The Future of Our Union: What’s in It for You?

Fellow Pilots,

As we near the completion of our ballot mailings, many of you are rightfully questioning what comes next. Should the Transparency Slate emerge victorious, what specific improvements will we see in our union?

We all recognize the need for stronger leadership in our union. To effectively serve our pilot group, we must be better organized, well-resourced, transparent in our communications, and accountable to you, the members we are here to serve.

You deserve the right to voice your concerns freely and without censorship or restriction, as is the practice with our current leadership team.

You deserve the right influence decisions and make real change, without any fear of retribution by union officials, punitive action, or political manipulation. As we have seen in recent days, this opportunity simply does not exist with our current elected leaders.

You deserve to have your union dues and assessment fees well cared for and protected. We currently have an issue of fiscal responsibility and accountability that has now come to forefront.

Despite accumulating a respectable sum from our membership, our union's efforts to protect and grow these funds for future use have been inadequate. In 2022, we only earned a paltry $831 in interest on over $6 million in the bank. In 2023, we've lost over -$230,000 in buying power to inflation, with no apparent plan from our leadership to earn interesr or safeguard our earnings. We encourage you to watch our latest video on this topic for for more details.

Transforming Our Union for the Better

- Decentralizing power for effective, democratic functioning

- Implementing checks and balances

- Revitalizing committees for effective member service

Our current union power structure is too centralized, with one person making or significantly influencing every decision. This stifles effective, democratic functioning. We propose a leadership model that allows for delegation and insists that decisions be made at the most capable and authorized level.

The current model lacks also checks and balances for the President, concentrating too much power in just one individual. We aim to change this by implementing a structure that ensures accountability.

Our committees, currently crippled by limited collaboration tools and a micromanaging leadership style, will be revitalized. We will empower them to work autonomously, enhancing their ability to serve our members effectively.

Enhancing Communication and Transparency

- Ensuring transparent, honest dialogue

- Increasing communication frequency

- Establishing an unfiltered pilot forum

- Assigning responsive stewards at every base

Communication has been a weak point for years, a fact only recently acknowledged by our current leaders. We believe in the right to transparent, honest communication.

Under our leadership, you will be well informed and free to express your opinions without censorship or restrictions, which is currently the practice. We plan to increase the frequency and usefulness of official union communications and establish an unfiltered pilot forum.

We will ensure that every base has a steward, a subject matter expert and a go-to person for all union-related matters, who will be responsive to the needs of the base pilots.

Drastically Improving Negotiations

- Appointing experienced negotiators to lead

- Hiring a legal team with aviation collective bargaining and arbitration experience

- Allowing the Negotiating Committee operate with autonomy and without executive obstruction or interference

- Ensuring Flight Pay Loss (FPL) days and compensation are granted to negotiators

Negotiations are a critical aspect of our union's function. They require a dedicated, full-time effort. To this end, we have appointed Captain Jay Killen as the incoming Chairman of the Negotiating Committee.

Captain Killen brings extensive recent experience in negotiating for our pilot group and is ready to lead the charge in securing an agreement you can proudly support.

In addition, we have retained an aviation RLA experienced legal team, skilled in collective bargaining, mediation, and arbitration for legacy air carriers. Unlike our current way of operating in the negotiating room, this move aligns our strategies and our resources with industry standards and practices and makes it actually possible and much more likely to get a deal done.

Our approach aligns with industry standards, and we're prepared to execute this plan from day one. As is standard industry practice, our negotiating committee will operate with the autonomy and resources they need to get the job done and get us a TA expediently. They will be free from repeated executive interference and obstruction, ensuring efficiency, expediency, and upholding the necessary checks and balances of the process.

We will ensure that our negotiators actually have the time and financial compensation to negotiate a contract by approving the Flight Pay Loss (FPL) they need to perform negotiating work and get get us a TA. This is in stark contrast to the current process where the President takes the majority of the FPL for himself, and leaves his negotiating team members to do the vast majority of their negotiating prep work on their off time wherever they can find it (and unpaid).

Ensuring Smooth Continuity

- Guaranteeing a seamless transition in leadership

- Maintaining and enhancing union functions

- Proactively addressing grievances and continuing arbitrations

Concerns about continuity during the transition of leadership are understandable. We have established a team to ensure a seamless transition, maintaining the union's service to you throughout the process.

We plan to review and appropriately process our 4000+ grievances, seeking quick settlements where possible. Arbitrations will continue as scheduled with our legal team.

We are deeply honored by the opportunity to serve our brothers and sisters of local 2118. Your support and vote are invaluable to us.

We invite you to explore our videos and other resources on our website, www.transparency2024.com.

Join our community on Facebook

"Transparency 2024 Slate — You Deserve the Truth,"