East on East violence - its getting uglier!!!
Participate, PHL!!
Tempe is Always Taking Our Pulse!
The PHL Domicile Vice Chairman Special Election is drawing to a close. We at The Compass Correction have been gratified and encouraged by the level of engagement and voter participation in our recent national officer election. A voter turnout near 90% is something that Management will certainly notice.
At PHL, several candidates are now vying for the Vice Chairmanship and regardless of whom one might be supporting; The Compass Correction Coalition encourages all PHL Pilots to cast a vote in this election. Unity of belief in our union and enthusiastic participation is mandatory for your union to be effective.
For anyone reading the updates from USAPA Headquarters, there can be little doubt that there is encouragement here of late, (the national election) and sadly, some things that simply still need to be changed.
For example; our last Compass Correction dealt with the artful waste of dues money by the Grievance Committee and the PHL Domicile Chairman. To review: Grievance Chairman Parrella held “Grievance Training” on March 27, 2012. The participants did not include a single elected representative!
Some additional points to ponder:
1) The PHL pilots did not choose or elect any of these participants to represent them and if pilots are going to be trained for this sort of work, they should be interviewed and properly vetted as qualified by the Officers and BPR. If this is going to become some sort of committee, or “extra” help, shouldn’t the most qualified, democratically selected candidates do this sort of job?
2) CLT and PHX are larger based than PHL, and neither of those based apparently need extra un-elected reps to do representational work in the Chief Pilots’ office, so why these three?
3) Unless our union policy has changed to have a committee of trained reps, this action violates current union policy. There is no language to support having un-elected reps.
4) There are no resolutions, either in the PHL domicile or at the BPR level authorizing the training of additional pilots for this type of work. This whole scheme was hatched by the PHL domicile Chairman!
Still untrained are: Duly Designated Representative from PHL, Jamie Weidner, Vice President Elect, Steve Bradford, Executive Vice President Elect, Steve Smyser, PHX Domicile Representatives Elect, John E. Scherff, Roger F. Velez, Jr. and David Simmons. ALL of the above men were in Charlotte and available for training, TWO-DAYS after the “Grievance Training” took place, in exactly the same locale.
Compass Correction originally projected that about $2,700 of your dues money was used in this training, (Flight Pay Loss for Paul Music). However, upon reading the April 13, “Grievance Update” we learned that Attorney Laura Backus and Para Legal Cathy McHale, Tracy Parrella and Grievance Vice Chairman Dennis Brennan all were called upon to give instruction to THREE NON-OFFICE HOLDING PILOTS.
This is the sort of spend-thrift, careless and irresponsible behavior that we hope and pray will become a fading, if painful memory, once the new Officers are seated and new Board Members take responsibility for oversight! That is the beauty of a democratic organization; the people who aren’t doing the job can be thanked for their efforts, ALONG WITH THEIR FRIENDS…and sent back to the Line, where USAPA’s true strength and leadership resides. The trick is, don’t elect their protégés, unless you want more of the same kind of reckless waste of dues money and unresponsive governance.
The USAPA situation for the last three years has been like a mini- General Services Administration; arrogant attitudes, loose with your money, along with a stunning lack of success. The only thing missing is the Hawaiian party…come to think of it, who really knows! Let us finish the “Extreme Makeover, Union Edition”.
So, vote, (we hope you already have) - as if our success (and dues money) depend upon it. The new leadership has some real issues to address and we do not want there to be any excuses, for a lack of execution. We at Compass Correction have great hopes and high expectations for the new Officers and a properly and duly elected Board of Pilot Representatives.
It all depends upon having competent and clear thinking Officers and Board members. If you need a practical example of what we mean; simply read and reflect upon the respective campaign letters from two of the candidates in the PHL Vice Chairman election, sent out on Monday morning. The rationality and clear thinking of one candidate contrasts with the accusative, excuse making of the other. This is a time for rational and responsible representatives. Read, think and then vote…..or re-vote!