My name is Dennis Hayes and I recently ran for Vice President for the Local 514. My running mate was Kevin Creaser. Together we promised to shake things up and I’m proud to say we meant it. We had anticipated problems with the International as we had identified the International our greatest roadblock to receiving a fair contract.
The International always seemed to settle for less and then to expect local officers to endorse a bad contract. It is as if the International cared more about their unfettered flow of dues than us. I personally believe Michael Quill would be appalled at what had become of his union.
During the recent election I started a website, www.514defenders.org , in which I explained our points of view on the different issues that affected us.
I want to explain clearly that this site was about defending the membership of the TWU 514 and not the International that had sold us out again and again. I never blamed the company it was their job to get as much as they could in negotiations and with the International running the show there was much for the company to plunder.
The idea of our own home-grown union intrigued me. I always felt we’d do all right if we had the International out of the way and here is an opportunity to do just that. The Pilots and the Flight Attendants started their own independent unions several years ago and I can honestly say I believe they are doing no worse than us.
So I have committed myself to eliminating our largest obstacle in receiving a decent contract removing the International from the loop.
In May I began a petition to have our current t/a suspended. Over 2200 members signed that petition. They saw the tentative as something that should never have been brought back. How there could be such a divide in opinion between the International and the membership is beyond me.
I urge all who signed the petition to fill out a card for a representational election.
Perhaps I’m out of touch with the desires of the membership. This election will either confirm the International’s position and eliminate all threats to it or will put the membership in charge of its own destiny. Are they not always telling us we are the union?
Mr. Little recently told us we must evolve or dissolve. To be honest I haven’t seen much evidence of evolving other than this drive to unseat the International.
There have been many attempts by the membership to introduce democratic reforms and somehow they never seem to make it to the floor of the convention. Matters that strengthen the International’s grasp on affairs of the membership always seem to make it to the floor.
In short I think it is time to send the International packing. I endorse AMP.
The International always seemed to settle for less and then to expect local officers to endorse a bad contract. It is as if the International cared more about their unfettered flow of dues than us. I personally believe Michael Quill would be appalled at what had become of his union.
During the recent election I started a website, www.514defenders.org , in which I explained our points of view on the different issues that affected us.
I want to explain clearly that this site was about defending the membership of the TWU 514 and not the International that had sold us out again and again. I never blamed the company it was their job to get as much as they could in negotiations and with the International running the show there was much for the company to plunder.
The idea of our own home-grown union intrigued me. I always felt we’d do all right if we had the International out of the way and here is an opportunity to do just that. The Pilots and the Flight Attendants started their own independent unions several years ago and I can honestly say I believe they are doing no worse than us.
So I have committed myself to eliminating our largest obstacle in receiving a decent contract removing the International from the loop.
In May I began a petition to have our current t/a suspended. Over 2200 members signed that petition. They saw the tentative as something that should never have been brought back. How there could be such a divide in opinion between the International and the membership is beyond me.
I urge all who signed the petition to fill out a card for a representational election.
Perhaps I’m out of touch with the desires of the membership. This election will either confirm the International’s position and eliminate all threats to it or will put the membership in charge of its own destiny. Are they not always telling us we are the union?
Mr. Little recently told us we must evolve or dissolve. To be honest I haven’t seen much evidence of evolving other than this drive to unseat the International.
There have been many attempts by the membership to introduce democratic reforms and somehow they never seem to make it to the floor of the convention. Matters that strengthen the International’s grasp on affairs of the membership always seem to make it to the floor.
In short I think it is time to send the International packing. I endorse AMP.
We now have 6 active threads about the TWU TA and/or the AMP card drive. Some of you are posting the same reply on every thread. Please do not start anymore threads on either subject. Trust that the thought you just had or the newspaper/Internet article you just found about either subject is probably not unique enough to require a separate thread. Just add it to one of the threads as a new comment.
