Message from IAM President Thomas Buffenbarger

[Bob Owens]

Buffy left out the fact that he makes three or four times more than the average IAM member, thanks to them. The domestic car that he probably has in his driveway was probably puchased with the members dues, not his, and his pension, health benifits, vacation etc are probably far superior to anything that he recommended for his members.

Go for it fellas. Its time for mechanics to unite under one organization, hopefully the other workers of this industry will do the same.

If you get a chance read the SEUIs paper "Together We Win".

757fixer

thats a very big "exception".

 

[757fixer]

Hey! I'm slam'n the IAM,not AMFA.

 

[delldude]

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On 7/28/2003 4:24:42 PM insp89 wrote:

T-bone, Surely you must realize NW mechanics are making thousands of dollars more per year than either UAL or U mechanics .... Also you must surely realize that NW is not alone in the "laying off " department. Have any ideal how many mechanics UAL & U have laid off ??? Do you actually want to bring up the "farming out " issue ? We'll see what the IAM can do about the Airbus work over at U..

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NWA can afford to pay those higher wages as AMFA has let the company vendor out a huge percentage of their work...less mech's = more cash to go around.
WN-teamsters negotiate contract,AMFA maintains it,collects dues and rakes in the money....
U-if it comes to it,IAM negotiated 6 year modified contract,AMFA comes in,maintains it and rakes in dues money for nothing.membership sees higher dues structure,hidden BS about grievance payouts,hidden BS about everyrthing ,calls for another runoff.......IAM may have some problems but one biggie here at U is the membership.the membership has no spine.....all whine no spine.....AMFA hits 'em in the pocketbook...it'll be whine whine whine,somebody please bring the cheese.
Don't count your chickens over the 'S' check issue.....its not a done deal until its done one way or the other.

 

[insp89]

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On 7/28/2003 1145 PM delldude wrote:

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On 7/28/2003 4:24:42 PM insp89 wrote:

T-bone,  Surely you must realize NW mechanics are making thousands of dollars more per year than either UAL or U mechanics .... Also you must surely realize that NW is not alone in the "laying off " department.  Have any ideal how many mechanics UAL & U have laid off ???  Do you actually want to bring up the "farming out " issue ?  We'll see what the IAM can do about the Airbus work over at U..

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NWA can afford to pay those higher wages as AMFA has let the company vendor out a huge percentage of their work...less mech's = more cash to go around.
WN-teamsters negotiate contract,AMFA maintains it,collects dues and rakes in the money....
U-if it comes to it,IAM negotiated 6 year modified contract,AMFA comes in,maintains it and rakes in dues money for nothing.membership sees higher dues structure,hidden BS about grievance payouts,hidden BS about everyrthing ,calls for another runoff.......IAM may have some problems but one biggie here at U is the membership.the membership has no spine.....all whine no spine.....AMFA hits 'em in the pocketbook...it'll be whine whine whine,somebody please bring the cheese.
Don't count your chickens over the 'S' check issue.....its not a done deal until its done one way or the other.

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Hey, Great news for UAL mechanics!!, Since the IAM negotiated away the Heavy Maint.work,, UAL can now afford to pay higher wages to the mechanics that are LEFT.[Yeah,Right]. Please believe me, I'm with you 100% on the Airbus work at U..There's no doubt this work belongs to the mechanics at U !! I have just lost a tremendous amount of confidence in an organization that decides to hold a "re-vote" on the SAME concesionary contract amendment.

 

[delldude]

insp89........................like living in a galaxy------------we are not alone!

 

[PITbull]

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On 7/27/2003 6:53:00 PM JonC wrote:

What a crock....the only thing the IAM did for me was freeze my pay for four years while they fuddled around "aggressively" purusing a contract. Then they negotiated a contract with a pay cut in it, then as a final gesture of good will - they gave back the no-furlough clause and threw me on the street. Forget the "be thankful that you still have your job" crap, because the IAM even took that away from me. They should have sunk the entire ship before a single person was laid off. When the BK courts imposed cuts, we should have engaged in wildcatting like it's never been seen before. Ooooh, it's illegal....so isn't the crap that the IAM did to us. Where is the thuggishness that made unions something to fear?

The union leadership has no teeth. The IAM should have been loudly rattling sabres with management rather than negotiating give-backs. They should have made it clear that if they wanted cuts - mechanics and related were not the place to look or ask. Start with the BOD and management, then look elsewhere. But don't ask me for a dime.

I'm glad to know that my dues money went to something constructive.

The IAM needs to go. They sold me out. They sold you out. I hate my current job, or at least compared to what was taken from me.

Vote AMFA, just because it ain't the MIA IAM.

Jon C.

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JonC,

With all due respect to you and your group,

It is not my place to butt into your affairs at IAM. You folks know internally what is going on politically then what we on the outside will ever know. And just tell me to "shut up", and I most certainly will...

But, please don't forget, these concessions were imposed NOT negotiated. It was an ALL or nothing deal. The difference between the summer and winter deal is that the summer, the mangement made it APPEAR that it was negotiated by making us who sat at the table go through the exercise of figuring out how to get to that damn "bogie" number. In the end, they took it all. Everything they ever dreamed and wanted. BK would have surely taken your "furlough" language. As it would have taken AFAs, which was THE impotus to all that has ensued. We can all second guess ourselves and in retrospect say Hell, we should have just let them take it in BK, take our chances and do a "job action" after. But, we all know, that we as members would never have supported striking for fear of liquidation. So, its all moot.

I realize the anger and understand more than you know. Some of the management in the upper ranks who make their business to bust unions, enjoys so much the discontent among the union ranks.

Yes, I wish most of the leaders had some damn balls in the summer, and take it from me who was extremely up close and personal with these negotiations,and the "gutting" of our contracts, sickened me personally to death. I woke up every morning in the hotel room wanting to throw up, but nothing came up. I was NOT able to convince not only my own negotiatiers and MEC, but the majority of the labor coalition that with these types of concessions would permeate into the entire industry. I perceived all of this as a form of union busting, and for what? An ATSB loan? And now look what is happening and where we sit today; hating our union, with 20,000 less employees, and a CEO who is infamous for "revolutionizing the industry by making us a LCC with substandard wages. Tell me that this is not a covert operation from mangement... The most vocal neotiators at the labor coalition was, believe me or not, CWA. They knew, in a relative sense, they would be hit the hardest with concessions and furloughs. Hell, just look at their vote in the winter, only passed by 5. And God bless the PIT f/as, they voted it DOWN, liquidaton threat or not. Pittsburgh, no matter how vocal, was not able to convince everyone, so whose to blame, the leadership?

Keep in mind too, that no union other than ALPA, was willing to talk to the company on anything in Dec. We were all forced that last week to come ASAP or liquidation city by Friday, Dec. 20th at 6:00 pm. Remember?

All I ask is to keep things in prospective and think back the history of last year to present...take it from someone who was in those trenches and OPPOSED with venom! Geez, I should write a damn book.

PS. Before you guys go and "oust" any IAM union, better find out what happens to your defined pensions within your present contract, also the scope. These two issues are most important pieces to the "rank" when switching unions. Find out who has rights to the contract IAM or not. I don't know or I would tell you for sure.

 

[insp89]

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On 7/29/2003 1137 PM delldude wrote:


insp89........................like living in a galaxy------------we are not alone!

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delldude, Could you please translate your last post ???