Twu/Amfa Supporters

[Anomaly]

There may be a few line mechanics that will vote in the IBT but they would be in a very small group. LAX and maybe some in Miami. The big question is no matter which union you want IBT or AMFA the total goal is to rid AA of the TWU. So all the childish bickering name calling is not going to make it happen. We the AMT's of AA need to find common ground and work toward getting rid of the TWU.

Since I've been in the airline industry AA has set the bar backwards many times. We the AMT's at AA have worked with the company and the TWU and what do you have to show for it? Each of us has to answer that question?

remember the jr program, 12 yrs to top out, extra yr to be vested, now our pension, retirerment medical gone, Holidays double time and half pay, sick pay, sick days, come on think of all we have given to keep AA number one. But now we are what? #3. Look what AA did to the Reno guys and the TWA guys.

How many companies have you worked for and how many yrs do you have invested in your career?
What are you going to leave with? How many pensions? and How much?

Tulsa you don't have to deal with the ramp as much as the line guys. Most of the airlines have gotten rid of O/H and with all that AA and the lack of fight in the TWU how much time do you think it will be before AA sheds that? It's going to be as soon as they find a place and someone to sign that they will do the work for the money AA wants to pay. Don't kids yourself....

"YES" I am an AMFA supporter because I want the TWU gone, I want to be seperate from the ramp, and I want a say in who is the TOP guy in the union which represents me. AMFA is the only union in our industry that has those things if there was another and it was going to look out for our craft as well then we would have another choice. But there isn't so AMFA is our only choice.

If you are really an IBT supporter than why bash the AMFA shouldn't you be bashing the TWU and trying to find a way to discredit the TWU intl? Inst that what AMFA supporters are doing?

Think about why your here at AA is it the enjoyment of work or is it just $$$$?

Think anbout the guys who will follow, maybe your sons, do you want them to have to put up with all the BS we have, or do you want better for them?

AMFA maybe not our saving union but it is a way to shed the industrial union from OUR CRAFT.

Sign an AMFA card lets put this to a VOTE, You can VOTE TWU/IBT/AMFA but lets work for the betterment of OUR CLASS and CRAFT

Because in the end the real campaign will most likely be fought between the Teamsters and AMFA. From what I am reading on this and other sites, TWU is the underdog by far.

 

[Anomaly]

I have asked UAL members about thier experience with the IBT.

The United guy were promised a local in SFO never happened..

Are they lumped into the local with all other IBT members, YES was answer

Are there any UAL members that are officers of the locals they are assigned to NO is answer

Why would IBT split the members of UAL in SFO between two locals one in SFO and the other in LAX.

I was told that it was to insure that UAL did not control the local by the sheer number of memebers.
So you can be working in SFo beside another mechanic from a different Local. How BS is that.

I am NOT going to stoop to the low level of the others on this board and call you a liar, but I will say you are incorrect on a few points.

First, in less than 2 weeks I will celebrate my 28 th anniversary as a mechanic at UAL. Other than a short time at Indy, most of my time has been on the line. After starting to participate on these boards, I can say I have been a bit more active in my union and began to attend the meetings.

The United guy were promised a local in SFO never happened.

Incorrect. There is a United Local in SFO. It is Local 856, and while I am a member of 986, I am allowed to attend the regularly scheduled meetings regarding my craft. I do not attend the regular business meetings at 865, and if I wanted to, would have to do that at my own Local. Yes, SFO was split. More on that later.

Are they lumped into the local with all other IBT members, YES was answer

No argument. But like I said above, we do have our own regular meetings for mechanics and discuss mechanic related subjects primarily. One of the Teamster groups represented are the Police in the same city as the Local and at least part of the airport. They can be very helpful in an informational picket.

Are there any UAL members that are officers of the locals they are assigned to NO is answer

Incorrect. If you are talking about SFO, there are two UAL mechanics who are officers of the executive board. One sits on each board at 986 and 856. Other Locals too have UAL mechanics who sit on the executive boards, or are presidents of the Local such as Local 19 in Houston Texas. The Business Agents who help us with grievances or other issues here on the west coast from LAX to SEA are all former UAL mechanics, and all of them are high seniority. L986 has 3 and L856 has 1.

