HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!!
 “We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…”
To Exercise Our Rights, We Must Vote!
Voter Apathy Gets You Nowhere
Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
The dictionary more precisely defines insanity as "the state of being seriously mentally ill; madness," or, more to the point here, "extreme foolishness or irrationality."
While
it is gratifying to see the fifty-four percent turnout rate for the
recently concluded SFO base elections, what defies explanation is how so
many people can willfully turn a blind eye to the continued corruption
and incompetence of Christine Black’s “administration” and choose to
retain its “leadership” for another three years. Continental flight
attendants would be well advised to pay close attention to these events
on the s-UA side. When the time comes, in the distant future, for merged
base elections, it should be remembered that Ms. Black and candidates
like her, resisted any and all attempts at change that would have put
the control of OUR union back into the hands of flight attendants.
The
third term LECP from SFO also vociferously supported DENYING
probationary employees (new hire flight attendants from s-CO in five
s-UA domiciles, including SFO) the right to vote on contracts directly
impacting their working lives, specifically saying they aren’t smart
enough to understand a flight attendant contract.
So
now that the SFO flight attendants can proudly announce they have once
again been suckered into voting for more of the same, from a self
proclaimed "REFORM' candidate, we all anxiously await the written
commitment from Ms. Black, Mr. Murzi and Ms. Caldwell, that they all
support the CAL MEC’s effort to secure voting rights for WORKING flight
attendants at ALL levels of the organization, term limits for officers,
as well as minimum flying requirements, and full and public online
monthly disclosure of income and expenses for each base. After all, that
is what you meant by "reform", wasn’t it, Ms. Black? Or did reform to
SFO attendants mean simply a different colored ribbon or sticker to
protest the UNION-CAUSED lack of progress in joint contract talks?!?.
After
all, Spirit Airlines commenced Operation Red, Air Tran sports orange
ribbons, and Compass Airlines’ MEC has asked their flight attendants to
remove the highly effective yellow and green ribbons to show support for
the tentative agreement that was nearly FOUR YEARS in the making now
before the membership for a vote. For the Flight Attendants of United
Airlines, we now have the ill-conceived O.N.E. Campaign and the "Power
of the Pin" propaganda machine in full swing. Because "wear your afa
pin" was a campaign so successful in achieving the ten year contract
negotiated by s-UA negotiator Kevin Lum. Oh, that Kevin Lum, the
current SFO LECP's predecessor, also from San Francisco.
Now
that the local election is over, and Ms. Black escaped the fate that
befell Mr. Sesko in ORD, Ms. Black, the "reformer", will now pressure
the MEC and international officers on behalf of the membership to get a
contract done now. The temporary reprieve granted s-UA attendants with
the grounding of the 787 fleet IS OVER, and once ALPA has
finalized a merged seniority list in August, flying can be blended and
moved between subsidiaries at the company’s discretion. There is NO
transition process agreement in place for flight attendants – the one
that did exist for pilots expired with the ratification of their joint
contract.
As
demonstrated by the SFO vote, voter participation turnout needs to be
higher. The third term SFO LECP won by a mere 67 votes, and an engaged
electorate of sixty or seventy per cent would have swept Chris Black
back to the line where she belongs. There is NO excuse for the 837 SFO f/a’s who did not bother to vote
for not taking the two or three minutes it takes to vote online or by
telephone. The continued incompetence because of personal apathy or
ignorance is reprehensible. We are all suffering needless economic harm
because of the current AFA flight attendant union “leadership” and true
change begins at the local level, since it is the only place flight
attendants are currently permitted a voice!!! In the meantime, s-UA
flight attendants will now be treated to the same excuse-making and
blame to which they’ve grown accustomed and enjoy. In DEN, no one even
bothered to run against the NOW third term winner, Ken Kyle. Which may
explain the dismal voter turnout of 22% for the uncontested winner who
won his third term as DEN LECP even though he DOES NOT FLY!
Well done, SFO and DEN, well done.
IT'S OUR JOB TO.......
.......make
sure we enforce those FAR's and ensure the safety and well being of our
passengers. We applaud the company for empowering us to do so with
their latest public relations campaign. Flash that badge we're required
to wear with the new uniform and enforce those FAR's, to a tee, that
will surely help improve our ratings!
CYCLE III ELECTION RESULTS....
