IAM Fleet Service topic

[Tim Nelson]

So you are saying that the IAMNPF can change the plan and reduce the accrual rate of future benefits at anytime and the union can’t do squat

John John, true. The IAMPF can change the plan and reduce the accural rate of future benefits at anytime. This is already the second time in the last 10 years that they made adjustments. As it loses more members it has little choice if it wants to keep the plan in the green. Increasing company contributions rates in the IAMPF is like giving money to a drunk. Any negotiations should stick the money in the wages and benefits that are under the direct control of the masses, NOT the IAMPF.

regards,

Tim Nelson
cell: 224-234-5414

 

[Tim Nelson]

Freedom,
The ticket Tim is trying to put together is-going to "pledge" money back because their pay is already set. I think this is just a farce. Also the ND team has turned down raises every time Also Tim how do you know the current leadership didn't try everything they could to protect those stations further? And really what could you have done different? The answer is nothing. You were not there so you don't know for sure do you?

PJ, one doesn't have to be in negotiations to see where negotiations are at. Cripes, RD wasn't there either was he? Lovely, and then for US AIRWAYS management to start off negotiations week by saying "oh by the way, another 250 jobs are gone".
I know 100% that RD didn't try everything since he didn't prepare the membership and build solidarity before they started negotiations. AH knows who he is dealing with and he knows that YOU are second fiddle for RD. Cripes, RD really doesn't even care what the membership wants since the survey he posted on line was not even coded. My wife could have filled out a survey. Doug Parker could have also. He doesn't care about you, if he did he would have taken the extra time where only members could fill out surveys. There is no respect from management towards your group. PJ, why on earth would you expect that AH would keep stations open if he knows what I know, i.e., you have a District President that doesn't give a rats arse about you? Why would you expect otherwise? Your AGC's should have grabbed RD by the ear and dragged him in negotiations. The party line was that he was available if they called him. Screw that. You deserve a helluva lot better PJ so don't swallow the kool aid.

regards,

Tim Nelson
Cell: 224-234-5414

 

[pjirish317]

Tim,

So you are saying that RD was not at the first negotiating session?

We are still going to have to agreee to disagree. I think that you are making political promises that your team will not see through. I think you are selling a pipe dream with moneythat is not yours to agree to give back. I know you will just to prove your point, but what will you do when everybody else sez "noy way, I only agreeed to get the 100k a year job and you aint gettin nothing back"? What will you do then, apologize to the membership? You just can't fire the greedy bastards now can you? Congrats on getting Airtran to vote IAM. Sadly the inside Airtran folks will go DL142, and the outside will go TWU. So where did you grow DL141 there? And was it the CO representiation vote your other win? Hell the IBT practically gave that to the IAM with that first god awful contract. I applaud your passion, and your dedication to the membership, I think though you inflate the numbers, and twist the truth to get people to see only your point of view. Why were you fired from your orginizing position? Again best of luck.

 

[LD3]

I could make more on the ramp with overtime and be home with my family everynight.

You would be walking out the door @ 05:00 and walking back in at @ 23:00 7 days a week.....(sarcasm)

 

[niblet]

I for one don't see anything coming out of the D.L. I've sent emails to Mr Delaney, and have not recieved any responses back. My calls to the A.G.C's from my area fall on deaf ears also. I'm definately fustrated with a group of members that I fought for in the New Direction. I still have all their letters of thanks for helping with the vote. Now I'm invisible.......... USAirways is invisible to the D.L. I don't know maybe it's just me or maybe there a lot of other local reps that feel the same. I'm nt giving up the good fight at my station, just saying it would be nice to have the support we deserve.

 

[Tim Nelson]

Tim,

So you are saying that RD was not at the first negotiating session?

