What I’m asking is ....since you are stating that it will pass, I assume that means you are either asking or talking with members to ascertain their position. So what are you saying to them when they tell you they would vote yes?
There is nothing to vote on so how can anyone be told to vote yes, as a matter of fact, there isn't even an official counter-proposal to the Association's counter from December.
The reason I think something would pass that is similar to what the airline has released is that of the general frustration being felt on the overall process.
There has been little to no communication on the process, and there hasn't been any communication as to how difficult this would end up being and the time it would take. Members are tired of being in the unknown, they don't say they will vote yes, but they do share they want to see what's on the table.
Last summer, they heard how the IAM wouldn't participate in the protests, I tried explaining the IAM's perspective, but it was just pushed to the side. The belief was there was great progress made, and we would be getting a deal "soon."
That "soon" didn't materialize, frustrations rose.
It also didn't help how it was brought up that the IAM was celebrating a paid holiday at double time, while we were working for straight-time. The information released by the Company has shown some that there is something to gain and they're eager to get there. Since we haven't had a period of trying to understand each other and explain each other's point of view, we are now in the midst of a certain amount of apathy.
This goes way back to the beginning when the TWU accepted then refused an invitation to reconcile the two CBA's. Then we have the lawsuit against the Association that slowed things down again. Then we had the criticism of the IAM for taking time to close-out their standalone. There was little communication of the IAM's willingness to close those negotiations out to try to make gains they felt they deserved going back to their 2005 BK. There was criticism that the IAM was stalling. ALL those things have an impact, and if you go back to these pages, I tried to explain those things only to be called names and have the material discounted.
I've shared those stories with anyone who asked and wanted to know how I felt. Unfortunately, those arguments above were louder and even championed by a few posters to this site who seem to go from one end to another depending on the current circumstances.
Some of us were willing to look ahead and anticipate what comes next, while others just thought everything was peachy. We should have had the conversations about the IAM medical several months ago, but all that was said was that it had survived 2 BK's and it was going to survive now. As it stands, the medical seems more imperiled today than it ever has, and that is unfortunate, but at the same time, it wasn't a subject that anyone wanted to breach until now.
