TWU Annouces New Drive

[Bob Owens]

Why is the TWU Lying to you?

“Mediation Board Grants Election for 7,000 Continental Fleet Service Workersâ€-from TWU website.

The TWU wants 7000 more dues payers, that’s why.

The TWU will take your money and give you nothing in return except excuses. I know, I’ve been paying dues to the TWU for 20 years.

Here is what they are promising and what you will in fact get.
(From “Election Set†newsletter)

Our Goals are in sight;
…A voice on the job and in bargaining.

At AA the TWU Intnl imposed a hugely concessionary agreement upon the members, the Locals representing those members sued in Federal court where the TWU International argued that the Intnl owns the contract, not the Locals and cited that Unions can impose contracts on their members without ratification. The TWU claimed that the clause in the TWU Constitution that says that membership ratification is guaranteed only applies to the first contract under the RLA. In other words after you ratify your first TWU contract the Intnl can change anything they want afterwards without ratification as they did and do at AA.

…Our own contract. We decide our own contract priorities and vote to ratify our contract.

See above. When I questioned TWU Intnl Treasurer John Kerrigan as to why our Local did not receive their dues check directly from the company as per the TWU Constitution his reply was that the Locals under the AA contract do not own the contract, the Intnl does.

…Respect from management. With our own contract, management will no longer be able to change our work rules, wages and benefits without our approval.

Without OUR (the Intnl) approval, not your approval, and they always give it.

…Job Security. Management will no longer be able to discipline us without cause.

Does management fire people for no reason now? “Just Cause†can be an important thing to have but it can also be abused by those who simply don’t want to work, which means you have to carry those who don’t want to work in the name of unionism. You could find that none of your dues money is actually used to make things better for you but instead being used to pay big salaries for union officials who spend most of their time, and your dues money, defending workers that don’t want to work.

The fact is the TWU is known by those who are stuck with them as The Worst Union. They only want your money. If you need a union by all means get one, just not the TWU.
Bob Owens Member of Local 562



When you go with Jim Little and the TWU you get an organization that has abundant resources when it comes to fighting their own members but nothing when it comes to fighting the company. The $40 or $50 million they have at their disposal is a lot compared to the $30k that the average member earns but nothing compared to the billions that the airlines have at their disposal. So the TWU would rather use their monies to fight members that are critical of their poor leadership than to fight the company in behalf of the membersip. The TWU International regularly uses members dues to payoff those they have committed illegal acts against. The ATD does not even have a budget, dues and COPE monies from the ATD locals are diverted for use by other locals in completely different industries in order to strengthen the Internationals hold on power. Elected TWU local officials are forced to swear an oath to the International, not the members that elect them, should a local official fight for their members the Intnl will remove them either directly or by working with the company to have them terminated on trumped up charges.

Go union, just not the TWU.

 

[ramper_in_las]

Lets look at what the twu has done for me:
17.5% paycut

loss of 1 week vacation

loss of 7 days of sick time per year

First 2 days of sick time at half pay

gave away 5 holidays

Decreased amount of vacation time accrued.

Lifted the job protection clause so the company would not be penalized for reloacating me. Loss of 12,000.

Cant win a greivance to save thier life even when they have the contract to back them up.

Run and dont look back lest ye turn into a pillar of salt.

I have to interject here. TWU empowers its membership to take care of its issues and the Ineternational has your back. So the grievance process is handled by your representatives you voted in. I encourage you to get more involved with your union processes and let your voices be heard...

 

[ramper_in_las]

Looks like the ICEMAN go-eth.

Thats what you get with the TWU, if they cant dictate they dont participate.

nothing but jibberish when i read your propaganda. Your airline managemant needs to accept culpability in the loss of your pay. the responsability does not lie souly on TWU shoulders...

Based on what? Do you also base your opinions on people by their complexion? I think you have a dumb opinion.

Unions are run by people, and people have flaws. I truly believe in the concept of unionism but just as some people have more flaws than others so do some unions. Just as some people are crooks some unions are corrupt.

Unions like the TWU have more flaws and are more corrupt than others due to the people that the undemocratic structure of the TWU puts, and keeps, in place. Thats how they ended up with people like Little, Gless and Yingst running it.

Like I said before by all means get a union but not just any union, especially the TWU.

Again flame bait!!!

TWU has the best FA contract out there currently,

TWU 556 best FA contract
and lets not forget TWU 555 Ramp contract is best by default because of all the legacy pay cuts. Agian all of your executives need to accept responsabilty for the money lost at all your airlines and lets not forget to mention the huge bonuses they keep getting for running an airline into bankruptcy...

One of my biggest contentions with unions in general is their absolute insistance on protecting the midiocre and sub par workers, while ignoring, and at times chastising, the heavy hitters. I would opine that if unions were to reverse this trend,as well as amend the seniority system some how to allow for merit vise simply longevity, they would recover much of the support and respect lost over the last 30 years....mine included.

