Based in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Champion Air operates a fleet of 16 Boeing 727-200 aircraft and is the largest charter-only carrier in the airline industry.

Teamsters Local 120 already represented the flight attendants and dispatchers at Champion Air. The election was held March 14.

"This election is an example of employees voting overwhelmingly for a union when an employer remains neutral," said Brad Slawson, Jr., secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 120.

Sixty-five percent of the workers in the mechanics and maintenance controllers group voted for the union. Slawson said the main issues leading the workers to organize included constantly changing work rules and respect on the job. Wages and benefits, he said, were secondary issues.

The election took place under the more stringent rules of the National Railway Labor Act, which recognizes a union after a majority vote of all workers in the designated unit, not just a majority of all workers actually voting.

Steve Share edits the Minneapolis Labor Review, the official publication of the Minneapolis Central Labor Union Council. Visit the CLUC website, www.minneapolisunions.org