The latest Local Council 41 meeting in Philadelphia is now behind us, and you, the pilots, have spoken. The vote was one of resounding support for your local reps, and for that we thank you. The recall motion on the agenda failed, being voted down by a vote of 388 against to 188 in favor--a better than two to one majority.
To all of our credit, the meeting was conducted in a civil manner, and all of the pilots of Council 41 behaved professionally. The balloting began at 12 noon as soon as the meeting was called to order. Both the proxy certification process and ballot certification process were conducted with the utmost professionalism and accuracy by the six volunteers. It took a total of five hours and five minutes to process the votes of the 176 pilots who attended the meeting and their 388 proxies. We would like to thank the three volunteers on the proxy certification board, Mark Wolfrum, Dave Ciabattoni, and James Garbett, and the three volunteers on the ballot certification board, Mike Saint, Denny Jones, and James Walther for their herculean efforts. The final official tally wasn't completed until approximately 9 pm by Mike Saint. If you see any of these men around the crew room, be sure to thank them for all of their hard work.
We are also grateful for the personal effort a large number of pilots put forward to attend this important meeting. To take another scarce day off and spend it in such a way indicates that you fully understood what was at stake.
Now, as we close the page on this chapter of local politics, we would like to use the results of this meeting as the necessary foundation, not for division, but rather for greater unity within our council. There is no doubt that a difficult summer lies ahead, and our pilot group needs to present a unified front to the company, as we are all in this together.
As in any organization, there are differences of opinion on many matters. Your representatives are aware of and respect those differences. However, we cannot dwell on the items that separate us. Instead, we must focus our attention on the items that bind us together in an effort to secure that which is best for this entire pilot group. We cannot allow the personal agendas of a few vocal individuals to detract from this singularly most important goal, and we ask your support in this worthy endeavor. Remember, together we will prevail.