Partnership Accord:

 

At first glance the theory of a Partnership Accord does not seem to be a bad idea. After all, what could be wrong with management and a union cooperating with each other to further common goals?  In a theoretical world, this is a very good thing.  A problem arises when one side decides to act in a consistent pattern of bad faith, taking advantage of the alleged “partnership” in an attempt to gain an advantage over its “partner.”

 

Over the life of the Partnership Accord between management and our union, management has acted in this manner time and time again.  We remain, as a union, bound by the provisions of the accord, while the company treats us as anything but partners. Management continues to exploit the profoundly ambiguous and unsound language of our current concessionary contract--easily the worst in the industry. They continue to instigate our pilot group at every opportunity, and they continue to deny us relief on no cost and low cost “irritants.”  Management has furloughed pilots for reasons that are questionable at best. They continue to use our horrendous contract to beat us into submission at every turn.  And as the final insult, obviously designed to rub our faces in the dirt, they hire as a management staff member, the very person responsible for selling this pilot group down the river.  Then they sit him across the table from us in Contract ‘08 negotiations. Are these the actions of a partner?  I do not believe so. It is time that we completely eliminate the partnership accord and free ourselves from the shackles that it places upon us, enabling ourselves to respond to the never-ending management provocations in any way we see fit.

 

 

Seniority Block Representation (SBR):

 

I strongly support the implementation of Seniority Block Representation to replace our current senatorial style of governance. SBR is a way to represent our pilot group more efficiently and in a more fair and balanced way. Under our current system, even our smallest base, with less than 10% the number of pilots that we have in EWR, has the same representation, voting strength, and influence as EWR.  I believe that this is not only unfair to the pilots in our largest bases, but also to their representatives who must carry a workload far in excess of what is reasonable.  SBR will bring the necessary balance of power back to the MEC with bases being represented, by seniority, with the number of votes based on the number of pilots staffed in the base. The smaller bases will still have the voice that they need, while the large bases will exert influence commensurate with relative size and within smaller seniority blocks so pilots of all seniority have a voice at the table.

 

 

Transparency:

 

On too many occasions, long ago and recently, dealings within our union were not conducted under the glare of the bright light of day. Commonplace are the back room deals; appointments based on friendship instead of qualification;  appointments without vetting by the pilot group;  resolutions passed only to disappear for good; endless meetings needlessly held in “Executive Session;” topics and comments never to be seen nor heard by the pilots who are supposed to be represented…the list goes on.

 

Our union needs to be accessible to the pilots, and the pilots need to be heard by their union. The secrets, the secret deals, the mystery appointments, etc, need to stop.  Our pilots need to be confident that their representatives have shaken every tree, looked under every rock, and done all that we can do to encourage our best and brightest members to volunteer for union service. Without the best and brightest working for us, we will never achieve the level of success that we all deserve. Every job opening in our Union must be clearly posted.  Every potential applicant must be discussed, and each applicant must be carefully interviewed.  Only then must a decision be made as to the best person to hire for a position.  And, once hired, that person must be given the tools, the support, and the opportunity to succeed for the benefit of all. I strongly believe that our union is only as good as the volunteers who staff it.  Unity will grow from a pilot group that shares an unshakable, deeply ingrained confidence and belief that all union transactions are conducted honestly, with unparalleled integrity, and completely above board. If elected, I will stop at nothing to ensure that the above criteria are met.

 

 

Union Offices:

 

EWR is now the largest base in our system, yet we have no dedicated work space and no offices in which to properly conduct our business. This is an intolerable situation, and one which must be remedied as soon as possible. Our volunteers need a space where they can work efficiently and privately. As an example, Delta maintains its MEC offices in Atlanta. However, along with the MEC offices, they also maintain separate offices in a completely different building for the ATL Local Council.

 

Additionally, our union offices have been located in IAH for many years. Subsequently, the vast majority of our union leaders and MEC volunteers reside in IAH.  The difficulties imposed by a weekly commute on extremely full aircraft between EWR and IAH discourage EWR pilots to volunteer in the IAH union offices.  As a result, we find ourselves in a cycle of a small group of IAH based union volunteers rotating with regularity through various positions.  We seem to always see the same people, and always the same mindset. I believe that our current times call for a new mindset.  The only way to get that change is to replace the old cast of characters with fresh union volunteers.  It makes sense to us that our largest base should take the lead.   To make that happen, I believe that we must look at every opportunity to move the union offices from IAH to EWR. This is not necessarily a repudiation of those from IAH who have served us in the past, but rather an opportunity to tap into a new pool of volunteers, injecting a new viewpoint and a new attitude into our union and its proceedings. There will be those who say that we cannot afford to move the union hall to EWR. I believe that we cannot afford NOT to.  One of our first orders of business, if elected, will be to request the formation of an exploratory committee for such purposes.

