Drop A Line To Ufau

[UFAU_FlyBoy]

Please email Testimonial@UFAU.org and tell your story.

Tell why you like or dislike AFA-CWA. Tell why you are eager for the switch to UFAU. Got a good story about how AFA-CWA didn't perform to your expectations? Email it to UFAU! Have an opinion about how we got to this point in our collective bargaining representation? Email it to UFAU! Got a story about a family member or close friend who went through something similar? Email it to UFAU! Got words of encouragement for our flying partners sitting on the fence? Got advice for AFA-CWA loyalists who haven't yet made the decision to come over? Tell them about it! Email it to UFAU!

There are those among our ranks who, while they can read the facts, need to know what's on the minds and in the hearts of their flying partners before they make a decision that could affect all of us. Your words from the line carry a different message than official information from UFAU. Pelase help us to help our flying partners. Take a moment or so to share your personal reasons for supporting UFAU.

Email Testimonial@UFAU.org and encourage others to do the same!

Short stories, long stories, war stories, it's all welcome. As you may well guess, many submissions will be published. UFAU is not a group of twenty volunteers putting up a website and handing out flyers; UFAU is the thousands of hard-working line United Flight Attendants, each with our own reasons for pushing for the change to a new, democratic union to represent OUR interests! Please help us to convey that by dropping a line to UFAU. Your words could fall on many hungry ears!

Testimonial@UFAU.org

I'm told I should repeat Testimonial@UFAU.org to help people remember Testimonial@UFAU.org, but (Testimonial@UFAU.org) I don't want you to be able to remember only Testimonial@UFAU.org, so I'll go easy on the repetition.

 

[spacewaitress]

Hey Flyboy,

Maybe a more productive and substantive approach would be to dissiminate information on the committees, volunteers and otherwise infrastructure in place at UFAU that will serve those who are carrying resentments (justified or no) for AFA.

All I hear on the line is "...AFA is lying to you..."; "...that's a scare tactic of AFA...", etc etc etc.

How has all this whining about AFA produced an organization able and ready to step in and fill all the needs of the membership. Where is the beef!!??

Stop the whining and complaining and get these people off their duffs and put together the organization and infrastructure. Enough already. I'm tired of listening to a bunch of whiny girls resentments. WHERE IS THE ORGANIZATION? Where are those committees ready to step into place if AFA goes.

I would never be willing for a change unless I saw some real effort. All I see is a bunch of whining, resentful, complaining flight attendants trying to stir up dissatisfaction. How about approaching things from a positive, first step being getting those committees and volunteers in place to serve. Those very volunteers that you are asking people to complain about in your post.

I see nothing but anger and unhappiness among some against AFA. That's counterproductive and extremely short sighted and could be our ultimate ruin. Get the organization in place...and stop it with the superficial 'talking points' that you guys are running around with on the line. I'm tired of hearing it. WHERE IS THE BEEF...the infrastructure, the committee volunteers, the council reps.

Get your frigging act together, then let's talk. Or else get yourself into the process that's in place and make it what you want it.

Enough complaining!

Paul

 

[UFAU_FlyBoy]

spacewaitress,
I'm really sorry that what you're hearing on the line is negative in tone. You're right, whining and bitching are counterproductive. Are these UFAU people, or are they regular line F/A's spreading the word on their own? I'll pass along your comments to the front line as a timely reminder to keep it civil and professional. That said, afa-CWA has pretty much abandoned any kind of factual campaign, where they were getting slaughtered, and resorted to just making up lies off the tops of their heads. This places the additional burden on UFAU of refuting the lies as we tell what we're offering. We are disgusted and frustrated at afa-CWA's comlete lack of regard for the inteligence of its members, and we're all wearing a bit thin. So I know there's some bashing going on out there, but I'm certainly not excusing or condoning it. Thanks for watchful eye.

As for committees, council rep's, beef, etc., it's all focused on getting signatures right now. UFAU is not yet a functioning union, for several reasons.
First, we have no money to speak of; we are running on the donations and pre-paid dues of our flying partners. That means we don't have the luxury of setting up an idle infrastructure yet.
Second, we have no constituents. Until we get the signatures to call the election, everything else is moot. It's coming, but it takes time to reach 18,000 flight attendants when we don't have a mailing list. Yes, the talking points are stale for those of us who are staying informed, but there are still thousands of United Flight Attendants who don't yet realize that there is an alternative to afa! I'm sorry to say that emails to us reveal that some don't even understand that afa merged with CWA.
Third, the twenty-member organizing committee is no out to sell our vision of what UFAU should be. Anything we set up is only provisional until democratically-elected representatives can begin to use UFAU resources the way the membership want them to be used. We are just 20 out of 20,000.

Why, then, should anyone sign a signature card yet you ask?
First, there's absolutely no risk. After the election is called, you can always vote to retain afa-CWA if you don't like where UFAU will take us.
Second, UFAU offers the unique opportunity of a member-controlled union. (This is impossible with afa-CWA because of their constitution.) The promise is not in the administrative specifics, but rather in the guarantee that the members, and not a few at the top, will decide what UFAU should focus on and when. Whatever you don't like about UFAU can be changed by the membership.

But don't fret over any perceived lack of planning. UFAU already has committments from a very substantial number of current afa-CWA committee members who are eager to re-establish their functions under a new union that supports them in supporting the members instead of hindering them.

Space, you're actually a bit ahead of the learning curve, here. No one is really asking these questions yet. All of this, of course, has to be answered before most United Flight Attendants will cast a vote for UFAU, and that's as it should be. We realize that there are thousands of us like you who need to know the details before risking change. Our job is to answer the questions and help each person make up her or his own mind. And once the election campaign kicks in, I promise you'll have more information than you know what to do with. Right now, we need to create the opportunity for that critical analysis before we get ahead of ourselves and miss the target. (Unfortunate, but necessary.)

So, while we're on the topic, what committees would you like to see under UFAU? The same ones afa-CWA has? What would eventually make UFAU attractive enough to earn your vote?

Sorry for the delay in responding -- I didn't realize how long it had been since I checked in.