April 6, 2021

Dear American Airlines Mechanics and Related Employees:

We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the progress we are making to get you the representation vote that you deserve and to set the record straight on some misleading claims that have been made by an increasingly scared and desperate incumbent union – the so called TWU/IAM “Association.”

1. TWU/IAM lied and claimed in November 2019 they had a “No Raid Clause” or an agreement with the AMFA NEC and that there were a “couple of dissident members spreading false narratives” that started organizing a true grassroots card drive effort from American Airlines (AA) Mechanics and Related (M&R).
    
2. Once AMFA filed with the NMB on Friday, November 13, 2020, the TWU/IAM widely claimed we did not have sufficient cards to file for a representation election.
    
3. After AA submitted their eligibility list on December 4, 2020, the TWU/IAM once again claimed AMFA does not have enough cards to induce an election despite the 13,213 names and signatures that were submitted to the NMB.
    
4. On Good Friday of last week, AMFA provided an abundance of exhibits containing the substantive evidence needed to disprove the TWU/IAM’s frivolous request to add roughly 2,000 ineligible individuals to the proposed eligibility list of 13,213 submitted by American Airlines. This action is an underhanded and desperate effort to dilute the significance of the cards you submitted calling for a union election. After reviewing the abundance of exhibits submitted, AMFA still believes the NMB investigator will determine there are more than enough cards to get you the long overdue and well-deserved union representation election.
    
5. We expect the TWU/IAM to create further delays and use other underhanded tactics in a desperate effort to prevent this election from happening. If they were confident in their representation of you, why would they be afraid of an election? If they put their members first, why would they want to get in the way of having you express your collective democratic will? The “Association’s” time has come, and they now know it.

For over 30 years, the TWU and the IAM have persisted in their efforts to damage the AMFA name. These efforts, and the ones that are sure to come, are desperate measures of an organization that has put their own interests ahead of their members’ for decades, and now they will have to suffer the consequences.

A lie repeated 1,000 times is still a lie, but if you repeat the lie enough times (over 30 years), some people will start to believe it. That is propaganda 101. The TWU/IAM strategy is to attack the attacker and create a false narrative of an enemy villain – AMFA. TWU-IAM executive officers will cherry pick topics and form lies to deceive their members, failing to be transparent and authentic with the people they are supposedly “fighting to represent.”

The TWU/IAM is continuing the same predictable and distorted messaging they have exercised for more than 30 years. We expect they will continue the false narratives like “AMFA has no money” and “AMFA has a small membership with no resources.” Additionally, they will undoubtably continue to spread lies about the AMFA strike at NWA, AMFA not representing unlicensed workgroups, AMFA having no legislative presence in Washington, DC, AMFA not growing, AMFA being without local brick and mortar presence, AMFA independence (without AFL-CIO affiliation), etc.

As we move forward in this process, AMFA remains eager to represent your group and unify your power under one craft union. AMFA is always transparent with our union members because we respect employee choice and never forget that our power as an organization comes from you. For further updates and information, please visit AMFA at the American Airlines page of the AMFA National website. AMFA will continue to work diligently on your behalf to get you the vote you were promised and deserve. We appreciate your support.

In Solidarity,

Gene Painter
Assistant National Director