June - IAM Fleet Service Discussion

[ograc]

IAD is a hub, has been a hub and has been staffed by UA;s own Fleet Service. Capish?

IAM LL 1759

Capital Air Lodge 1759 represents airline ground workers at Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Ogden Aviation & Ground Services, Piedmont Airlines, Signature Flight Support, Southwest Airlines, Swissport Fueling, United Airlines and US Airways at Norfolk (ORF), Richmond (RIC), Washington National (DCA) and Dulles International (IAD) Airports.


http://www.iam1759.org/about/about.htm

700UW,
LL 1759 members voted LFP team overwhelmingly. LFP 283, Delaney 101 and Nelson 10. As in any democratic election process the members (electorate) are engaged and voicing their opinion. Week one is behind us. Support, or the lack thereof, for each team in the stations that have voted has been witnessed. We, as a union, go forward into week two in this process. The membership is weighing in and will ultimately decide who represents their best interests in the next four years. IMO... regardless of who gets elected we need to focus on solidarity, going forward, within the district and respective members at each airline. This will be the only avenue to positive change and gains for the membership.
ograc

 

[john john]

IAD is a hub, has been a hub and has been staffed by UA;s own Fleet Service. Capish?

IAM LL 1759

US Airways at Norfolk (ORF), Richmond (RIC), Airports.


http://www.iam1759.org/about/about.htm

WRONG

 

[700UW]

IAM LL 1759

Capital Air Lodge 1759 represents airline ground workers at Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Ogden Aviation & Ground Services, Piedmont Airlines, Signature Flight Support, Southwest Airlines, Swissport Fueling, United Airlines and US Airways at Norfolk (ORF), Richmond (RIC), Washington National (DCA) and Dulles International (IAD) Airports.


http://www.iam1759.org/about/about.htm

This is from Local Lodge 1759's web page

 

[pjirish317]

Here is how I think this election will play out. First, The occupy ticket concedes, as their "support" has dried up. Tim, then throws his support towards the LfP ticket. Then cuts a side deal with KA, kisses her arse so to speak, should she pull off the victory, for a position within the district somewhere. As much as Tim despised canoli and his band of misfits, he now will most likely have to kiss tha arse of canoli's "go to" girl. Ironic aint it.

 

[mike33]

Here is how I think this election will play out. First, The occupy ticket concedes, as their "support" has dried up. Tim, then throws his support towards the LfP ticket. Then cuts a side deal with KA, kisses her arse so to speak, should she pull off the victory, for a position within the district somewhere. As much as Tim despised canoli and his band of misfits, he now will most likely have to kiss tha arse of canoli's "go to" girl. Ironic aint it.

Good call PJ...i have said earlier in my posts that i thought the occupy was about trying to split the vote away from Delaney. I wouldn't be surprised if Tims name shows up in the TWU camp if a merger was to take place with AA. (IMO)

 

[700UW]

Maybe he can be in charge of making certificates on a computer.

He cant be trusted, he has done more harm than good over the years, and its about Tim, not about whats best for the members.

I bet he starts his own union again, or tries to hook up with the TWU, who all ready know all about him and called him out when he tried to raid AA.

Time for Tim, to load bags and not worry about the union, he isnt a trade unionist.

