Transport Workers Union Loses By Nearly 300 Votes

For the second time in as many years, Continental Airlines' baggage and cargo workers have eschewed unionization. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) missed a majority despite garnering over 3,300 votes in an election supervised by the National Mediation Board.

For this attempt, the union warned workers their jobs might be in jeopardy if a rumored merger between Continental and United goes through. Continental says those rumors were propagated by the union trying to scare workers.

TWU must wait at least 12 months before asking for another vote, but union leadership is unsure if they will. TWU president James Little told the Associate Press, "I'm kind of surprised. My gut was telling me this was going to pass because of the new issue we raised about the potential mergers."

Continental sees this as a major victory. Airline senior vice president Bill Meehan said, "We are pleased that our employees recognized the value of our direct working relationship. By honoring our commitments to employees, we will continue to maintain the culture of trust we've built at Continental Airlines. Working together, we have a promising future."

Despite one of this year's biggest organizing efforts, TWU lost by 285 votes -- almost the same as last year's 308-vote shortage.

Continental's baggage and cargo workers are its only non-union employees -- aside from management, of course.

FMI: www.continental.com