Move Could Drive 11,000 Teamsters Out of Union


Hoffa Seizes Flight Attendants Local 2000
July 1, 2002—Today´s heavy-handed and counterproductive move by James Hoffa to seize outside control of Local 2000, replacing its elected officers with Hoffa loyalists, will only make it more likely that Northwest Flight Attendants will leave the Teamsters Union.

Until today´s trusteeship, Local 2000 was one of the Teamsters´ most democratic locals. Northwest Flight Attendants are active in their union and expect to have a voice in its affairs. Accustomed to the democratic culture of Local 2000, Flight Attendants have frequently chafed under the heavy-handed tactics of the International Union under Hoffa´s leadership.

The repeated abuse of power by the Hoffa administration is precisely what has led some flight attendants to support the split-off from the Teamsters through the formation of the rival Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA).

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Amen Halleluia. Its about time Local 2000 got responsible leadership. Mollie will do a great job if she brings back some of our old base reps it will be even better. Local 2000 is like a sinking ship in a bathtub. What could FAs be thinking when they voted in these last 2 slates? Most of us are plum worried yet FAs keep voting for inexperienced leaders as if this were class elections in high school. Get real folks, this is big league and NWA will have us for lunch if we don´t grow up. Yea Hoffa! Thanks for caring.

Hoffa would rather have 11,000 flight attendants leave the IBT than have them remain in the IBT as militant trade unionists.

Who in the IBT is next on the Bush/Hoffa hit list?

Move Could Drive 11,000 Teamsters Out of Union
Hoffa Seizes
Flight Attendants Local 2000
July 1, 2002—Today’s heavy-handed and counterproductive move by James Hoffa to seize outside control of Local 2000, replacing its elected officers with Hoffa loyalists, will only make it more likely that Northwest Flight Attendants will leave the Teamsters Union.

Until today’s trusteeship, Local 2000 was one of the Teamsters´ most democratic locals. Northwest Flight Attendants are active in their union and expect to have a voice in its affairs. Accustomed to the democratic culture of Local 2000, Flight Attendants have frequently chafed under the heavy-handed tactics of the International Union under Hoffa´s leadership.

The repeated abuse of power by the Hoffa administration is precisely what has led some flight attendants to support the split-off from the Teamsters through the formation of the rival Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA).

Hoffa’s past heavy-handed measures include:

When Local 2000 leaders led a highly successful campaign to win a good contract with Northwest in 1999, Hoffa interceded and forced a vote on a substandard contract offer. The flight attendants rejected Hoffa´s deal by 69%. Hoffa responded to the contract rejection by ordering that members´ mobilization network be dismantled.

After Local 2000 members elected reform leaders, Hoffa assigned a “Personal Representative” to monitor, harass and intimidate the local leaders. This personal representative has been in place for three years despite repeated requests by local leaders for his removal.

After September 11th, Local 2000 leaders and members joined other flight attendants in a safety campaign to press the FAA to require safety training for flight crews. The Hoffa administration backed a rival measure, opposed by flight attendants, to place handguns in airplane cockpits—a move that further dismayed and alienated Teamster flight attendants.

When local members charged that a male Teamster official entered the hotel room of a female base representative for flight attendants and stood over her as she slept, wearing only his underwear, the Hoffa administration refused to even hold a hearing on the charge.
After some flight attendants revolted and announced their campaign to form the PFAA, Hoffa ignored the counsel of Local 2000 leaders to institute reforms and reach out to the 89 percent of flight attendants who opposed him in the last Teamster election.

Instead, Hoffa has resorted to the heavy-handed tactics that alienated the Flight Attendants in the first place.

Hoffa refused to even meet with Local 2000 President Danny Campbell and other local officers, who wanted to discuss with him what steps the Teamsters could take to improve relations with the flight attendants.

Hoffa sent Local 2000’s elected officers threatening letters, demanding they sign dictated statements without changing a single word. Hoffa also demanded the elected officers move to expel dissidents from the Teamsters, a move the elected officers stated was counterproductive to winning over flight attendants.