Why would IBT split the members of UAL in SFO between two locals one in SFO and the other in LAX. I was told that it was to insure that UAL did not control the local by the sheer number of memebers.

While this was the predominate rumor, it too is untrue. The truth however, is not a much easier pill to swallow, and of all my gripes with the Teamsters, this one stands out as number one. I asked this question of the two officers from both unions. They both gave me the same answer. Local 986 in Southern California is one of the largest and most influential Airline Locals in the nation. They were responsible for funding, developing, and promoting much of the campaign to represent UAL mechanics. Local 856 was a much smaller local and very close to the property but without the means necessary to sustain a campaign or election. The two worked out a deal where they could use the financial power of 856 and at the same time the close proximity of local 856 (about 5 miles away from the UAL maintenance facility and airport). To do this the membership was split in half, some paying dues to 986, some to 856, but all members being allowed access to 856. There are some benefits, like two business agents, either of whom will help out, and again having the feel of a small local with the power of a larger local right behind us. Regardless of the split, the UAL members of 856 could easily take over the local if there was a need. So far, however, the local treats all of us with much respect whether we are 856 or 986.

Have you looked in to the AMFA locals? As a former AMFA member, I can tell you we had problems with the locations of our locals as well. Ask Alaska Air AMFA members. Does every one of their members have direct access to a Local?

 

[Anomaly]

Does the IBT deduct from an employees paycheck for their Pension?

No Buck. The contribution is done through the employer and it has nothing to do with the dues under the RLA. I am not so sure about the same under the NLRA.

Please, however, know this. Just because you become Teamsters does NOT automatically enroll you in to one of the IBT pension plans. They first have to be negotiated with the company as part of the contract, and secondly, the work group would have to be accepted or invited to loin the plan.

A successful plan like the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan is selective on who is allowed to join. The want a work group who is solid and financially strong, but at the same time do not want t work force that is so old it will be an immediate liability. This seems to be the case at UAL. There is ao much talk about joining the WCT, but in all actuality, our work group average age may be too high to qualify.

Lets just say we are able to get in. With the WCT there are different vesting periods based on the age of the participant and are given credit for continuous past employment over age 52. At 55 and over, you get 4 year past credit and can be vested in only 1 year while a 35 year old will be vested after the normal wait period of 5 years.

This vesting period too can be a problem if there is a an issue such as the company folding, or another union getting voted in. So let's say we are Teamsters in the WCT Plan and have been a part of this DB for 4 years. Just prior to the 5th we go back to amfa, we will then loose nearly 5 years of investments and get nothing for it. This is the number one reason why some of the amfa supporters are so set against the IBT plans.

 

[TWU informer]

IBT Pension issue will soon be irrelevant

 

[Anomaly]

IBT Pension issue will soon be irrelevant

As will you

 

[AC Tynker]

As will you

lmao

 

[swamt]

As will you

Well, well, well, here you are Anomaly. Why did you exit from the other threads where you and I were communicating? You still have alot of questions unanswered. Plus, ever since your lies and misconceptions have been brought to light, I haven't heard a word from you. You just ran away and hid, as well as your little buddy Rice. Typical teamsters once you have been revealed on all your lies and mis-leading information. Once you guys are proven wrong, we never hear from you guys again. Here let me reming you where we were;

1- teamsters will lie cheat and steel to get anyone and everyone to sign a card for them.
2- They will also spend millions upon millions during card drive campaigns, then poof, never see them again.
3- teamsters promice and garrentee to re-open the AA mechs contract if they are voted into AA for
representation.
4- teamsters claim AMFA is broke and has no money.
5- teamsters promice pensions.
6- teamsters DO NOT have open negociations, they do private behind closed doors deals.
7- teamsters international officers are appointed not voted into their positions--( the ol budddy buddy system)
8- teamster international officers DO NOT feel the same pain as the members when consessions hit.
9- teamsters DO NOT have a system to easily remove international or local officers when performance is
not up to par with the membership.
10- With the teamsters you DO NOT have a say when your dues are raised.

