MINNEAPOLIS — The Teamsters yesterday denounced a move by a small group calling itself Professional Flight Attendants Association (PFAA) to break the flight attendants’ union at Northwest Airlines.
“This move undermines the safety and security of Northwest flight attendants and their families at a time when the airline industry is in financial turmoil,” said Tom Keegel, General Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters. “The PFAA is attempting to split the members and its action only serves to weaken the workers’ position with Northwest Airlines management. I am confident that Northwest’s Teamster-represented flight attendants will not leave the strongest union in North America for an association that operates with an answering machine and post office box.”
The Teamsters Union has a long history of providing the best labor representation in North America. Since its inception, Teamsters Local 2000 — a local comprised of only Northwest flight attendants — has provided top quality representation by democratically elected leaders and base representatives. Additionally the local is served by the Teamsters Airline Division, which works with other national unions and legislators as governmental policy is established. Both the local and the international union worked together to negotiate an industry-leading contract for Northwest flight attendants that was approved by a 2-1 margin in 2000.
The PFAA was formed by a group of dissident union members who have been unsuccessful in their attempts to gain Local 2000 office. The newly formed PFAA has never represented a single flight attendant, never negotiated a contract or even processed a single grievance.
“As the airline industry demands concessions from workers in the wake of September 11, it seems unwise to throw away more than 25 years of Teamster experience at Northwest and a century of experience in the labor movement,” Keegel said.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is the largest transportation union in North America representing more than 41,000 workers in the airline industry and 1.4 million members in the United States and Canada.