Dear IAM

[Harry Callahan]

The union meetings are same here in CLT. Everyone gets their turn as it should be.

Join FFOCUS
www.ffocus.org

 

[diogenes]

Beat me to it. At NO time did I ever suggest that IAM was paying his legal fees.

I said "your AGC's weren't busy defending themselves from criminal prosecution then maybe they would have more time to be involved with the rank and file and get them enegized and involved"

Now then please point out to me where I state that the IAM was involved in paying legal fees???? So why then would you even mention it??? Unless of course they are and you want to get "in Front" of the denial.

700 was too busy defending the IAM to do the math.

He's always so quick to blame the membership, and never so quick to hold the leadership to the same standard.

I can write you a book about how the membership comes up short. Long-time readers of this forum know that.

But I can also write one equally compelling about leadership shortcomings, and I think both sides of the story need to be told.

Bottom line: Until the membership does a hostile takeover of IAM, things will not change.

Glad I'm out of it, and getting on with life.

 

[freedom]

The union meetings are same here in CLT. Everyone gets their turn as it should be

sure everyone gets their turn , but how important is it to you to hear about the greviance process for the northwest flight attendants? i dunno i find it boring , not to mention i just didn't feel a sense of solidarity in there ...I'll be honest , i've only been to one IAM union meeting here in PHX , but i just couldn't feel the "fire" in there , there was no passion .it was cold and lifeless, we can really get FIRED UP!here in phx , once we get talking to one another on the ramp ,we know each others suffering , the problems we face and we can give each other the emotional support we need to keep fighting .

i'm not really looking to change anything , i'm just looking back kinda misty eyed to the old days.They used to even had beer for us to drink at the old union hall lol

 

[Tim Nelson]

Why would they? The IAM already gave away the store and pretty much everything I said was going to happen did.
And WHO determines how many AGCs there are? How come the union adopts the "more at lower pay" philosophy for the members but "less at higher pay" for themselves?
IAM reps are getting paid to be there, however most people have to work two jobs(thanks to union promoted concessions) and when they go to meeting they are doing it on their time and at times that are determined at the convience of the union and they really dont want their time being wasted on issues not related to them.
What exactly is a "district Convention"?
That depends on how good of a cook the wife is I guess, Filet Mignon five nights a week isnt really such a big sacrifice.
I'll bet you didnt starve either.
Because the company doesnt work for him, the Union does.



I've headr that before, if the people running the show had any intentions as far as change they woulddo it, however when you have guys with GEDs making $100,000 plus other perks they will do anything they can to preserve the status quo.
Support from the membership? They pay their dues dont they? What support do they need, do you mean that they should support these guys by voting in the first round of concessions so they dont trouble the union with having to have a revote?

Lets face the facts here, Union reps, the ones with the power who could change things choose not to. Why? Because they are not the ones losing benifits and taking paycuts. Their biggest concern is not making things better for their members but preserving the dues base that provides their salaries and perks. They then claim the members dont support them, well maybe thats because they havent presented anything to the members worth supporting or maybe its because they have never really been specific as to what they want the members to do. STOP BLAMING THE MEMBERS for the fact that the leaders dont lead!!!

The fact is its the union leaders who dont support the members, not the other way around. The members provide financial support, what do the leaders do for them? They collect dues and give excuses, the members are getting a bad deal, they deserve better. Empty union halls are not the problem, lack of vision and leadership ability is the problem.
Freedom, until airline workers think as a group, across corporate boundries, and act like a group, all you are going to get for your dues are excuses. The only way I can see things getting better is for the whole industry to organize under a single union. The greatest weapon the airlines have is our non-portable seniority system. It makes us sitting ducks. The fix for that is to make seniority portable and the only way to do that is to get into one union.

Bob,
as always you offer fresh insights and point out the absurdities of the IAM loyalist. But one thing you forgot. The IAM is the I'll Ask Management union.

But sometimes the 'I'll Ask Management' speaks too quickly before they get the 'go ahead' from corporations. Like when they said the arbitration case would be 'expedited'. My understanding is that after they asked management, expedited meant sometime in the same year.

regards,

 

[700UW]

Well I dont know what union meeting you attend but the NWA FAs have never been represented by the IAM and are back with the AFA, before that they were PFAA and before that IBT.

They cant provide beer anymore due to liability issues.

 

[freedom]

Well I dont know what union meeting you attend but the NWA FAs have never been represented by the IAM and are back with the AFA, before that they were PFAA and before that IBT.

