Paralegal Leads Union Protest of Pilot's Union Employees

Paralegals in a union????  Yep.  According to The Star-Telegram.com, protesters who marched Monday morning in Ft. Worth weren't airline employees, and airline management wasn't the target. This demonstration was conducted by employees of the Allied Pilots Association, and the managers being criticized are union pilots.

The Allied Pilots Staff Employee Association represents 23 employees who work for the pilots union, which is headquartered in Fort Worth near American Airlines offices. Members include paralegals, graphic artists, administrative assistants and other hourly employees.

Spokeswoman Kathy Schroeder, a paralegal, said the union has been working without a contract for nearly 300 days. She says the labor group agreed to concessions in their last contract, which was inked five years ago. She said the last contract, signed five years ago, included no raises, although the APA eventually did give pay increases that totaled about 4 percent over the past five years. The contract expired nearly 300 days ago, Schroeder said, but little progress has been made at the negotiating table.

"Right now, what we want is to restore our contract to what it was before concessions," said Kathy Schroeder, a paralegal for the APA and a spokesman for the staff union. "Right now the APA is refusing to restore any of the items we lost."

Go get 'em Kathy!  Paralegal rises to the challenge.  But what if paralegals at law firms had union contracts?  Would that ensure overtime pay; better benefits; a union rep to represent their grievances, a credit union, a labor hall to go to when they are laid off, contracts guaranteeing raises. a pension plan and more?  It's a thought.