Weekly Announcement for February 17
Weekly Announcement for February 17
This Week’s Announcement brought to you by your Organizing Committee
In this issue:
- We need your help!
- This Week’s Labor Academy:
Volunteerism
“There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in the shallows and in miseries…
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.”William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar (IV, iii)
Your Union needs your help!
Throughout our journey of Union building, volunteerism will serve to help us safely navigate the rocks and shoals in our efforts toward a collective bargaining agreement. Volunteerism is the heart and soul of our Union. We know that after IBT Local 1108 is elected to represent us, we will need each pilot to carry the flag in his or her own way if we are to be successful in this endeavor. Selfless service to others is one on the noblest of gestures and has always served to uplift and engender a sense of unity and common brotherhood. So this week, with that in mind we ask: will you "take the current when it serves", and join with us in forging a Strong Union at Flight Options? Will you lend your talents to our cause? We ask that each of you search your heart for those talents and interests you could offer your Brothers and Sisters in pursuit of our common goal.
Here are just of few of the initially planned committees, which will have volunteer positions available after the election:
1
Air Safety committee. In the beginning, pilot safety concerns were the catalyst for our industry’s very first pilot unions. It is a sincere commitment to safety advancements that is reaped by more than the union members that differentiates our Unions from most others. The Union’s goal is to use our solidarity, combined knowledge, and unified voice to make our safety concerns heard, recorded and addressed. The Safety committee is tasked with collecting the safety concerns of its members and acts under the direction of the elected Union leaders. Safety members usually have to work very closely and have a positive working relationship with the flight department, company safety managers, industry experts, the FAA and other pilot Unions. For a Union’s safety committee to be respected the creditability and sincerity of the union safety committee can never be in question therefore, a safety committee member must be able to completely separate the union/company industrial issues from the true safety issues.
2
The Pilot-to-Pilot (P2P) Committee. The P2P Committee is tasked with disseminating information in a personal fashion to the pilot group at large. Each P2P volunteer will be asked to keep a small group of pilots informed with regard to Union initiatives and issues. Members of this committee should posses strong interpersonal skills.
3
Communications committee. The Communications committee is responsible for maintaining the availability and security of the Union's communications network. Members of this committee should possess a variety of computer skills and be well versed in the intricacies of web based communication.
4
Writing Committee. The Writing committee is tasked with preparing all official communications to our members, and is designed to facilitate the concise professional preparation of such communication as the leadership assigns. Members of this committee should posses strong writing and research skills.
5
The Negotiating Committee. The Negotiating committee is tasked with negotiating a tentative agreement for a new contract between our pilot group and our Company. Members of this committee should posses strong personalities as well as a background in negotiations, business ownership and/or upper management or experience in labor law - and a willingness to spend considerable time in negotiations with our Company’s management.
In addition to the committees listed above, your Union will need elected leadership. After the completion of a successful vote, we will need to identify those leaders in our midst. These individuals will need to accept the honor and responsibility of shepherding our pilot group through this most challenging time. We face no small undertaking in the upcoming months. Our leaders will need to forge a new Union leadership, establish committees to handle a variety of issues, appoint committee chairmen, and steer our new Union through a variety of challenges and struggles.
If you find yourself called to help, or if you would like to recommend someone for a position, please e-mail us at
[email protected] Please include a brief resume of relevant experience and training and let us know how you are interested in helping. Remember a Union is only as strong as its members; it is US, helping and working for each other. The effectiveness of our Union and scope of our solidarity will be made evident by our collective level of involvement.
We know each of you must be proud of the accomplishments we as a group have made. In a short time we have progressed from a group of pilots, besieged by the vagaries of management’s whim, into a force to be reckoned with. Look at all our solidarity has accomplished in the past year alone. We now have managers calling upon us in the field asking for our opinions and tallying our concerns. We now have managers confessing their past transgressions toward us; now they "hear you loud and clear". This is a direct result of your resolve and your collective spirit.
Be confident in the knowledge that you have already made a difference and the conviction that a STRONG, UNITED pilot group will prevail. With your continued support, at the end of the day you will know that WE, not I won the day; and did it together as Brothers and Sisters-for hopefully on March 3rd, that is what we will be.
In Solemn Solidarity,
Flight Options Strong Union Organizing Committee
__________________
IBT 1108 Pilots 4 Pilots
http://www.ibt1108.org/options/forum
Think of the psychological advantage it gives you. After the NJ pilots' success, the managers of the other frac companies anticipated a move for their pilots to unionize. In other words, they see it as a foregone conclusion. Their union-busting activities and rhetoric just tells you how much they fear the collective strength you'll have.
