Dear Jim,
Since you were approached by the San Francisco Committee and admitted to being the author of the recent IAM Mechanics for Change letter, this is addressed to you.
I don't know you, so I ask this with all due respect; do you suffer from an alcohol or drug addiction, or some form of mental disorder? If so, please accept my apologies in advance for the following letter.
Your recent missive included a reference to the third step of the grievance procedure. Are you really suggesting to this membership that it is better to wait years (sometimes never) to have a grievance heard because you think it is better to have the rights to a steno report? Are you telling people if they are terminated that waiting 18 to 24 months to get a fair hearing, as opposed to two months, is better than this right? How many attorneys were ever involved in the third step of the process? Damn few is the answer and you should know that. Are you telling this group that having a one sided answer written by Labor Relations and which is intended to influence an arbitrator is really in their best interest?
Under District 141M, the third step was known as the "black hole" for a reason. Time limits negotiated into the 2000 CBA were supposed to address the problem, but unfortunately those limits didn't work. Fortunately the IBT had a solution to this more than a decades old problem. The IBT proposed a solution that they use at several other carriers and which works at those other carriers. The IBT then got the Company to agree to use that solution for the betterment of the entire membership here at United. The IBT inherited hundreds of third step grievances from AMFA, similar to what AMFA inherited from the IAM. You know this, as you used the number of outstanding grievances as a campaign tool when you were working to unseat the IAM, and then saw the backlog while you were an agent for AMFA prior to the turnover. To date, because of this new process systemwide, third step grievances have been reduced by around 67%. Are you really advocating a position that erases these gains? You want to return to a broken past because you like steno reporters? Your vision is really warped.
One other point I would like to make; it is the act of a cowardly individual to attack another person when they can't defend themselves. You did this when you attacked my good friend Rich Petrovsky. Sir, make no mistake, you are a coward, and your actions in this regard do nothing to better the membership. This cheap political attack is completely reprehensible.
In case you're not sure what a signature looks like, one follows.
Proudly signed,
Bob Fisher
