Association of Flight Attendants
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03/01/2009 - AFA Files for Mediation
After consultation with the AFA International Office, the MEC decided it was in our best interest to file for mediation. The application was sent in today. The decision was made after management’s failure to prepare for negotiations again last week.
Mediation 101
Negotiations in the airline industry are governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The National Mediation Board (NMB) is the government agency responsible for administering the RLA.
The RLA provides for mediation if the parties are unable to reach an agreement in direct negotiations. When one or both parties feel that an agreement cannot be reached in direct negotiations, one or both sides may file for mediation. In our case, AFA filed for mediation.
The NMB will assign a mediator to our case within the next few weeks. That mediator will contact our negotiator and the company to discuss the case and to schedule the first meeting.
Mediators at the NMB have years of negotiations and dispute resolution experience and their role is one of guidance and suggestion. The majority of the mediators have either a union or management background and are normally from either the railroad or airline industry.
The mediator controls the schedule. A mediator may suggest compromises or even put forth a proposal of her/his own. She/he may make the parties meet separately or jointly and may suggest a change in the meeting location. Mediators do not have the power to force either party to agree or accept any proposal. They do not take sides. Their only interest is concluding an agreement without a strike. The mediator has the authority to put the parties into a “recess” for a while if she feels that a break from mediation would be beneficial.
Should the mediator decide that further negotiations are fruitless and the parties are at impasse, she/he may recommend to the Board that a proffer of arbitration be made. Should the Board concur, the proffer is made. If either party rejects the proffer, the 30-day cooling off period begins, at the end of which the union is free to engage in self-help (for AFA this normally means CHAOS™) and the company is free to impose their last offer.
When Does Mediation Begin and How Long Does It Last? Other than the 30-day cooling off period, the RLA contains very few deadlines for action. This lack of a time frame means that, as much as we would like to, we cannot predict how long mediation will take.
The Board and the NMB
When
we refer to the “Board,” we are referring to the three members
of the National Mediator Board. These people are appointed
by the President and confirmed by the Senate. They serve three
year terms and the Chairperson title is rotated on a yearly
basis. Two Board members are of the same political party as
the President and one is from the other party. The current Board
was appointed by President Bush. President Obama has not yet
appointed a new Board, although we expect him to do so within
the next few months.
To further clarify, the NMB is the actual government agency and the Board is the three people appointed to run the agency. When we refer to the “NMB,” we are referring to the collective body (i.e. the Board and the mediators).
Do you have any questions about mediation? Please email it to deb4afa@hotmail.com and we will respond in the next newsletter. AFA-CWA @ Spirit, March 2, 2009
