MM and fellow pilots..
April 1st marks the beginning of the term of office for your new PHL representatives. Your outgoing reps are taking it as the deadline for any last minute agenda that they want to advance prior to their departure. They, specifically John Dubarry, are calling for a special BPR meeting for March 29. You need to ask yourself, why call a meeting with an expansive agenda two days before your new choices take office? The agenda items are so vague they could take this headhunt of a meeting anywhere but it includes an officer and committee code of conduct review, in other words they are planning to pick off a few folks on their way out the door while they still have the chance. Those on the BPR who want to see us change course, PHX in particular (this should tell you all you need to know about our course by the way), understand that when the new PHL reps take office the chances of disrupting our efforts diminish significantly.
These same PHL reps recently made a serious mistake when they published a public recrimination of USAPA leadership that was written by the self proclaimed leader of Leonidas. The pilots literally pounded them with critical emails and phone calls for days for publishing such a irresponsible public response to internal problems. But they didn’t get the message that you have had enough of ALPA style smear campaigns. By the way, if you want to know who is really behind this next destructive effort, just look to the ALPA smear experts in PHL, Ciabattoni, Manear et al.
Now there are a number of reasons that you should be outraged at this slimy behavior, among them is the plain fact that you have elected new representatives, who will take office two days after this special meeting. The outgoing PHL reps are acting in complete ignorance of the fact that you have chosen new reps to make decisions on your behalf and it is they who will have to pick up the pieces in the wake of Doug, Roger and John’s parting rampage. Did they even bother to consult with the new reps about the destructive agenda – NO! - they do not give a damn about the choice you have made for representation, they are going to “represent” you whether you like it or not right up until the very last minute that they have the power to do so, blind to the fact that you disagree with their agenda.
Their defense is that they represent you to the last day in office but this is utter BS. The bald faced truth is that they have thus far failed in their effort to topple the goals that you have set and the leadership structure of the union, an effort that was in absolute disregard of your calls and emails to them telling them to knock it off just a few weeks ago. This disregard for your instructions to them continues and has reached new heights in the form of this special meeting.
As a prelude to this special BPR meeting John, Doug, and Roger have called a PHL base meeting for March 24th. This is not a coincidence, that meeting is sure to be stacked with their minority sycophants who will bring prepackaged resolutions that they will then be “forced” to take to the BPR meeting the following week. The great irony in this is that they will go to that meeting touting that you demanded that these resolutions be carried forward - resolutions that are sure to be aimed at those John, Doug, Roger, and PHX have it in for.
It is impossible to understand what is motivating the current PHL reps. What is clear is that, in vintage ALPA style, they have allowed this to all become very personal and in the process have likely led themselves to believe that they can work with PHX to settle their personal vendettas in exchange for a compromise on the seniority issue. The real problem is that as they do so they need to make commitments with those who want your seniority. So as they take their parting shots, they are willing to place our long term goals in jeopardy. This is, of course, shockingly naive and profoundly dangerous. They are playing with fire in an undeniably reckless fashion and if they aren’t stopped your seniority is going to be torched.
If you want to put an end to this nonsense there are a few things that you can do. Forward this letter to everyone you know, call and email every rep on the BPR as well as the officers for starters. The very most important thing you can do however is show up at the PHL base meeting on the 24th, bring as many people with you as you can so that you outnumber the sympathizers, then get yourselves and your compatriots to the BPR meeting on the 28th and 29th in CLT. Send a strong message that you have had it with this BS.
