Machinists union's bid for AirTran election fails

By Kelly Yamanouchi

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The International Association of Machinists failed in its bid for a representation election among AirTran Airways reservations and airport workers because the union did not submit enough signed cards from interested workers.

An AirTran spokesman said the National Mediation Board, which governs labor relations at airlines and railroads, notified the airline Wednesday that the board has dismissed the Machinists union's petition for a representation election because of an "insufficient showing of interest." That means the union did not submit signed cards from at least 35 percent of eligible employees requesting an election.

Machinists union spokesman Joseph Tiberi said, "There were more people on the AirTran eligibility list than we had anticipated."

He said that unlike elections in other industries, under National Mediation Board elections for airlines and railroads,  carriers are not required to provide addresses for all the individuals on the list. That makes it difficult to validate whether names should be on the list, Tiberi said.

The Machinists union originally filed for an election in June. It sought to represent more than 3,000 reservations agents and customer service and ramp workers at AirTran.

AirTran, which is based in Orlando and has its largest hub at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, has ramp and customer service agents at airports around the country and reservations agents in Atlanta, Carrollton and Savannah.

Previous attempts to organize the employees have also failed.

Tiberi said the union will try again for an election at AirTran after a yearlong waiting period under Mediation Board rules.

"We have a higher threshold to reach, but the campaign begins today," he said.

Many AirTran workers are already represented by unions, including pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and others.

The Machinists union had planned to seek wage increases if it gained representation of the AirTran reservations and airport workers.