MYTH: YOU START WITH

WHAT YOU HAVE NOW.

REALITY:INITIAL CONTRACT

NEGOTIATIONSSTART FROM SCRATCH.

Download The Delta Difference App to Learn More

“STATUS QUO” DOES NOT APPLYWhen Negotiating a First Contract

You may have heard AFA or IAM organizers use the term “status quo” when referring to the contract negotiations process. Some say that during negotiations for a first contract Delta must maintain the “status quo” - that is existing pay, benefits and work rules - so that these things can only get better with a union contract. This is simply not true. But don’t take Delta’s word for it.

Here’s what the lead negotiator for TWU, currently negotiating a first contract for JetBlue flight attendants, recently said:

“Going in and writing something from scratch and having it be the basis of all contracts in the future is very different. So obviously, you’re doing your best to keep the things that you like. … [B]utthere’s also … the company going in and changing rules or changing procedures. Under the Railway Labor Act, they are allowed to do that until we get our first contract. You don’t get [status quo] until you get a first contract.”

TWU JetBlue lead negotiator Thom McDaniel (SWA FA) Negotiations Town Hall – Nov. 12, 2019

And here’s what a federal court said:

“[T]he RLA does not require a carrier to maintain the status quoduring negotiations for an initial labor agreement.”

Int’l Bhd. of Teamsters v. Allegiant Air, 788 F.3d 1080, 1093 (9th Cir. 2015) (RLA did not prohibit Allegiant from changing work rules after union was elected).

Don’t believe myths about a “status quo”. Negotiations start with a blank slate and are a give and take process with no guarantees. Things can get better, get worse or stay the same.

March 2, 2020