Instead of reaching out to flight attendants to convince them that Local 2000 can be an organization of, by and for its members, Hoffa issued a statement last week that he would make all decisions concerning the local situation, and Local 2000’s elected leaders were merely his “agent” responsible for carrying them out.
The threat of decertification by the Northwest Flight Attendants is a major test for the Teamsters—one that our union cannot afford to fail.

If the flight attendants do vote to join the PFAA, it would be the largest decertification of the Teamster group in memory and a major blow to already flagging Teamster organizing.

The decertification of 10,000 service sector workers, the vast majority of them women, would severely undermine the Teamsters’ efforts to position itself as a union that can represent the changing workforce of the 21st century.

It will also not ultimately serve the best interests of Northwest Flight Attendants.

TDU, the reform movement of Teamster members, has attempted to work with the Hoffa administration to convince Flight Attendants to stick with Local 2000. TDU has warned of the problems and dangers involved in leaving the Teamsters to form an independent association.

At the same time TDU has warned the Hoffa administration that further use of the kind of heavy-handed tactics which precipitated the decertification crisis in the first place will only make that crisis worse.

Hoffa’s actions, culminating in today’s imposition of a trusteeship, make it clear that Hoffa is more interested in asserting dictatorial control than he is in keeping Northwest Flight Attendants in the Teamsters. Hoffa wants to either impose his will on independently-minded Flight Attendants—who rejected his contract deal, voted by 9-1 against him, and elected delegates who opposed his dues hike—or drive them out of the union altogether.

Hoffa needs to change course immediately and put the interests of our union ahead of his political agenda by moving to win over flight attendants through dialogue and reform.

If he does so, TDU stands ready and willing to help.

No matter what, it´s Hoffa´s responsibility now. If the FAs leave, we have no one else to blame but JR Hoffa for about $3,000,000/ yr in dues loss. If he keeps the FAs he´s a hero. If he fails he´s the most oafish man I´ve ever had as a leader, and believe me I´ve known some oafs.

My gut feeling is he´s an idiot. If TDU is the insidious group of dissidents they´re claimed to be, they´ll let Hoffa fail; and he´ll have nowhere to point a finger.

He´s out of excuses, now. He better pray TDU supports the FAs staying. It´d take a hell of a lot of character for them to do that, which, according to many posters here, they just don´t have. Hoffa´s reputation and $3,000,000/ yr. is at stake.

Whoo-Haw!

Northwest Airlines Flight Attendants of Local 2000,

This is what happens when only 25% of the rank and file vote during the General Election. This is why it is very important that all members vote and not throw their mail-in ballot in the trash can. I urge the NWA FAs to stay with Local 2000 and seek changes by making their voice heard. Maybe you could help the IBT organize the Delta FAs. Maybe you could be more active in the union by showing support for the Overnite Transportation Teamsters. Running from a situation into something else is not the answer. Don´t let union politics affect your career and possilbe future substandard contracts with the company negotiated by a substandard union. Stay with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and help make our union stronger by becoming more active and not running from a laughable political game played by egos.

In Unity,

DS
Local 135

Good post Doug.

Teamsters Overtake Northwest Union

By KARREN MILLS
.c The Associated Press

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (AP) - The national Teamsters Union said Monday that it has taken control of its local representing Northwest Airlines flight attendants, ousting the leaders and appointing a trustee to oversee operations.

Auditors were going over the books of Local 2000 and the Teamsters were conducting a general investigation of the local, said Teamsters spokesman Brian Rainville.

The move came as some Northwest flight attendants campaigned to break away from the Teamsters and seek representation by a newly formed independent union. Local 2000 represents about 11,500 Northwest flight attendants.

One thing the Teamsters are investigating is how the Professional Flight Attendants Association obtained the local´s mailing list to send out organizational campaign literature. The Teamsters say that list belongs to their union.

