8,000 Continental Airlines Ground Workers File For Union Election

[Omaha Steve]

http://unionreview.com/continental-airlines-ground-workers-file-union-election

Thousands of Continental Airlines ground workers want to be unionized! The TWU announced today that it filed union authorization cards with the federal National Mediation Board on behalf of nearly 8,000 workers.

These workers are the folks loading baggage, handling freight and de-icing aircraft. According to Jerome Pelitera, a Customer Service Agent in Austin, Texas, “A binding contract seems to work for other Continental work groups and our CEO; if it works for virtually everyone else in the company, it can work for us.”



In 2005, each ground worker saw his or her pay cut by an average of nearly 10-percent. Unlike union workers at the carrier, the unrepresented workers were never provided with what is known as “snap backs,” or written guarantees that lost wages would be restored as the airline returned to profitability.

In the past couple of years, the airline’s ground workers’ pay dropped from the second highest in the industry to the sixth. “Continental is generally a worker-friendly company,” James C. Little, TWU president, said in a statement. “But without a union, the company is free to cut pay and benefits at will and staff at will, and Continental did,” he added.

As Delta and United might be looking at merger plans with Continental, as reported today in The Houston Chronicle, this also played a major role in the decision by the workers to organize. “Consolidation in the airline industry is a fact of life,” Little said. “Another fact is: Anyone who doesn’t have a contract and a seat at the table during a merger or acquisition is destined to lose.”

It is known that the TWU lost representation election for these ground workers in both 2005 and 2006 because of low turn out; and the Railway Labor Act requires that a clear majority of eligible voters cast ballots. The hope is that the third time is the charm and these workers get the representation that they need and deserve.

[Nimrod2005]

1. Good luck! This is great news...........nt