I signed my card.... have you?
 

http://www.local747.org/forms/747.Re...tationCard.pdf

We have until mid August.

If at first you don't succed, try, try again.

Can someone tell me why I want teamsters at Colgan instead of other unions? Why hasn't there been any leadership to step up with this drive to answer questions? If these people can't lead a drive, how can they lead a union?

Engraved brass knuckles on your first anniversary.

Already have mine in my top drawer. Next year, gold plated ice pick. :D

My understanding is a group of workers must solicit a union first before the union can run a drive (please correct me if I am wrong).

Why anyone chooses one union over another is fairly simple: who can get me the best bang for my buck.

I would welcome any and all unions to come forward and show me what they can offer (including what they have managed to provide thier other clients). IMHO the Teamsters have done resonably well representing regional airlines. An unnamed "association" seems to play mainline against regional and give up more than it gets.

I am open to all suggestions, but having a long history is just that: History.

I can't say a lot of good things about my tenure with the Teamsters. Of course it was not aviation but that tells you a lot. It was a major paycut to stay with them and eventually they were broken.

Pick your poisons. ALPA is an association, not a union per se. But get after representation, just make sure it's smart. The Teamsters haven't been good since Broadway Joe won a superbowl. Too bad Jimmy Hoffa has had to watch so many bad football games!

If you're looking for the most incompetent, greed-driven, worthless union available...by all means please join the Teamsters 747. Instead of paying dues directly, just take whatever money would have come out of your paycheck and make a little pile on your front lawn. Now, light that pile on fire. The heat it provides will be more useful than anything you ever get from the Teamsters...especially the 747.

Colgan needs to join ALPA at this point.... If the colgan folks can't see that now for a multitude of reasons when things get hammered out under PNCL corp they will be complaining on deaf ears. The last run was unsuccessful, but the past year should have been a learning curve for them.

Fellow Colganytes...please read! Don't settle, please! Go for the better union! Just don't settle...:confused:

Please Please Please listen to these people. DO NOT JOIN the 747 local. They are putting all of their efforts into finding new companies to join and little effort into servicing the ones that are currently paying the bills. There are no Brass Knuckles and no Black Lincolns, certainly not in Indy. It ain't like the good old days of the teamsters.

Just a piece of friendly advice, take it or leave it. Representation is unfortunately a must in this industry. Without it, management has shown they will not share the success, but will gladly share the pain of this industry.

Form your own independent union! You have to take leadership for yourself because you are the only one you can hold accountable. ALPA will take your money and tell you they cannot negotiate an impass or support a strike because of legal entanglements with other pilot groups. Teamsters Local 747 has a dozen people trying to manage its aviation responsibilities and is inept at it.

The most successful unions are the in house unions. SWA has SWAPA, UPS has IPA, American has APA (incidentally the only legacy carrier with A funds and pensions still intact,) and I am sure I am leaving out a few others.

NetJets pilots had Local 747 representing them and tried to break away after incompetent representation in 2004. After that, there was a deal made so that NJ pilots had their own local, Local 1108. Local 1108 was made up entirely of NJ pilots and without support of Teamsters International, greatly improved their contract in 2005. Again in 2007, NJ Local 1108 negotiated yet another greatly improved contract 3 years before the amendable date of the 2005 agreement. Teamsters International did not even know about the new contract until we told them. That's how involved they were. NJ pilots, after taking responsibility for themselves in 2005, have now made the break official. NJ pilots will be represented by an in-house union NJASAP after a representational election concludes this month.

Take responsibility for yourself. Keep your dues money local. Do not pay for Hoffa, Prater, or any of their high paid staff. All they do is take your money, live the high life, and tell you they truly want to help but there is nothing they can do.

Good luck and I wish ya'll well.

Darn, he's right. When I said "brass knuckles," I mean "bag tags." Fear the GREEN.
...although they do get pretty sharp if you break a corner off.

All the information you need to know about the teamster's motives and priorities can be obtained by considering gojet...

Teamsters jumped in to represent an alter-ego work force...gojet needed protection from alpa and possible forced integration, teamsters wanted dues.

You have obviously never worked for one of those regional airlines represented by the Teamsters. They are literally the worst airline union I've ever been witness to, but the Colgan pilots need to find this out for themselves. Don't listen to people on the internet, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

I suggest reading our lovely quarterly, and look at the PAGES AND PAGES of unresolved grievances.

The only defense I can give to this is that 747 refused to let them in. TEAMSTERS NATIONAL, on the other hand, did let them in. They joined local 618 which represents janitors in St. Louis.

What an insult to the janitors.

Colgan pilots, please look at the good examples of ALPA/management relationships such as XJT. If you are in doubt, ask a XJT pilot to see their contract. I will PM you it if you ask.

As I have said on your jumpseat, we need to stop doing each others job for less and we aren't going to help that by joining a different [truck drivers, GoJet] union just to prove a point. If we are all going to get ahead in this career, we need to be on the same side.

Group think people! We are stronger as a group, instead of undercutting each other.