UNITED MECHANICS FOR THE REAL TRUTH

Faithful Minion Servant Udi  says, How can I help the King bring down this membership CONVERSATION WITH THE MEDIATOR                    An Adaptation based on the cartoon “Life With Udi” “Hello, I am one of the AMFA’s handpicked minions and a faithful servant of King GT Tiberius Davis. Today I write to my faithful servant minions to tell you about a conversation I had with mediator Gerry McGuckin. Here is my report.”

About 2 weeks ago, we had our first meeting with our new Chief Steward here at MCO. The last Chief Steward stepped down due to unknown reasons? The first 2 meetings were for the mechanics on swings, then mids. They were both held by the newly elected Chief Steward. The last meeting, and the one I was in attendance for was the dayshift meeting. To our surprise, MCO’s appointed Business Agent was there. The appointed Business Agent took it upon himself to start the meeting with some updates. After a series of questions by the membership that went unanswered with “I don’t know” responses, the crowd was getting restless. We did finally get to hear from our newly elected Chief Steward, and listened to what he was up to speed on. After all the non-answers by our appointed Business Agent, it got me thinking. I heard the company’s side of the story about negotiations; I just heard the unions’ side of negotiation; now I want to hear the mediators’ side. Just like in navigating an aircraft through the skies, you need 3 reference points to triangulate for a more precise location. “Yes, it’s true. I just had to reach out to find a way to spin it so the blame for these slow moving talks falls solely on the IBT. Let’s face it, to date your IBT representatives and the rank and file voting members of the negotiating committee have stood strong in an effort to achieve what the majority of this membership has sent them to achieve. UAL management on the other hand doesn’t seem to think almost 2 billion (yes with a B) is enough. The Mediator has only scheduled 2 weeks of direct negotiations since November of 2013. I know, the average mechanic with common sense would say “good for the committee and the IBT standing strong”. Not I, not Udi, that nonsense doesn’t move my agenda forward. No I needed a way to blame the IBT and damn it I was going to find it!” I decided to call our mediator Mr. Gerry McGuckin. On the second attempt, I was able to reach him. I asked him to please explain to me the process of mediation? Why he has taken a firm stand during this process? Why doesn’t he just call for an impasse if the union and company aren’t even close? What side seemed more firm and/or hardheaded? After about a 20 minute conversation with him, I had decided he was a very good man and he understands our (the mechanics and related, not the union or the company) plight. In my opinion, I understood him to tell me the reason he has taken a harder stand during this process, is he feels BOTH the company and the union are not taking the negotiations seriously. So he felt he had to put his foot down and tell them they will not waste his time or government funds when they were not taking negotiations seriously. “OK, at this point you would think I would stop, think (yes I do sometimes think before acting a fool) and say – hey, my Union and its’ rank and file committee are fighting for exactly what we asked them to. That would be, comparable health coverage at lower employee premiums, a defined benefit plan and 401K match for both groups and wages that lead the industry. Yes a smart man would then say, I apologize Mr. Mediator but I don’t see how the Union is not being serious by standing firm on these demands. No, not I, King Tiberius’s right hand minion, I must push my own agenda at any cost. Yes, I must find a way to blame the IBT, no matter how much it’s not true!” About the impasse, and why he would not call one? He explained either one of the parties has to submit a letter to the NMB, then a 3 person board would decide if there was an impasse or not. But, he explained we are not far enough along into the negotiations for the impasse to even be a thought. At first I disagreed and argued the point of, everybody in the process (union, company, himself) has been getting their yearly pay raises. I explained that we feel like the pawns that are the only ones losing in the process. As every year goes by, the mechanics are losing money and value to inflation. As time passed, I think I understand what he was trying to explain to me. As I understand by our local union leadership, there are only a few articles TA’d and most of the contract is open. Now it makes sense what Mr. McGuckin was trying to tell me. How can the NMB call for an impasse with 90% of the contract still open? It’s like going to buy a car and the dealer giving you the best and final offer right from the start! It is not feasible! How can the NMB call for an impasse if we are just at the beginning stage of negotiations? Yes, I know, we have been negotiating for over 2 years! What do you mean at the beginning stage? Well, if you look at it from the NMB’s point of view, 90% of a contract still opened is the beginning stage. They could care less how long the union and company were talking before. The question that needs to be asked now is, what has the union been doing for the last 2 years? “There it is my faithful servant minions, a load of BS. I told you I would spin it. I’m sure someone out there will believe my 180 degree off false assessment about 90% of the CBA not being agreed to. OK, we all know that 90% of the language is complete. In fact many local membership meetings have shared this point over and over again but if I present that, then it would beg the real question I should have asked the mediator: If we are 90% done with language, and deep into the concept of wages, health and welfare and pension, why have you only scheduled two weeks of sessions in the last 15 months? No, again, I must make the IBT look negligent. I must make the UAL negotiations look as bad as the AMFA SWA negotiations if I am going to have any chance to move my agenda!” In closing, it is my opinion from taking in all of this information from the company updates, the union so called updates and the information I received from our mediator is, both the union and company together are playing games with us and the NMB to draw out negotiations for whatever reason. I’m sure we can all come up with 5 reasons, and none of them benefit us, the mechanics and related. This is what happens when you have union leadership that is not connected to the membership. Our local 769 president gave himself a 14% raise last year with our money while we are losing to inflation every year. I would bet our Chief negotiator Clacy Griswold has been getting his yearly increases while he plays footsies with the company on our backs. “Once again, I can’t complete an update unless I show no class and make derogatory statements against those I seek to have replaced for my own agenda. Hmmm, I hope people don’t realize those comments about peoples mothers in the last posting were mine.” “Hey, makes no never mind, that’s why it’s called LIFE WITH UDI and that’s why UDI is a cartoon character. You know cartoon characters can’t be bothered with reality!”