I could go on and on. Everything that the teamsters (or it's puppets) have been saying have all been lies, and proven to be wrong. It's time for all you teamster lovers to move on down the road and let the TWU and AMFA have their vote. teamsters are corrupt, lie, cheat and steel just to get people to sign cards for them. Once you do, you will never see them again.

Anomaly why did you stop corisponding with me?? Did the truth hurt that bad where you had to go into hiding. Like I have always said, the teamsters and their promoters will do it in for the teamsters, just leave it totally up to them. LOL Gottea love this stuff!!!

 

[DNTULSA]

As will you

How much does the twu pay you, abnormally?

You sure can't be working for the teamsters!

You are at -342 and sinking!

 

[Overspeed]

As will you

Ouch!

 

[Overspeed]

Well, well, well, here you are Anomaly. Why did you exit from the other threads where you and I were communicating? You still have alot of questions unanswered. Plus, ever since your lies and misconceptions have been brought to light, I haven't heard a word from you. You just ran away and hid, as well as your little buddy Rice. Typical teamsters once you have been revealed on all your lies and mis-leading information. Once you guys are proven wrong, we never hear from you guys again. Here let me reming you where we were;

1- teamsters will lie cheat and steel to get anyone and everyone to sign a card for them.
2- They will also spend millions upon millions during card drive campaigns, then poof, never see them again.
3- teamsters promice and garrentee to re-open the AA mechs contract if they are voted into AA for
representation.
4- teamsters claim AMFA is broke and has no money.
5- teamsters promice pensions.
6- teamsters DO NOT have open negociations, they do private behind closed doors deals.
7- teamsters international officers are appointed not voted into their positions--( the ol budddy buddy system)
8- teamster international officers DO NOT feel the same pain as the members when consessions hit.
9- teamsters DO NOT have a system to easily remove international or local officers when performance is
not up to par with the membership.
10- With the teamsters you DO NOT have a say when your dues are raised.

I could go on and on. Everything that the teamsters (or it's puppets) have been saying have all been lies, and proven to be wrong. It's time for all you teamster lovers to move on down the road and let the TWU and AMFA have their vote. teamsters are corrupt, lie, cheat and steel just to get people to sign cards for them. Once you do, you will never see them again.

Anomaly why did you stop corisponding with me?? Did the truth hurt that bad where you had to go into hiding. Like I have always said, the teamsters and their promoters will do it in for the teamsters, just leave it totally up to them. LOL Gottea love this stuff!!!

AMFA members at NWA, AS, and Mesaba went POOF. How come you don't mention that? AMFA calls industrial unions dues collections machines which due to AMFA's record they are dues destroying machines since tens of thousands of AMFA members have lost their jobs. Yes the TWU is taking their lumps but nowhere near what AMFA has been hit with due to their masterful skills in navigating BK. UA/AMFA lost all their AO jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. NW/AMFA lost all their overhaul and most line maintenance jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. AS/AMFA gave up all their overhaul while NOT in BK, the AA/TWU gave up none. US/IAM surpassed 50% outsourcing in BK, AA/TWU did not. Only the IBT at CO has expanded jobs in the period following the IAM getting busted in BK and losing all EO and half of their AO.

AMFA calls adding one AO line a win at WN even though they had the upper hand. WN is the only consistently profitable airline and already outsources most of their overhaul. Why did AMFA not wield their power against WN management to get more work in-house or even larger raises? Because their bark is impressive but they are toothless. A paper tiger and weak. Now they want more dues so they seek to raid other unions with the same false promises and delusions of grandeur they have since I first entered the industry in the early 80s. AMFA has only extended an existing IBT contract,and has actually weakened it by allowing four lines of overhaul to be outsourced to El Salvador while gaining ONE line. Why didn't AMFA push for those lines to be in-house? Because their hand and resolve are weak.

Why did USAPA and the APA fire the Seham law firm? AMFA's legal savior must not be that good after all.

