I have watched this message board with great interest for a very long time. One thing that I always kept in mind was the fact that it is anonymous, is for the most part the writers personal opinions and that the information may or may not be true. It is a great place to vent, share ideas and the like. It is also a place you can meet new friends or make adversaries. So, with that in mind let me share my opinions about this union meeting that no one seemed to have attended. I am very well aware that there are legitimate reasons for one not to attend. Commuter on there day off, already on a trip, sick or what have you. If you are one of those people then you try to get information from someone that might of attended. Others just don't care, or it does not affect them directly. There were two meetings that day and people seem to be speaking of the second. Let me just give an opinion as to what did and did not happen. What did not happen was there were no local PHL LEC members calling each other names like little children. The whole meeting was not consumed by a power struggle in which the only thing discussed was why this person or that person should be recalled. That was a very notable change. Regardless of former leaders intentions be they good or bad Phl local 70 needed a change and I believe people would have been happy to see how the meeting went. Remember last year on this very board there was debate back and forth between factions.
What did take place was a meeting were the local leaders seemed to compliment each other, were well prepared and listened to everyone. That was regardless of whether or not someone was perceived to have asked stupid questions or not. I grew up being taught that the only dumb question is a question that is not asked. If someone asked something it was because it was important to them. The director of crew scheduling was there along with the person directly under him as well as two crew schedulers. This was a great opportunity to hear it from the horses mouth involving any scheduling issues. Yes someone did mention a particular schedulers name which probably was not appropriate but everyone agreed that professional courtesy is a two way street. As far as a girl standing up and saying she got a no contact because she was taking a shi@t, that was true. However, the way it was characterized here was taken slightly out of context. She was stating her opinions as to why the reserve system is broken. Such as the dreaded LTO system. The fact that for the last few months that reserves that wanted to pick up ETB trips were unable due to the fact that they are scheduled for six days on with only three days or two day in a row off. This makes you illegal to do any ETB. She also was asking why such a high percentage of reserves on duty at a given time when everyone is just sitting around. Also, the girl in question has been a reserve for 11 years and is still tied to her phone and that after this much time it would be nice to no what you are doing from one day to the next. That is when she gave the shi@t story meant to bring some humor to the whole situation. Her point was the system needs fixed, there should be no 20 year reserves. The only way you can fix this is if you make your voice be heard. Remember you are the union and if you want change you must make it happen. This girl is a very good flight attendant and is very passionate. By the way, she has been at almost every local meeting since she has been with the company. Why, because unless she or anyone else asks questions and lets there voice be heard, there will be no change. So, let me just leave with this thought, when your friends tell you what happened in a meeting that you did not attend for whatever reason that they like myself are just giving there opinions. So before we decide it was a waste of time and filled with stupid questions I suggest that you make an effort to call or write your local union leaders for answers to your questions. By the way, the benefits presentation was outstanding!! There was a lot that took place including state of negotiations but I will not ramble on any further. I just want people to realize change does not happen with apathy. The vote turn out for the last several contracts would support that.
Take care