http://airlineforums.com/topic/27043-iam-twu-election-tim-nelson/

March 14,2005
Dear American Airline FSC;
I am often asked what is the difference between Labor Representatives, i.e., the AGW and the TWU. Or to put it another way, why should someone consider switching from the TWU to the AGW.
First off, the primary reason to have a Union is to negotiate and secure a Collective Bargaining Agreement [CBA]. As I have talked to several American Airline FSC’s I have realized the cruddy, undemocratic, yet calculated job the TWU has done in representing you. In fact, I would categorize it as the TWU representing the company to you instead of you to the company. At any rate, I am not going to insult you and tell you what you already know about the TWU.
What I can tell you is what the AGW Constitution allows under the exact same circumstances. In any AGW negotiations, YOU negotiate your contract because your Negotiations team, including its chairman is from your airline and department [far different from the TWU]. Further, the Negotiations team can’t even enter into negotiations unless and until the majority of workers prioritize contract proposals. For instance, if American wants further concessions from you and you had the AGW, then any elected AGW Negotiations team can’t even enter concessionary negotiations unless the majority of workers approve and prioritize contract proposals. Remember, your Labor Representative represents you, is your advocate, and shouldn’t be in concessionary talks with your company if the members didn’t authorize them! Does this mean anything to you?
At any rate, negotiations are the ‘sacred’ for the workers so all AGW negotiations are fully disclosed to the members it represents. Each company proposal and AGW counter proposal from your Negotiations team must be on display on the AGW website for full disclosure! Further, the AGW, by Constitution, can’t sign confidentiality papers with a company because it does not allow secret, ‘cant tell ya’ negotiations. Confidentiality agreements always protect the company and always keep information from the rank and file. Further, no AGW officer has the power or authority to sign a letter of agreement without being authorized by the majority of workers.
As a side, the highest salary for an AGW officer is $61,000; Officer elections have minimal restrictions to promote greater participation; The AGW will service you with the same resources you give the TWU…your dues; And the AGW has retained a Nationally recognized law firm to represent you in arbitration cases and for other professional matters.
It’s all in the AGW constitution and I encourage you to read it. In closing, you can’t afford to keep the TWU along with its undemocratic systems. The quicker you sign your AGW card then the quicker we can replace the TWU!
Onward!
Tim Nelson, Interim Director, Allied Ground Workers

From the TWU

Now the President of TWU Local 512 – President Report:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the risk of breathing new life into what should be a dead issue, I would like to use this month’s President’s Message to express my thoughts on the group that calls itself the Allied Ground Workers. I am aware that some of our Local 512 members have been distributing literature about this organization and have solicited others to sign cards authorizing the AGW as the collective bargaining agent for fleet service. Some of you who are reading this may have signed one of these authorization cards. Members who were approached by these AGW supporters told me that they thought they were signing a petition the purpose of which was to show their displeasure with the TWU. In case it was not fully explained to you at the time, let me assure you there is more at play here than just sending a message to your TWU leadership.
This is what could happen.
As stated above, these cards indicate that the signatory authorizes the Allied Ground Workers to be the sole collective bargaining agent for fleet service employees at American Airlines. In the event that AGW were to obtain signatures from a majority of the bargaining unit system wide, they could petition the National Mediation Board for a representational election. There are three possible outcomes of such an election. If the TWU gets the majority of votes cast, the TWU would win. If the AGW gets the majority, it would win. Both of these outcomes are predicated on at least 50% plus one members of the bargaining unit casting votes for one or the other representative. The third possible outcome would occur if less than half the bargaining unit were to cast votes. If that were to happen we would have no union.
OK. That last scenario is too sickening to even contemplate so we’ll leave it be for now.
Let’s talk about the Allied Ground Workers. Who are they? Whom do they represent? What are their credentials and experience? If you visit the AGW website, you will find that their "Interim Director" is Tim Nelson and their "Interim President" is Mike Pruitt. Who are they and who elected them to their positions within the organization? The website does contain a brief "bio" on Nelson (nothing on Pruitt) that raises more questions than it answers. It appears Tim Nelson is very good at making sweeping general statements but is very stingy with supporting facts. With this in mind, one of our Local 512 representatives wrote Mr. Nelson an email respectfully asking him to clarify some of the things he states in his biography. While I give him credit for a prompt response, Nelson failed to answer any of the direct questions posed by our rep. He was, however, quick to take offense when the irony of his characterization of another Union’s system of governance as a "one man band" was pointed out to him. I am starting to suspect that Mr. Nelson is what our brothers and sisters at Local 513 might call "All hat and no cattle".
So what do we know about Tim Nelson, Mike Pruitt and the AGW? Nelson apparently works for US Airways (which just emerged from bankruptcy) though he states this nowhere in his biography and does not answer this question in the email although he was asked this directly. Nor does he answer the question of what work he does for the airline. He does not respond to a question if he was elected to his position or if he is self-appointed. He does not answer the questions of how and when the AGW was founded or whom the AGW represents. (Note: I do not believe the AGW is the bargaining agent for anyone and has never negotiated a contract.) He seems prone to making self-aggrandizing, vaguely messianic statements such as "…having Justice as a core basis of my faith and doing my best to serve it by God’s grace alone…" and "…the courtroom is empty and I am free to serve Justice."
And what do we know about "President" Mike Pruitt. Zip.
The targets of the AGW’s organizing drives are the ramp service employees from US Airways, United Airlines and American Airlines. All of these employees have suffered through painful restructuring either in bankruptcy, in the cases of US Airways and United, or under the threat of bankruptcy in the case of American. All of these employees are currently represented by either the IAM or the TWU. Apparently, the AGW is not interested in organizing employees who have no Union representation. The TWU is currently engaged in an organizing effort at Continental Airlines and spent years working to organize Delta’s ramp employees. The TWU has led successful drives to organize Southwest’s flight attendants and clerks and America West’s clerks. All of these employees lacked Union representation when the TWU began their drives. The AGW, by contrast, are nothing but a bunch of Union-busting predators. Don’t think so? Then why is one of the AGW’s biggest proponents in ORD supplying a link to the National Right to Work Foundation, an organization whose sole purpose it is to undermine organized labor, on the AGW forum website?
If there were to be a representation election and the Allied Ground Workers win, then what would happen? First of all, the contract would remain in force. A new Local would be formed and new officers elected. The AGW Constitution allows for members from more than one employer to makeup a Local so you could be in the same Local as US Airways and United employees. We could end up being led by officers who work at a different airline. An "employer specific" Local could be formed at the discretion of the National Executive Board. (I thought the AGW was supposed to have a "bottom-up" system of governance.) The TWU Local 512 treasury would revert to the TWU International and the new AGW Local would start out with zero dollars. (Under the AGW Constitution, 40% of dues money goes to the International and 60% stays with the Local. The split of initiation fees is 50-50. In the TWU, 70% of dues and 100% of initiation fees remains in the Local.) The new Local and International AGW would be subject to the same federal laws that govern the TWU and all Labor Unions in the airline industry, chiefly the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).
As an officer of Local 512 I am bound by an oath to "…bear true and faithful allegiance to the International and Local Union…" and my Union is the TWU. I take that oath seriously and I do my best to live up to it. The TWU has been the …"exclusive and sole collective bargaining agency…" for fleet service at American since 1946 [TWU/AA Agreement, Article 1(a)]. No organization is perfect, just as no leader is perfect. Just as I am not blind to the internal problems of this organization, I am aware of the external forces that have plagued the industry, particularly the "legacy" carriers such as American, and have created downward pressures on industry wages and benefits. Those pressures are not only economic but political as well. The TWU has weathered many a storm in its half-century of representing employees in the industry. We have been through strikes, airline deregulation, Crandall, the demise of Eastern and Pan Am, 9/11 …but we have survived and we have prospered.
There is no question that this past year has been a horrible one for our members. There is no denying it. The TWU membership made the tough decisions necessary to keep the Company solvent and it appears that American is no longer at risk of filing for bankruptcy. Compare our situation with United, still in bankruptcy, and US Airways, just emerged from bankruptcy. Both of those airlines are asking their employees for further concessions with the threat of seeking relief from a bankruptcy judge if they fail to agree. Both United and US Airways have cut back considerably more of their operations and their workforces than American. American is poised to make a profit this year and the sooner it does so the sooner we will start to recover what we lost in the restructuring agreements. Money-losing companies do not agree to wage and benefit increases in negotiations.
Fraternally,

