allegation. So that’s AMFA “representation.” Screw up filing grievances where members’ jobs are on the line and then mislead them into giving up their own right to file a grievance!

When you think about protecting your job against cut-rate subcontracting, remember, the Teamsters Union fights to preserve bargaining-unit work and AMFA gives it away, either by contract or incompetence!

AMFA Rules Let Northwest Close Atlanta Base, Farm Out Many Hundreds of Mechanic Jobs; Will AMFA Lose Continental Mechanic Jobs, Too?

AMFA Rules Let Northwest Close Atlanta Base,
Farm Out Many Hundreds
of Mechanic Jobs;
Will AMFA Lose Continental Mechanic Jobs, Too?