Dump Hoffa

[Harvey]

Airline Division: Time for a Change
By TDU
Created 2011-09-15 19:51
September 15, 2011: At the official debate for candidates for Teamster president, two of the three present were stumped when asked what to do about the recent contract rejection by 5,000 United Airlines Teamster mechanics. Ken Hall and Fred Gegare punted, because it was clear they didn’t know anything about it. Sandy Pope addressed the issue of bargaining with a profitable corporation that previously got deep concessions when it was in bankruptcy.

That sums up the situation in the airline division: an International Union that is on the sidelines at best, instead of leading.

Teamster mechanics at United Airlines and Continental will soon be merged, a unit of nearly 10,000 members.

The United Airlines contract is a crucial pace-setter, and the International should be mobilizing for a good contract, as they did when the Teamsters competed with other unions to get the mechanics into the union. A good start would be a bargaining committee responsive to the members.

Campaigning for Sandy Pope

Mechanics at both carriers are campaigning for Sandy Pope, and for a leadership with a plan and commitment to the airline members.

“We’re kept in the dark. We don’t even know if the International will change the negotiating team after the contract rejection.

“The company has a plan, and our union needs to have a plan. That’s why we’re backing Sandy Pope,” said Mike Albertin, a chief steward for United Airline mechanics in Locals 856 and 986 in San Francisco.

At Republic Airline Holdings, 3,000 Teamster pilots are bargaining with a management that is writing the book on stalling and regressive bargaining. Presently they are retaliating against the pilots with the threat of lay-offs, even though they need more pilots. (Republic operates as Chautauqua, Frontier, and Shuttle as well as Republic.) These Teamsters need an active, aggressive Airline Division to back them up.

Sandy Pope stated, “We have real power if we take seriously our position in trucking, distribution, rail and airlines. That's what I intend to do."



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We’re Backing Sandy Pope

“We’re kept in the dark. We don’t even know if the International will change the negotiating team after the contract rejection. The company has a plan, and our union needs to have a plan. That’s why we’re backing Sandy Pope.”

Mike Albertin Chief Steward, Local 856, San Francisco Airport

 

[Maverick]

Airline Division: Time for a Change
By TDU
Created 2011-09-15 19:51
September 15, 2011: At the official debate for candidates for Teamster president, two of the three present were stumped when asked what to do about the recent contract rejection by 5,000 United Airlines Teamster mechanics. Ken Hall and Fred Gegare punted, because it was clear they didn’t know anything about it. Sandy Pope addressed the issue of bargaining with a profitable corporation that previously got deep concessions when it was in bankruptcy.

That sums up the situation in the airline division: an International Union that is on the sidelines at best, instead of leading.

Teamster mechanics at United Airlines and Continental will soon be merged, a unit of nearly 10,000 members.

The United Airlines contract is a crucial pace-setter, and the International should be mobilizing for a good contract, as they did when the Teamsters competed with other unions to get the mechanics into the union. A good start would be a bargaining committee responsive to the members.

Campaigning for Sandy Pope

Mechanics at both carriers are campaigning for Sandy Pope, and for a leadership with a plan and commitment to the airline members.

“We’re kept in the dark. We don’t even know if the International will change the negotiating team after the contract rejection.

“The company has a plan, and our union needs to have a plan. That’s why we’re backing Sandy Pope,” said Mike Albertin, a chief steward for United Airline mechanics in Locals 856 and 986 in San Francisco.

At Republic Airline Holdings, 3,000 Teamster pilots are bargaining with a management that is writing the book on stalling and regressive bargaining. Presently they are retaliating against the pilots with the threat of lay-offs, even though they need more pilots. (Republic operates as Chautauqua, Frontier, and Shuttle as well as Republic.) These Teamsters need an active, aggressive Airline Division to back them up.

Sandy Pope stated, “We have real power if we take seriously our position in trucking, distribution, rail and airlines. That's what I intend to do."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We’re Backing Sandy Pope

“We’re kept in the dark. We don’t even know if the International will change the negotiating team after the contract rejection. The company has a plan, and our union needs to have a plan. That’s why we’re backing Sandy Pope.”

Mike Albertin Chief Steward, Local 856, San Francisco Airport

 

[Maverick]

At US Airways the CSA's are getting no representation from Teamster local 104 Andrew Marshall
TDU help us its time to vote !!

 

[gtd]

At US Airways the CSA's are getting no representation from Teamster local 104 Andrew Marshall
TDU help us its time to vote !!

Start by voting for Sandy Pope.

 

[Desire77]

International Teamster President James P. Hoffa is in trouble. He is discredited because of his lies and his complete inability to deliver for rank-and-file Teamsters. During his last run for president of the union, Hoffa claimed that he would not raise union dues. Hoffa lied. After he won he said he had to raise dues to negotiate strong contracts. His slogan was, “Five cents an hour for Teamster power.”

Instead, Hoffa failed to negotiate even enough from employers to maintain the pensions of workers covered by the Teamster’s pension plan. The lies about a dues increase and the sudden cutbacks in Teamster pensions have led to an explosion of anti-Hoffa sentiment across the union.

While Hoffa’s huge PR machine still dazzles the corporate media, Teamsters across the country are looking for alternatives to their famous president who prefers the company of mobsters, bosses and republican politicians to the workers who are fighting to maintain their standard of living. Teamsters in Georgia recently voted out Hoffa allies in favor of reformers who promised to organize workers to fight in their own interests. Rather than stand with the new leaders, Hoffa’s allies on Joint Council 75 ordered a second election to give his cronies another chance. The workers saw through this sham and again voted for the reformers who were running on the Members First Slate.

Hoffa ally Robert Walston, in Chicago’s Local 743, didn’t even bother to include the joint council in the decision to stop an election he was losing. He just called for a ‘do over.’ Hoffa upheld the right of his crony in Local 743 to block the election of the reform 743 New Leadership Slate. Not surprisingly, the second election was fraught with irregularities.

Since this ‘election,’ Walston’s connections to the Chicago underworld have surfaced. Walston has run a video poker business and associated with known mobsters. In a dying confession, former Local 743 President Chester Glanton told a Teamster anti-corruption committee about how Walston had made deals to give free health insurance to the relatives and friends of mob businesses. Walston has also had secret meetings with former Local 743 boss Robert Simpson at the mob-run Russian Turkish Bathhouse.

Hoffa has had troubles closer to home. Hoffa was forced to fire his top assistant, Carlow Scalf. Scalf had embezzled $69,000 in housing funds to which he was not entitled. Hoffa first suspended him, but was later forced to fire him when Teamsters for a Democratic Union protested the mere slap on the wrist.