Today’s election results are a major victory for the US Airways mechanics and the Machinists’ Union. TWU members are proud to stand with US Airway mechanics who supported their union and rejected a phony, wasteful campaign by the Teamsters.
Now that the Teamsters have lost at US Airways, their raid at American is in deep disarray. Months have passed and the NMB has still not determined whether the Teamsters submitted the required authorization cards for an election.
In response to evidence that authorization cards were forged, the Teamsters requested that the NMB delay any decisions while they come up with explanations. The Teamsters obviously want to avoid a simple “yes” or “no” answer on the forgeries.
If the NMB determines that the Teamsters submitted enough representation cards, they will then address the forgeries and the fact that the entire election process is tainted by the Teamsters’ misconduct and cover up.
The Teamsters have done a terrible job representing airline workers, sitting on their hands while jobs are outsourced to China. Their union is losing members, their pension funds are shaky, and it’s the only union in America that’s been under government supervision for more than twenty years, due to ongoing charges of corruption.
If the National Mediation Board allows an election at American to go forward, we are confident that TWU members at American will reject the Teamsters, just as IAM members did at US Airways.