 

[ThirdSeatHero]

AMFA members at NWA, AS, and Mesaba went POOF. How come you don't mention that? AMFA calls industrial unions dues collections machines which due to AMFA's record they are dues destroying machines since tens of thousands of AMFA members have lost their jobs. Yes the TWU is taking their lumps but nowhere near what AMFA has been hit with due to their masterful skills in navigating BK. UA/AMFA lost all their AO jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. NW/AMFA lost all their overhaul and most line maintenance jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. AS/AMFA gave up all their overhaul while NOT in BK, the AA/TWU gave up none. US/IAM surpassed 50% outsourcing in BK, AA/TWU did not. Only the IBT at CO has expanded jobs in the period following the IAM getting busted in BK and losing all EO and half of their AO.

AMFA calls adding one AO line a win at WN even though they had the upper hand. WN is the only consistently profitable airline and already outsources most of their overhaul. Why did AMFA not wield their power against WN management to get more work in-house or even larger raises? Because their bark is impressive but they are toothless. A paper tiger and weak. Now they want more dues so they seek to raid other unions with the same false promises and delusions of grandeur they have since I first entered the industry in the early 80s. AMFA has only extended an existing IBT contract,and has actually weakened it by allowing four lines of overhaul to be outsourced to El Salvador while gaining ONE line. Why didn't AMFA push for those lines to be in-house? Because their hand and resolve are weak.

Why did USAPA and the APA fire the Seham law firm? AMFA's legal savior must not be that good after all.

And lets see....

The ibt at Horizon...a regional carrier...where they represent Pilots and Mechanics, NOT in bankruptcy, not only lost their overhauls to outsourcing 30%+ of the mechanics ranks gone, they also agreed, IN WRITING, to never speak of it in public.

So with with both the Pilots and the power of 1.4 million members, the teamsters failed at a regional carrier.

And you think they can do what for you at American?

 

[swamt]

AMFA members at NWA, AS, and Mesaba went POOF. How come you don't mention that? AMFA calls industrial unions dues collections machines which due to AMFA's record they are dues destroying machines since tens of thousands of AMFA members have lost their jobs. Yes the TWU is taking their lumps but nowhere near what AMFA has been hit with due to their masterful skills in navigating BK. UA/AMFA lost all their AO jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. NW/AMFA lost all their overhaul and most line maintenance jobs in BK, AA/TWU did not. AS/AMFA gave up all their overhaul while NOT in BK, the AA/TWU gave up none. US/IAM surpassed 50% outsourcing in BK, AA/TWU did not. Only the IBT at CO has expanded jobs in the period following the IAM getting busted in BK and losing all EO and half of their AO.

AMFA calls adding one AO line a win at WN even though they had the upper hand. WN is the only consistently profitable airline and already outsources most of their overhaul. Why did AMFA not wield their power against WN management to get more work in-house or even larger raises? Because their bark is impressive but they are toothless. A paper tiger and weak. Now they want more dues so they seek to raid other unions with the same false promises and delusions of grandeur they have since I first entered the industry in the early 80s. AMFA has only extended an existing IBT contract,and has actually weakened it by allowing four lines of overhaul to be outsourced to El Salvador while gaining ONE line. Why didn't AMFA push for those lines to be in-house? Because their hand and resolve are weak.

Why did USAPA and the APA fire the Seham law firm? AMFA's legal savior must not be that good after all.

Overspeed you need to get your facts straight first. Alaska is stil AMFA. The National Director is an Alaska mech. I have addressed the questions in the past. The NWA fiascoe was a bad mistake. AMFA has admitted this, learned from it, and moved onward. However; AMFA has been the only mechanics union to do a strike in how many years? At least they have the gonads to do one instead of not only voting in consessions after consessions but actualy having a union push and promote such consessions after sonsesions.

As far as the UAL loss of jobs this was directly do to the contract nego by the teamster prior to AMFA getting elected on property. It is in writing for the teamsters to allow UAL to close Indy and another maint base in Cal.
All of this is in the contract, in writing.

