Both the United Airlines Flight Attendants and the Continental Airlines Flight Attendants are in Contract negotiations under Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act. In the midst of those important negotiations, executives of the airlines announced a proposed merger. The merger announcement alters the backdrop for our respective negotiations, but goals remain the same: improve Flight Attendant pay, benefits and working conditions.

Following the merger announcement AFA-CWA invited the IAM leadership to work together with us to improve the lives of Flight Attendants. Just last week the United Flight Attendant representatives who together make up the AFA-CWA United Master Executive Council, adopted a resolution to again reach out to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), to propose cooperatively entering an arrangement to advance the interests of all Flight Attendants. Our efforts center on achieving improvements for Flight Attendants as soon as possible, either through our respective RLA Section 6 negotiations and/or potentially through a global solution.

In addition to reaffirming our commitment to achieving the priorities and goals identified by United Flight Attendants in accordance with the Section 6 negotiations, the Local Presidents representing all AFA-CWA Members at United resolved to pursue with our sisters and brothers of the IAM a process to advance the interests of all Flight Attendants. We propose to the IAM a protocol for immediately engaging the managements of Continental and United Airlines in our respective Section 6 negotiations for new collective bargaining agreements, recognizing the possibility for a global solution for both Continental and United Flight Attendants.  AFA-CWA suggests the following protocols associated with our efforts to achieve the priorities set by United Flight Attendants and gain improvements for all Flight Attendants:

• To share our knowledge and experience in the airline industry, including details of our collective bargaining agreement, national laws and regulations;
• To share other information important to protect and enhance our professional interests in our respective negotiations;
• To avoid any action that could reduce the leverage available for the United or Continental Flight Attendant groups;
• To develop common negotiating positions to be pursued with each management;
• To prepare for the further development of the corporate combination of United and Continental Airlines;
• To work together to ensure that United and Continental Flight Attendants rights are duly recognized and protected while each group is equally respected for the value Flight Attendants bring to the combined airline in the event of an operational merger.

AFA-CWA believes it is in the best interests of Flight Attendants for all of us to work together. We will do everything in our power to keep the focus on the Contract improvements for Flight Attendants.  We hope the IAM will join us in this effort to encourage management to drop stonewalling tactics against the kind of Contract improvements the Flight Attendants at both Continental and United need and deserve.