Originally Posted by
acl65pilot
They need the same procedures not the same representation. It is that simple. In Europe there are multiple unions that represent the same group.
I am sure that for ease of scheduling it will/ would be easier to have NWA FA's work on our jets. I am sure that their contract prevents DAL FA's working on theirs.
If it went down the way you stated, they would have to open a domicile in each domicile of the other carrier. It will get very complicated to keep pre merger FA's on pre merger aircraft with out a base realignment.
There is nothing stopping DAL from putting NWA FA's on our jets past SOC, where as the NWA AFA contract more than likely does prevent them from doing this on NWA jets. It is cheaper to not rebase the DAL FA's so they would just use NWA ones.
They are doing this with our gate agents that have no protection currently. A former DAL flight that is being operated by NWA is now serviced by NWA because of the contract their gate agents are under. The NWA gate agents are getting better schedules and in some cases they have had to hire to deal with the added flights. The DAL gate agents with no representation are getting laid off. Some with decades of service. It is all about what is the easiest.
Hence my statement.
Thanks for the explanation. I can see how employees might be disproportionately affected
now, i.e.
before SOC: Delta uses a NW flight in a new city pair, and has to move in a bunch of protected categories of NWA workers. DAL employees potentially suffer.
However...
Post SOC, there are
only Delta jets, right? So the NW FA contract doesn't apply to protecting "their" flying, because there is no longer "NWA" flying. That means their contract either
does prevent Delta from employing other F/A's, or it
doesn't. It
either describes the post-merger flying as "their" flying (hence requiring a merged list), or it doesn't
. The AFA either has the leverage to delay SOC, or it doesn't. In our case, the company clearly could not set up a separate group, hence the agreement. But their contract is a different animal. This is why I'm curious to hear from someone who may have a source that is familiar with the NW F/A contract. I know I'm not doing a fantastic job of formulating my question(s), and that's because I haven't fully wrapped my mind around their impact in this process, AND I don't know enough about their contract.
I don't mind if you don't have the answer. But if you or anyone ask someone that actually understands how the AFA contract works (not our pure speculation about said contract) can answer, or ask a good source, I'd be interested in knowing the answer: do the NWA F/A's have contractual leverage that enables them to delay SOC?