I read with astonishment the August 2009 Issue number 1 from the Committee for a Democratic Union. This is the group of mostly ex AMFA Local Nine officers seeking to toss out the IBT and replace them with the IAM.
"Not at a single Teamster top official representing us is elected by UAL mechanics."
This statement is from the opening paragraph of the newsletter. I'm sure you all remember these same statements in regards to John Peterpaul, Tom Buffenbarger, or Robert Roach. Now however after leading us into an abyss that we may never recover from, these guys have found religion. Now that the IAM has seen a grassroots movement to replace elected officers in District 141 and 143 all is well. This is from the Q&A section of the newsletter. The truth is it took these guys more than six years after removing the IAM to come to the realization that they could vote on their representatives. In addition they had to be schooled on the process by those oft maligned "unskilled" ramp and customer service employees.
"The IAM promised, in writing, that we can set up our own locals and district complete with a new set of bylaws." This was also from the Q&A section. I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. Are they serious? First this idea was tried but found wanting by the membership because of these guys continually dismissing it as AMFA-lite. Second this written promise will last for a year at the outside if ever implemented. Do these guys not understand the finances behind separate Locals and Districts or are they lying to you to promote themselves? The IAM has had a precipitous loss in membership and that leads to consolidation to preserve resources. This is Union Finance 101. It would be wildly irresponsible to do business in a different manner. You the membership deserve quality representation. The ugly truth of that is this comes at a cost. There is no "free lunch".
Moving on, "As most long-time union workers at United Airlines know, contract negotiations usually extend from one to two years after
the amendable date. The items of greatest interest to members on the floor pay and benefits,
don't usually get settled until the very end of the negotiations. The current contract does not become
amendable until December 31, 2009. A change of unions during
2010 will not materially disrupt negotiations. The lAM already represents several groups at UAL including ramp, stores,
maintenance instructors and public contact employees. It can
smoothly transition into the bargaining agent for the mechanics and related." These guys know, or should know, that all language matters and a serious card drive will materially disrupt negotiations. A smooth transition is near impossible as new Reps will need to be installed and trained. That is unless we have the IAM Air Transport Department finish up the negotiations and have President Buffenbarger accept an agreement for us without a vote as is his right under the IAM Constitution. Do you remember that little item? I sure do as these guys beat the IAM Reps with this constantly. The only thing they got right in this passage is the general amount of time it takes to negotiate an agreement under the RLA and the amendable date.
Do you think we will be embraced when we come back? Even IAM Officers were denied honorary withdrawal cards when we left. If you can find one, ask an old Eastern Shuttle mechanic how this works. The Shuttle Mechanics had to go to Federal Court to sue for their seniority rights to be enforced after returning from AMFA. This was because the IAM decided these rights were not valid even though they were clearly spelled out in the CBA.
"There have been visible signs of the advantages of being in the Machinists Union…" This is also from the question and answer section. These are the very same guys that proclaimed the "Fighting Machinists" a joke during the 2003 campaign. What I have to ask is, were they misinformed (fools) or lying to you then? If the answer is yes to either, why should they warrant the time of day now?
That's all for now,
Bob
