Politics

Yesterday evening on the way home from Florida I met President Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs. We had a very brief conversation and he seemed like a decent man. I was glad I got that opportunity and it led me to reflect on the plane ride home about politics in this country.

First while Mr. Gibbs is not an elected official, access to him as well as members of congress, and state and local politicians is what makes this country great. To be able to voice concerns or support free of the fear of retribution is an invaluable liberty yearned for by many citizens of countries that are less fortunate.

I then thought about the current political climate and how it relates to us. When we as a country put those issues which have no impact on our everyday lives on a political pedestal, we haved doomed ourselves to pay for not keeping our eye on the prize. What is the prize? In my mind it's the American dream, a good paying job, a decent education and a nice home for my family. All of those require work but can be achieved when roadblocks to access are torn down. Things like good student loan programs, the GI bill, and banking regulations that protect us all are good for the country. In other words politics affects the pocketbook. I wonder why more Americans aren't demanding that the crazy fringe return to their caves and let serious people fix the problems facing this great land. For me I look forward to that day because of the prosperity it will bring to us all.

I urge each of you to reach out to your elected officials. Share your thoughts and ideas on how to improve the economy. I'm not happy with the obstructionism the country currently faces, but because this is a great country, I will be writing my Congresswoman and urging her to make compromises to move us forward. She will undoubtedly disagree with me and put party politics over the welfare of the country. But I don't have to worry about being drug out my house and shot or hanged. That unfettered access to our leaders is what makes this country great.

I hope you all have a great weekend. Look for the Mechanics Dispatch and Week in Review emails over the weekend.

Social media

Do you use Facebook, Twitter, Google +, or any other social media? I certainly do and generally don't even think about it. But after today's meeting that attitude has certainly changed. Many of the companies we work for routinely monitor these social media sites in an effort to watch your activities. This in itself is nothing new but I've learned today that several members have been discharged at different companies using what is posted to bolster company cases against our members. Please use social media responsibly, don't post that you are at a big game, party, or other event when you called out sick. Similarly don't post before your shift that you are in no condition to work. Common sense should be the rule here. 

This week's agenda

Packing for a trip to Florida this evening and leaving Monday afternoon. Tomorrow the United Mechanic's seniority integration team flies in for continuing work on the amalgamated seniority list and rules for moving forward. At the same time the Airline Division Board of Directors is meeting so it will be a busy week.

Look for the update in the Mechanics Dispatch for the seniority integration committee meeting and watch the Week in Review for a report on the Board of Directors meeting.

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope each of you are able to spend time with family and friends to enjoy this holiday. I'm thankful for knowing many of you as friends. Be careful if you're traveling and I hope you have a great meal.

Update

It's been some time since I've had the opportunity to sit down and update this blog. Today I've updated the links, took down some old things and just basically did some house keeping. If you see something that doesn't work or would like something added please let me know.

In the header it now says that this is a blog about my role as an Airline Division Rep. While I still see the guys from IAD I no longer represent them on a full time basis as their Chief Steward. That role has been passed to Jay Koreny. When he puts up a blog a will add a link in the useful links section.

For those that haven't seen the most recent Mechanics Dispatch the issue of whether or not there will be an appeal of the Consent Decree by the IBT or the respective Locals was discussed and it can be found here  http://www.teamster.org/content/ualcalcmi-mechanics-weekly-update. The readers digest version is that we will be moving forward with negotiations and the Consent Decree will be the driver for seniority integration.

Negotiations have been moved back due to the availability of staff at the NMB. While the process is somewhat delayed the parties all continue to desire a quick resolution to the amalgamated agreement.

I've also been working on the Frontier Mechanics negotiations. That process has moved along at a good pace and we should be  discussing the economic package soon.

Many of you may know that there are organizing drives currently happening at American Airlines and USAirways. I've had some involvement in each of these campaigns and truly hope they're successful. If those two groups join us we will represent over 30,000 mechanics. That brings increased bargaining power with the companies we work for and political capital on the Hill when we lobby for items that affect our craft. If you'd like to get involved please let me know and I'll forward your information to the organizing department.

I found the airline mechanics site a while ago and have added their forum to the Mechanics Dispatch useful links. They have copies of all the industry CBA's and a forum for discussion open to all mechanics.

I'll try to keep up with this blog but the next couple of months are going to be very busy with the talks for an amalgamated agreement. Thank you for your patience and please check back for updates.

That's all for now except to say that I'm wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving.  

Election tomorrow

As many longtime readers know, I lean to the left politically because of the effect on jobs and working conditions. As an airline employee having gone through bankruptcy there is one clear choice in tomorrow's election and that is President Obama. If you need only one reason to vote for him look to the PBGC. Under President Bush's appointed head of that organization pensions at United were scrapped while under President Obama's appointed head of the PBGC American's  plans were only frozen. That's a huge distinction and benefit for the American Airlines workers.

For another reason please read the following which was sent from a retired United employee and friend;

The Need for Greed  /  By L. David Sulewski

I find it rather hypocritical that so many people running for public office  propagandize about the decline of American family values and the decline of the US economy at the same time they support multinational corporations as they invest 3.6 Billion dollars (as of 2010) in communist China to expand US manufacturing in that country. More than 2.6 million American jobs have been lost since 2001 as a result of big multinational corporations cutting their American work force while increasing their foreign workforce by 2.4 million. So when politicians talk about “strong family values”, they need to be  reminded  of the difficulty of keeping a family together when your job has been moved to foreign country to satisfy the “Need For Greed” by multinational corporate elitist and Wall Street investors.

 A major contributing factor to the current budget deficit is the fact that due to certain provisions in the US tax code, multinational corporations  can shelter their considerable foreign made wealth in foreign banks (Cayman Islands for example) to avoid paying “Foreign Profits Tax”. These are taxes that would help support the economy and help off-set the deficit in the United States. This illustrates a callous disregard for workers and communities in the United States on the part of the multinational corporations. General Electric, for example, paid no corporate taxes in 2010 on a global income of $14.2 billion while collecting 3.2 billion from the US in the form of a subsidy. In addition, General Electric has an estimated 62 billion in earnings sheltered in foreign banks to avoid paying taxes.

Not too many years ago, investing Billions of dollars in a communist foreign country would have been considered a breach of allegiance, however now because of corporate and Wall Street, “Need for Greed” it is an acceptable practice discounting the damage it causes our country’s economy and our way of life.