They cant provide beer anymore due to liability issues.

sorry i was merely using said FA's as a fictional example , i really don't know the other airlines unions are .

too bad about liability these days , i work with a fellow from back east who would tell me some kick ass stories about how great it used to be to be in the unions back a few decades ago , union picinis , beer down at the hall with large screen tv's for the sports games , it was more than just a place to discuss company issues but a place to hang out ...

 

[Harry Callahan]

We use to have a big picnic on the lake every year. Not sure what happened.

 

[freedom]

geez that sounds nice , i wish there was some sort of union event so we east and west guys could get to know each other better. I dunno like rent out some sort of communal cabin complex on the lake , the kind that are just jammed with bunk beds and have a get to know ya kinda party on the East and do something like that on the west. I guess i'm thinking corporate get away , some big companies rent out a resort and then fly all their employees down for the weekend , feed them etc.

i know , not practical in our case , but one can dream

 

[700UW]

Loss of members due to 9/11 and management led to loss of dues so all unions at the local levels had to budget crunch.

There are classes at Placid Harbor, differant conferences and the District and Grand Lodge Conventions where you can meet and greet other members.

 

[freedom]

Loss of members due to 9/11 and management led to loss of dues so all unions at the local levels had to budget crunch.

There are classes at Placid Harbor, differant conferences and the District and Grand Lodge Conventions where you can meet and greet other members.

hey 700 UW didn't you say you used to be a AGGC ... or something like that , tell me , since you've had experince with all of this , what do you think the future holds for us ? i'm not asking to acuse you of anything or paint any sort of poltical picture here , i'm just saying you sound like you've done all this before , so in your senior oppinion , what do you think we will see in the furture ?

 

[700UW]

No I was not an AGC/GC, I worked at the local level in various positions, worked for DL 142 and was on the M&R Negotiating Committee during the last bankputcy.

I think you are going to win the Change of Control and the company stall in negotiations, it will take solidarity of the membership towards the company that will accomplish anything.

 

[bagchucker]

Also would you like to live out of a suitcase and hotel rooms and not get homecooked meals four or five days a week?

That sounds better than the current scenario of living in a shoebox and eating Top Ramen for dinner most nights...

 

[UAL_TECH]

It isn’t simply a ‘leadership’, ‘membership’, ‘affiliation’ issue. If ‘all’ parties would unite, unions would be unbeatable. To do this would take devotion and ‘self-sacrifice’ for the common good. None of this is in ‘vogue’ today as all parties sit back on their hind-quarters and point fingers at each other and ‘cross-union’ solidarity is non-existent as we eat our young. Possibly that may be why the ‘legacy’ unions support illegal immigrants, because they will be paid much less without the ‘benefits’ gained by the ‘legacy’ of sacrifice and begin to restart the union movement (until they are fat dumb and happy) and it starts over again.

JMHO,
B) UT

 

[smallstFSA]

One in particular is our ongoing Transition Negotiations with the carrier. As you are aware we will be re-engaging with the carrier the week of June 4th in CLT. I want you to know it is our intent (as it has been from the beginning) to bring these discussions to a satisfactory conclusion. Your negotiating committee and I are sensitive to the concerns expressed in the time that has already transpired. We are as frustrated as is the membership, but as we have said, we will not settle short for the sake of time or at the expense of serious issues being set aside for that purpose. All of our members (east & west) have serious issues that must be addressed and resolved. Having said that, it is also important for you to know that this will not be a never ending process. If, after this next round of discussions, we find ourselves no closer to resolution or hope of same, we intend to explore another avenue to bring these discussions to a beneficial conclusion for our membership. If this should become necessary, you will be so advised.

The above is from the May 31 District 141 update. I wish I could post it in a better format, but regarless I'm surprised no one has started a thread on it. What exactly does the IAM mean by "explore a new avenue".

 

[fanlube]

Loss of members due to 9/11 and management led to loss of dues so all unions at the local levels had to budget crunch.

Because we all know loss of dues means less money for International Presidents and the like, and less money to be spent on conferences in Vegas and Hawaii. While thousands of union workers sacrificed after the post 9/11 era what has the International really done to help with the plight of its workers? The IAM was so deseprate for dues it had its members cross another unions picket line! Did members dues drop after all the concessions were in place, not at US! Not that it matters at this point but use the profit sharing for example the majority of East IAM members were opposed to giving that to the West right or wrong, and the LEADERSHIP said the HELL WITH WHAT the members think and awarded it anyway! The other prime example of how this union works is during the last bankruptcy and how the company was ramming a final offer down everyone's throat and you had a certain local lodge president make the statement and I quote"I wish I could vote no" and now that certain local lodge president is an AGC for the mechanics in PHX! There is no doubt the company is giving us a royal screw job, however we don't pay them, we pay the Union and they work for us if they can't perform we need to find one who will!