The
final round of AFA's Cycle III elections concluded on April 16, with
AFA flight attendants across the country voting for more of the same
lackluster “representation,” with participation rates ranging from
fifty-three percent at Alaska Airlines’ Los Angeles base, to a
laughingly pathetic 11% at the American Eagle Dallas/Fort Worth council.
With the exception of the LEC Secretary position at both the ALA LAX
and the AMR DFW bases, incumbent candidates remained in office. An
eleven percent rate of re-election for LEC/MEC President Robert Barrow
and Vice President Martin Carnes speaks to a level of frustration and
apathy on the part of Eagle flight attendants that is shared across the
entire spectrum of AFA flight attendants held hostage by a group of
“leaders” that can only react to a rapidly changing industry landscape
and grasp at straws while clinging to whatever perceived “power” they
think they possess.
The
union leaderships ability to influence corporate policy and negotiate
robust contracts on behalf of the flight attendants from whom they steal
hard-earned money has been nebulous in the best of times, but the
inherent weakness that is at the heart of AFA “representation” has now
been exposed. Mr. Barrows petulant and public outburst excoriating Eagle
management for outsourcing regional flying previously done by Eagle
attendants to IBT represented flight attendants at Republic Airlines is
the perfect example of the hypocritical revisionism that is the hallmark
of the AFA flight attendant Union. Mr. Barrow as MEC president, on
behalf of Eagle attendants, AGREED to the provision in the
bankruptcy contract HE negotiated, yet then went ballistic when Eagle
management exercised their negotiated right to seek cost savings by
putting certain Eagle flying out to competitive bidding by other
regional airlines.
In
essence, what Mr. Barrow was saying was that although he negotiated the
provision, he was upset that management used it, evidently in response
to outrage by Eagle flight attendants who’ve already had to deal with
base closures and diminished flying. That disgust was vividly expressed
by their refusal to participate in the sham of an election process that
did nothing but service the ego of those perpetrating the larger
“representational” fraud. Anyone delusional enough to be proud of a
“victory” wherein only ELEVEN PERCENT of a base participates in the vote
is beyond help and rationality. That kind of after the fact excuse
making is all too familiar to s-UA flight attendants who’ve dealt with
thirty years of phony rage after the fact when professional
“negotiators” and self-proclaimed “leaders” of flight attendants,
embarrassed by poorly worded contract language and eventualities they
did not foresee, file meaningless grievances in efforts to redress
“violations” they claim are willfully engaged in by evil company
managers exploiting hapless and helpless flight attendants.
The
MEC Grievance filed by the UAL MEC after the last debacle of a contract
seeking to correct the company’s “misinterpretation” of reserve lines
guaranteed pay was settled only after the company won earlier check-in
and report times across fleet types – in other words, a renegotiated
provision of the contract done without a vote of the membership so the
UAL MEC could claim “vindication” when in fact nothing of the sort
occurred. We can now celebrate that "snafu" with ALL United Airlines
flight attendants wearing the same uniform as of Day One Uniform
Transition Day on June 25th! Adding to that problem is that the
sycophants and zealots who make up the eleven or nineteen percent of
people who bother to vote are largely people not interested in flying
enough to make the job a true career, with commensurate earnings
potential. Instead, they are either partnered with someone who is the
principle wage earner in the household, or have convinced themselves a
second job is an acceptable alternative to earning a living wage as a
flight attendant, thereby placing downward pressure on the rest of the
workers interested in making this job one at which a substantial salary
may be earned.
These
are the same people most eager to enjoy the theatre of victimization,
blame, and delay and who vote accordingly to the detriment of true
WORKING flight attendants. Unless this dynamic is confronted and
changed, the AFA cancer will remain as an albatross around the necks of
anyone choosing to become a flight attendant for any carrier held
hostage by this self-serving sham of an organization. In the twenty
elections held during the current cycle, nineteen have reported official
participation rates from a low of 11% (American Eagle DFW), to a high
of 68% (CMI’s GUM base). Without the outsized percentages in GUM and
HKG (67%), the paltry average of 39% wouldn’t even be that high.
