Brothers and Sisters: I Want to See You Get Real Representation

By: Douglas Patton, furloughed United Airlines mechanic, Indianapolis

I am a furloughed United Airlines mechanic from the Indianapolis base who cares deeply for my brother and sister mechanics still struggling and fighting for what’s right.

I am no longer in the industry; I am studying nuclear medicine instead. Since I no longer have “a horse in this race,” I don’t have personal reasons that would compel me to help out in organizing with the Teamsters.

I went to the Teamsters meeting in Indianapolis a few weeks ago, and I was proud to sign a card, and offer my help, because I think a change in representation is important. I’ve already gone door to door in Indianapolis, getting cards signed and talking to other furloughed mechanics.

It’s been great seeing some of the people I worked with, but it’s also sad to see these people again years later, because things are much harder for many of them now. Some have had to go down to $10 or $11 an hour jobs, which hurts, because we are highly skilled workers. Some of the mechanics are still in aviation, but they are working for vendors where they are underpaid and unappreciated, and their benefits, if they have any, are weak.

Even though I’ve changed careers, I want to see my brother and sister mechanics get real representation. I want them to have a true union, a union they can be proud of. I want them to be members of a union that will care about them and listen when they speak. Nobody messes with the Teamsters. When the Teamsters speak, people listen, and management understands “you don’t play games with the Teamsters.”

My father just retired as a 747 Captain for United Airlines. He’s a strong union man like I am and it was difficult for him to see what happened to us mechanics at the same carrier he worked for. I want good, skilled American jobs to stay in America, and so do the Teamsters. These are jobs that we have struggled and fought for, and they belong to us.

I am troubled by “blending” language agreed to by AMFA, which permits the company to hire off the street rather than recalling furloughed mechanics. I think that it is shameful that those who are supposed to represent us would try to sell us out. Maybe they think that we are all asleep and not paying attention, or maybe they think that we are just too stupid to care. Again, I will not go back, but I refuse to let UAL just forget what it promised us, and I refuse to let AMFA throw us under the bus.

Make those who hurt us recognize us. Please, sign a card and vote Teamsters.