Letter to the Membership, You cant build a reputation on what you are going to do - Henry Ford Team LDJ 4Balance was strategically assembled to embody unionism, utilize resources, innovate new ideas and create connectivity amongst the membership. (If you look at the combined assets of our slate along with the group of members with whom we surround ourselves which we refer to as the ‘Team Counsel’ you will notice that collectively we possess a broad area of union knowledge, community resources, helpful skills and talent, and membership relationships as well. There is really no stone left unturned when it comes to our team package. Team LDJ 4Balance is the complete package). Team accountability on every level is a priority, no more business as usual. (The membership must know and see that their dollars are working for the overall benefit of the group. From the President of the Local on down, the membership must be able to witness that time and money is being spent wisely and for their overall benefit. We believe in the value of educating our ‘Team Counsel’ to better serve the membership. Knowledge is potential power! So yes, your union dollars must be spent on sending individuals to Winpisinger Education & Technology Center as well as to specialized conferences throughout the year. Each and every member would benefit because those individuals would be responsible for bringing that information and knowledge back to the membership. This is why I say that knowledge is potential power. The tremendous number of smart, educated devoted union brothers amongst us, should and could be our greatest asset if their abilities were channeled productively rather than fragmented by infighting. Knowledge put into action is power! Deployment to perform certain tasks for the benefit of the membership is something else that your union dollars must be spent on throughout the year. Under our watch, deployment will not be a free-day for any one of our ‘Team Counsel’ or individuals of the membership who may be asked to carry out a necessary task. There will be accountability!). Yes, we agree 100% that a limited “changing of the guard” would be beneficial, not a complete change of the officers at this time. We feel very strongly that over time this process will ensure a proper transition of knowledge, resources and union power to the next generation of leadership. This is the reason you will see some familiar faces on our team and an infusion of new faces. We strongly believe this is the best way to transition to ensure that we continue moving forward without interruption. (As I stated earlier, this team is strategically assembled to be a power base for at least the next nine years. Our Union is unique in that it is one of the few that is structured in a democratic way where all of our leadership from the President of the International down are elected by the membership to serve. This structure puts the power of the pen in the hands of the IAM membership. Leadership is accountable to the membership. However, when things are running smooth, this structure should be built upon to continue its strength and momentum. So we have an “accountability” system in place to insure that our ‘Team Council’ never grows passive or ineffective by not containing to strive for knowledge, improved resources and growth). Larry Reeves, Derrick Monk and myself (Jimmy Everett) have found ourselves in a place that we did not anticipate when we got involved with the union over eight years ago. We did not foresee seeking titles or positions. We each saw a need to serve the membership and that has been each of our main goals since individually deciding to become Shop Stewards. We have each fulfilled that role. It’s our integrity, loyalty, respect for the institution of leadership and our undenying love of the membership that have earned us the overall respect of the membership. Hey, it’s Philly, you will never win them all, right? Our collective track record of respect, trust, loyalty and a history of years of fighting on behalf of the membership would stand up against anyone. (This paragraph speaks for us as well as our ‘Team Council’ and so many others in the membership who believe in the fight. We were like so many of you who saw a need for service and whose character would not allow us to sit watching on the sidelines. We got involved with no expectations beyond being good Shop Stewards and representative of the people who entrust us with their livelihood. For those reasons we will put our reputations, integrity, and devotion to the membership up against anyone. Nothing that we are saying or doing now is just words or promises to pull your votes. Check our track record and allow actions to speak louder than words! I believe and pledge that you will not be able to find a group of people (not individual haters), who can honestly say anything bad about our character, integrity, work performance or Shop Stewards record. You won’t be able to find a group of individuals who can speak honestly against the fact that we don’t have a ‘membership first’ mentality. Our fight for the past eight years has been for a “Stand As One” union mentality). There have been questions about why we are running as a slate and not running as three individuals. First, let me explain that the IAM is a membership driven organization. You are totally free to elect the leadership team on every level that the majority sees best fits their needs. That is your right as a card carrying member in good standing. I personally advise that you select your leadership Team on production, ability to lead and communicate, knowledge of unionism and overall organizational skills. With that in mind, several individuals may meet these criteria. So, next we have to take a look at chemistry. It can be very difficult for some combinations of strong minded people to work in unity toward a common goal. Some will have to take a back seat to others’ way of doing things for the common good of the members they serve. We see that this isn’t easy to do as we witness the shut down of our own government because of two parties not willing to compromise. So the reason that we promote slates is because bipartisan doesn’t usually work. Mixing and matching people of strong minds and a willingness to serve the membership but with different philosophies, is a recipe for destruction. Don’t take my word for it. Witness the past three years. There has been more time and energy wasted on in fighting in the name of “serving the membership” than I have ever witnessed and as a result virtually nothing has gotten done, except the company seeing this and taking full advantage of our lack of unity and focus. (This part gives me an instant headache every time I think about it. When I say that I have never seen a group of individuals argue, complain, and allow “personal politics” cloud their judgment than this present group. I am not campaigning, I’m stating a fact. Even if some arguments are valid, there needs to be a level of civility, structure and focus that allows us to keep our common goals in mind. I do not dislike any one of my IAM brothers or sisters on a union level. In the workplace we all have one common adversary that the majority of our energy should be directed towards fighting and that is the company. The majority of our energy should be focused on job security, job safety, union and workplace education, and mutual respect of one another. The lack of trust and respect amongst the membership and leadership team has caused division and turmoil and has affected the power base of the Philadelphia ramp. But as I stated earlier, this is a membership driven Union, so your current leadership team was assembled by a majority vote of the membership. The group has the final say in who they desire to have represent them and fight on their behalf. I only ask that this time you factor in chemistry, common goals, respect for the IAM, and a genuine sense of duty toward the membership as a whole). Larry Reeves, Derrick Monk and myself (Jimmy Everett) have worked diligently over the past year evaluating potential leaders who we believe can help us effectively execute a game plan to improve Solidarity, Safety, Education, Grievances and Communication for a stronger membership. Although having a well prepared leadership group is important, you and I both know and understand that a Union’s real strength comes from having a well educated, well informed and proactive membership. (Guilty by association has been the term used against us. This is a point that we must make perfectly clear. We have been good officials of the board, we were elected along with others to represent, make decisions and serve the membership by the membership. We feel that part of that service is being able to humble one self, ideals, visions and strong personality in a manner that will allow you to work for a greater good even if it mean setting aside your individual interests. Respect for authority, is high in any leadership development and training course. If you can’t respect the individual, you should at least respect the institution for which they stand on. One of the major reasons why local management is having their way with us, is because internal strife amongst our brothers and sisters has attacked and weakened the foundation of an institution. Institutional structures are not easily rebuilt. Larry, Derrick and myself believe that a lot of damage has been done to the power base of the Philadelphia ramp. Going forward whoever you elect to serve as your Local Lodge President and Local Committee Chairman must have a solid game plan and be on that mission together. And we respectfully say that we have developed a plan and a team that can help us reach our goals. We stamp it with a guarantee and state that you the membership can hold the three of us personally accountable for all of Philly ramp if you elect us and our ‘Team Council.’). And that first step in the right direction starts with you turning out in record numbers on December 3, 2013. In the pages to follow we have outlined crucial strategy points that we believe, if focused on, would dramatically change and improve the way we function and operate on the Philadelphia Ramp. Thank you for your time.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 12:37:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015