I had the pleasure of attending the TWU COPE Conference this past spring.
"What was the most important, most fervently presented issue", you might ask?
Was it the ATSB, and the anti-labor language in it?
NO.
Was is Government interference in the Longshoremans dispute?
NO.
Was it the TSA?
NO.
Was it the huge concessions that were being extracted from USAIR and UAL?
NO.
Besides Elaine Chao's blast into the labor movement over its failure to police itself the most energy of the Convention centered around proposals to make the LM-2, the financial report that all labor organizations must present to the DOL, more detailed. Leaders such as Sonny Hall and Rojer Taust looked like they were about to explode when they were talking about this. They were concerned that their "enemies" would use this information. Well maybe they should concentrate on using the funds that we provide with more discretion then their "enemies" would have nothing to say. If they ran things correctly such reports could be used to dismiss the claim that unions are run by corrupt "bosses" who only care about themselves.
Then again, even the old forms present enough to make members question if their dues are being spent wisely. For instance;
In 2000 the TWU International spent $192,867 for automobiles. In 2001 they spent an additional $58,852, followed in 2002 with a whopping $345,062.
In 2000 they sold $35,000 worth of automobiles, (LM-2 online info only goes back to 2000). In 2001 they did not sell any cars. In 2002 they sold $14,000 worth of cars.
Over the last three years they spent $596781 on cars. Thats a Fleet of 12 new Caddilacs at $50,0000 each. Or 24 Chevy Caprice's at $25,000 each. How many International Officers are there and do they all need cars? With the six figure salaries they command is it unreasonable to expect them to buy their own cars?The Internationals office is in Midtown Manhattan, nobody needs to drive to Manhattan, certainly not Union officials that represent Mass Transit workers. Kind of like having a UAW official buy a Toyota, dont you think?
According to the LM-2 the cost basis for these cars was $596,895 in 2000, plus the $58,852 in 2001 equaled $655,747 in 2001, but then the numbers dont add up in 2002 when they spent $345,062, it should have gone up to $1,000,809 but the LM-2 only says $728,840. What happened there?
Why are these cars sold for so little money?
Is the TWU buying cars for top dollar then selling them dirt cheap to someone who then resells them at a huge markup? Could they be selling and replacing six- two year old Caddys, $14000 to the Union and the rest to themselves? How would we know? How could we check? How would such information that included more details be harmful to the union unless something shady was going on, and isnt a shady misuse of dues harmful to the union in itself? What is more harmful, the misuse or the revelation of the misuse? Well that depends on whether you are Sonny Hall or the membership of the TWU.
Another interesting trend is Sonny Halls pay.
2000-$181,286
2001-$185,921
2002-$200988
It will be interesting to see how Sonny "Shared the pain" next year.
The fact is that Sonny is not accountable to us. He can spend our money, take away our money and never has to answer to any of us. Despite this he wants us to fight for his right to spend our money without our consent, take away our money without our consent and not even let us be privy to know where OUR money is going.
Sonny and his gang try to imply that they use money in covert ways in our interest and these laws will expose that. The fact is if I had someone there who was accountable I might be inclined to believe him, but we do not have that and Sonny's track record has not earned him such trust. The Cars and salaries alone could be examples of how our funds are used not for us, but to enrich those who have gotten us twenty years of concessions and who remain out of reach from the membership they claim to serve.
Its time for a change. Lets get Unions that are accountable- AMFA, AGW.
ALL aircraft mechanics in ONE UNION.
ALL non-certificated ground workers in ONE UNION.
As Airline workers we have given the old structure of having our respective professions being divided up along corporate lines twenty years to recover and come up with a strategy to deal with deregulation. THEY HAVE FAILED-UTTERLY.
They will not change for us, we will never have the numbers to change the TWU, IAM or IBT internally.
If you agree that 20 years of concessions is unacceptable then there is only one option. LEAVE these failing unions behind and form new, industrywide, instead of company-wide, unions. Unions that will activley seek to have us all join together in order to maximize our wages instead of unions that ally themselves with the companies we work for in an effort to give their host company a competive edge in labor costs over other union companies through concessions and paycuts.
We need unions that will fight for us, not for our employer and against us.
We need unions that will seek to get more members by actively seeking them from every airline out there instead of trying to get more members by helping their host company put the other company out of business, thus allowing the host company to expand and swell the ranks of dues payers.
The unions have put us all in "A RACE TO THE BOTTOM". And we pay them two hours pay per month to lead us to our own destruction. As Thomas Paine said over 200 years ago " our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
If you believe in unionism, basic unionism that seeks to elevate the living standards of workers, and not business unionism that only seeks to swell the treasury then fill out a card for either the AMFA or the AGW. Its your money, and its your right. Your dues can work for you, or provide six figure salaries and expensive cars for the unaccountable Sonny Hall and the unelectable unaccountable flunkies he surrounds himself with.
