The IBT is again claiming they will reopen our agreement by filing a Section 6 reopener, and that they will magically achieve wage and benefit improvements above what the TWU has negotiated. This claim is nonsense. The law does not provide for any scenario that would allow the IBT to open and renegotiate our contract before it is amendable. The IBT can send a Section 6 reopener, but management will file the request in the waste bin.
Before you consider the IBT, take a close look at the facts and ask if the IBT is being honest with you. We challenge the IBT to explain how AA would be legally required to open negotiations with the IBT prior to the amendable date of the present contract. The IBT can’t answer this question because its claim is nonsense.
Just as a reality check, consider IBT’s record when they raided AMFA at UAL. The IBT’s contract with UAL was reached over three years after it took over representation from AMFA and long after the amendable date of the AMFA contract. So much for Teamster Power.
By the way, to set the record straight, the 4.3% increase is not the only wage increase that our members can expect. Despite bankruptcy, TWU members will actually receive a 17.4% pay increase (equal to a $4.73/hour increase) by the end of the first three years of the agreement. This does not even include the automatic industry wage adjustment that requires the Company to increase our pay to industry standard (Delta/United average) by 2015. And we have negotiated these improvements without agreeing to the level of outsourcing that IBT allows under its contract with United.
Learn the Facts – Don’t Fall for IBT Lies!