FAA Funding Closer to Reality as Anti Labor Provisions Dropped
Full funding for the Federal Aviation Administration; held up for months over the demands of the Republican controlled House of Representatives to overturn the “one person, one vote” rule for union elections, may finally become a reality as the language has been dropped from the funding authorization.
The language, known as the “Mica language” for Congressman John Mica (R-FL) who inserted it in the funding bill, called for the NMB to rescind the rule it passed earlier this year that changed the way union representation votes were counted in the airline and rail industries. Under the old rules, any employee who did not vote in a representation election was automatically considered a vote for no union representation. Under the new rules opposed by the industry and Mica, only the votes of the employees who actually vote would be counted.
“In every election in America, the rule is “one person, one vote.” Only in the airlines and rail industry was it different,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “Employees suffered the disadvantage of having management coercion keep people from voting and then have those people who didn’t vote count against them in a representation ballot. This now levels the playing field in elections.”
Commenting on the removal of the language, Bourne went on to say, “This is a clear victory for working men and women everywhere. It is because of the singular focus and adamant refusal to accept the language by Teamster General President Jim Hoffa that the language was removed and the FAA funding bill is finally forward. While others had the opportunity to stand firm and chose not to, President Hoffa stood his ground for our membership and refused to give in to the naysayers who said it couldn’t be done. He worked with the White House and our friends on Capitol Hill to make this a reality. Our membership; and indeed the American travelling public who will benefit from a fully funded FAA, should be proud of having a fighter like General President Hoffa on their side,” Bourne concluded.
The industry and Mica have not given up; on Friday the congressman filed a stand alone bill in the House to force the NMB to reverse itself; sources are unclear of its chances in the House, and believe that should it survive a floor vote, it will again fail to pass in the Senate.
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Airline and Industry
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