MEET THE MECHANICS!
“From the
senior mechanic at United Airlines, to all my fellow mechanics at
United: I think it is time for a change of direction.”
“I’ve been a mechanic for 56 years. I started working on aircraft in World War II. I don’t enjoy some of the things that are happening at United, but I do enjoy the work. The company knows AMFA is broke and can’t represent the people. I’ve done a lot and seen a lot and where we are now is not good for the young people. I don’t know about with the other airlines, but AMFA made a major error in judgment with Northwest. They let it happen and people suffered for it—lost their jobs and their homes. At United there’s talk of third parties, outsourcing and mergers. I hope the Teamsters do get in, represent the people and try to get things back on track. I’ve put a lot of years in and I feel it’s time for a change for the better. I’m hoping before AMFA gives everything away, we have an election and get the Teamsters in here. For the young people, that’s their only hope.”
--John
Hotchkiss, UAL lead flight simulator technician,
“The Teamsters are more powerful than other unions both politically and in a striking position. In today’s environment of corporate greed we need as much strength and leadership as possible. I believe the Teamsters possess that strength.”
--Don
Ramsey, UAL mechanic,
“Representation, resources and clout are the main reasons I support the Teamsters. What else do you need? No other union is stronger in these areas than the Teamsters.”
--Mick
Morin, UAL mechanic,
“Every AMFA local interprets the contract differently, and when you try to get clarification you get lip service even though they recognize a conflict. I am supporting the Teamsters because I don’t want what happened to the Northwest mechanics or the UAL Indy mechanics to happen in our lifetime.”
--John
Dwyer, UAL mechanic,
“AMFA has done nothing for me and my class and craft. The Teamsters have a tradition of representing their members.”
--Cristian
Orha, UAL mechanic,
“It’s closer than you think to 2009. Do you want to wait to find out what else we’re going to lose? History speaks for itself. I’ve belonged to many different unions over the past 30 years. One item I’ll never forget: You never get back what you give to the company. We already gave back too much. We need a strong voice now. The Teamsters are membership strong and they produce strong contract language. They have the stamina and resources to fight for a better contract. The Teamsters stand for unity, not for ‘divide and conquer.’”
--Thomas
Reid, UAL mechanic,
“With the Teamsters we will form a strong and effective union to bargain and accomplish the goals that will be beneficial to us as mechanics.”
--James
Obst, UAL mechanic,
“The company does whatever they want and they get away with a lot, but AMFA isn’t doing anything about it. We’re not getting any cooperation from our union. The Teamsters would represent us with grievances. I filed for overtime bypass months ago and still haven’t heard from AMFA on it. I’ve heard nothing at all.”
--Paul
Bradley, UAL mechanic,
“I have not been happy with the position that AMFA has taken on grievances. AMFA’s deeds don’t equal what they said they’d do. I also do not think that AMFA has the ability to bring in a new contract. I am hopeful that under the Teamsters we will get a good contract and bring about change.”
--William
Wainwright, UAL mechanic,