AMFA has brought in numerous jobs back in house. The only reason you only hear about the new line of maint in Dallas is because it's one of the biggest.

AMFA has never worked with any co. to get an employee fired. AMFA has never not representad someone after a termination.

You know what overspeed? I am just an outsider with no reprocutions from any of this. I originally came on here to correct any lies and misconceptions the TWU or teamsters may say about AMFA. Now people are trying to attack me about AMFA, people that I was never addressing to begin with, so far I have sent the weak packing with their tails between their legs, as well as all their lies being proven lies. Just ask Anomaly and Rice. Now you are going to try and step in to take their place. 1st of all it won't work. Secondly, everyone out here has seen what happend to Anomaly, Rice as well as the teamster Attorney Joshua. Why is it everone is soooo concerned with me? BTW; you need to check your numbers with ALL airlines. AMFA has a much better record than all the airlines mechanics unions put together.

 

[swamt]

You know there are so many threads that can all be wrapped up into one. Why all the different named threads ALL talking about the same things. Oh yea, that's to help spread confussion.
I will say this. Funny how teamsters and TWU supporters are now stretching to find something honest and negative against AMFA. Se how hard it is boys? Now they are dragging something out about APA firing Seham. So what, those are pilots. They can do what ever they want. And we mechanics can do the samething if Seham does something deserving of such reactions. Can you guys do this at TWU?--No!, Can you guys do this at teamsters?--No! (hence why Joshua M. is still their attorney, is beyond me), Can you do this with the IAM?--No! They also keep bringing up the NWA fiascoe. AMFA has admitted their part. I have yet to see any other union, especially the teamsters who flew international officers, as well as Jimmy Hoffa himself during the strike on NWA aircraft to admitt that their unions crossed picket lines to help support the company while a strike was going on.
Answer that all you teamsters and TWU and IAM boys. All these unions were seen crossing picket lines to support the co. That is what we all call scab unions gentlemen.
You guys need to follow how hard these guys are stretching to find negative information on AMFA, they have to work really hard on it, and stretch out for something that happemd between the APA pilots. Hell, even it was true, it could have been a personality conflic, and I could see that with how confident Seham is and represents himself. Just ask your "little" teamsters attorney (Joshua M.). I still laugh thinking about it. Keep diging boys, your doing all the work for AMFA--Keep up the good work...

 

[Rogallo]

Looks like Anamoly has been silenced by his handlers..!! Doing more harm then good was he..??

 

[Realityck]

All these unions were seen crossing picket lines to support the co. That is what we all call scab unions gentlemen.

AMFA’s +40 year history of raiding other unions (IAM – IBT – TWU) is a matter of record. Anyone with even a grain of common sense wouldn’t expect the unions that were constantly being raided by AMFA to come to their defense. But then AMFA (and maybe you too) live in a make-believe world. As Delle told me the time we met “AA management will pay Aircraft Mechanics much more than they do now because they recognize we’re professionals”. I laughed at him and said you certainly don’t understand American’s management, do you.


You guys need to follow how hard these guys are stretching to find negative information on AMFA, they have to work really hard on it, and stretch out for something that happemd between the APA pilots. Hell, even it was true, it could have been a personality conflic, and I could see that with how confident Seham is and represents himself.


I don't know Seham, but the APA and USAPA don't seem to share your viewpoint


A ALLIED PILOTS ASSOCIATION
P
A December 14,1992


Mr. O. V. Delle-Femine
National Director
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assoc.
P. O. Box 39
Fayetteville, GA 30214

Mr. Delle-Femine:

As the senior member of the Allied Pilots Association (APA) Board of Directors, I consider your November 17, 1992 letter to APA President LaVoy nothing more than a personal, political attack on behalf of Messrs. Martin Seham and David W. Gould, APA’S VicePresident. It is unthinkable that you have the audacity to question the prerogative and right of the President of APA to change General Counsel. Your intrusive meddling into APA's affairs, business, and policy is a most appallingly deceitful and cowardly act. When did our President or Association ever question or meddle in your association's affairs?

