How Does AFA Hold Elections Differently Than SIA?

IT'S TIME!

You asked

How does AFA hold elections differently than SIA?

The SkyWest Inflight Association is the company-created association SkyWest management points to when it wants some of us to believe we already have representation. Its elections are one example, among many, of why SIA is not a legitimate union.

Short answerSIA elections are funded and watched over by SkyWest. AFA elections run on rules its members wrote, with secret ballots, an independent count, and reports filed with the federal government.

The record

What put SIA's elections under scrutiny.

This isn't a matter of opinion. The U.S. Department of Labor sued over it. The lawsuit says SkyWest's funding and control of SIA violate the Railway Labor Act by interfering with employees' right to organize and coercing them away from a legitimate union.

1. August 2023The election that didn't add upDuring the most recent SIA election, Flight Attendants reported being unable to vote because the system said they had already cast a ballot, and voting credentials turned up available online.
2. The paperworkReports never filedThe federal Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act requires detailed reporting of income and spending. Neither SkyWest nor SIA has filed the reports.
3. In the roomManagement at the tableSkyWest management attends SIA meetings and advises on its bylaws. SkyWest pays for SIA, elections included.
4. The resultA Department of Labor lawsuitDistrust among Flight Attendants over the election's legitimacy was followed by the Department of Labor filing suit against SIA.

An association funded by the company cannot be independent of the company. That's not a flaw in SIA's process. It's the design.

Score the election

Tap each test. See who passes.

Five things a fair election needs. One side meets them because its own Constitution and Bylaws require it. The other side answers to the company.

SIAAFA-CWA

1Who pays for it?✕✓+

SIA

SkyWest funds SIA, including its elections. The money creates a conflict of interest and the dependence means SIA can't act as a genuine representative of Flight Attendants.

AFA-CWA

Members fund the union, and the money is accounted for in public filings. No employer money, no employer strings.

2Who counts the votes?✕✓+

SIA

In August 2023, Flight Attendants were told they had already voted when they hadn't, and voting credentials were found online. Nobody independent was watching.

AFA-CWA

Elections are conducted by an independent third party, free of employer interference, with secret ballots and oversight written into the Constitution and Bylaws.

3Who writes the rules?✕✓+

SIA

SkyWest management attends meetings and advises on SIA's bylaws. The people being represented are not the ones setting the terms.

AFA-CWA

The Constitution and Bylaws are written and amended by Flight Attendant members, with transparent nomination processes and the same rules for every candidate.

4Who reports to the government?✕✓+

SIA

The LMRDA requires detailed reports on income and expenditures. Neither SkyWest nor SIA has filed them.

AFA-CWA

AFA files annual reports disclosing every financial transaction and source of income, so members can see how dues are used and hold their representatives accountable.

5Who protects you afterward?✕✓+

SIA

An association the company funds has no standing to defend you from the company.

AFA-CWA

AFA has taken SkyWest to court over the wrongful termination of union supporters, defending Flight Attendants' rights under the Railway Labor Act.

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Why you can trust it

Every reason an AFA-CWA election holds up.

Trust in an election doesn't come from a promise. It comes from rules that bind the people running it. Here is what stands behind every AFA-CWA vote.

✓

The rulebookA Constitution and Bylaws written by membersElections follow rules Flight Attendants wrote and can amend, not a policy management hands down.

✓

The ballotSecret ballotsNobody, management included, can see how you voted or pressure you over it.

✓

The countAn independent third party runs the electionThe people with a stake in the outcome don't handle the ballots or the credentials.

✓

The candidatesOpen, transparent nominationsMembers in good standing can run, and the same rules apply to every candidate.

✓

The leadersElected by the Flight Attendants they serveLocal leaders are chosen by the members at their base, and they answer to those members.

✓

The moneyFunded by members, reported to the governmentAFA files annual financial reports under the LMRDA, so every dollar in and out is on the record.

✓

The backstopFederal law stands behind the voteUnder the LMRDA, union members can take an election complaint to the Department of Labor. That protection exists for a real union, not for a company-run association.

✓

The protectionNo retaliation, and lawyers to back it upAFA has already taken SkyWest to court over the firing of union supporters, under the Railway Labor Act.

The bottom line: no employer money, no employer in the room, an independent count, and a federal paper trail. That is what makes a vote worth casting.

Night and day

Flip the switch.

Same workgroup, same airline, two completely different ideas of what an election is for.

Tap the switch to see the difference👇

Night: how SIA runs it

Elections marred by management interference.

• ✕Paid for by SkyWest
• ✕Management in the meetings, advising on bylaws
• ✕Ballots that said "already voted" and credentials found online
• ✕Federal disclosure reports never filed
• ✕Now the subject of a Department of Labor lawsuit

Elections that belong to the members.

• ✓Funded by its members
• ✓Rules set by a Constitution and Bylaws members wrote
• ✓Secret ballots counted by an independent third party
• ✓Annual financial reports filed under the LMRDA
• ✓Legal muscle that has already taken SkyWest to court for Flight Attendants

Why it matters

A vote only counts if nobody above you can touch it.

The difference between SIA and AFA-CWA elections is the difference between a representative body the company funds and one Flight Attendants own. SIA's process answers to management. AFA's answers to a constitution, to federal law, and to us.

Joining AFA-CWA means choosing a union that works for Flight Attendants, free of management's influence, starting with the way it picks its own leaders.

It's time

Ready to have a real voice at work?

This campaign was started by SkyWest Flight Attendants and is run by SkyWest Flight Attendants. It starts with your card.

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