The battle between unions vying for the support of US Airways’ mechanics is over–for now.
In an election conducted by the National Mediation Board, US Airways’ mechanics and related employees voted to reject representation by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and keep the International Association of Machinists (IAM) as their bargaining representative.
According to a press release issued by the Machinists, the Teamsters were “soundly defeated,” receiving 1418 votes to the Machinists’ 1903 votes
In addition to creating uncertainty regarding future representation, the year-long raid by IBT effectively suspended contract negotiations between US Airways and IAM, which has represented Mechanic and Related employees at US Airways since 1949.
On its website, the Teamsters took the loss bitterly, attacking the Machinists victory.
…We hope this will serve to pressure our current union, the IAM, to listen to our concerns and better represent our workgroup.
From the outset, this campaign was a mechanic-led effort for better representation at US Airways. We reached out to the Teamsters because we remain the lowest-paid mechanics and related and have the lowest standards in the industry compared to other legacy airlines. We wanted a strong alternative to the IAM’s failed representation.
The defeat at US Airways is the first of two election campaigns the Teamsters have waged against already-represented workgroups.
At American Airlines, the Teamsters are attempting to steal the mechanics from the Transport Workers Union.
In that case, however, allegations of forgeries against the Teamsters have called into question whether that election is too tainted to proceed while the National Mediation Board investigates.
