Flight Attendants Strike Vote
 

From May 13-June 6, BR flight attendants will be holding a strike vote in Taipei, Taoyuan, and Kaohsiung. According to the union, 2400 of the 3000 BR flight attendants, in addition to the 2800/5600 TFAU members, must approve the strike for it to go through.

Their demands are as follows:

• Flight Time and Rest Requirements
  • Flight time (including reporting and arrival time) 5-8 hours will require 12 hours rest
  • Flight time 8-12 hours will require 32 hours rest
  • Flight time 12-16 hours will require 48 hours rest
  • Flight time 16-18 hours will require 52 hours rest
  • BR's Response: BR198 (TPE-TYO) is overnight; TPE-PNH/PEK will be a rotational schedule with 15 days off in the month; TPE-Shenyang will be double crewed
• Per Diem Changes
  • Increase the per diem from NT90 to NT150 per hour, while maintaining the current breakfast plans and calculation time (Scan-in at beginning of trip to scan-out)
  • If non-union members receive this benefit, the amount goes up to NT210/hour.
  • BR's Response: Increase per-diem at more expensive outstations; greater coverage of meal costs; Will not discriminate against non-union members; Will give a safety bonus for flights that operate within 22:00-06:00 at NT500 at flight
• Union members are guaranteed 123 days of leave a year. If they are not given the 123 days, the days not given are to be paid out in a lump sum the following year's January 1st, with the sum including the basic pay+flight pay+per-diem. Non-members are not to receive the lump sum.
  • BR's Response: No
• Union members will receive double-pay for duties on National Holidays. Non-union members will not receive this benefit.
  • BR's Response: No
• Whenever there is a disciplinary hearing or investigation, union members will be represented by a union official, and union members will be allowed to add to the record/vote. The union will hold 50% or more of the votes whenever it involves discipline.
  • BR's Response: This will never happen.
• Annual Leave Calculation shall be 1 day of AL for every 2 flight hours. Non-union members shall not receive this calculation.
  • BR's Response: We can provide 1 day AL for each flight worked but not every 2 hours. Everyone must get it.
• Minimum 60-hour work month
  • Pay guaranteed for at least 60 hours per month
  • Flight pay is to be paid at
    • Less than or equal to 60-1.5x
    • 60-75 hours-1.75x
    • 75-90 hours-2.5x
    • 90 and above-3.5x
  • Non-union members are not to receive this.
  • BR's Response: Members can request to be released from their contract early and find other employment. Current salary cannot be negotiated as we are a private company that must account for profit/loss. We have competitive pay and have provided salary increases every year.

The union also accuses the company of waging a public campaign against the union by using news releases and the government. The company has released multiple statements stating negotiation results and the per-diem report. BR has pretty much summed it up in a memo as "'we are prepared for the strike and will not give in to the anti-free loading provisions or any provisions that affect discipline/management."

The union also accuses the company of engaging in union-busting and intimidation tactics, such as bringing in members for 'consultations' and asking members if they'll work during the strike or not.

The government will be hosting arbitration in the coming weeks for both sides.

Chairman Lin has sued the union for accusing him of colluding with the local government. He claims defamation.

A non-union member has accused the company's unionized workforce of intimidation and the creation of a hostile workplace. She accuses union leaders of encouraging members to call her the "company's dog", "kiss up", "management's insect" and other statements. The Taoyuan government is investigating. BR reminds employees that engaging in union activities or discussions while on the clock or on company property will result in termination. The union claims ignorance, and says they wish these people will join the union but won't use intimidation.

Judging by the past strike vote...
Is going to be any communication on the vote counts while voting in progress?

Ballots are not supposed to be opened during the voting process. They cannot open up the ticket cans until the period is over.

Today (5/8), Eva Air announced the suspension of year-end bonuses, suspension of raises, the suspension of discounted employee travel effective from the date of the strike for three years, suspension of all ZED travel (families and all), and employees that show up for work during the strike will not be affected. Eva Air says that this is due to the poor economic situation the companies bookings may have following a strike. It is only right that the company begin cost cutting to right the ship in a profitable direction.

Finally comes the push back.
The Union activists got all too clever for their own good...

Modern unions in a nutshell. Nothing more than a protection racket.

I understand why they're doing this, but it seems kind of contradictory. Wasn't their point that all FAs would be treated equally (regardless of union membership)? Now, those that show up during the strike will have different benefits than those that actually strike.

Also, cutting ID/ZED travel for three years almost seems illegal. The unions should have a right to strike without having their benefits taken away. (I understand not having ID travel during the strike). How much does ID travel actually cost the company? These tickets have no priority and only fill unsold seats.

How is this at all contradictory? Striking is an action. It is not synonymous with union membership. Union members are certainly not obligated to strike (even if the unions, in typical protection racket form, might contractually obligate union members to pay fines if they don't participate in a strike). I'm not familiar with Taiwan labor law, but in the USA, for example, the NLRA applies to all workers - not just those in unions - so workers not represented by a union can "strike" just the same.

That's my thought as well, though it seems they have a long game in mind with this. This memo was really sudden.

These suspension of benefits hinges on if they vote to strike or not. They want employees to be "prepared mentally" for this.

And again, striking is an action completely distinct from union membership. Every employee, union or not, has to decide whether to strike - it has nothing to do with union membership. What BR said previously is that they must treat all employees the same, whether or not the employees have union membership. Announcing that there will be disparate treatment for employees who decide to strike is not contradictory in any way.

You're misrepresenting what BR stated. They have never said they will "treat FAs the same". What they said in the union negotiations is that BR will never agree to the union's demand for a "no free ride" provision; i.e., they will treat all employees the same whether they are union members or not. You can't just cut out the important part of BR's statement and then accuse them of contradictions or hypocrisy. That's just intellectually dishonest.