OpenSkies Flight Attendants Choose IAM
October 19, 2010
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Forty-eight Flight Attendants at OpenSkies have voted overwhelmingly for the IAM as their collective bargaining representative.
In a National Mediation Board election tally held October 14, 2010, 36 Flight Attendants voted for the Machinists Union, with only 1 opposing unionization. The remaining Flight Attendants did not cast votes.
OpenSkies initially tried to avoid an election by claiming that its internal “OpenSkies Consultative Group” was a bona fide collective bargaining agent, and it had a Flight Attendant collective bargaining agreement in place. Following IAM objections, the carrier withdrew its claim. The NMB ordered an election on September 8, 2010.
“There is no substitute to freely-elected, independent union representation,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “OpenSkies Flight Attendants saw the advantage of belonging to the largest airline union in the world, and I welcome them into the IAM family.”
OpenSkies is an all-business class subsidiary of British Airways that currently operates flights to Paris, France from New York and Washington Dulles.
