By Michael Nelson, Region II Director
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| Michael Nelson |
I hope that you all enjoyed a stimulating and safe summer with your families whether you vacationed, spent time with the kids, or just relaxed. But now as we have entered autumn, and the third year of the Aircraft Maintenance Technician (AMT) and Related Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) negotiations, I’d like to draw your attention to another important event which takes place annually at all the Aircraft Mechanic Fraternal Association (AMFA) locals--Local Officer Elections. This process is described in detail in Article IV of each of your respective Local’s Bylaws. I have always believed that it was important for each member to be educated and participate in the nomination and election process of any Local Officer. But it wasn’t until I was elected to the office of AMFA Region II Director and experienced that paradigm shift, did I truly understand the importance of each local officer position which makes up your Local Executive Committee (LEC). As each LEC member has a vote on very important financial and organizational issues that could potentially jeopardize the health of the local, it is very important to ensure that ethical, trustworthy, and good Union people are elected.
Collectively, the individual member of our Association is the reason for AMFA’s existence. One of the National and Local Officers’ primary tasks is to ensure that those who are responsible for enforcing our CBAs, and protecting our jobs, have every resource available to fulfill their duties and provide the best service possible for each dues paying member. Our Shop and Area Representatives are the Association’s first line of defense against a sometimes overly aggressive Company leadership, and it is vital that each representative has extensive training and be thoroughly knowledgeable of our CBAs and the intent of the language in them. The Area and Shop representatives on the floor should have the best tools and training available to allow them to comfortably and effectively represent their members in a multitude of situations.
The enforcement front of the Association is what the membership sees on a daily basis and this enforcement represents a real return on their investment. Reinforcing this point, the Airline Representative Report is the consistent overwhelming reason members attend General Membership Meetings (GMMs) as they want to get firsthand accounts of grievances, arbitration cases, and the status of negotiations. The enforcement of our CBAs is, with no doubt, one of the most important services our Association executes for the membership. We need to appreciate that the enforcement front of the Association can only be effectively and efficiently carried out if the structure of the Association is properly supported and the Officers tasked with ensuring this are acting to protect each individual member.
It is paramount that we ensure our LECs, Airline Representatives, Area Representatives, Shop Representatives, and NEC are staffed with people we can trust with not only our livelihood, but the livelihood of our families. I am counting on each of you to knowledgeably participate in AMFA elections for the wellbeing of my family as well. Please utilize your unique rights and power that is provided to you under the AMFA Constitution to determine who you want as Local and National leaders, representing you and potentially directing your future. As in any democracy, those whom are elected make many decisions for the entire group, and it is important that the candidates be thoroughly evaluated or we may be forced to live through the angst of our local moving in the wrong direction.
In closing, I would like to thank those members who have made the commitment to serve the membership by accepting a “Willingness-to-Serve,” held an elected position, or are currently holding an elected position within our organization. The AMFA membership depends on its colleagues to participate in local and national leadership roles and we are all individually eligible to participate, not only by voting, but by holding any elected position within our Association.
