Integrating seniority is never easy. In Continental’s history there have been several seniority integrations, some of which were unilaterally implemented by the Lorenzo-led company when there weren’t any contracts in effect. The IAM is committed to integration of seniority in a way that is fair and equitable for all flight attendants.
One common method of integration is “dovetailing” seniority. That would be to integrate by your current Continental date of hire into the flight attendant classification. Whatever Continental seniority date you have today, as well as United flight attendants seniority dates, would be merged into a single list by date of hire.
Historically, the IAM’s seniority integration policy has been to integrate by the current date of hire into the specified classification (dovetailing). However, the IAM recognizes that sometimes issues arise that require more consideration than a simple dovetailing. The IAM will create seniority integration committees made up of representatives from both pre-merger airlines to resolve seniority disputes when they arise. If agreements cannot be reached, the issues will be submitted to a neutral arbitrator for resolution.
The IAM has a history of protecting seniority in mergers - that is not the case for all unions. For example, when United bought Pan Am's Pacific routes in 1985, AFA argued before a neutral arbitrator that Pan Am flight attendants should be stapled to the bottom of the combined seniority list.
In contrast, when US Airways and America West merged, the IAM's merger policy protected the seniority dates of employees at both carriers, even if they were formerly members of another union.
How seniority is used is a matter of collective bargaining and would need to be addressed in negotiations with United following a merger and resolving representation issues.
The Machinists union will not be able to enforce a fair and equitable merger policy if we are not your representative post-merger.
You can print a SENIORITY flyer below.
The Machinists Union understands how important seniority is to flight attendants, and seniority has been lost in mergers where the IAM did not represent flight attendants after a merger.
We understand that flight attendant seniority integration is not so simple that it can be implemented by a firm and inflexible policy. There are many unique issues that weigh on how seniority should be implemented, and we have received and closely read the many comments and suggestions flight attendants have provided.
