Aug. 17--The International Brotherhood of Teamsters has dropped its bid to represent maintenance workers at American Airlines.
The union had been fighting for more than a year to force a representation vote among some 11,000 American workers, but withdrew Friday.
The Teamsters said workers need solidarity after this week's Department of Justice lawsuit to block the merger of American Airlines and US Airways.
"The Teamsters union has determined that the recent announcement that the federal government will fight the proposed merger between US Airways and American Airlines places the workers at American Airlines in significant turmoil," said Teamsters spokesman Bret Caldwell in a statement. "American Airlines' emergence from bankruptcy has been cast into doubt and the union has determined that the continued conflict between labor organizations is not in the best interest of the workers. This is not a time for workers to fight among themselves."
American's maintenance workers, including more than 4,600 employees in Tulsa, will continue to be represented by the Transport Workers Union. American has about 6,500 employees overall in Tulsa.
New TWU Local 514 President Dale Danker said the union is relieved to not face a representation election, but leadership won't forget the message sent by the Teamsters challenge.
"We've voted in a whole slate of new officers, so we believe the local membership has spoken loud," Danker said, referring to local elections held in July. "We want to do a better job getting out there and speaking to workers here."
Danker said the relationship with American Airlines leadership is still rocky and that the delay caused by the Justice Department lawsuit only pushes back the changeover in the airline's leadership.
The Teamsters started collecting signatures at American in July 2012, eight months after parent company AMR Corp. filed bankruptcy. The bankruptcy set off bitter contract renegotiations with the TWU, forcing concessions that included the freezing of all pensions. However, the union did manage to secure pay raises as part of the deal.
Those negotiations and concessions stirred discontent among many union members, inviting the Teamsters -- as well as the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association -- to try to become the bargaining agent for American's mechanics and related workers.
The Teamsters said it has collected more than 6,000 signatures and submitted them to the National Mediation Board in May.
The federal labor agency has not given a determination on those signatures. The Teamsters needed signatures from a majority of all American maintenance workers to force a vote on representation.
AMFA failed to submit its signatures in time for consideration, according to National Mediation Board documents.
The TWU had accused the Teamsters of submitting fraudulent signatures to the National Mediation Board. The Teamsters withdrawal presumably halts the release of any information from the board on the number of valid signatures collected or the forgery allegations.
"We're pleased that the Teamsters realized that this raid of TWU members at American Airlines was both wasteful and divisive," said TWU President Jim Little in a statement. "Now that we do not have the distraction of an unnecessary campaign among already organized workers, we can redouble our efforts on battling the Department of Justice's unjustified legal challenge to the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways."
The TWU's standing at American Airlines is safe for now. Labor rules prohibit another union to submit a challenge for at least one year.
The TWU and the IAM at US Airways have an agreement to jointly represent workers if American and US Airways are allowed to merge.
The Teamsters also narrowly lost a bid to represent workers at US Airways last week.
American Airlines and parent AMR Corp. have been in bankruptcy since Nov. 29, 2011. In a hearing Thursday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane declined to rule on the company's reorganization plan until he could get more information about how the Justice Department's lawsuit would impact the companies.
Labor unrest at American Airlines
Nov. 29, 2011: American Airlines files bankruptcy and begins demanding concessions from labor groups.
July 2012: The International Brotherhood of Teamsters begins collecting signatures to force a representation vote among AA workers.
August 2012: A new AA contract with the Transport Workers Union includes workforce reductions, frozen pensions.
May 14: TWU and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at US Airways say they will share bargaining in merged airline.
May 28: Teamsters file signatures with National Mediation Board to force union election. Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association files too late.
July 10: TWU accuses Teamsters of forging signatures to force election.
Aug. 12: Teamsters lose bid to represent US Airways mechanics.
Aug. 16: Teamsters withdraw bid to represent AA maintenance workers.
Kyle Arnold 918-581-8380
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