TWU Leadership spreading lies and fear of AMFA
In November of 2019, long before the COVID-19 virus was even known to the Mechanics at American Airlines, or even anyone in the USA frankly, and before the Ratification of the JCBA in March of 2020, the IAM and TWU members from across the United States began a card drive to attempt to to get a Union Representation ballot that was long ago promised to the TWU Mechanic and Related group and was denied because the Union Constitutions of both the TWU and the IAM (governing documents) gave James C. Little and R. Thomas Buffenbarger the authority to sign without a membership vote, the TWU-IAM Association agreements that forced the members of the two respective union’s into representation they never supported, never chose to be a part of, and never wanted!
AMFA National was not involved in this grassroots campaign financially, or structurally, until we had reached very near the 50% threshold and Don Rodgers contacted AMFA National at that point to inform them of our success at American Airlines. From there, AMFA National was kept abreast of our progress and even until we were nearing the 50% cards signed and AMFA National audited the cards there was no AMFA National backing to this revolution happening from the membership of the TWU-IAM Association. Once it was verified we were near the 50% card signed then AMFA National NEC voted to assist us in getting the election we all want and deserve.
Once AMFA National produced the letter of support TWU International VP Gary Petersen and International President John Samuelsen began a smear campaign against the memberships revolt and the demand for a representation election to unify our members into one single union.
Name calling such as bottom feeders, disgusting, despicable, under handed, raiders, and AMFA not being a real union, began spewing from the mouths of both of these so-called professional union leaders. This name calling and playground rhetoric has been recorded and distributed in video and podcast files and uploaded to various social media platforms. Then they began a campaign of lies to the State AFL-CIO’s organizations claiming AMFA was raiding the TWU and that AMFA was only using the pandemic to garner support for this alleged raid. Remember the first cards signed in the revolution was November 2019, long before any pandemic had struck the country or the carrier that employees us!
These so-called union leaders are unable to accept or even comprehend that their own membership is rejecting the dual Union Association, rejecting the various contract language failures and bidding/transfer policies that is foreign to the majority of the membership in both Unions. Rejecting the overpowering authority vested in two men to put all of us in this situation that sparked this revolution and grassroots card drive. Rejecting the heavy maintenance outsource percentage increasing to 50% from appx. 28% and the Tulsa base headcount dropping to 2600 while fleet service was given aircraft movement from the mechanics and fleet service gained union member staffing at 5 new stations.
To be clear this is not an AMFA raid, this is a membership revolution to get a ballot to be be able to vote for the union of OUR choosing.
Federal Law under the Railway Labor Act gives us the right to have the Union of our choice, not their choice made for us!
As for the IAM, their leadership knew this Association was so bad that they actually negotiated an illegal poison pill in the labor agreement using their own members reduced health insurance benefit premiums as hostage to try to fear monger the IAM membership not to support this membership revolution. What kind of Union does something like that?
DON’T BE FOOLED BY THE LIES AND FEAR
GET YOUR BALLOT AND VOTE AMFA
