Here is what Great Lakes Aviation thinks of the IBT:
Fellow Pilots:
The pilots of Great Lakes Aviation are taking the first steps of a long journey towards a better life, and the beginning of the end for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 747 as our bargaining agent.
As a newly formed Organizing Committee, your peers have prepared an Application to the National Mediation Board for the Investigation of a Representation Dispute. This document, when paired with authorization cards from a majority of the pilot group, will inform the NMB that there is a dispute regarding our representation with the Teamsters. The lack of support from Local 747 will no longer be tolerated. Our bargaining agent is tasked with a number of administrative duties, and these have been consistently mishandled. The four Executive Committee Chairpersons serving over the last five years have experienced this demoralizing situation firsthand. They have grappled with the Local 747 leadership yet see depressingly little movement on the simplest of issues. As a small pilot group we face a myriad of daunting obstacles. Our bargaining agent should not be one of those obstacles. As for our future representation, the committee is exploring potential options.
In order to determine that a labor dispute exists more than 50% of the pilot group must submit authorization cards for the matter to proceed. These cards are a formal way of petitioning for a representational election. Once at least half the pilots have spoken, the cards will be submitted to the NMB. The NMB will then declare that a dispute exists and hold that representational election, via secret ballot, wherein we will choose our next union. Take careful note, this is a two-step process. Every pilot desiring change must in essence “vote” twice, once via an authorization card to signal a dispute, and again during the election to select our new representation. In the coming days and weeks, ensure that you personally submit a card to a member of the Organizing Committee. We will be in the crew rooms and on the line, asking for your authorization and functioning as walking ballot boxes. Future updates will be forthcoming. To stay informed, get on the mailing list by sending your full name to
[email protected].
On a cautionary note, let us remember that the union is us. We cannot buy representation. What we often refer to as “the union” is merely a legal framework. When something actually gets done, whether it is the ability to jumpseat in the cockpit, the recent scheduling letter of agreement, a better hotel, or longer segment times, it is because a pilot went out and did it. The logo on our flight bag stickers, though it must change, matters only so much. The overthrow of Local 747 is a specific solution to a specific problem, yet not a magic bullet. Once the dust settles after our victory, a bigger, longer battle with the company awaits us. Under new representation we will emerge with our fangs out, ready for the fight. As a united pilot group we must act for change now.
Respectfully,
The Organizing Committee: