AMFA National Director O.V. Delle-Femine said of the rejection vote, “This is a victory for AMFA members and for unionism. Our striking members refused to bow down to Northwest’s arrogant, self-enriching management and will continue the strike against this renegade, union-busting airline.” He also noted that the failure of other unions at Northwest to back AMFA emboldened the corporation to try to extract huge concessions from pilots, the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and flight attendants.

Northwest Airlines is currently in bankruptcy proceedings and, like other airline corporations, is using the courts as weapons against airline unions.

The period ahead will be challenging for all Northwest workers. Many rank-and-file Northwest workers have voiced support for AMFA and some have refused to cross AMFA picket lines. This is despite the lack of solidarity, and in some cases outright hostility, shown by the leadership of the IAM and others. AMFA has made it clear that it supports the fight of all other unions in their battles with Northwest.

The courage and determination shown by AMFA serves as a positive example for Northwest workers in particular and the labor movement in general.

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Bloomington, MN – More than 800 aircraft mechanics and their supporters rallied here Nov. 19, expressing their determination to continue the fight against Northwest Airlines. Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) have been on strike since Aug. 19. They rejected an NWA contract proposal that would have eliminated 53% of the mechanics’ jobs and given the remaining workers wage cuts. Since August, the contract proposals of NWA have gotten worse and the company has hired permanent replacement workers – scabs.

At the Bloomington rally a standing ovation was given to NWA workers in other unions who have refused to cross the picket lines. Phyllis Walker of AFSCME Local 3800 thanked the strikers for standing up to corporate greed, and by doing so defending the interests of all workers. Other speakers included the heads of other AMFA locals, high school students who are members of Youth Against War and Racism and Ray Rogers, director of Corporate Campaign, Inc.

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Duluth, MN – The 4400 workers on strike against Northwest have received almost no support from other unions at Northwest or from the national union federations (AFL-CIO and Unite to Win). Scandalously, the strikers are being left to fight on their own without vital support and resources that the labor movement could bring to bear.

At the statewide convention of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5, Oct. 6-8 in Duluth, some union activists tried to change that. AFSCME Local 3800, the clerical workers’ union at the University of Minnesota, brought forward a resolution to support the Northwest strikers from the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA). It called on AFSCME Council 5 to publicly support the strike and donate to AMFA’s strike fund. Asked why they brought this resolution forward, AFSCME 3800 delegate Stef Yorek said, “Northwest is out to destroy their workers’ unions. These workers have fought back against incredible odds. It’s criminal that almost no unions are supporting them.”

Council 5 officials went all out to defeat support for the Northwest strike. They organized a campaign to vilify AMFA. They tried to change the issue from solidarity with workers on strike to a debate about the history of AMFA. Convention delegates were given copies of a letter from an International Association of Machinists official wildly attacking AMFA. The Council 5 Executive Board made it clear that top officials would oppose any support for the Northwest strikers. In the floor debate on the resolution, one anti-solidarity speaker went so far as to compare support for the AMFA-led strike to date rape!

They hate AMFA because AMFA is independent and has grown by ‘raiding’ AFL-CIO unions, particularly units represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM). The Northwest mechanics used to be IAM members but voted in 2000 to switch to AMFA. The IAM officials have bitterly attacked them ever since. It’s true that AMFA made their appeal to the mechanics on a narrow craft basis tinged with elitism. But it’s also true that the workers had good reasons to throw the former IAM leadership out.

Resolution Defeated but Solidarity Grows

Delegates from four AFSCME locals spoke in favor of the resolution. But that wasn’t enough to overcome the Council leadership’s opposition.

Lynn Stetler, a delegate from AFSCME 2822, whose husband is a striking Northwest mechanic, said, “I’m incredibly disappointed by how it turned out. I supported the resolution because it’s about solidarity. We’re supposed to be united in this brother and sisterhood that seems to have been forgotten when it comes to dealing with AMFA. It really is a matter of principle, the age old quote that an injury to one is an injury to all.”

Though the resolution lost, a real debate happened and those who opposed it were forced to publicly defend their anti-solidarity position. Some delegates tried to take a middle ground, saying they felt sympathy for the strikers but opposed giving money to AMFA. They had been convinced the vote was about whether they liked AMFA or not.

According to AFSCME 3800 delegate Brad Sigal, “AMFA isn’t the issue – the issue is solidarity with workers on strike against a union-busting employer. We wanted official support and money from our union for the strikers. It became clear that would be defeated due to opposition from Council officials, so an amendment was made to just take up a voluntary donation for the strikers from delegates on convention floor. Incredibly, they even opposed that. We won’t forget this. We’ll continue to fight to make our union truly stand for solidarity.”

