Local 747 Taken over by International

[MCOE175]

As Of 12:00edt The Local 747 As Been Taken Over By The International. The Executive Board, Inlcuding The President, Has Been Removed. All Of Our Communications With The Pilots Have Been Suspended Until Further Notice. All Negotiations Have Been Suspended By The International. Your Representation Is In Immediate Peril, Courtesy Of Airline Division Director David Bourne.

Your Executive Council Is Still Intact But Without The Tools To Adequately Represent You. Rest Assured That You, The Pilot Are The Only Concern Of Your Executive Council. We Are Working To Resolve The Sitution Using All Legal Avenues. We Will Update You Here As The Situation Progesses.

Fraternally,

Peter Pranger Exco Chairman
And Your Executive Council

 

[hockeypilot44]

What exactly does this mean? Did they fire Gene Sowell and Tiffany Moline? Is the union de-certifying itself?

 

[CHQ Pilot]

Crazy...even the IBT Local 747 website appears to have been yanked. Not even a shell site, totally removed. Wonder what is going to happen now?

 

[The Drizzle]

What exactly does this mean? Did they fire Gene Sowell and Tiffany Moline? Is the union de-certifying itself?

Answers:

1. Not exactly sure.
2. We hope.
3. Nope.

 

[markminus100]

Can I get my dues back?

 

[Brody1]

As Of 12:00edt The Local 747 As Been Taken Over By The International. The Executive Board, Inlcuding The President, Has Been Removed. All Of Our Communications With The Pilots Have Been Suspended Until Further Notice. All Negotiations Have Been Suspended By The International. Your Representation Is In Immediate Peril, Courtesy Of Airline Division Director David Bourne.

Your Executive Council Is Still Intact But Without The Tools To Adequately Represent You. Rest Assured That You, The Pilot Are The Only Concern Of Your Executive Council. We Are Working To Resolve The Sitution Using All Legal Avenues. We Will Update You Here As The Situation Progesses.

Fraternally,

Peter Pranger Exco Chairman
And Your Executive Council

If the pilots were truly the only concern of the executive council, the International would not have needed to take over your horsesh#t organization. You reap what you sow, dude . . .

 

[markminus100]

Maybe the local should "grieve it"

 

[Axel]

http://local747.org/

 

[tyuwerty]

From the Local 747 site home page:

