An Immediate Benefit to Unionizing: Negotiating a Legally Binding Contract
Organizing
9 August 2022
One of the many benefits of unionizing is that GO Crewmembers will gain the right to negotiate a legally binding contract. Under the law, wages, benefits, and working conditions are all “mandatory subjects of bargaining” and JetBlue management MUST bargain in “good faith” with us. That means JetBlue management must negotiate in a way that will bring about an agreement. That’s the law.
That’s important because it gives GO Crewmembers the right and opportunity to lock in what we like about our current job, negotiate improvements to the things that need to be fixed, AND negotiate protections during the merger with Spirit.
JetBlue executives are trying to talk Crewmembers out of negotiating a legally-binding union contract. Yet, none of them would dream of working without a contract in a million years.
For example, currently in FLL, approximately half of the part-time bid lines are now relief lines in which GO Crewmembers have to bid every two weeks. That’s right EVERY TWO WEEKS! With a contract, we can fix that. What about the locations where JetBlue management just involuntarily cut full-time hours from 40 to 32? With a contract, we can fix that too.
What about pay? Once we unionize, we have the right to negotiate higher wages. Without a contract, we have no guarantees of any wage increases. The announced wage increases in 2023 are not guaranteed. We already experienced not receiving scheduled wage increases in 2021, due to the pandemic (NOTE: all UNION airlines received their pay increases in 2021 because of their contracts). And, the 2023 pay scale, even with the raise, is the lowest among the major US airlines.
By unionizing, we will take control over our destiny. We will have a strong voice to protect OUR interests.
Remember, if we don’t have a seat at the table, we are likely on the menu.
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