Gay Phillips Templin recently posted 50 reasons (well statements) about why she other anti representation people do not want a union. I could not help but address each one. 1. Many have given reasons why NOT, so that statement indicates either an untruth or our voices are not being heard. Thats the way unions operate. This answer is incorrect because you are implying that the people who you claim are not listening are already Union, they are not. 2. I dont believe pro supporters could rattle off 100 reasons other than an unsure promise of better pay, benefits and work rules. Given the track record of IAM represented FAs, those promises cant be validated. Every sentence of a legally binding contract is a reason. The topic was not IAM specific but just the same if it where the difference between IAM and Delta non union is simple, protection. 3. Everything we have now may or may not be negotiated into something better; hence we start at zero with a new contract. Legally this is not true and you are not basing this answer on any past precedent. 4. They come across as children who do not have reasoning skills so the only response becomes “Like my mother used to say, “Because I said so” As opposed to who, The EIG who has no power? Unions have labor trained negotiators and attorneys fighting for you best interest. You elect who those people are. To say they come across as children one might as the question why you engage on this forum as the supporters on this form are the children you speak of. 5. Contrary to what is posted....union dues are NOT 100% tax deductible. You can deduct dues and initiation fees you pay for union membership. These are entered as unreimbursed employee expenses on Line 21 of Schedule A (Form 1040) Itemized (you can find this information on any website. You can deduct up to 2% of your income which your dues will never exceed. 6. The process for firing someone does not take into account individual circumstances. I don’t even know what your trying to say here. What I can tell you is that you can’t fire someone with out the right to legal representation. 7. Saying that a contract would be produced/ratified rapidly would not allow time for input from the FA group, therefore machinist’s negotiators would be negotiating for something they know nothing about. What is your definition of rapidly. It may take a year, but in the mean time you work rules can not change. 8.Why pay dues for things I can handle on my own? You can not legally represent yourself, you can not ask for a raise, you can not file a grievance with any monetary attachment to it. And even if YOU could handle it on your own what about your coworkers who may not have the same insight and determination that you do to right a wrong or get better. A union is exactly that , one for all. 8. Article L. Dont forget that....another attempt at stifling our voice. What are you stating here? 10....Locked into a fixed contract for up to 4 years. Not true. Contracts may be amended during their life time. However nothing can be taken away without your consent. 11. We cant really strike. We dont have much leverage What leverage do you have now? Many airlines had done CHAOS which has proven to be affective in the way of leverage during negotiations. 12. During BK, those with a union gave up more than those without one. Absolutely not true. What are your examples of this. 13. We couldnt go above and beyond helping our fellow employees if we choose, i.e. wheelchair, cleaning FC, etc. Again not true. I flew with a contract for 32 years and continued to help my fellow employees as all my co-workers did. 14. The 2000 contract put NW second to Delta in pay. And what about benefits. Pay is not the end all piece of the by. Retirement (of which Delta got an offset) medical, scheduling etc. are all part of the equation not just pay. 15. We no longer have a voice on choosing who we want to politically support. We no longer have a voice on speaking on issues we believe in if the union doesnt agree. What are you talking about? Your political rights are not taken away from you. Unions like companies may support a political campaign, Delta does it all the time. You could argue that they shouldn’t but they do. For example you support Delta as an employee, Delta supports Senator X for President and you don’t, how is that any different? 16. Company transfers will lose any remaining seniority rights they have. Management will bump us when we non rev (see NW pass policy). Pass riding has was never a negotiated part of the NW contract. 17.Union advocates will harass to vote for contracts and/or topics we do not support. And if that is true it goes both ways. 18. Any positive morale at Delta will go right into the trash can....Unions thrive on everyone being miserable. This is got to be the most asinine statement so far. So you are saying that all the employees at United, American, and so on are miserable? 19. Who in this group would you vote for to represent us? We dont necessarily have a voice. Almost anything can be changed with a letter. Again, what are you trying to say here? Otherwise this statement negates statement # 10 20. We have to abide by the IAM constitution yet have no say in its policies. Not true. 21. Locked into a contract for up to 7 years (Dano, wasnt that one of our lovelier agreements?) By the time we got another through, it was time to start re-negotiating for the next one....BS Dano should no better. What you are talking about is the disaster that landed on NW FA’s called PFAA with ring leaders such as Jose Ibarra. None the less the contract was ratified by the membership not dictated by the company. 22. Fly now. Grieve later. No say in where our dues go or how much dues will be. What about all the bait and switch that goes on?? Again, what are you eluding to. We chose how our dues structure would be at NW allowing for the fact that our lower paid FA’s paid less then the top of the scale. We choose to do that. So you statement is false. I would rather have the ability to grieve and have backing then the not have any voice. 