FmrFreightDog
Py-lote
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2003
- Posts
- 1,238
I am posting this without permission from the author, but I do not think he would object. For those of you who were not here for Contract '98 and are inclined to vote for the "coalition", read on:
Fellow Pilots:
Although the vast majority of you weren’t here for the last contract negotiations, it is imperative that you have a feel for the process and how it will affect you. This isn’t the first time that we have been engaged in protracted negotiations with management or “parked by the NMB”. We are nearing the end game and I believe that we will reach an agreement or an impasse in the very near future. That being said, we simply can’t afford to roll over and play dead at this point. The pilot group and I might say a very determined pilot group provided the impetus for our ability to achieve an agreement that satisfied most, but not all of our objectives. It will be no different this time, and for us to reach an agreement that satiates the vast majority of our desires we must stay the course.
We must establish a line of demarcation with respect to our contract goals, and never retreat from this beachhead, because once we start down the path of concessions we will only see a continued erosion of our collective bargaining agreement. This pilot group must build upon the foundation laid by all of those who devoted their time and efforts to the principal that we leave this place better than we found it, and to do their part to this end. This is where you come in, as it will require each and every one of us pulling together to reach a settlement that provides the kind of stability and job security that we all desire.
We have an election for Local Executive Council 112 status representatives for the term starting March 1, 2007 and ending February 28, 2010. These elected individuals from our pilot group will be your voice in the decision making process that lies ahead for years to come, and they will be undoubtedly have to face many challenges over this time frame. We can’t allow ourselves to become shortsighted or apathetic at this critical juncture.
I have been silent for eight years regarding the matter that I’m about to discuss below, but I can’t in good conscience sit idly by while certain factions attempt to hijack our contract negotiations. It will be up to you to discern the facts and to carefully consider your vote. You have until December 11th to cast your ballot, and I urge to use this time wisely.
During the first week of February 1998, the MEC met in Herndon, Virginia to receive a briefing from Negotiating Chairman Nelson DeBardeleben and the rest of our committee. MEC Chairman Randy Poole, MEC Vice Chair Lynn Jackson, ATL Capt. Rep. Vic Fox, ATL FO Rep. Andy Stratton, DFW Capt. Rep. Greg Onsel, and DFW FO Rep. Michelle Lorch reviewed the contract proposal and determined that it met the objectives mandated by the MEC. The vote was unanimous! This tentative agreement was sent to the pilot group for ratification, and was then rejected by slightly over 91% of our pilots as woefully inadequate. I, along with Mike McElduff in Atlanta, and Danny Utley and Greg Shayman in Dallas were elected for the term starting March 1, 1998. We were then tasked with the mandate of renegotiating a wide range of items that weren’t found satisfactory in the first TA. There were approximately 12-13 separate issues that had to be resolved in order to meet our goals.
MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson pushed very hard to get involved in these subsequent negotiations, and she wanted to include John Breiling at the table. At this point, we had no reason to question their motivations, and after further discussion we appointed Lynn, John, and Barney Rodger as our new contract negotiating team. On May 19th, the NMB met with Randy Poole, Lynn Jackson, Joe Anduze, and John Breiling to discuss the revised proposals that we wished to pursue. Magdalena Jacobsen, board member, and Larry Gibbons, our new mediator, expressed disappointment in our rejection of the TA and parked us while we reconsidered our position. It quickly became apparent that Lynn and John were cutting Barney out of the discussions as they moved toward their separate agenda. Time and time again, Lynn came to the MEC wanting to pair down the issues to 3 or 4 items, since she felt that we had to do this in order to get out of the “parking lot”.
Even our mediator had a settlement proposal that included 13 items, but our negotiators seemed to have ideas of their own. On June 2nd, Lynn outlined her thoughts on what steps were needed to get out of the NMB “parking lot”, and these issues had been whittled down to 9 items. Lynn suggested that we being willing to drop all but 4 of the items. Finally the straw that broke the camels’ back, Lynn and John having cut our 3rd team member out of the equation brought back a TA that included items that were never strike issues or directed by the MEC. The MEC, after what can only be described as very heated debate intended to send the negotiating team back to the table, but the TA was leaked to the pilot group by these individuals. On balance this TA provided enough improvements to the then current agreement that we passed the TA on for membership ratification. The “nifty fifty” as I like to call them still voted against this TA. John got his pay for training reimbursement, and the ATR pilots (Randy, Lynn, and John) enjoyed nice pay raises.