How can they. All members pay their dues. So all members should get fair representation. I am not defending the rogue worker just equal representation...

 

[TWU informer]

Go ahead and go TWU you fools!

But be ready, because you will lose all company paid insurance policies and then pay for it out of pocket with the "new improved" TWU solicited insurance replacement.

If you will not listen to those that have TWU and are as disruntled as it gets, then you deserve what you will get when the TWU dictators come to take your dues money from your paycheck!

 

[Boomer]

I've been TWU, by force, for almost twenty years;

During that time they have done nothing but lead the class and craft downward.

In the AA/TWU Concessions of 2003, it was claimed that the contract was sacrificed to save jobs, yet three years later we have lost thousands of jobs and are being continuously forced to re-negotiate through JLT/CI just to keep the jobs we have. Since the overhaul makes up the majority of our membership, the line is faced with a no win situation.

The TWU has already stated in Federal Court that they OWN the contract, not the membership.

The TWU was able to negotiate Industry Leading Contracts at airlines that were Low Cost Carriers, and therefore profitable; or, at airlines in which they also captured the Maintenance and Related, like AA.

At CAL, if the Ramp chooses the TWU and you are faced with a similar organizing drive your options become dimmer: you were already forced to give up overhaul. If you choose the TWU, they will force you into concessions to get overhaul back into their dues regime. All the while the Ramp will outnumber you in creating the guidlines for negotiations.

Don't fall for the hype, don't elect the TWU.

 

[TIME FOR CHANGE]

I just recieved an e-mail from my union prez about the continental twu represented election.

If you people at continental go twu get ready for 20 years of concessions.

Look at the current twu contract at AA which was gutted back to the stone age.

The twu has negotiated a concession in one way or another for the past 15 years at AA. That is a fact

So if you are ready for the BOHICA then vote yes.

All paragraphs in the current blue book are crossed out with red lines because of all the stuff we gave away.

Ask Jimmy Dolittle to send you a copy of the AA blue book
That will show you how much we gave away

If you do vote yes you all have my condolences


TWU=Totally Worthless Union

 

[Bob Owens]

nothing but jibberish when i read your propaganda. Your airline managemant needs to accept culpability in the loss of your pay. the responsability does not lie souly on TWU shoulders...

Jim Little came from AA management and he is the one who put AA contracts in place without membership ratification. Want proof? I'll send you a copy of his testimony under oath.

Again flame bait!!!
TWU 556 best FA contract
and lets not forget TWU 555 Ramp contract is best by default because of all the legacy pay cuts.

All the contracts at SWA are the best in the industry. The fact is the TWU represented FAs were the last group to get an industry leading contract and as you said their FS group became industry leading by default.In reality thats what happened to the TWU represented FAs, SWA delayed a settlement until after every other airline got concessions, that made SWA industry leading. TWU represented workers were the only unionized workers at SWA to NOT have an industry leading contract for an extended period of time. So it wasnt the TWU that got them industry leading, it was the fact that every other group had industry leading contracts in place and the spread between TWU represented FAs and the legacies is narrower than the spread between SWA mechanics and the legacies.

Agian all of your executives need to accept responsabilty for the money lost at all your airlines and lets not forget to mention the huge bonuses they keep getting for running an airline into bankruptcy...

The difference is that its up to the stockholders to fire the executives if they are unhappy with their performance because THEY PAY the executives, not us, however WE pay the union and they should be accountable to us but with the TWU they are not. You mention that these executives get huge bonuses but you leave out the fact that Jim Little has seen his pay double while imposing concessions on the members.

How can they. All members pay their dues. So all members should get fair representation. I am not defending the rogue worker just equal representation...

With the TWU you do not get representation, you just pay dues so leaders that came from management can tell you that you should be lucky you have a job and be willing to give concesions in order to keep it.

The fact is that Continental workers have nothing to gain by joining the TWU, in fact they will lose pay because they have to fork over two hours gross pay per month.

The sad fact is the scab does make a valid point. Sometimes the only ones who benifit from TWU representation are those who should be fired. In fact when Sonny Hall retired he wrote that his introduction into unionism came when the TWU prevented him from being fired, and he admitted that he should have been fired. With that he said "Thats when I learned what unionism is about". Sadly that mentality is what the TWU is all about, unionism is about getting workers, not slackers, fair pay and benifits, but for the TWU thats not the case.

I just recieved an e-mail from my union prez about the continental twu represented election.

If you people at continental go twu get ready for 20 years of concessions.

Look at the current twu contract at AA which was gutted back to the stone age.

The twu has negotiated a concession in one way or another for the past 15 years at AA. That is a fact

So if you are ready for the BOHICA then vote yes.

All paragraphs in the current blue book are crossed out with red lines because of all the stuff we gave away.

Ask Jimmy Dolittle to send you a copy of the AA blue book
That will show you how much we gave away

If you do vote yes you all have my condolences
TWU=Totally Worthless Union

What did the E-mail say?