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Railway Labor Act / National Mediation Board
Information
"Mechanics and
Related Employee Craft and Class - A History"
22 APR 2008
One of
the biggest questions on the minds of FAA certified "Aircraft
Mechanics" when it comes to seeking representation under the
Railway Labor
Act is:
"Who is included in my craft and
class?"
To answer
the first question: The "Mechanics and Related Employee"
craft and class was the result of a series of NMB rulings from
the late 1940's - 01 NMB 423
. Those series of rulings are essential in understanding
why and who is included in the "Mechanics and Related" craft and
class. In 1964 AMFA challenged the "Mechanics and Related"
class and craft and attempted to establish an "Aircraft
Mechanic" class and craft (
NMB - R3712 / R3713 /
R3714 ) and was denied by the NMB. In 1977, the
"Mechanics and Related" craft and class was refined -
NMB - R4546 . In
1994, AMFA attempted to exclude a number of job classifications
from the "Mechanics and Related" craft and class (
22 NMB 06 /
22 NMB 07 ) and was denied
by the NMB. In 2003, two aircraft mechanics represented by
the IBT were able to actually successfully organize as a
"Mechanics" craft and class (
30 NMB 031 ). In
2004, the UAW attempted to organize under the class and craft of
"Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics" and was denied by the NMB (
31 NMB 069 ).
So, here
is a rough breakdown as to who "Can Be" included in a craft and
class of "Mechanics and Related Employees":
Aircraft Mechanics
Quality Assurance
Consultants
Maintenance Controllers
Maintenance Control
Operations Supervisors
Flight Simulator
Technicians
Technical Specialists
Maintenance Planners
Maintenance Instructors
Technical Writers
Production Planners
Cabin Servicemen (Fleet
and Passenger Service Employees craft and class)
Meteorologists
Tool Room Attendants
(Stock Clerks craft and class)
Ground Service Equipment
Mechanics
Ground Vehicle Mechanics
Facilities Mechanics
Fuellers
In a
nutshell, although there is standing precedent to determine who
falls within a given craft and class, each time an
application for representation is filed to the NMB a battle
between the air carrier and union ensues over voter eligibility
inclusive of a craft and class. Typically an air carrier
will attempt to include as many people as possible (including
non-craft and class employees as well as management) in order to
slant the vote against a union. Under most circumstances a
union will attempt to restrict voter eligibility to job
classifications which are favorable to a pro-union vote.
So, the process of seeking representation under the RLA is a
very political process which is open to a lot of
uncertainty.
"How to Win a Union
Drive Under RLA Rules"
22 APR 2008
The clear
cut solution for employees seeking representation under the
Railway Labor Act is surprisingly simple:
Rally your co-workers and get as
many support as you can for the goal of a labor contract.
Here are
three important components in a successful union drive:
EDUCATION:
About the value of a labor contract and the NMB process
OUTREACH:
Engage co-workers and build support for the union drive
ACTION:
Sign "Authorization Cards", support your
co-workers/organizers, and get the vote out
EDUCATION
Understand what makes a good and bad labor contract:
Good Contracts
**UPS /
Teamsters Labor Contract**
**Southwest / IBT Labor
Contract**
**CAL / IBT
Labor Contract**
**FedEx /
ALPA Labor Contract**
Bad Contracts
**NWA /
AMFA Labor Contract**
**United / IAM Labor
Contract**
Understand what it takes to organize under the Railway Labor
Act:
National Mediation Board
The Railway
Labor Act
NMB Representation Manual
Frequently Asked Questions: Representation
OUTREACH
Share
what you have learned with others about why working people need
good labor contracts:
-
Point out how executive management has labor contracts as a
standard business practice.
-
Point out how "Contracts" are the way in which business is
done.
Give
co-workers information they can use to make an informed
decision:
-
Show them examples of contracts
-
Explain to them how the RLA/NMB process works
- Get
your labor union to answer questions about:
-
How much are union dues?
-
When do union dues start? (After
the labor contract is signed)
-
What contracts is the union responsible for and why are
they better than other union contracts?
-
Do union members actually attend the contract
negotiations?
-
How is the retirements of union members managed?
ACTION
Get
co-workers to sign union authorization cards.
-
Authorization cards are used to hold a "Union Vote" not vote
in a union.
-
Authorization cards are only valid for
ONE YEAR, so they must be resubmitted annually.
- In
order to hold a union vote 35% of a NMB recognized "Craft
and Class" must submit authorization cards.
*Generally speaking, getting 60-66% authorization cards
within a craft and class is enough to assure a
successful voting block after "Voter Eligibility" issues
are ironed out.
When the
vote happens, make sure everyone who can vote in support of your
union drive, does.
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