Our current contract fell short of what was achievable, and we are still playing catch up today. After the contract was ratified and signed, we the MEC unanimously recalled MEC Chairman Randy Poole and MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson for what we felt was their deliberate and malicious disregard for the will of our pilot group. We didn’t approve of their behind the scenes meetings with ASA management, nor their behavior with said management. Although we had unanimously agreed to these positions as an MEC, at the time I was singled out for payback since I had “shot Santa Claus and killed the Easter Bunny”. Did I mention that, I hate politics! Shortly after we had reached this new agreement, several changes took place. Former MEC Negotiating Chairman Nelson DeBardeleben became base system Chief Pilot, former MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson became ATL Chief Pilot, and MEC Grievance Chairman Randy Martin became Contract Administrator as management for some reason felt these were the best people for the jobs. Funny…
Joe Anduze was elected to MEC Chairman, but he only wanted to fill the position in the interim. Subsequently, I was elected to MEC Chairman (bad idea when some people want to hang you for that double homicide – Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny) only to provide continuity with administering the new contract. I resigned my LEC 112 Captain Representative position (bad idea number 2, now Ken Cooksey can try to vote me out) to provide some measure of balance. It seems that they just couldn’t vote me out, but they did succeed in making my life miserable. Ultimately, they became enough of a distraction that it made the business of running the union grind to a halt. I decided that in the interest of the pilot that I would resign, and I forced Capt. Rep. Ken Cooksey and MEC Sec.-Treas. Shea Medlin to resign as well. This ended the blood bath, but not the ill will.
These are not the individuals that you should entrust with your futures. Let your voice be heard, and your patience and determination will be rewarded. I’m proud of the work that I have done for this pilot group, and I have always endeavored to do my best to represent this pilot group never for personal gain, but to build improvements one brick at a time.
Fraternally,
Frank
P.S. As soon as I can scan in some documents, I’ll be posting them here for you to read for yourself.
Fellow Pilots:
Although the vast majority of you weren’t here for the last contract negotiations, it is imperative that you have a feel for the process and how it will affect you. This isn’t the first time that we have been engaged in protracted negotiations with management or “parked by the NMB”. We are nearing the end game and I believe that we will reach an agreement or an impasse in the very near future. That being said, we simply can’t afford to roll over and play dead at this point. The pilot group and I might say a very determined pilot group provided the impetus for our ability to achieve an agreement that satisfied most, but not all of our objectives. It will be no different this time, and for us to reach an agreement that satiates the vast majority of our desires we must stay the course.
We must establish a line of demarcation with respect to our contract goals, and never retreat from this beachhead, because once we start down the path of concessions we will only see a continued erosion of our collective bargaining agreement. This pilot group must build upon the foundation laid by all of those who devoted their time and efforts to the principal that we leave this place better than we found it, and to do their part to this end. This is where you come in, as it will require each and every one of us pulling together to reach a settlement that provides the kind of stability and job security that we all desire.
We have an election for Local Executive Council 112 status representatives for the term starting March 1, 2007 and ending February 28, 2010. These elected individuals from our pilot group will be your voice in the decision making process that lies ahead for years to come, and they will be undoubtedly have to face many challenges over this time frame. We can’t allow ourselves to become shortsighted or apathetic at this critical juncture.
I have been silent for eight years regarding the matter that I’m about to discuss below, but I can’t in good conscience sit idly by while certain factions attempt to hijack our contract negotiations. It will be up to you to discern the facts and to carefully consider your vote. You have until December 11th to cast your ballot, and I urge to use this time wisely.
