BY LARRY LANE
SAN FRANCISCO - Officials of International Association of
Machinists (IAM) District 141, headquartered here in San
Francisco, announced December 11 that a referendum within the
district approved the establishment of a separate district
lodge for the mechanics and related members of District 141.
IAM District Lodge 141 membership also currently consists of ramp service, stores, kitchens, and customer service workers at United Airlines; mechanics, cleaners, and ramp workers at USAirways; and union members at a few smaller carriers. There are some 55,000 members in the district.
IAM top officials had begun pressing for a referendum following the announcement that a company-minded outfit - the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) - has secured enough signatures throughout the country to force a bargaining representative election among mechanics at Northwest Airlines. IAM tops then rapidly moved to establish a separate district at Northwest, adapting to AMFA's craft-mentality arguments but a majority of those who voted at Northwest voted for AMFA.
At the District 141 convention in Pittsburgh in October, delegates approved holding the referendum at United and USAirways.
District Lodge 141 issued a tellers report stating that 23,606 ballots had been mailed out. Of those returned, 5,935 or 63 percent voted yes, 3,100 or 33 percent voted no, and 390 were void. The total number of votes was 9,425 - 40 percent of the 23,606 ballots mailed out. The statement goes on to say that ballots were "sent to all District 141 members covered by Mechanic and Related Classifications at United, USAirways, Piedmont, Aloha and Hawaiian Airlines as well as Johnson Controls (IND)."
The tellers report concludes, "Based on the results of the vote, The Committee to implement the creation of the new Mechanics and Related District will begin to meet the first week of January."
A statement issued by Kenneth Thiede, president and general chairman of IAM District 141, points out that a recent conference of District Lodge 141 voted to create a committee of officers and rank-and-file members to "develop an implementation plan consistent with the referendum." The implementation committee will then make recommendations to the IAM international president R. Thomas Buffenbarger.
Larry Lane is a maintenance machinist at United and member of IAM Local 1781.