Teamsters files for Reno Air union vote

Saturday, Feb. 22, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The union filed for the election with the National Mediation Board on Friday, Teamsters spokesman Patrick Lacefield said, adding enough cards from employees were submitted to authorize the vote.

Thirty percent of the attendants must sign cards for the board to conduct an election. If the cards and percentage are validated, an election could take place within 30 to 45 days.

Attendants for the Reno-based, low-fare airline say they're underpaid and unappreciated. They complain they're paid for scheduled flight time, but not for time spent cleaning cabins, loading passengers and other ground time.

The attendants earn, "at most, $900 to $1,000 a month, have to pay for their own health insurance and have no retirement plan," said a Teamsters news release Friday.

"In the Reno area, 150 ... flight attendants have to depend on welfare to pay the bills."

Reno Air spokeswoman Sue Putnam accused the union of putting out a lot of "incorrect information," saying the airline offers a variety of benefits.

"It's totally up to our flight attendant group to decide if they want representation and, if so, whom they want to represent them," she said.

Putnam said the 4 1/2 -year-old airline would prefer to address attendants' concerns through employee committees it has formed.

But some attendants and the union said they haven't seen any results from the committees.

Lacefield said the Teamsters should win because enough attendants want both an election and union representation.

But Putnam questioned the level of support for the union. "It remains to be seen what their specific numbers are," she said.

Reno Air offers flights to 21 cities across the West, as well as to Chicago and Detroit. It plans to expand service in April between Gulfport, Miss., Atlanta and Orlando, Fla.