Since you have decided to interfere by making erroneous and disparaging political statements against our President and Association, allow me to respond. Mr. Delle-Femine, there are six billion people in this world. It is an amazing coincidence to me that you courtesy-copied your letter only to David W. Gould, the only person who has stated his intentions to lead the recall of President LaVoy. The Vice President has neither a legal say in, nor a vote in the selection of APA's General Counsel. This being the case, the sole purpose for copying Mr. Gould is obvious to even the most naive political observer: to help him undermine President LaVoy.

This is not the first time Mr. Gould has been the ringleader of a political circus. During a Department of Labor-supervised election, Mr. Gould tried to seat himself prior to the election certification, even though the premature-seating was ruled out of order by the parliamentarian and the chair. That fiasco cost the membership approximately $50,000 for the special Board Meeting Mr. Gould's adherents called.

Currently, the smoke screen for Mr. Gould's divisive political agenda is the General Counsel issue. Once again, the membership will foot the bill for Vice President Gould's politica1 activities. Confrontational behavior and zealous, self-righteous ranting seems to have become Mr. Gould's trademark.

Let's examine Mr. Seham's record a little more closely; unlike you, I was there.

1983 CONTRACT

After deregulation, the APA leadership had it's first chance to show their negotiating skills and determination. With Mr. Seham's counsel and help, they created the most anti-union “B Scale” ever devised. The A-Scale pilots' pay would be subsidized by the B-Scale pilots, or, as Mr. Seham said, the A-Scale pilots kept their present level of-pay and benefits "all at the cost of reduced salaries for newly-hired pilots." Essentially, the negotiators and Mr. Seham agreed that professional pilots at American Airlines were worth less than half of their current wages. Next came the classic management tactic of "divide and conquer” in the form of Supplement B, written by Mr. Seham. Basically, Supplement B stipulates that A-Scale and B-Scale pilots shall never be equal. Mr. Seham drafted management’s dream come true - a permanently divided union at a time the Company was under no financial difficulty.

1987 CONTRACT

Having set the stage in 1983, the big payoff for management was the 1987 contract. With the union now divided, APA negotiators agree to gut our work rules, granted a less than one and one-half percent pay raise per year for the A-Scale pilots, and compensation for the B-Scale pilots far below the market level. As the icing on the cake, they gave away our scope clause, to allow management to buy and operate commuter airlines flying up to seventy-seat aircraft. The Company was in an excellent financial position afterAPA negotiated a contract that put our pilots behind in pay and benefits to everyone except Continental Airlines, so senior AMR management rewarded itself with a lucrative stock bonus plan. Mr. Seham called it a victory; for whom was it a victory?

1990 CONTRACT

By this time, senior A-Scale pilots at AAL were flying "wide-body" aircraft for narrow-body pay rates, B-Scale was on the verge of being institutionalized, and management intended to "re- vamp" our medical benefits, once again at the expense of the new-hire pilot. Through a grassroots campaign, which climaxed in the firing of our negotiating committee, we turned things around. In the middle of a recession and war, we negotiated the best contract in seven years, while Mr. Seham had to be dragged along throughout the entire process.

LUMP SUM ARBITRATION: Mr. Seham lost the Lump Sum Benefit arbitration award on the merits of the ease. The arbitrator awarded the benefit “only" to pilots hired prior to 1983 due to Supplement B, which was drafted by Mr. Seham. Four years after
creating the B-Scale, one more wedge was driven into the membership by Mr. Seham's hand. It was President LaVoy, while a member of the new negotiating committee, who was able to secure the Lump Sum Benefit for all pilots and bring the members together, not
Mr. Seham.

MIA TDY: Mr. Seham lost the MIA TDY arbitration case that was initiated by the former president.

APA EAGLE STRUCTURE: Under Mr. Seham's counsel in 1986, the former negotiating committee gutted our scope clause to allow the Company to buy Eagle commuter airlines. Later in 1987, the former APA president appointed an Ad Hoc committee (two of the members were also negotiators), to determine if Eagle pilots should be APA members and sit on the APA Board of Directors. With the advice and counsel of Mr. Seham, they took in the Eagle pilots and created the structure currently in place.

