(Editor Note: This person send this info to Randy Freedman, and is an Omni Pilot.)

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1. When we were in negotiations last year and had asked for release from mediation, the company and IBT Local met with our CEO without any of our own negotiating committee present. Scott Hageland from the local flew to HNL on the IBT dime and hashed out the rest of the non-TA’ed sections with no input from our EXCO. Needless to say, the local hamstringed us because it showed the NMB that we apparently could reach an agreement with the company and took whatever negotiating power we had away. The TA failed miserably. The local was tired of spending money on us and didn’t want the drag of us possibly going on strike.

2. The IBT will take dues money from you right away. You will have absolutely no IBT protections, but you will be told to pay dues. Since there is no contract, they cannot force the company to make you pay. However, once the contract is in place you will be responsible for dues from the day they become your collective bargaining agent. Some of our Captains received 5,000 bills from the IBT the day our contract was signed.

3. Support from IBT national is nonexistent. I mean none at all. During our strike vote, and towards the end of our tense negotiations, we were never addressed directly by Dave Bourne or even the local leadership.

4. The 1224 is the ABX local. They only had the former carriers represented by the defunct (corrupt) Local 747 assigned to them. There is no support from your sister carriers.

5. Their forum is 100% moderated. There is no free posting.

I’m sure I could go on, but they are really a worthless organization with no bargaining power unless you are Atlas/Polar or ABX. Each airline is basically on it’s own. For my money, I either want a strong national support structure (ALPA) or no union/in house union.

The IBT vote predated me at Omni, but our management had basically asked for it by not raising anyones pay to even the DOD minimum level, and furloughing out of seniority. So we really needed a CBA, without it I would be furloughed right now. But if you at AAY have a respectable relationship with your management and are happy with status quo, stay far, far away from the IBT.
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