"What was the most important, most fervently presented issue", you might ask?
Was it the ATSB, and the anti-labor language in it?
NO.
Was is Government interference in the Longshoremans dispute?
NO.
Was it the TSA?
NO.
Was it the huge concessions that were being extracted from USAIR and UAL?
NO.
Besides Elaine Chao's blast into the labor movement over its failure to police itself the most energy of the Convention centered around proposals to make the LM-2, the financial report that all labor organizations must present to the DOL, more detailed. Leaders such as Sonny Hall and Rojer Taust looked like they were about to explode when they were talking about this. They were concerned that their "enemies" would use this information. Well maybe they should concentrate on using the funds that we provide with more discretion then their "enemies" would have nothing to say. If they ran things correctly such reports could be used to dismiss the claim that unions are run by corrupt "bosses" who only care about themselves.
Then again, even the old forms present enough to make members question if their dues are being spent wisely. For instance;
In 2000 the TWU International spent $192,867 for automobiles. In 2001 they spent an additional $58,852, followed in 2002 with a whopping $345,062.
In 2000 they sold $35,000 worth of automobiles, (LM-2 online info only goes back to 2000). In 2001 they did not sell any cars. In 2002 they sold $14,000 worth of cars.
Over the last three years they spent $596781 on cars. Thats a Fleet of 12 new Caddilacs at $50,0000 each. Or 24 Chevy Caprice's at $25,000 each. How many International Officers are there and do they all need cars? With the six figure salaries they command is it unreasonable to expect them to buy their own cars?The Internationals office is in Midtown Manhattan, nobody needs to drive to Manhattan, certainly not Union officials that represent Mass Transit workers. Kind of like having a UAW official buy a Toyota, dont you think?
According to the LM-2 the cost basis for these cars was $596,895 in 2000, plus the $58,852 in 2001 equaled $655,747 in 2001, but then the numbers dont add up in 2002 when they spent $345,062, it should have gone up to $1,000,809 but the LM-2 only says $728,840. What happened there?
Why are these cars sold for so little money?
Is the TWU buying cars for top dollar then selling them dirt cheap to someone who then resells them at a huge markup? Could they be selling and replacing six- two year old Caddys, $14000 to the Union and the rest to themselves? How would we know? How could we check? How would such information that included more details be harmful to the union unless something shady was going on, and isnt a shady misuse of dues harmful to the union in itself? What is more harmful, the misuse or the revelation of the misuse? Well that depends on whether you are Sonny Hall or the membership of the TWU.
Another interesting trend is Sonny Halls pay.
2000-$181,286
2001-$185,921
2002-$200988
It will be interesting to see how Sonny "Shared the pain" next year.
The fact is that Sonny is not accountable to us. He can spend our money, take away our money and never has to answer to any of us. Despite this he wants us to fight for his right to spend our money without our consent, take away our money without our consent and not even let us be privy to know where OUR money is going.
Sonny and his gang try to imply that they use money in covert ways in our interest and these laws will expose that. The fact is if I had someone there who was accountable I might be inclined to believe him, but we do not have that and Sonny's track record has not earned him such trust. The Cars and salaries alone could be examples of how our funds are used not for us, but to enrich those who have gotten us twenty years of concessions and who remain out of reach from the membership they claim to serve.
Its time for a change. Lets get Unions that are accountable- AMFA, AGW.
ALL aircraft mechanics in ONE UNION.
ALL non-certificated ground workers in ONE UNION.
As Airline workers we have given the old structure of having our respective professions being divided up along corporate lines twenty years to recover and come up with a strategy to deal with deregulation. THEY HAVE FAILED-UTTERLY.
They will not change for us, we will never have the numbers to change the TWU, IAM or IBT internally.
If you agree that 20 years of concessions is unacceptable then there is only one option. LEAVE these failing unions behind and form new, industrywide, instead of company-wide, unions. Unions that will activley seek to have us all join together in order to maximize our wages instead of unions that ally themselves with the companies we work for in an effort to give their host company a competive edge in labor costs over other union companies through concessions and paycuts.
We need unions that will fight for us, not for our employer and against us.
We need unions that will seek to get more members by actively seeking them from every airline out there instead of trying to get more members by helping their host company put the other company out of business, thus allowing the host company to expand and swell the ranks of dues payers.
The unions have put us all in "A RACE TO THE BOTTOM". And we pay them two hours pay per month to lead us to our own destruction. As Thomas Paine said over 200 years ago " our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer.
If you believe in unionism, basic unionism that seeks to elevate the living standards of workers, and not business unionism that only seeks to swell the treasury then fill out a card for either the AMFA or the AGW. Its your money, and its your right. Your dues can work for you, or provide six figure salaries and expensive cars for the unaccountable Sonny Hall and the unelectable unaccountable flunkies he surrounds himself with.