APA DRUG TESTING AGREEMENT: With Mr. Seham's counsel, his son helped negotiate our drug testing agreement. Mr. Seham boasted how his son did a “bang up job". The Sehams did a bang up job all right, but tor managemcnt, not the pilots. The agreement must be an historic first. The union actually negotiated to fire it's own pilots. The agreement includes no rehabilitation for it’s pilots as does other airlines, and is far more restrictive than the government regulation itself. Management loved it so much, they gave this agreement, paid for by our members, to all other employee groups.

Do you think Mr. Crandall is relieved because he does not have to face "the man who beat him at every turn"? Sir, all I can say is, you don't know Mr. Crandall. It is my opinion that he would love to keep Mr. Seham for the next round of negotiations.

After twenty-five years of Mr. Seham's counsel, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association actively represents no one. Essentially, your union is "on paper" only. Such a record speaks volumes about your choice of counsel.

Sincerely,

Captain Dennis Petretti
Chairman, LGA


DP/cle
cc: APA National Officers
APA Board of Directors


Thanks for the reminder. I knew Seham was fired by the Allied Pilots Association but I forgot the exact reason why.

Lee Seham was fired by former USAPA President, Mike Cleary last year:

Monday, November 7, 2011

Fellow Pilots:

Rumors and tall tales abound on the topic of Lee Seham's relationship with USAPA. Much has been written but, as usual, please take note of the authors of these grandiose yarns and you may find some insight into the motives behind these stories. But here's what has actually happened. To start with, it is worth noting that the current Officers inherited the relationship with Mr. Seham - Seham was chosen precertification.

During the summer of 2010, we recognized that Lee Seham represented a single point of failure for our union. His firm is composed of himself as the sole attorney capable of litigating and a group of journeymen in support. If something, anything, happened to Seham then USAPA would be in trouble because there is no heir apparent inside his firm. And so we sought out to find another competent RLA firm, not to replace Seham, but one with which we could create and test a business relationship in order to eliminate the single point of failure. Competent, powerful labor firms are difficult to come by but after searching for months, we had narrowed that field to Brian O'Dwyer's firm when the Pension Investigation Committee (PIC) needed counsel to potentially investigate State Street Bank (SSB). The PIC attorney was conflicted with SSB, and O'Dwyer was the perfect fit with his extensive pension litigation experience and deep bench.

And so in the spring of 2011, the Board approved the creation of a business relationship with O'Dwyer and we started assigning work to this firm to test their work product. At that time, I personally called Seham and told him the reasons that O'Dwyer had been hired. I assured him that he was not being replaced. There is, after all and unfortunately, plenty of legal work at USAPA to go around.

Now I frankly would have been more than happy to leave well enough alone at this point and to not have to go into the following detail; there just isn't any value for us in telling every detail of the occasional unpleasant business relationship. But the truth of this issue has now been clouded by those who are experts in smearing anyone in their way - they are the dying emblems of old ALPA. So here we are; time for a little truth tellin'.

For a very long time we had been warned about problems with Seham by many others including the Teamsters (their opinions of Seham are not printable), SWAPA (the Southwest pilots' union, who terminated their relationship with Seham just this year for "incompetence and billing irregularities"), APA (the Allied Pilots Association, who fired Seham for a variety of issues including pro-management business relationships), to numerous respected individual labor and RLA attorneys who are aware of Seham's poor reputation among labor advocates. These concerns were relayed to us over time and we took each of them into consideration along the way by doing our best to investigate them and assigning some level of veracity to each of the claims. Each of these concerns with Seham were addressed openly and proactively with him in an attempt to correct problem areas and to stay on track. The efforts to resolve them internally were not successful.