During the first week of February 1998, the MEC met in Herndon, Virginia to receive a briefing from Negotiating Chairman Nelson DeBardeleben and the rest of our committee. MEC Chairman Randy Poole, MEC Vice Chair Lynn Jackson, ATL Capt. Rep. Vic Fox, ATL FO Rep. Andy Stratton, DFW Capt. Rep. Greg Onsel, and DFW FO Rep. Michelle Lorch reviewed the contract proposal and determined that it met the objectives mandated by the MEC. The vote was unanimous! This tentative agreement was sent to the pilot group for ratification, and was then rejected by slightly over 91% of our pilots as woefully inadequate. I, along with Mike McElduff in Atlanta, and Danny Utley and Greg Shayman in Dallas were elected for the term starting March 1, 1998. We were then tasked with the mandate of renegotiating a wide range of items that weren’t found satisfactory in the first TA. There were approximately 12-13 separate issues that had to be resolved in order to meet our goals.
MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson pushed very hard to get involved in these subsequent negotiations, and she wanted to include John Breiling at the table. At this point, we had no reason to question their motivations, and after further discussion we appointed Lynn, John, and Barney Rodger as our new contract negotiating team. On May 19th, the NMB met with Randy Poole, Lynn Jackson, Joe Anduze, and John Breiling to discuss the revised proposals that we wished to pursue. Magdalena Jacobsen, board member, and Larry Gibbons, our new mediator, expressed disappointment in our rejection of the TA and parked us while we reconsidered our position. It quickly became apparent that Lynn and John were cutting Barney out of the discussions as they moved toward their separate agenda. Time and time again, Lynn came to the MEC wanting to pair down the issues to 3 or 4 items, since she felt that we had to do this in order to get out of the “parking lot”.
Even our mediator had a settlement proposal that included 13 items, but our negotiators seemed to have ideas of their own. On June 2nd, Lynn outlined her thoughts on what steps were needed to get out of the NMB “parking lot”, and these issues had been whittled down to 9 items. Lynn suggested that we being willing to drop all but 4 of the items. Finally the straw that broke the camels’ back, Lynn and John having cut our 3rd team member out of the equation brought back a TA that included items that were never strike issues or directed by the MEC. The MEC, after what can only be described as very heated debate intended to send the negotiating team back to the table, but the TA was leaked to the pilot group by these individuals. On balance this TA provided enough improvements to the then current agreement that we passed the TA on for membership ratification. The “nifty fifty” as I like to call them still voted against this TA. John got his pay for training reimbursement, and the ATR pilots (Randy, Lynn, and John) enjoyed nice pay raises.
Our current contract fell short of what was achievable, and we are still playing catch up today. After the contract was ratified and signed, we the MEC unanimously recalled MEC Chairman Randy Poole and MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson for what we felt was their deliberate and malicious disregard for the will of our pilot group. We didn’t approve of their behind the scenes meetings with ASA management, nor their behavior with said management. Although we had unanimously agreed to these positions as an MEC, at the time I was singled out for payback since I had “shot Santa Claus and killed the Easter Bunny”. Did I mention that, I hate politics! Shortly after we had reached this new agreement, several changes took place. Former MEC Negotiating Chairman Nelson DeBardeleben became base system Chief Pilot, former MEC Vice Chairman Lynn Jackson became ATL Chief Pilot, and MEC Grievance Chairman Randy Martin became Contract Administrator as management for some reason felt these were the best people for the jobs. Funny…
Joe Anduze was elected to MEC Chairman, but he only wanted to fill the position in the interim. Subsequently, I was elected to MEC Chairman (bad idea when some people want to hang you for that double homicide – Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny) only to provide continuity with administering the new contract. I resigned my LEC 112 Captain Representative position (bad idea number 2, now Ken Cooksey can try to vote me out) to provide some measure of balance. It seems that they just couldn’t vote me out, but they did succeed in making my life miserable. Ultimately, they became enough of a distraction that it made the business of running the union grind to a halt. I decided that in the interest of the pilot that I would resign, and I forced Capt. Rep. Ken Cooksey and MEC Sec.-Treas. Shea Medlin to resign as well. This ended the blood bath, but not the ill will.
These are not the individuals that you should entrust with your futures. Let your voice be heard, and your patience and determination will be rewarded. I’m proud of the work that I have done for this pilot group, and I have always endeavored to do my best to represent this pilot group never for personal gain, but to build improvements one brick at a time.
Fraternally,
Frank
P.S. As soon as I can scan in some documents, I’ll be posting them here for you to read for yourself.
