November 7, 2011
James Little, International President
Transport Workers Union of America
501 3rd St. NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
Garry Drummond, Director
Air Transport Division
Transport Workers Union of America
1791 Hurstview Dr
Hurst, TX 76054
Dear Brothers Little and Drummond:
I have a few concerns on the Fleet Service and Ground Service ratification vote.
The first issue is that of the time line. This was never discussed with the full Negotiating Committee.
The other issue is how this will be distributed to the membership. Again, this was not discussed with the full Negotiating Committee. In all fairness, the Tentative Agreements for Maintenance & Related and Stores were put into hard copies and distributed to the membership.
These decisions were made by Tim Gillespie, not the full Negotiating Committee. I feel this vote is being rushed for the upcoming holiday (Christmas Day). A vote on one’s future should not be based upon an upcoming holiday. This is a violation of the Negotiations By-Laws. (See below)
In accordance with the TWU-ATD Policy and Rules for Contract Negotiations
Tentative Agreements
“A ratification vote of all tentative agreements must be scheduled on the same date. This date will be a minimum of 30 days after a complete copy of the tentative agreement has been distributed. The negotiating committee will determine the distribution date. Ratification votes shall be conducted by secret ballot except that members on strike may vote by secrete ballot box vote to expedite results.”
In solidarity,
Sam Cirri, President
Letter Jim Little, Gary Drummond on T/A Voting Timeline Fleet Service- in PDF