One of the repeated concerns from others is that Seham has a record of becoming vindictive when his business relationships end. Through the latespring, despite my assurances to him to the contrary, Seham became convinced that he was being replaced. This was not ever the plan. The plan was only to eliminate the single point of failure for our organization. At this point, Mr. Seham started engaging in the political process inappropriately. There is never a time when counsel should be politically engaged within the union, but this in fact happened on two occasions where Seham participated in secret telephone calls with certain Board members, plotting for the overthrow of Officers who he believed stood in the path of his USAPA revenue stream. (These calls are acknowledged by those who participated.) This behavior is not only outrageous; it breaches his fiduciary obligation to USAPA as counsel.

The politics continued when Seham began informing line pilots that he wasn't consulted about USAPA's status quo filing in the Eastern District of New York (EDNY) and that the filing would fail and be harmful to our other litigations. This was most remarkable because Mr. Seham was in full favor and support of the EDNY filing - right up until the time that he wasn't the one filing the case. The EDNY case was filed because we believe the Company has been violating the law by frustrating the grievance, arbitration and negotiating process to their economic advantage. When the Company violates the law, I believe that the pilots want us to fight back with the tools available regardless of how much of an uphill battle it is to show up in court in America as a labor union. And that is what we did - we made a tough decision to defend the pilots' rights with the EDNY filing.

Finally, concerns over Mr. Seham's billing practices were coming to light. Although, by his own admission, we had substantially reduced our use of his firm during the late spring and summer, Seham's bills were actually increasing. At this point we became aware of the overbilling problems the Southwest pilots had encountered with Seham. Scrutiny of the bills produced more questions than answers and we sought professional advice to protect the organization. Many firms specializing in auditing legal bills were contacted and interviewed. Preliminary reviews by auditors told us that the Seham bills were "un-auditable", "some of the most uninformative invoices ever seen", and "a significant deviation from the standard bills law firms submit". This preliminary indication that there may have been irregularities in Seham's billing practices with USAPA is a situation that the Board has a responsibility to look into. And so, faced with these allegations, I recommended that the Board authorize an audit of all of our legal bills, which is under way. Unfortunately, after eight weeks of asking the Seham firm for the information necessary to audit the bills, not a single shred of the requested information has been forthcoming. Zero.

Interestingly, instead of cooperating with USAPA and simply providing the requested documentation, Seham has retained counsel which specializes in defending attorneys against ethics charges and disbarment proceedings. I for one find it interesting that he feels the need for this when he has simply been asked to provide substantiation for his billing to us. USAPA has an absolute right to the information we are requesting. The audit will proceed, with or without Mr. Seham's cooperation. Each of our other law firms has indicated they will cooperate fully.

We have found that Mr. Seham has presided over his own demise at many labor unions, and he certainly isn't helping himself here at USAPA. I would be happier if this all were not so, but our obligations to maintain competent, ethical and effective counsel will not be hindered.

I am happy to report that attorneys Brian O'Dwyer and Pat Szymanski are offering us many opportunities that were not previously available. Most recently, the Board approved the reassignment of the Phoenix Declaratory Judgment case to Szymanski and O'Dwyer. Aside from the fact that we cannot be represented by a firm that presents basic trust issues, O'Dwyer is a seasoned labor attorney with political clout that was simply unavailable before. Szymanski is a very experienced RLA attorney who served as general counsel to the Teamsters and Mr. Hoffa for seven years. Their approach is decidedly different from the high confrontation that marked Seham's interaction with everyone, from the judges to his attorney counterparts on the other side. Being advocates for your position doesn't require foment and hostility with those on the other side. A fresh approach to our legal strategy will produce healthier results.

I know that there are additional questions that have been raised. If you want more information, one accurate place to get more information is the recent CLT update that you can read by clicking here. In addition, we have assembled a short series of Q&As on this topic that you can read by clicking here.

None of these decisions were made lightly. All were made after due deliberation and after a full review of the facts. This organization will be managed methodically and dispassionately with only your best interests in mind. I am extremely confident that we are in a position to move forward with more competent legal counsel than we had before. We are well aware that all of this may not be very interesting to many pilots and we will be communicating to you on the critical topics of the status of our contract and seniority dispute in the next few days.

Sincerely,

Captain Michael Cleary
President