We are still going to have to agreee to disagree. I think that you are making political promises that your team will not see through. I think you are selling a pipe dream with moneythat is not yours to agree to give back. I know you will just to prove your point, but what will you do when everybody else sez "noy way, I only agreeed to get the 100k a year job and you aint gettin nothing back"? What will you do then, apologize to the membership? You just can't fire the greedy bastards now can you? Congrats on getting Airtran to vote IAM. Sadly the inside Airtran folks will go DL142, and the outside will go TWU. So where did you grow DL141 there? And was it the CO representiation vote your other win? Hell the IBT practically gave that to the IAM with that first god awful contract. I applaud your passion, and your dedication to the membership, I think though you inflate the numbers, and twist the truth to get people to see only your point of view. Why were you fired from your orginizing position? Again best of luck.

PJ, Ask FO if Rich was there? You won't be disagreeing with me once you know the truth. RD chose not to attend our negotiations on September 1 because you were not worth it to him. He decided to stay in ORD and fire me on that day and attend a New Direction meeting in ORD. He didn't fire me for doing my job, he fired me because he knew I was running against him. I'm not angry, that's politics. But I am running against him to clean this district up for both UA/CO and US. You want to keep being placed behind UA then vote for RD because that will be exactly what you will continue to get. Second fiddle. As far as the money for officers, I said what I said about the pledge and it's true and should be expected by the membership whether I say it or not. I have no intentions of trying to convince you nor is it the foundational basis for me wanting better representation. The point about the money was that it is a no brainer, these guys are pathetically overpaid. But that's beside the point of representation and building solidarity.

As far as Airtran, please read the mission of the IAM. Our mission is to organize the unorganized. Sorry PJ, but if they eventually go to IAM 142 or TWU then at least we helped preserve the representation rights of rampers and ticket agents at another carrier that was anti union as hell. Don't you realize that Southwest would have played that anti union workforce against the TWU and the IAM negotiations if we didn't organize them? Certainly, you are more of a labor guy to see the big picture on that one. As far as the CO ramp. You gotta be kiddn me? The IBT is an organizing machine and would have cleaned the IAM off the map. They outspent us 10 to 1 on that campaign, but they didn't give us crap. We took it from the IBT and kicked their arses and never let them up off the canvas. And it still was close. Winning organizing drives is never done by luck but by preparing the right organizing plan and empowering the members and building solidarity. Bottom line. It's interesting in that I'm critiquing RD for not doing his job, and you are critiquing me for winning organizing drives and actually doing my job. Sheesh.

At any rate, if I did a half ass job by winning 17,000 eligible voters for the IAM, and if 'Ford and Harrison' lawfirm & the Teamsters just handed the flimsy thing to us, then I'll take being half ass. Cripes! Organizing starts with leadership. You don't change belief systems through luck. And if the opponent drops the ball like the Teamsters did then it takes a strong organizing Director to capitalize and punch it in the endzone. Of course, the trick to organizing AND to representation IS ALWAYS building solidarity and involving the masses. If your station isn't solid then it's a leadership problem. If the system isn't solid then it's a leadership problem. Leadership is what is needed.

Keep an open mind PJ. Hopefully, RD can effectively negotiate to prevent the further loss of IAM jobs at those 19 stations. We need an extension of the job protections and at this point it won't be Canale's fault. Nobody wants to hear that crap.

regards,

Tim Nelson
cell: 224-234-5414

 

[pjirish317]

Tim,

Are you saying you were fired because you are planning on running against RD? That RD fired you for political reasons? (You wont mind if I look into this statement will you)? That is the answer you are sticking too? The reason I say spoiled child is because, with the level of passion for the membership that you are displaying right now, why did you not try to assist the leadership with your so called extension for the cut stations? Put your personal feelings aside and help secure those so called extensions that you so believe could have happened? Why, because you know that you could not deliver on the so called extensions either. I think you did not try to assist just so you could slam the ND folks and say you could have done a better job for your own personal political gain. Wouldnt putting your personal feelings aside to help the membership be the sign of slidarity that you so like to preach about? On another note, what guarentee do you have that ensures that "your" ticket will pledge back a little over $2,000 a month to the membership? What will be our (the memberships) recourse if that does not happen? Can we sue for misguided political promises? How will we know that they are actually giving back? Where will the accountability be? Because you do know that you can't just fire them for lying about the money just to get the job right? Heck you can't fire them period. I just think that you are saying things to try to discredit the current leadership when you can't say for certain that you could have done a better job or not. I personally don't think you would have had any success in getting any extensions, and deep down, I think you do to. I really do look forward to the spin that you put on things though. I find them entertaining. Again best of luck.

