Spiritman,

I gave you the facts. I am sure a FOIA request would get you the rest of the documents, however I am not going to scan 1500 pages just to make you happy. You have crossed a legal line, I will not engage you further, I gave you a chance to backtrack on your slander and since you are a official union appointee, you have a duty to represent and not slander and libel your fellow pilots. I obviously have held other airline jobs since then, so if I was such a big liar and showed a lack of character, then most likely I would not have made it through the interviews. That is the last I will say to you.

To the other Spirit pilots on here,

I apologize that a few pilots, regardless of their position for or against can be so radical in their views and spit such hatred toward each other. I am no fan of the current MEC but I must respect the will of the membership. I intend to make honest changes with my fellow pilots in LEC077. While I may not be a fan of their ideology, if they stay in power then they must get my support along with the others during this next negotiation. Your vote decides whether you want that change, or to continue with the current status quo. I am merely running for a non-politcial position for one reason, making your union leadership transparent to hold all of us accountable. I know most of you have been to our website to see what we stand for and our commitment to you. I have never served in ALPA, nor do I aspire to ALPA leadership, I see a void, I have principles, and I want the check and balances in place. I am an outsider, as some of the naysayers have said, I also made a mistake 15 years ago in 1999 and got a DUI, (for those of you interested in the DUI story, see my previous post) so I doubt you have to worry about me jumping ship to Delta. I am invested in Spirit.

For those of you unaware of our promises to you in LEC077, here it is again.
1. Open the finances for all membership. This has been required by our bylaws, but hidden from us for over 5 years. If there is nothing to hide, then show us what has been required of you by our SPA bylaws.
2. We will go above and beyond and publish all trip drops, with a reason as to why the trip was dropped.
3. We will bring forward a resolution that mirrors the FLL resolution requiring a vote from our membership as to who is negotiating on our behalf. We want the best candidates negotiating on our future, you should be allowed to decide that. We are still early in the game, there has been no early opener, or meeting yet with the company, this is a clean slate.

Apparently the last time I got ALPA to release the financials and trip drops and made our pilots aware, I must have made some real enemies by knocking their hands out of the cookie jar. I did it before, and I will do it again, if that is what keeps your union accountable to you. Those of you that were here then saw the "volunteers" that were abusing the system, if this is not the case now, there should be no issue with publishing it. These are not trade secrets, the company authorizes all drops anyway.

As you can see, I have no problem standing up for you and putting my name on any of my correspondence. You can obviously see on this site who stands to lose if we open the door to your union for you. Please feel free to PM me or email me from our campaign site if you have any questions on my integrity or my DUI or what my intention is here at Spirit. Win or lose, I am here till retirement and I intend to support the winning candidates, however we can agree to disagree.

Cole Brantley for LEC077 Secretary Treasurer

 

Cole,

Not 1500 pages, just the ones that you were exonnerated from the NTSB issues, DUI, Failure to disclose on your medical, and your excuse that the NTSB rejected in the following letter.

http://www.ntsb.gov/alj/O_n_O/docs/aviation/5122.PDF

Answer, and it will go away.

Litigate if you feel like it. Good luck.

Think about it --- Justa tip.

 

Amen to that!!

 

The very way you approach the subject, see the above quote, doesn't bode well for any real discussion. You try to set the table by implying that I have not been respectful, not been truthful and have misrepresented facts. You're not leaving much room for discussion.

On to the topics at hand:

1.I didn't have your full support during the early days of JC's tenure because I had no role in union leadership at that time.

2. The squabble started when the DTW local recalled their FO rep on the specific charge of "voting to often with FLL"

Speaking of that recall effort, that failed recall effort. You're worried now that we might elect reps who are "concerned about their own local agenda". You're worried now that we are spending our energy fighting each other instead of standing unified against management. Where was that concern for unification when the DTW local attempted to recall their own FO rep "because he voted to often with FLL". Maybe that FO rep (RM) was thinking of the overall pilot group vs his own "local" agenda, maybe? Did you vote to recall that famous night in DTW? Only two stood against the recall, were you one of those? Did you lecture your DTW brothers on the need to fight management vs each other.

