 Fighting for equality, justice and fairness were the central tenets of what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought, and ultimately died trying to achieve for millions of people. These principles also were the reason why Dr. King was so intimately tied to and supported the Labor Movement in the United States. In fact, Dr. King’s last speech—the infamous “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”—was in support of striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee.
Achieving equality, justice and fairness at work is essentially what we seek. Our campaign to achieve equality, justice and fairness at Republic rests in our ability to have a voice in negotiating a legally binding contract and having a democratic vote on such a contract. Equality, justice and fairness can never be achieved so long as Republic management calls all the shots and maintains the right to change our terms of employment at any time and for any reason. That’s unjust. We ask that you do your small part today to help get us the right to vote for IAM representation. Please sign an IAM a-card today and encourage your fellow mechanics to do the same. Request an a-card online.
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 We have found out that managers in PIT, IND, CMH and SDF are required to attend meetings in which they are trained on how to talk with Republic managers about our drive to gain IAM representation. Make no mistake, this training is designed to dissuade us from forming a union.
Republic managers will likely now want to hear from us to find out what is causing us to want to form a union. They’ll likely say that if we give them a chance that they will fix what’s wrong. They’ll likely say that by bringing in a “third party” like the IAM will disrupt things, or even make them worse (remember WE are the union and it is us that will be the reps and negotiate our contract with the help of the IAM). They will want us to think that forming a union is a risk. We will also likely start to hear negative things about the IAM in an effort to dissuade us from forming a union. Remember, take everything they say with a grain of salt because it is ALL designed for Republic management to retain all the power. We have a federally protected right to join a union and advocate for the union. We can discuss the union at work as we discuss any other subject like family or sports, so long as it doesn’t interfere with our work. We can pass out literature about the union and pass out cards during non-work times in non-work areas. For example, when on lunch or break in the breakroom, we can sign election authorization cards (a-cards), hand out literature about the union and talk about the union. We can wear a union pin. If you would like more info on our right to form a union and to submit an online interference report please click here. If you would like to speak to an IAM Representative for further explanation, please call John Werkmeister at (412) 613-4300. The only reason Republic managers are being forced into this training, is because we are making a lot of progress. Let’s keep going and get the vote we deserve and a seat at the table. Request a card here. In a recent email from Terry Wellman, Republic AMTs were informed that management will be hiring lower paid contractors in CMH and SDF to perform our work. Not only will management hire these lower paid contractors, they are making us responsible for “getting them up to speed.”
This is extremely concerning and should alarm every single Republic AMT. Republic management claims that it cannot hire AMTs and that is the reason they must hire “contractors” who will be working side by side with us. Well, it doesn’t take an economic genius to understand that when a company is having a difficult time hiring and retaining workers, then that company should make every attempt to increase the compensation package it offers to attract and retain employees. This is something Republic management refuses to do. Who will pay the price? Because we don’t have a union contract that protects our work, management can do what it wants and is free to hire “contractors” to do our work. Even worse, without a union and the protections a contract affords, Republic management could terminate our employment at any time for any reason and replace us with “contractors.” We are already experiencing this is CMH. One of our AMT co-workers has been suspended unjustly and taken out of service. Meanwhile, management claims they need AMTs at CMH. Our co-worker will be replaced by a “contractor.” If we think that this can’t happen to us, we are dead wrong. It’s time to gain union representation with the IAM, so we have a say in how our company is run and to protect our jobs. Sign your election authorization card (a-card) today, so we can gain the right to vote in a union election. Our right to sign an a-card is protected under federal law and management is prohibited by law to ever know who signed a card. You can request a card here. If you have any questions/concerns, please click here to contact an IAM representative. We hope everyone had a great holiday season! Now that the new year is upon us, let’s redouble our efforts to gain union representation from the strongest airline union in the world, the IAM!
Meetings and outreach have been taking place all over the Republic system and we have teams of inside organizers in almost every location. Enthusiasm is running high and we hope that we can gain the right to vote in a representation election in the very near future. Federal rules mandate that at least 50 percent of the entire AMT class and craft sign an election authorization card (a-card). When we reach this threshold, we can file for our election. We are well past the halfway mark and we are progressing strongly. If you have yet to sign your a-card, please do so today. If you need an a-card, please click here to request one, or you can call or text IAM Grand Lodge Representative and AMT, John Werkmeister, to get an a-card and ask any questions you may have regarding the IAM and union representation in general. If you have already signed your a-card, thank you! Please encourage your co-workers to sign an a-card, as well. Remember, your a-card is valid for one year from the date it is signed and you have the right under federal law to sign an a-card and support unionizing your workplace. Please click here to get more information on your right to form a union. Again, Happy New Year and LET’S GET THIS DONE! |
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