#DuluthMN #AirlineIndustry #AMFAStrikeAgainstNorthwestAirlines #AFSCMECouncil5 #AircraftMechanicsFraternalAssociationAMFALocal33 #NorthwestAirlinesMachinistsStrike

Minneapolis, MN – Hundreds of striking Northwest Airline mechanics and their supporters converged Sept. 1 on the hotels where strikebreakers are being housed. Buses chartered by NWA were stopped and the scabs missed their shift at the airport.

At the Holiday Inn in Minneapolis, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) leaders held a press conference in front of a blocked bus. President of AMFA Local 33, Ted Ludwig, announced that the scabs would not be coming to work today. Chants of, “Scabs go home!” rang off the walls of the hotel.

More actions are planned for the coming weeks.

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Fight Back! interviewed Ted Ludwig, president of Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33, the union that is leading the strike against Northwest Airlines.

Fight Back! : What does Northwest Airlines want? Why was it necessary for mechanics to strike?

Ted Ludwig: NWA is asking us to commit suicide as an organization. They want to reduce our ranks by 53% – on top of the 50% they have already reduced us by over the last two years. The remaining 47% of workers would be required to take a 25% pay cut and pay more for medical benefits. They also want us to wipe out complete classifications of our ranks – cleaners, custodians and plant maintenance. To top it all off, NWA offered to protect 75% of the remaining workers, who are under 25% pay reductions, until they retire. At that point, NWA would not fill their position, but farm that much more work out. So within ten years, there would be no more AMFA at NWA. As you can see, every aspect of their negotiations has been geared to bust our union. Why are they so afraid of us?

Fight Back!: Some in organized labor are hostile towards AMFA because mechanics and cleaners at Northwest left the IAM [International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers] and the AFL-CIO. What would you like to say about their complaints?

Ted Ludwig: I do not know why other unions are hostile at AMFA for leaving the IAM, other than politics. I have heard many reports of AMFA raiding the IAM. To me that insinuates that we were forced to switch, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. We had a democratic election where the majority of our members voted to join AMFA. It was real simple. Why would anyone be hostile at someone for exercising their right to vote? To me, this hostility toward other union members is the worst thing that can ever happen to labor and I am disgusted with it.

Fight Back! : Why is the strike at Northwest Airlines so important for the airline workers and for all of organized labor?

Ted Ludwig: If a company is successful in breaking a union, why wouldn’t every other company want to give it a try? In my opinion, NWA is making an example out of our group to show the rest of the workers here not to step out of line. Now more then ever, the NWA workers need to step out of line and be counted. Whether or not you like other unions or not, we either stand together for all workers, or NWA will pick us off one at a time.

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Bloomington, MN – Thousands of striking Northwest Airlines workers and their supporters rallied across from the Northwest hangar at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International airport, Aug. 27. They rallied to support the strike of 4,400 mechanics, cleaners and custodians who are members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) Local 33. The strike began on Aug. 19 in response to Northwest’s proposal to lay off 53% of AMFA mechanics – and to sock the remaining workers with a wage cut of more than 25%.

This strike is turning into one of the biggest labor battles of the decade. The blatant union-busting tactics of Northwest Airlines have polarized the state. Corporate executives at other airlines are watching closely to see if Northwest’s tactics work in dividing the workers and busting the union.

On the other hand, the courage of AMFA Local 33 members in standing up to Northwest has galvanized progressive working class sentiment. People have been waiting for someone to stand up and fight back after airline unions have continued to accept round after round of deep concessions.

The big business media has harped on prior conflicts between AMFA and other unions at Northwest, like the International Association of Machinists. They have tried to convince the public that there is little support for AMFA’s strike, based on the fact that a few bureaucratic union ‘leaders’ hold a grudge against AFMA.

But the rally showed the broad support the striking workers have in the Twin Cities community and in the labor movement.

Many Northwest flight attendants were at the rally in uniform and the flight attendants’ union president spoke at the rally. A flight attendant who was fired this week for refusing to cross the AMFA picket line spoke at the rally and called on other flight attendants to join AMFA’s picket lines. Likewise, Northwest baggage handler Kip Hedges has refused to cross the picket lines and pledged to continue to organize solidarity among other Northwest workers.

It was announced at the rally that AFSCME unions at the University of Minnesota are organizing a rally to support the striking workers Aug. 30 at the University Radisson Hotel, where some of the scab workers are being housed.

Many political candidates from the Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) party and the Green Party spoke at the rally. The presence of so many political candidates at the rally showed that they perceive that there is popular support for the striking workers, even though top labor leaders have remained conspicuously silent and absent from this major labor battle.

AMFA Local 33 President Ted Ludwig said that so far none of their members have crossed the picket line. He quoted from a leader of the historic 1934 Minneapolis Teamsters strike in his speech, driving home that this strike is historic and that more than the usual strike tactics will be needed to defeat Northwest’s determined union-busting plan.

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