If I may be so bold, I'll tell you the problem you're having today. You guys think that the only problem you have is a couple of loudmouths like me who won't let go of the past. WRONG! I didn't elect Connors and Leonard in FLL, and I didn't pass resolutions in FLL demanding that the Negotiators get the ax. But you still want to focus on the past. I declined to run for office this time around partially because I think that the next generation needs to step up and move us away from the DTW vs FLL mentality. You guys should step back and accept some new blood instead of trying to smear anyone not on your team who tries to step up. I'm seriously telling you this: me and Herb and Rich and Bob are not the reason so many people want new blood in office. It's up to you to understand why FLL and now DFW are in revolt.


Lemonade, You are correct Sir! Thanks for bringing me back to ground.

Ooops. Not finished yet! Balder, why is the assumption always that it is bad when union reps get friendly with management?

When union reps use their relationship with management to do the pilots business, to advance the pilot groups position, to protect the careers of individual pilots; those reps are accomplishing the job they were elected to do.

If you accept that the union must always be in conflict with management, you are accepting the very same environment you would seem to argue against. On one hand your side cusses management for being disagreeable/dishonest/etc and on the other hand you cuss union reps who manage to find a way to avoid that disagreeable/dishonesty relationship. You've set up a no win situation for the union. If the voters demand reps who go toe to toe with management, then the reps will have to be confrontational to management or face the wrath of the voters. If you don't allow your reps the ability to "play nice" with management, you've cut yourself off at the knees.

 

Geez! Someone is freaked out their buddies' trip drops and financial information will be published when Cole gets elected as 77's Secretary-Treasurer. So, explain...If he hadn't been exonerated, how would he be flying as an airline captain, holding an ATP and a First Class medical?
Think about it --- D.P.

So, what next will a mad man like you reveal? An accurate log of Cole's nocturnal excursions in Lima? Or should I give you an ex-wife's number so you can inhale some of the dirt she has on him?
Not waisting one more post on your garbage.

On to positive things and addressing truly important issues.

 

Excellent post Cole. Just got two more guys today to nominate you. Godspeed!

 

Getting tired of all the smear, division and regression some trolls are injecting into this thread. And not wanting all of us to get sucked further into it, time to shift the winds around here to a positive vibe. Since the LEC77 elections and negotiations are upcoming, let's shift to to the distant future...
One thing that I personally feel should drastically be improved are retirement benefits. I have 25 years to go. Within the bounds of reality, what would you guys and gals like to see on the next CBA? 401(k) 9% dollar per dollar is all we currently have.
Ideas?? Examples??

 

What a public embarrassment this thread has become. Delusions of grandeur and inflated perceptions of self-worth at every turn. Weak minds and hearts all so eager to die on the principle of their personal vendetta. I wouldn't trust most of you guys to clean my pool, and as a consequence of your sloppy delivery, anything important/informative that you may actually have to impart are wholly ignored.

 

Spiritman, you sir are a complete and utter embarrassment to this pilot group if you actually work here. I don't know you or any of the 77 candidates but airing out something in someone's legal history for all if the internet to read is low brow and not posting your name with it is just a bittch move. If the candidate in question has something in their past that could negatively affect how they represent the group then I needs to be brought up in a email or at a meeting not on the internet.

Btw everyone that references anyone on the MEC or an MEC officer in the same sentence as "keeping power", "gaining power", or "controlling power" seriously has no idea how this works. They have no power! They are a mouthpiece! The MEC chairman and vice chairman work for the MEC. The MEC is made up of all the LEC representatives. Those LEC reps work for us, the line pilot! We have the power! Not them! Anyone who believes otherwise is delusional and has no place running for any position.

 

I'll take on your shift.

I want to give up Nothing.

I want retirement, 13-15% contrib.
Higher pay, adjusted for industry and inflation.
A gain on trip rigs or min day guarantee.
Red Eye and intl override.

Thanks A320Flyer.