PCL -128
Your slogan “You Are the Union” always sounds good during a campaign (something I do expect from a Union organizer like you). Or Pilots will have a voice if you vote in a union – your opinion will count. Who wouldn't vote for that? Great Union sales pitch but far from the truth. Just consider the mechanics of how unions listen to the voice of their constituency.
If JBPA is voted in, the only thing they won is an election for the right to speak on behalf of JB Pilots for the purpose of collective bargaining. That's it.
So it is not accurate to say that the individual Pilot has a voice in a union. In fact the opposite is true. In fact Pilots lose their individual voice the minute a union is voted in and give that voice to the union.
JBPA may listen to some of the Pilots (mostly to politically connected with JBPA leadership or those that move into leadership – at best we are talking a handful guys and girls), but legally JBPA can do whatever it wants as our representative whether you agree with it or not.
So long as it meets its "duty of fair representation" (and the NMB almost always says it does) the union can do what ever the heck it wants.
True we will have an opportunity to vote on JBPA leadership, and if enough people disagree with what the current leaders are doing then we might get new leaders. But again, all power rests with the leadership - not the individual Pilot.
And what is up with the promises of Pilots will actually sit at the bargaining table and negotiate a contract. That does happen sometimes. But a real negotiation looks different. What nobody wants to mention is that the bargaining committee is almost always instructed, by the hired professional negotiator, to not comment at the table and to save discussions for "caucus" meetings away from the table. The committee is told that this shows a "united front" at the table.
At the end the negotiator and the JBPA leadership will decided on all matters in the process.
Of course let us not forget ratification that is finally when you have a say in the matter.
No not really. Ratification for the most part is “a horse and pony show” put on by the Union to instruct you to vote yes -sometime NO but mostly Yes- either way you are told to what to do. They will also tell you that only they know privileged and confidential information and made the decision this is the best for you.
If you say now this sounds just like recent JB leadership road-shows, let me tell you, you have seen nothing yet. Be warned should you ever questions the Union on their decision at one of these occasions, we will encounter exactly what Unions promised you they will protect you from.
That is incompetence and indifference that comes with the misuse of authority. You heard the adage: Power corrupts, absolute Power corrupts absolutely.
So to say you have a voice in JBPA is the same thing as saying you have a voice in American politics. Technically you do have a voice – you get to vote on representatives and you might even help to get rid of one who you don't agree with. But do you feel like you have any kind of day today voice about what happens in Washington (or in your state or local government for that matter)? That is the exact kind of voice you have in a union.
Sure right now I have not much more say either, but so far I have been treated by JB management much better than I have ever been treated by my fellow Union brethren. Although JB management is not flawless, at least it is respectful and business like. With two decades of service under my belt, I know through personal experience, that is not the hallmark of your typical Union leadership. In all fairness this also holds true to some of the management I work for until now. But for right know JB is not a place we that deserves a Union.
Last but not least, if you feel Dave and Russ aren’t listening to you now, it's not going to change just because a union is voted in.