 

[nascarjoe]

I for one don't see anything coming out of the D.L. I've sent emails to Mr Delaney, and have not recieved any responses back. My calls to the A.G.C's from my area fall on deaf ears also. I'm definately fustrated with a group of members that I fought for in the New Direction. I still have all their letters of thanks for helping with the vote. Now I'm invisible.......... USAirways is invisible to the D.L. I don't know maybe it's just me or maybe there a lot of other local reps that feel the same. I'm nt giving up the good fight at my station, just saying it would be nice to have the support we deserve.

I don't feel the same! Everytime I call an AGC with a question, assigned or not assigned to my station, I receive a call with a answer. That would include FO, MF, NH, and vp GS.

 

[Burnout5]

Are we sure that the IAM even knows about the outsourcing yet? We found out 2 weeks ago and have yet to hear from the union. No mention of it on the website. I guess since it affects my station, I assumed it was a big deal

 

[wikileaks]

Just got the inside scoop on Tim Nelson from years ago. All you guys remember when Tim filed the cards for a union without having enough cards in the first place, just to screw all of you out of a union? do you really trust this guy. Rememeber what you all lost when Tim did that? Do you trust him now? seems like its always been about Tim. Tims way or the highway!!!!

 

[Tim Nelson]

Tim,

Are you saying you were fired because you are planning on running against RD? That RD fired you for political reasons? (You wont mind if I look into this statement will you)? That is the answer you are sticking too? The reason I say spoiled child is because, with the level of passion for the membership that you are displaying right now, why did you not try to assist the leadership with your so called extension for the cut stations? Put your personal feelings aside and help secure those so called extensions that you so believe could have happened? Why, because you know that you could not deliver on the so called extensions either. I think you did not try to assist just so you could slam the ND folks and say you could have done a better job for your own personal political gain. Wouldnt putting your personal feelings aside to help the membership be the sign of slidarity that you so like to preach about? On another note, what guarentee do you have that ensures that "your" ticket will pledge back a little over $2,000 a month to the membership? What will be our (the memberships) recourse if that does not happen? Can we sue for misguided political promises? How will we know that they are actually giving back? Where will the accountability be? Because you do know that you can't just fire them for lying about the money just to get the job right? Heck you can't fire them period. I just think that you are saying things to try to discredit the current leadership when you can't say for certain that you could have done a better job or not. I personally don't think you would have had any success in getting any extensions, and deep down, I think you do to. I really do look forward to the spin that you put on things though. I find them entertaining. Again best of luck.

PJ,
I was fired because of political reasons. I understand and I'm not pissed about it at all. I did try to help but Delaney didn't listen he just wished me away. I never left airtran. I never left Continental. I never left United. Delaney knew I was running against him and even though I did my job, and you don't have the decency to admit it, I was still fired.

The reason Delaney put down on paper for my firing was, "advocating the non-payment of dues by IAM members". That was the official reason. His reference was, me telling the Continental rampers that they didn't have to pay dues anymore to the Teamsters because the Teamsters still pimped them of their dues in late August. Hey PJ, you don't have to call anyone, how about picking up the phone and calling me. My cell is 224-234-5414. There is nothing better than firsthand. If you want to call someone else then fine but it is fundamentally unfair if you don't call me also. But at any rate, activism is what is key to winning solidarity and effective negotiations. And PJ, how about admitting that it sends a pretty cruddy message when you yourself aren't even worth it for the President of your district to attend your first section 6 negotiations in 12 years. What kind of message does that send to the company? I'll tell you since you don't want to answer, it sends the wrong message that your president doesn't care.

