A message for "replacement workers"...
Steve MacFarlane, The Assistant National Director of AMFA recently released a letter to the replacement workers.
An open letter to the NWA Replacement Aircraft Mechanics
Please read this before you cross the line...
The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) and Northwest Airlines management have been in legal and protracted negotiations for months. The issues are basic to all laborwages, pensions, and working conditions. The failure at Northwest is a direct result of mismanagement.
Many of you have worked in aviation and lost your jobs due to no fault of your own. We all know this is true. Corporate greed and a lack of vision are why the legacy carriers are reeling today while others are making money.
We share the same dreams and goals as you: food, clothing, shelter, and health care for our families. We all want to give our children the advantage of a good education. When our working lives wind down, we all hope to enjoy the fruits of our labor in retirement.
Nevertheless these shared values do not ever justify strike-breaking and union-bustingthe obvious goal of the company.
History of mismanagement
We learned some undisputed truths in the long years of dealing with NWA management. We understand that this corporation seeks only one thing: profits for the company and unconscionable personal gain for top executives at our expense.
Only through the collective bargaining power of an organized union have we been able to win the current level of benefits. Without a union, we have no doubt that our compensation would be much, much less.
We do not have our heads in the sand when it comes to the realities of this business. We understand the fundamental changes in the airline industry. In response we made a reasonable offer to management. Management rejected it outright. The senior executives chose instead to attack the very workers responsible for the success of this airline.
Where do you fit in?
If Northwest management is successful in its goal to bust this union, the company will then come after all workers, including those used to break the strike. Crossing the picket line sows the seeds that will erode your pay and benefits.
:-: We urge you to stand down and reject Northwests attempt to destroy AMFA. If not, you will always be known as a scab someone looked down upon. You might not care what others think of you now, but this stain remains.
:-: AMFA members could easily be your neighbor, a member of your church, or the parent of one of your childrens classmates. Once you cross the AMFA picket lineand dont turn backyou cannot undo that action. The anonymous worker that you undermine today will certainly become a real person with a face and a name as your life proceeds.
AMFA represents the interests of individual workers at NWA and also the ongoing interests of the aviation maintenance craft. AMFA seeks to protect the worker and the job. :-: Weigh carefully the full consequence of your choices.
Will NWA management treat you fairly if it successfully breaks a mechanic strike? Is NWA capable of providing a training program necessary to insure mechanic competence on all its varied fleets? Will you be able to raise safety concerns to management without fear of losing your job? How will you feel when management presses you to sign off work you are unsure about? How will you feel knowing passengers' lives are at stake? Will you be able to rest easy during your off hours? What if you are treated unfairly, will you feel free to speak up?
A principled stand clears your conscience. :-: It also keeps open the possibility for your return to this profession under better circumstances.
The maintenance technicians and related workers at NWA need your help. We urge you to honor our strike. Dont cross a fellow workers picket line!
Respectfully,
Steve MacFarlane
AMFA Assistant National Director
http://northweststrike.blogspot.com/ .
(please note ......I have :-: the points which I believe are implied and direct threats to the replacement workers from the AMFA union leadership....
TravelerJim