The Teamsters currently represent 1,600 flight attendants at Republic — the carrier that is acquiring Frontier. Teamster representation has resulted in solid progress for Republic flight attendants, with steady improvements in pay, work rules and benefits in each of the 3 Contracts the Teamsters have negotiated.
The Teamsters also represent the pilots and customer service agents at Republic —altogether the Teamsters already represent 3700 Republic employees. The Teamsters are the dominant union at Republic and can wield REAL leverage in dealing with Republic management. The Teamsters are the union to call the shots and set the standards in the merger discussions and on pay, benefits and work rules in the future.
The strongest union for airline workers
The Teamsters are the only union in North America to represent workers in every class and craft within the airline industry. The Teamsters Airline Division represents 43,000 workers and our Director is Captain David Bourne—an experienced pilot and passionate union representative. Barry Schimmel leads the flight attendant representation at the Teamsters. Barry was a long time flight attendant and flight service manager at TWA, and has a deep appreciation and respect for the work flight attendants perform on a daily basis. He’s been representing flight attendants and their issues for over 20 years! Barry is supported by the resources that only a union of 1.4 million members can offer—including research, communications and strong expertise in the areas of pensions and benefits issues, contract negotiation, contract enforcement, and more. The Teamster legal team—which includes working with the best aviation law firm in the country — is the strongest in the industry and no union has enjoyed more success in protecting members in mergers and bankruptcy proceedings.
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—Rachelle Quintal, Flight Attendant, Republic |
Yes. Unlike other unions who have been talking to flight attendants, the Teamsters already represent more than 600 mechanics, stock clerks and aircraft appearance agents at Frontier. That gives the Teamsters strength at Frontier and will mean even more strength when we merge with Republic. That strength — and the power of the Teamsters Airline Division — has resulted in an historic win for Frontier mechanic and related employees: the Teamsters successfully got the bankruptcy court imposed contract overturned, which resulted in a snapback to full wages and benefits under the terms of the existing Teamster contract, and protected the work from being outsourced to sub-contractors. To get this done the Teamsters combined their legal expertise, political clout and incredible member support. No other union has achieved this kind of victory.
Take the time to talk to the Frontier mechanics. Get the specifics on the excellent representation they have received from the Teamsters.
 “When we decided to build our union, it was easy to choose to go with the Teamsters. Nobody else had what it took to help us organize and nobody else has this much strength at the bargaining table. Our contract keeps getting better — that’s Teamster power.”-Lisa Paterini, Flight Attendant, Chautauqua Airlines |
Sign an AFA card and you’ll sign away your seniority!
Be very cautious about what other unions are saying about the merger and take the time to get the facts. For example, a review of the AFA constitution shows that the only standard to apply for seniority is “Date of Hire” which, if applied to the integration of Republic, Midwest and Frontier would mean that Frontier flight attendants will go behind hundreds of furloughed Midwest flight attendants. The bottom line is that the 400 flight attendants at Midwest and 90 at Lynx Aviation are the ONLY groups that AFA-CWA represents of the merged carriers (Republic, Frontier, Lynx and Midwest) with only the most senior 110 still active at Midwest, virtually all of them much more senior than Frontier or Republic flight attendants. The AFA-CWA are looking to protect their senior Midwest flight attendants in the seniority integration—at your expense!
The AFA has very weak scope language in its contract for Midwest flight attendants—there is no protection for flight attendants against code-sharing that takes away jobs. Frontier flight attendants should insist upon a union that will fight to protect jobs.
No. Legally, the airline can’t change the status quo until we’ve negotiated with them over any change including how Frontier flight attendants will be covered under the Agreement. The current Teamster contract for the Republic flight attendants is open to amendment and they are negotiating a new agreement. Under both the law and the IBT contract, the IBT can negotiate terms specific to the Frontier operation on pay, benefits, scheduling and other terms. No pay cut for F9 FA's is required to be under the RAH agreement and none will be agreed to by the IBT. The Teamsters are the strongest union in North America and will not agree to any cuts in pay!
Compare your pay with what a furloughed Midwest flight attendant makes: $0.
The other union has wrongly stated that they are in the best position to provide pay increases. This is simply not true. Because the Teamsters are the dominant union at Republic, they are in a much better position to protect and improve our pay and benefits. The Teamsters have a strong track record at Republic and in airline industry representation. While Midwest pay in some cases is higher than at Republic, that’s because Midwest operates larger aircraft — it’s like comparing apples to oranges. Two-thirds of the Midwest flight attendants are furloughed due to weak scope language in their contract and aren’t making any money at all.
