Good evening, this is Herb Holland with
the MEC Hotline for Thursday, September 12. Tonight’s hot topics are:
1. Local Council and MEC News
2. C-2000 Rally
3. Web Board Campaigning and Advertising
4. Strike Center
5. The State of the Union
6. Professionalism
Local Council and MEC News
Don’t forget the United Way Campaign kicks off next week. The MEC
is joining forces with the Chief Pilot’s office in promoting this worthwhile
cause. There are tax deductions and certain tax credits available to all
contributors. But the real reward is the satisfaction of knowing your
donations will make a difference in the lives of those you help.
After more than a year as a true pilot
advocate as a member and later chairman of our R and I Committee, Vern
Reaser was elected to the position of First Officer Representative. Although
Vern’s tireless commitment to the R and I Committee will be missed, the
MEC is pleased to announce that First Officer Bruce Beckington has volunteered
to be our new R and I Chairman. Bruce brings considerable talent to the
position. He has a strong paralegal background and solid ALPA credentials.
He has served on the CASC and was on the FOQA team until becoming a member
of the R and I Committee. The MEC looks forward to working with both Vern
and Bruce in their new positions.
I have been in Washington, D.C. this week
attending ALPA’s semi-annual Executive Board meeting and performing ALPA
National committee work; more on that later. This has been a routine meeting,
with no significant developments. MEC Vice Chairman Eric Edwards has been
doing his usual outstanding job keeping the office working smoothly.
MEC Secretary-Treasurer Ted Phipps once
again has found some hidden ALPA sources to fund our council through the
end of the year. And it didn’t take any schmoozing in D.C., either. Through
Ted’s latest efforts, we now should be able to finish out this year “on
glide slope and on budget.”
Make certain your “Boots are Made
for Walkin'” on September 25, Freedom Air’s proposed first day of
operation of the 64 seat BJs (baby jets). More on the details by blast
e-mail. No issue is more important and is being taken more seriously than
this blatant violation of our Scope clause. And remember, in C-2000, “without
Scope, there is no hope” in ever reaching an agreement.
Don’t forget to tell your spouse to R.S.V.P.
for the spouse’s day out on September 21. Archie and Xinia Turnbull have
prepared quite an event. Captain Bev Benzing, Comair MEC Secretary-Treasurer,
will be the special guest speaker. Her topic is: how Comair pilots survived
an 89-day strike and what you and your family need to do to prepare, just
in case.
I want to give special thanks to the Scheduling
Committee in general and Rand Harrell and Scott Andrews in particular
for their outstanding efforts in language interpretation of FAR 121.471.
I asked them to get something out in a week. They finished the job in
three days. The result was the blast e-mail and the Jepp-sized handout
you received in your mailboxes this week. The company, despite its resources,
has yet to produce anything of the quality our volunteers have already
distributed.
C-2000 Rally
On Friday, September 20, the MEC will be hosting a C-2000 rally for
all pilots and their spouses at the Doubletree Suites, 320 N. 44th Street
in Phoenix. The event will start at 6 p.m. and will include a number of
committee presentations and a special guest, Comair MEC Chairman J.C.
Lawson. No, he’s not going to talk about scope. But I’m sure he will answer
any scope questions you may have. He is going to talk about how Comair
was able to organize and sustain a successful 89-day strike. How the Comair
pilots held the line, how they were able to remain unified and defeat
the mighty Delta Airlines and, in the process, changed the regional jet
industry forever. It should be quite a night.
ALPA Executive Vice President Dan Brannan
will also be a featured speaker. He will be addressing unity amongst ALPA’s
medium and smaller carriers. And as an added incentive for you to show
up to this event, we will be serving a light buffet, lots of wings ‘n
things.
This is a VDR. Let’s see what the attendance
is. There is no better way to show your commitment to a successful conclusion
of C-2000 than to join your fellow pilots and their families at fun and
educational events like these.
Web Board Campaigning and Advertising
The ALPA Constitution and By-laws as well as the Policies and Procedures
Manual prohibit candidates campaigning on the ALPA Web Board. Candidates
who want to use ALPA resources for campaigning can pay for mailings or
blast e-mails. Please call the MEC office and speak to Communications
Specialist Scott Sherrin for details. Campaign posts have already been
eliminated from the Web Board and any endorsements on the Web Board are
subject to removal. This is not censorship. This is federal law. And any
losing candidate can file suit to have an election voided if he can establish
that he lost due to a prohibited activity.
Advertising your airport car on the Web
Board? That’s OK in the proper conference. But advertising a product or
service from which you derive income is not allowed. This MEC is going
to continue its policy of monitoring and counseling. We don’t want to
get into the censoring business. That is not our job. If you have any
questions about ALPA National policy, call the MEC office and talk with
our Communications Specialist, Scott Sherrin.
Strike Center
SPC Chairman Alan Crawford has been coordinating final arrangements
to get the strike center fully operational by the end of the month. Now
that the carpet is in, he is working on furniture, cable and DSL wiring,
phone bank cubicles, computer terminal set-up and of course, a refrigerator.
Of course none of this preparatory work could ever be completed without
the outstanding attention to detail of our office manager, Sandy Peterson.
Besides the obvious uses for the strike center, it will be a place where
every pilot will always be welcome, a place to stop by and kick back;
a refuge from the hotel for our commuting brothers and sisters; and a
place where we can get together on a Monday night and watch a football
game. And most importantly, it will be a “Place where everybody knows
your name.”
The MEC has been receiving questions about
whether we are on schedule in opening the strike center. We are on schedule.
As one of our pilots who “walked the line” at EAL recently observed,
until they got to the 30-day cooling off period, there was little activity
at the strike center. But this MEC is committed to the concept of turning
the strike center into an old-time union hall atmosphere. We get out of
a strike center what we put into it. The facility is available to any
group that wants to use it. Whether you are an RTB, a PFD or a VMC, you
are welcome to reserve the center for any meeting or other non-commercial
purpose. There will be no restrictions on its use as long as that use
does not interfere with the primary purpose of the center: to prepare
for and to orchestrate a strike.
The State of the Union
The state of the union, as measured by the unity we are seeing in
the crew room, in the cockpit, and on the Web Boards, is improving rapidly
as we start the stretch drive toward C-2000.
If the first section of this hotline sounded
like a thank you to our volunteers, it was. These are the pilots who are
making a difference with their devoted volunteer efforts. I know I have
left out a few names, but over the next few weeks, I will make every effort
to recognize the heart and soul of this MEC, our committee members and
committee chairmen.
Professionalism
No crew scheduling bloopers or dealmakers to share this week. I’m
on the road and I don’t “hotline” anything without written and
verbal confirmation. But next week, I have by far the crew scheduling
outrage of the year; and maybe of the contract.
And somehow, on the anniversary of 9-11,
any controversy just did not seem appropriate. ALPA conducted a brief
ceremony yesterday morning during the Executive Board session – a somber
reminder of our lost comrades.
But in the aftermath of that tragedy, we
can take great pride in the tremendous sacrifices that we all made to
“restart the airline right.” Remember, for four days AWA was
the largest airline flying in the United States. AWA pilots made it work.
Take heart, we will be serving up another
dish of Tuna casserole next week. Until then, remember to obey the FARs,
obey the FOM and FOLLOW the contract.
Good evening.
Sigma Omicron Lambda Delta Pi Mu Gamma
Iota.
|
|
|
|
Pilots
Only |
|
|
Public
Links |
|