Glenn Harmon
President
TWU Local 512

 

[pjirish317]

Here is how I think this election will play out. First, The occupy ticket concedes, as their "support" has dried up. Tim, then throws his support towards the LfP ticket. Then cuts a side deal with KA, kisses her arse so to speak, should she pull off the victory, for a position within the district somewhere. As much as Tim despised canoli and his band of misfits, he now will most likely have to kiss tha arse of canoli's "go to" girl. Ironic aint it.

This is of course my opinion.

Although I really can't see Tim playing second fiddle to canoli's "go to" girl. Well, he may be able to play nice until the "go to" girl disagree's with Tim. Kinda like what happened with Tim and the ND. If it aint Tim's way, he has a temper tantrum and takes his ball and goes home. If it is not apparent now that Tim has ALWAYS been about Tim, it really should be. And let's not forget the LfP ticket, full of canoliites, who, IMO, will bring back his by-gone way of doing business. Which is company first, members second. Do we really want that to happen? I certainly do not. Heck, KA, running for PDGC, intentionally put a US person on the UA negotiating team if her ticket wins. Currently on the US negotiating team, only the PDGC, who generally "oversees" the negotiations, is from UA, same with UA, all UA. Who knows, if the LfP ticket wins, US could have UA people negotiating for us. Don't think it cant happen.