``We have a hostile raid going on right now,´´ said Mollie Reiley, the Minneapolis-based flight attendant who was named trustee. ``There has been a complete and utter refusal by the leadership of this local union to address that threat.´´

In fact, the Teamsters say the Local 2000 executive board posted a hot line message to members saying it would not actively participate in any campaign to counter the PFAA effort.

Last week, Local 2000 president Danny Campbell refused to carry out a list of demands Teamsters president James Hoffa said were necessary to defeat the PFAA´s campaign.

Neither Campbell nor representatives of PFAA immediately returned telephone calls for comment.

The Teamsters have represented Northwest flight attendants for 26 years. In 1992, Local 2000 was formed to bring all Northwest flight attendants under the banner of the same local.

To win a membership vote on its bid to become the union for Northwest flight attendants, PFAA must have signed authorization cards from a simple majority of members on the union´s seniority list.

Reiley said she doesn´t believe PFAA is close to that yet. But she said the PFAA will win if the Teamsters don´t protect their turf.

If a union representation election is held and fewer than half of the eligible flight attendants vote, Northwest flight attendants would be left without union representation, the Teamsters noted.

On the Net:

International Brotherhood of Teamsters: http://www.teamsters.org

Teamsters Local 2000: http://www.local2000.org

Professional Flight Attendants Association: http://www.pfaa.com

Northwest Airlines: http://www.nwa.com

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On 2002-07-01 15:18, Anonymous wrote:
Teamsters Overtake Northwest Union

"Auditors were going over the books of Local 2000 and the Teamsters were conducting a general investigation of the local, said Teamsters spokesman Brian Rainville."

What members of LU2000 filed charges with the IBT to have an investigation started?

The IBT Auditors are going over the books and investigating?

Should´nt all that come about BEFORE a trusteeship comes into play?

Just more of Hoffa´s dictatorship to the rank and file members!
Now the right to work foundation will come in and stop the IBT from taking dues out of our pockets!

In the long run, we will loose over 11,000 members!

Hoffa´s Unity Express Ran More Members Of The Track Today, Oh Well.

A lot of gratuitous remarks, a lot of BS and blaming the IBT and everyone else never gets the job done but that has been the MO of the 2000 leadership. The rhetoric that has been spewed and posted here smells as though the PFAA decert effort is a collusive one with the 2000 leadership. If the Teamsters are to fight off the decert effort, the first thing they needed to do was to make sure that a legit effort was mounted and the Local needed to be trusteed to ensure that such an effort would take place. Its about time that members interests and Teamsters interests get protected and the doubletalking gets put to rest. There is absolutely no way that the flight attendants are better off with independent representation that is poweless to defend itself against a powerful employer such as Northwest Airlines. If Campbell and the other deposed/fired leaders now openly advocate that the flight attendants join the PFAA then no doubt the next step would be to cite them for violations of our Constitution and possibly fine them and kick them out of the Teamsters Union.
alex y.

Hell just kick out all of local 2000. Since Hoffa can not lead the only option is for him to get rid of people who think for themselves. His big problem here is he is dealing with people that are smarter then he is. Not a bunch of dumb fat ass truck drivers. I say cut your losses Hoffa and take the money in lu 2000´s tresury and run.

How much intelligence does it take to walk up and down an aisle of an airplane?

How much intelligence does it take to realize Captain Hoffa´s just collided with an iceburg, and its time to man the life boats?

Just more anti union tactic´s from Hoffa/Bush team.Hoffa is seeking out to be, the last President of the Teamsters.His goal should be very apparent to anyone that listens to the fool.You couldn´t have a more anti union leader running the teamsters.Members right´s mean nothing to Junior,and you haven´t seen anything yet.

Are you sure it is Hoffa "leading" the IBT? Sounds more like the Bush administration is in charge.

Don´t waste your time brother. They would not listen when they were warned of a special convention......they would´nt listen when they were told Hoffa was going to raise their dues....they would´nt listen (or fight for) when they were told WE the members could not vote on the dues increase....they just won´t listen!

Sooooo.....let them have their way and LU 2000 members will be wearing a PFAA pin in the near future! Way to go Jimbo!