regards,

Tim Nelson

 

[bagchucker]

I agree with Tim on something, the fact that union solidarity starts with leadership and follows suit all the way down to the weakest link on the ramp. Without leadership, there is apathy. Apathy is abound and leadership is inept at today's IAM. There really is not much of a noticeable difference, at least in the rank and file, of how it is today compared to when RC was in charge. Sorry, I am not here to stir the pot, but as far as unions go, ours is weak. The West is forgotten/ignored and the East has its cliques. There is no true solidarity, because there is no leader. There are plenty of puppets doing role playing, but only marginally. I am affected by the outsourcing notice handed out Sept. 1. There has been one visit to the station by MC. Prior to that, phone calls and text mssgs. to reach him went unanswered. He shed NO light on the situation when he visited. When the membership needs the union, they are not there for us. I do not have much confidence in our union. I am in an area where there are lots of Railroad jobs and Longshoremen jobs. The IAM could learn A LOT about how to be true leaders in a union and pass that along to the members and actually have a leg to stand on, by taking examples from the tough Railroad and Longshoremen unions. Those guys get heard and people listen. Not the case here. WEAK. Sorry if I am pissing people off with this, but perhaps it is time to step up and DO something, rather than play charades and blow smoke. I would not expect much from our contract negotiations, but then again, I may not have a job soon anyway, so it won't matter. I thought unions were in place to try to protect jobs. A true leader would have discouraged the masses against voting the T.A. POS in, if they seriously cared about protecting jobs. The 141 serves UA, US is sucking hind tit in this IAM world.

 

[Tim Nelson]

Are we sure that the IAM even knows about the outsourcing yet? We found out 2 weeks ago and have yet to hear from the union. No mention of it on the website. I guess since it affects my station, I assumed it was a big deal

I think they are too busy singing kumbuya with UA CEO's. The sad reality of it is that our AGC's haven't been able to persuade Delaney to update US AIRWAYS members like he updates United members. Cripes, you guys have to find out about the pension whack from the mailbox, and had to find out about more IAM US AIRWAYS jobs getting whacked by your managers. Never mind the Labor Advisory committee report, you will have to go to the CWA or ALPA page to read that even though your AGC sits on that panel. Politics aside, something is wrong. I hope Parker is a nice fella because without activism and getting the members involved, I got a bad feeling about 19 more stations. And I don't want to hear any crap that it's Canale's fault or the memberships fault. Hogwash!

regards,

Tim Nelson
Cell: 224-234-5414

 

[bagchucker]

And before people harp on me for not stepping up and DOING something, I would IF I wanted to, but it is poorly organized and it would be a waste of time. The IAM does get over $600 a year from me, so I do feel I have reason to voice my opinion whether favorable or not.

 

[Tim Nelson]

And before people harp on me for not stepping up and DOING something, I would IF I wanted to, but it is poorly organized and it would be a waste of time. The IAM does get over $600 a year from me, so I do feel I have reason to voice my opinion whether favorable or not.

Our AGC"s have not made a difference. If they can't get the President to have the interest to go into negotiations and show a clear image to management that IAM 141 supports US AIRWAYS workers then what difference have they made? I know the answer because I already heard it. THe answer was that "Rich was just a phone call away if we needed him." Sheesh. These guys just don't get it. If I was the company and saw that the "Leader" didn't bother to show up for the first negotiations, just to fire Time Nelson on the same day and have a "New Direction" meeting in ORD, I'd be LMAO. Bottom line is that there is NO support since US AIRWAYS workers are ONLY second fiddle. US AIRWAYS pays the same dues and should be just as important as any other member. I mean, the company opens up negotiations week hammering IAM 141 with another 250 job loss, AND YOUR OWN PRESIDENT DOESN'T BOTHER TO MENTION THE JOB LOSS. NEVER MIND THAT HE WAS TOO DARN BUSY TO BOTHER ATTENDING NEGOTIATIONS! PUH LEEEASSEEEEEEEEE

regards,

Tim Nelson