 

[Uneed2no]

To all members that supported Tim Nelson. Sit back and watch this week. He and his team will try to convince you they are still in this race, and if they win Phx and clt this week then they still have a shot. Truth is, they are already done!!! Finished!!! They can't win this election. Tim knows this already, and if he was the man he claims he is, he would let everyone know that. Fortunately, there is a lot of us that know Nelson, and knows he won't tell you the truth, because he uses people to his advantage!! Tim after all these years watching you try to decertify the IAM, and now watching you deceive people in thinking you have a shot of winning this!! I actually feel sorry for you!!! Keep what little credibility you have left, and let these people in Phx and clt know the truth.

 

[john john]

IAD is a hub, has been a hub and has been staffed by UA;s own Fleet Service. Capish?

I

Sorry, it was United Express operation at ORD with IAM-represented Ramp Service employees and Customer Service employees working express In exchange for implementing the terms of the Dependability Point System,​

 

[roabilly]

Here is how I think this election will play out. First, The occupy ticket concedes, as their "support" has dried up. Tim, then throws his support towards the LfP ticket. Then cuts a side deal with KA, kisses her arse so to speak, should she pull off the victory, for a position within the district somewhere. As much as Tim despised canoli and his band of misfits, he now will most likely have to kiss tha arse of canoli's "go to" girl. Ironic aint it.

You’re absolutely right PJ...

I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about this... this is not some noble effort to free the membership from oppression ... it’s a struggle for POWER... it’s actually a “will to power”... It’s really that that simple!

I’ve listened to ALL the arguments... dismissed the fiction, and deftly applied REALITY to the equation. Conclusively, the common domination comes down to simple assertions of false hope coming from those who are literally salivating for the “power”... the essence of the statements usually go something like this... “Vote for ME... I’ll fix everything!"~ Does this sound familiar?

We have been over this time and time again in this forum... 700U has consistently presented facts, case history, and federal law governing negotiations and bankruptcy proceedings. Alarmingly, misinformation and propaganda still permeates the workplace among the membership. Case in point, when I speak to some of the supporters of the Occupy and LfP tickets... they insist that their team can do a much better job in negotiations!

Now... let’s stop... rewind... hit slow-mo, and think about this... the current team is STILL in their first EVER round of Section Six Negotiations under the RLA. Further, they have had no chance to either prove... nor disprove the presumption that another team could do better!

Logic tells me (us) that the other teams claiming that they... and they alone... can do better is not based on reality... but on personal political aspirations! So... I’m left with no viable alternative but to call bullshit!

Of course, Friedrich Nietzsche and Aldous Huxley were a little more philosophical regarding this assement...


"Idealism is the noble toga that political gentlemen drape over their will to power." (Aldous Huxley)

“The world itself is the will to power~ and nothing else! And you yourself are the will to power~ and nothing else!” (Friedrich Nietzsche)

 

[john john]

This is from Local Lodge 1759's web page


[background=rgb(242, 242, 242)]Quote[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]IAM LL 1759

Capital Air Lodge 1759 represents airline ground workers at Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Ogden Aviation & Ground Services, Piedmont Airlines, Signature Flight Support, Southwest Airlines, Swissport Fueling, United Airlines and US Airways at Norfolk (ORF), Richmond (RIC), Washington National (DCA) and Dulles International (IAD) Airports.


http://www.iam1759.o...out.htm[/background]

[background=rgb(252, 252, 252)]http://www.iam1759.org/about/about.htm

http://www.iam1759.org/about/about.htm[/background]

The web site is WRONG​

 

[saywhat]

Wild rumor that TN lost PHX. Can anybody confirm? Oh say it isn't so Timmy, this couldn't be true. You had that station in the bag didn't you?

 

[roabilly]

Wild rumor that TN lost PHX. Can anybody confirm? Oh say it isn't so Timmy, this couldn't be true. You had that station in the bag didn't you?

I don't know the numbers... but I do know who is winning!

View attachment 9501


OK CLT... GET OFF YOUR BUTTS AND GO VOTE!
YOUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT!

 

[Harry Callahan]

I voted
Harry

 

[roabilly]

I would like to thank everyone in CLT for the huge turn-out! 141/R won by a landslide with the exception of a few AGC candidates from the LfP team...

CLT has proven instrumental in leading the direction for our future. Thanks to everyone that took the time to vote!

View attachment 9502

NOW... LET'S FOCUS ON A FAIR CBA AND PRE-MERGER SENIORITY PROTECTION!