 

 

ALPA National “Experts”:  

 

One of the reasons I support ALPA as our National Union is the much lauded “ALPA Toolbox.”  I believe that the staffing and expertise that ALPA makes available to us is better than that offered by anyone else. However, as with all situations, nothing is ever absolute. I believe that the opinions and input from the experts at ALPA, whether it is legal counsel, medical personnel, or any other department of ALPA National, should be solicited and respected for their level of expertise. However, at the end of the day, those suggestions and input that they present to us are only that – suggestions and input. It is up to us, as CAL ALPA representatives and members, to carefully analyze and evaluate what the “experts” tell us and then decide if this is what is best for CAL ALPA. I do not believe in ever blindly following the advice or suggestions of anyone, regardless of who they are or from where they came. At the end of the day, ALPA National works for us, we do NOT work for them. CAL ALPA decisions must ultimately be made by CAL ALPA, and for the benefit of CAL ALPA members, and by and for no one else.

 

 

Contract Openers:

 

Like so many others, I was very disappointed by the vague and weak presentation of our openers for Contract ‘08 which were released just a few months ago by our MEC and Negotiating Committee. While I understand in theory what they were trying to accomplish, I am firmly committed to the concept of setting clearly defined and very specific goals. This will give you a means to judge success or failure.  If you do not know the goals, how can you evaluate any Tentative Agreement?  Also, having our demands clearly defined for management allows them to know exactly what your expectations are.  Detailed openers will also limit management’s ability to approach our negotiators with a weak proposal, asking for something in return for a few carrots hastily negotiated behind closed doors.  Our price for any agreement will be on the table.  I will work tirelessly to motivate the MEC and Negotiating Committee to craft a specific outline of our opening proposal, detailing the goals that this pilot group expects to achieve in this round of collective bargaining.   

 

 

Communications:

 

Communications, or rather the lack thereof, is one of the biggest challenges we have historically faced as a union. Not only have there been problems with the tone and tenor of the communications, but also with the lack of communications, in general.  Please do not let this be construed as a complaint that our union is not putting out enough messages.  Quantity is not the problem.  Rather, the problem is the lack of quality messages addressing pertinent issues, in a timely manner, left un-sterilized by attorneys.  I believe that our union needs to take an aggressive communications stance with management.  Each time management releases some nonsensical position, policy, or statement such as the recent DNU attempting to portray plummeting oil prices as a negative, our union needs to respond instantly and aggressively. No lie should go unchallenged; no provocation unanswered; no incompetence unexposed. Our union’s communication desperately needs to improve.  I will make communications one of my top priorities.

 

As for dissemination of information at the local level, I will reintroduce the Nor’easter as a EWR- produced product.  I will explore technology available to us in an attempt to introduce code-a-phone messages; increase the relevance and frequency of blast mails on the local level; and seek new and innovative ways to reach out and engage the pilot group in our process. The biggest fear that management has is an engaged and unified pilot group. It is long past the time for management to fear us. Good communication is the key to success, and I will make it a priority.

 

 

Selling of a Contract:

 

The actions of some of our union leaders during the time leading up to Contract ’02 were less than what one would expect of an elected representative.  I will NEVER sell a contract to this pilot group.  I will make every effort to carefully examine the contents of any tentative agreement.  If, after careful evaluation, I believe that it is suitable for presentation to the pilot group, I will vote to present it.  

Conversely, if after careful evaluation, I believe that a Tentative Agreement (TA) is sub-standard, I will vote to send our negotiators back to the table.  I will never allow anyone to pressure me to send what I feel is a sub-standard agreement to the pilot group. If I am outvoted and a sub-standard Tentative Agreement is presented to the pilots, I will make every effort to loudly and strongly engage this pilot group.  I will point out every reason why I feel the TA is not acceptable.  And, I will recommend that the pilots vote against the agreement with a resounding NO.   I strongly believe that this pilot group is long overdue for a truly industry leading contract, and I will not support anything else.