An
organization able to truly lead and inspire a membership would be able
to muster more than barely over a third of its entire work force to
actually vote, particularly now that voting is a simple and quick
process online or by phone. But the level of apathy and frustration that
is evident in these numbers is understandable, since the history of
“representation” is replete with examples of failed negotiations built
upon empty promises that serve nothing but the business interests of a
morally bankrupt company – the AFA – that has been unable to provide the
level of quality representation flight attendants deserve. Instead, the
same tired rhetoric of blame directed at airline management, the
economy, politicians, and even the flight attendants themselves has
repeatedly and predictably been used since the AFA flight attendants
decided in the late 1980’s that they were no longer interested in just
representing United flight attendants, but convinced themselves theirs
was a higher calling, which meant trying to organize EVERY flight
attendant at EVERY airline.
History
has shown and continues to show that this doomed and failed policy
decision has resulted in some of the poorest contracts in the industry,
wasting economic opportunity and, more importantly, the time and money
of WORKING flight attendants who should be tired of the browbeating they
have endured since 1973. Recent election results paint a mixed picture,
but in order for true reform to take hold, flight attendants must
remain engaged, aware, and active and place their own personal economic
self-interest above the needs of the social clubs that continue to
promote and support a do-nothing cadre of narcissists only interested in
their “careers” off the airplane, paid for by the WORKING flight
attendants for which they hold the utmost contempt.
Cycle III Participation Percentage Results by Base:
ALA LAX 53%
AMR DFW 11%
AMR MIA 35%
AMR ORD 30%
ARW PHL 16%
CAL CLE 33%
CMI GUM 68%
CPZ MSP 19%
MIA MIA 34%
MSA ORD 36%
MSA PHX 41%
PSA CLT 57%
SPR FLL 19%
UAL HKG 67%
UAL IAH 54%
UAL ORD 52%
UAL SEA 26%
UAL SFO 54%
UAL DEN 22%
USA CLT 44%
THE NEXT s-UA ELECTION CYCLE
Nomination
balloting is open in LHR and FRA, ballots close July 08, 2013.
Election Polls open August 16, 2013 and votes will be counted September
20, 2013. Make sure your REFORM candidates are nominated and on the
ballot!
Next
up is HNL and DCA. Nomination balloting opens July 19, 2013 and closes
August 19, 2013. Nominate your reform candidates and make sure they are
on the official ballot. Election balloting begins September 19, 2013!
The
BOS nomination balloting opens July 12, 2013 and closes August 12,
2013. Election voting for moninees begins September 13, 2013.
SHAKE YOUR APATHY, CHANGE THE BALANCE OF POWER AT THE MEC!
THROW OUT THE OLIGARCHY AND EMPOWER THE MEMBERSHIP! NOMINATE REFORM CANDIDATES AND MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT! REFORM CANDIDATES HAVE ALREADY BEEN ELECTED IN IAH, ORD, AND DEN!!!
FIGHT THE WAR AGAINST WOMEN!!!
 We
would be remiss if we did not point out the sad fact about the role of
women in our union leadership! In 2011 (most recent statistics
available about ratios of female flight attendants vs. male)
approximately 73% of the flight attendant population is female.
Go
to the AFA webpage and click on all the Local Council webpages and
count the women in leadership roles. If you are a woman, ask yourself
why there is such a staggering disparity of males in union leadership in
an industry largely dominated by women. Then ask yourself why you are
not more involved?
Nationally, the "war on women" is in full
force. Women have been fighting for decades for their equal rights,
their equal pay, their equal medical care and insurance coverage.
Whether it is Roe vs. Wade or the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Bill, it
affects our lives as women and our ability to be a fully participating
member of our labor force and continue our fight for personal and
financial equality. This is no time to just let the "others" do the
work for us!
GET INVOLVED WITH YOUR UNION NOW AND DEMAND REPRESENTATION FOR YOUR RIGHTS!
www.unitedafa.org/
DEMAND REFORM NOW!
- DIRECT MEMBERSHIP VOTE
(amend the Constitution and By-Laws as was proposed by the s-CAL MEC at
the BOD meeting in 2012 and 2013 to allow flight attendants to vote for ALL MEC Officers) and ALL issues important to our careers!
- FULL FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE (full financial disclosure from AFA LEC'S and MEC'S).
- MINIMUM FLYING REQUIREMENTS FOR ALL LEC AND MEC OFFICERS (i.e. quarterly - to be determined by membership).
ONLY YOU CAN CHANGE THE
STATUS QUO...
TELL YOUR LECP TO VOTE REFORM AT THE NEXT MEC ELECTIONS!
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