23. The union doesnt write my 24. Unions would rather cause problems than work together. Conjecture and again a ridiculous statement. What you are saying then is that the Pilots Union at Delta (which is one of the top in the industry) only causes problems at Delta. 25. Union scale means the best workers are carrying the worst. Again a ridiculous statement that is nothing more than a talking point. 26. The people who want a union really need one as they can’t cope without one. This is a reason! This is an opinion, there is a difference. 27. Too corrupt. Like the pilots? 28. Too political, too liberal and too partisan. Something tells me that the pilots Union is far more Republican then Democratic but somehow they seem to survive very well at Delta. Finally after 27 statements your true colors are exposed. This is not about your rights its about your need to stifle the rights of other people. 29. Unions are only about power and money for the ones who run the union. See answer number 28 30. Unions are negative about everything but how great they are. Opinion again. 31. I like to work steady. ????? as compared to what? Tilted. 32. Ive got too much self respect. Actually you don’t or you would have eliminate many of the ridiculous statements you have made thus far. 33. The personality of a union advocate seems to lean more towards winning at all costs rather than using reasonable thinking, basic interpretation skills and logic to get the job done. They think management is evil so theyre always on the defense. Again, based on fear mongering and no fact. NW Union(s) worked very well with the company as do other airlines. This is just a sentiment that you have been taught and you refuse to consider that it just may not be true. 34. 3 unions at NW and none seemed to get the job done as they kept voting new ones in. You need to take in the consideration that this occurred because there was a major of two airlines, each with their own different union. Yes it caused problems and through fear mongering the Teamsters where voted out for PFAA. That union did fail miserably but it was the choice of the FA group to bring them on board. They had no structure and were independent. The FA’s soon learned they had made a huge mistake and voted in yet another union to serve their needs When was the last time you did away with the uselessness of the EIG to trade it in for a new organization? 35. If a member resigns the officers can appoint whoever they choose to fill the role. Which means someone could represent us without ever being voted in. You decide how that happens. In some states in the Union a wife can take over the position of her deceased husband in a political office until the next election. These are not life long posts. 36. Nearly every day a union officer is on the news for being indicted for embezzlement. Please post the last 356 cases of these for us all to see. Since it happens daily it should be easy for you to find on the internet. 37. We don’t have access to the books to see how our money is being spent. Absolutely incorrect and again fear mongering. 38. Very little union dues stay at the local level. Again, not correct and what is your proof of this. 39. They suck the life out of you, take away individuality and replace it with group mentality. This one makes me really laugh. Many FA’s in a union do not realize They are even in one. Unlike the Cult mentality that exists at Delta its hard to even believe you made a statement about group mentality. 40. Unions are in decline. Sadly yes due to ignorance and the Republican party. However recent statistics show they are on the rise again. 41. Union work rules can work against employees. Please give an example. 42. Does the union want to help employees or does the union merely want to hurt the company? Fear mongering again. Unions want the best for their membership. 43. A union makes it difficult for a company to stay competitive. Delta doesnt seem to be doing so bad (record breaking profits) with the pilots union they have. 44. A union is not innovative; they take their cue from what other airlines do. They don’t lead the way…example A-days. I hope your don’t mean that A days is an example of leading the way. 45. Unions are fundamentally un-democratic. By most of your statements above it appears that you are the one that is un-democratic. Unions give you the ability to vote without one you have no voting right in your company on anything. 46. Unions want to do away with the secret ballot, therefore one would be pressured into voting in the union or suffer repercussions. Proof of this please. 47. Under the RLA, once a union is voted in all employees in that group must pay dues. For new-hires it becomes a condition of employment even though they didn’t participate in that choice. True. If it bothers new hires so much I would suggest they find a non union company to work for. I for one would never have applied at DL based on that same way of thinking. 48. Some FAs are unaware of their current work-rules or the avenue to utilize them…eg. 8:30 behind the door, holding pay, short-staff pay, etc. I doubt they would know what was in a contract. Correct, However with a Union when one member calls about a legality issue it affects the entire crew. 49. Unions who represent multiple employee groups from varied companies have a conflict of interest, as seen by IAM support FOR EXIM against the wishes of ALPA and Delta. Against the wishes of DELTA, did you really say that? 50. Unions make promises they can’t keep, skew statistics and use unsavory tactics to drum up business. Fear mongering. Have you ever looked at DL statistics and seen the unsavory tactics (interference with the last election) they exercises. Sorry but most of all your statements are not even worthy of debate. They show extreme ignorance in what a union really does. The statements are opinionated and not fact based and it is apparent come form a place based in fear mongering and untruths. I try to be extremely civil on this site as everyone knows. But I do not know how to express that sentiment in any other way.
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 15:46:13 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015