"Notice of Trusteeship"
​

I have recently been informed that the International Union is in danger of
losing certification for several bargaining units that have been assigned for
representation purposes to Local 747 as a result of the Local's failure to perform its
duties as the. bargaining representative of their members. As set forth below, a
decertification petition has recently resulted in the loss of representation rights at
one carrier and another petition is being processed. Other petitions are threatened
to be filed by members who want to receive the representation they expected when
they joined the Teamsters. It does not appear that the officials of Local 747 are
reacting to these decertification efforts in a manner that is likely to convince these
members that future services will be improved and they should remain Teamsters.
During the course of investigating these complaints about the Local's
representation, I have also been informed that certain officers of Local 747 may
have engaged in financial improprieties relating to their compensation and to the
payment of legal fees. The representation problems appear to be compounded by
complaints that efforts are being made by Local 747 to collect dues from workers
who have chosen the Teamsters as their bargaining representative prior to the
negotiation of a collective agreement, in violation of pledges made to those
members and contrary to general practices within the Union.
The credible information and reports reflect the following:
1. Local 747 and its PresidentlPrincipal Executive Officer, Ernest
"Gene" Sowell, are parties to an employment contract that they have
intentionally concealed from Local 747's membership through the
inclusion of a confidentiality provision. The employment contract
provides that Local 747 shall employ and pay Sowell for services
performed as the Local's General Counsel and Executive
Administrator. The contract specifies that Sowell is "responsible for
handling all legal matters of the ... " Local Union. Local 747 has paid
Sowell more than $1.2 million since 2005 (not including health and
pension coverage) for his work as General Counsel, while incurring
steadily increasing amounts of outside legal fees for services that
contractually are required to be handled by Sowell. Additionally, in
both 2007 and 2008, Local 747 incorrectly and misleadingly reported
on its LM-2 reports that its principal outside counsel, Patrick Flynn,
was paid for his services as an arbitrator, not as the Local's counsel.
The remaining members of the Local Union Executive Board have
either not performed their duty to oversee the employment contract or
have failed to challenge Sowell's apparent abrogation of his
responsibilities under the employment contract.
2. Local 747 is in immediate danger of losing bargaining units to
ongoing decertification efforts generated by its failure to represent its
members. Unless action is taken to convince members that the
Teamsters Union is capable of performing as their bargaining agent,
the Local Union, Airline Division and International Union will be
injured. And it is apparent that the current leadership of Local 747
has not been responsive to the complaints of these disaffected
members and has no prospect of redressing the problems at this time.
A. Great Lakes: Local 747 was assigned representational
responsibility for the Great Lakes pilot group but has provided
little, if any, representation. On April 9, 2009, the
decertification election was completed and the members
rejected continued representation by Local 747 by a vote of
209-0. Local 747 did not attempt to oppose the effort or correct
the underlying issues that gave rise to it. Nor did it assist the
Airline Division's efforts to convince the pilots to remain
Teamsters.
B. Cape Air: The Cape Air pilot group voted for Teamster
Representation approximately three years ago and still does not
have a first contract. An independent organization has now
filed an application with the National Mediation Board to
replace the Teamsters as the pilot group's bargaining
representative. The Cape Air pilot group is scheduled to
commence voting under the supervision of the National
Mediation Board this month. Their votes will determine
whether the Teamsters are ousted as the unit's bargaining
representative and, whether the unit has any bargaining
representative at all.
C. North American Airlines: The pilots working at North
American Airlines are also expressing their desire to oust the
Teamsters as their bargaining representative. The pilot group's
executive council leadership has advised that if Local 747
remains as their assigned bargaining representative, the unit
would in all likelihood file to decertify the Teamsters. Indeed,
credible reports indicate that another union is now actively
soliciting authorization cards to displace the Teamsters at this
airline.
In addition to other grievances regarding representation, the
pilots are upset with Local 747's attempts to collect dues from
them retroactive to the date the Teamsters were certified as their
bargaining representative. Consistent with then-existing Airline
Division policy, the pilots were assured that they would not
have to pay dues until they secured a first contract. Near the
end of the contract negotiations, Local 747, however, pressured
many of the pilots to pay retroactive dues, advising them that
this was the only way in which they could participate in the
contract ratification vote. Local 747 pressured several of the
pilots to sign promissory notes agreeing to pay retroactive dues,
and continues to collect dues in accordance with the terms of
such unauthorized promissory notes.
D. Gtilfstream International Airlines: The on-the-property
leadership of the Gulfstream International Airlines pilot group
recently wrote a letter advising the International Union that
"there is a lack of faith that our local will do anything to
improve our situation, or protect our members from a vengeful
management should they bring any grievances." They also
complained about Local 747's lack of bargaining preparation
and training for the unit's rank-and-file bargaining committee.
The International Union has been advised that some of the
pilots have contacted another labor organization seeking help to
decertify the Teamsters and Local 747 and to assume the
representation of the carrier. Although the pilot group's
leadership sought assistance from Local 747 to avoid a fullscale
decertification effort, neither the Local 747 Business
Agent nor anyone else followed through to provide any such
help.
E. Omni Air International: It appears that Local 747 has not
taken any steps to establish any on-the-property leadership and
work-standards related committees in the more than one year
period since they voted to join the Teamsters, in violation of the
Local 747 Bylaws. Several of the pilots who had voluntarily
agreed to pay dues to the Local even before securing their first
contract are now resigning their membership and refusing to
pay membership dues in protest of Local 747' s inadequate
representation.
F. Republic Air and Affiliates: It appears that the pilot group is
dissatisfied with Local 747 because of its leadership's failure to
provide any representation with respect to grievances. There is
a backlog of grievances that fill up several pages of the Local
747 on-line magazine.
G. Kalitta: The Kalitta Air pilot group has expressed deep
frustration with Local 747 for many months based on Local
747' s perceived failure to provide representation to the unit
through the timely processing of grievances and on account of
the Local's failure to communicate with the unit. Their on-theproperty
leadership advised the Airline Division that unless the
International assigned them to another Teamster local, they
would decertify the Teamsters. Efforts by Airline Director
Bourne to redress the problems have been thwarted by Local
747 President Sowell's insistence that the Local be compensated
for lost revenue in the event the members are transferred to
another Teamster Local.
For the reasons set forth above, and pursuant to my authority under Article
VI, Section 5(a) of the International Constitution, I am imposing an emergency
trusteeship over the affairs of Local 747, effective immediately. The emergency
trusteeship is being imposed: (1) to correct fmancial corruption or malpractice; (2)
to assure the performance of Local 747' s duties as a bargaining representative; and
(3) because the affairs of Local 747 are being conducted in such a manner
inconsistent with established policies and practices, which jeopardize the interests
of the International Union and Local 747 and violate the rights of Teamsterrepresented
workers.
I have appointed Brother David Ross as Temporary Trustee and Brother Dan
Brannan as Assistant Trustee. Pursuant to the procedures set forth in Article VI,
Section 5 of the International Constitution, you will soon be receiving a notice of
hearing to determine whether the temporary trusteeship should be continued or
dissolved. Separate notice of that hearing shall be posted by the Temporary
Trustee.
A copy of this Notice shall be posted immediately in the Local Union
Headquarters and in such other places as will ensure the members of Local 747 are
informed of the Trusteeship.

 

[Cardinal]

Woot! The message has FINALLY gotten through! Here's to real changes going forward.