A major labor union removed one of the airline industry’s principal labor leaders on Tuesday, apparently continuing a purge based on internal union politics.

Sito Pantoja had been a general vice president of the International Association of Machinists since 2012. With about 100,000 members, the transportation division is the largest segment of the union. It administers about 150 contracts in the rail and air segments, including key contracts at American, United, Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines.

The union says it has about 600,000 active and retired members. Membership includes about 60,000 airline workers as well as about 27,000 Boeing workers.

In a letter to members on Tuesday, IAM President Robert Martinez said he removed Pantoja as transportation president and installed him as the leader of a newly established “national apprentice strategic initiative” that would promote organizing.

“This initiative is a vital part of the IAM’s ability to continue to organize and grow the union,” Martinez said. “As a graduate of the Aviation High School, General Vice President Pantoja was a natural fit for this role.”

Pantoja will not be replaced: rather, the transportation department will now report directly to Martinez. Richard Johnson, Martinez’s chief of staff, will oversee the transportation department. In April, Pantoja was elected to the position without opposition. It is unclear who will fill Pantoja’s seat on the United Airlines board of directors.

In March, Martinez removed Joe Tiberi, Pantoja’s chief of staff, after Pantoja endorsed a candidate who opposed incumbent Dora Cervantes, Martinez’s pick for secretary treasurer in the April election. Except for Cervantes, every candidate was unopposed. Cervantes was re-elected. She denied charges that she had tried to cover up her sister’s theft of union funds.

On Wednesday, neither the IAM nor Pantoja responded to requests for comment. A leader in another union, who asked not to be named, said the move represented an “obvious” power play by Martinez.

Pantoja, 64, a onetime TWA mechanic, has been at the forefront of maintaining IAM strength in the airline industry.  He has been known to respond forcefully when companies were unresponsive to union contract proposals that he considered important. His long presence and experience in the industry gave him credibility at such moments.

In the 2005 United Airlines bankruptcy, Pantoja worked to ensure that United IAM members could retain their fixed benefit pension plan, one of the few fixed benefit pension plans that still exists.  United agents, ramp workers and stock clerks were prepared to strike if the plan was eliminated.

In the 2013 merger between American and US Airways, IAM remained on the property through an agreement with the Transport Workers Union, even though TWU represented about twice as many workers. 

In March 2020, about 31,000 American workers – including mechanics, fleet service workers and stock clerks overwhelmingly approved an industry leading contract that brought pay raises and reduced outsourcing.

In a joint statement that March, Pantoja and TWU Executive Vice President Alex Garcia, the chairman and vice chairman of the association, said, “The resounding approval of these contracts yet again proves that by standing together and demonstrating our solidarity and determination, we are able to achieve contracts our members deserve.

“It is that same resolve that will get us through this unprecedented crisis facing our airline, our industry and our country,” they said.

Pantoja has also led organizing expansion. For example, in a 2016 contract with United, the IAM secured industry-best wages, protected the pension plan and reduced outsourcing.

According to an IAM website, Pantoja joined Local 1056 in Jamaica, N.Y., in 1977 as a TWA mechanic. He served as a shop steward for Local 1056 until he transferred to Local 949 in St. Louis in 1988. At Local 949, Pantoja served as a trustee, recording secretary and grievance committee chairman. He has represented IAM in many safety investigations including TWA Flight 800.

Some labor sources questioned whether Johnson can step into Pantoja’s spot. One said Mike Klemm, the elected president of the largest IAM district, is a better negotiator. But Klemm is a Pantoja ally. Klemm could not be reached for comment.

At American, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, a mechanics-only union, has filed with the National Mediation Board to represent mechanics, removing them from the IAM/TWU Association. If the NMB determines that AMFA has sufficient support for an election, turmoil in the IAM could become an issue.