Ask anyone at SFO who these guys are. Ask Rich if you want. Are you man enough to do that?
Here is a quote from a USA Today article,
http://www.usatoday....mechanics_N.htm
Tiberi said mechanics came to the IAM and asked for the chance to switch.
"A group of mechanics from United Airlines came to our headquarters in Maryland and asked us to help them launch this campaign. These are people who supported the IAM in the past, they are former representatives from AMFA, and there are some current Teamster" representatives in the group, he said.
Another one from another web site.
http://cal-ualmechanics.com
Now instead of saying, "where are they" or "when is" we ask you, "what are you going to do"? It's no longer up to a handful of individuals to drive this need for change, it's up to the work group as a whole to make that decision by becoming active by asking questions and holding this union responsible. By signing a AMFA card or a IAM card. Yes, we said IAM card. It's no longer about which union but ridding ourselves of a union who dictates to the membership. It's time to send the IBT packing. Like SWA did. Like Horizon Air is doing and soon, AirTran will do.
The about us page has changed. In the past it explained how they were ex-AMFA representatives who approached the IAM. I wish this was all BS, but it is what it is. IAM and AMFA teamed up to try to get reid of the IBT.
Another from the same Mechanics for Change web site you posted.
http://www.mechanics...ke_action.shtml
Former IAM and AMFA mechanics have joined together to establish our own District and Locals on the property at UAL. We will return to the AFL-CIO with the IAMAW and re-establish our own Locals in SFO DEN, ORD and IAD.
These new Locals will be democratically controlled by the Mechanics and Related from United Airlines.
One more. This one even accurately suggests that AMFA officially considered merging.
http://labornet.org/...ction=read&id=2
(Read this one carefully.)
A July 10, 2007, letter from the IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. to all UAL mechanics described a recent meeting to discuss affiliation with AMFA national leaders in which "we did not set any preconditions or limitations, but instead asked your leaders to develop and propose whatever they felt would be the most beneficial to their membership. There was no pressure and the IAM hopes it will ultimately result in United Mechanic & Related employees returning to the Machinists Union."
"I urge you to contact your leadership because now is the time to have discussions with the IAM regarding an affiliation that would conclude with you voting on a proposal. This must begin quickly because your right to union representation is being threatened."
In fact, AMFA seriously explored this possibility, but the talks eventually bogged down.
While almost all AMFA leaders are willing to admit isolating mechanics from the larger more powerful AFL-CIO unions was a catastrophic blunder, there is still lots of resistance among UAL mechanics to admitting the closely-related error that it was a mistake to leave the IAM, still the largest union at UAL and in the airline industry.
As a result, AMFA explored affiliation with other unions in the AFL-CIO, but all turned AMFA back around to the IAM in the name of labor solidarity as codified in Article XX of the AFL-CIO constitution that forbids unions raiding each other.
Or, like I said before, just ask any UAL mechanic at SFO.
