It’s been a heavy week for many of our pilots so rather than delving into a campaign Bio, I thought it would be better to review a few items of recent concern.
As a long time Steward going back to IBT-1224 through the transition to IBT-2750, I remain passionate about defending our pilots and their rights under our CBA. I take issue with much of what is being told to our members by the current E-Board and feel compelled to address the false narrative(s) that are being circulated.
The current E-Board stated publicly that The Right Choice 2023 Slate is trying to overturn several of the recent LOA/MOU’s. Let me address the “Withdrawal from Out-base LOC” and the “Open Time Pay Cap MOU” agreements. Several weeks ago, I filed a Grievance with “Cease-and-Desist” language directed at the EBoard and the Atlas Air Chief Pilot, Matthew Sturgis. The intent was to make clear to all: Modifications to existing CBA terms, in accordance with the Bylaws require a membership ratification vote, that vote never occurred.
These agreements violated Section 27.C of the Local 2750 Bylaws, violating the rights of all of our pilots and our right to ratification by referendum vote. The E-Board’s lawyer, William Wilder, claims that I don’t have the authority to challenge these amendments. However, this is the same legal advice that our Executive Board received when they claimed their term of office ended in 2024. Mr. Wilder continued to give poor legal advice during the previous election, which the IBT General Executive Board found to be in violation of Federal law.
Section 27.C clearly states that any modifications to the CBA require a referendum vote by the membership. I have made repeated attempts to have our current E-Board and negotiating committee follow this procedure. The Grievance process is the first option to correct this violation. The proper procedure to modify CBA language is a ratification vote. Neither President Paulsen or the company have communicated that they are willing to do so. A Step 1 grievance meeting is scheduled for July 9, 2024.
The intent of the Election Protest was to defend the rights of the Members of our Local to be allowed to participate in a free and fair election. The Department of labor and The IBT Gen Exec Board, clearly found the last election was NOT held in accordance with the LMRDA.
On April 24, 2024, the Dept of Labor and Local 2750 entered into a Voluntary Compliance Agreement valid thru Nov. 30, 2024. The agreement avoided a legal action in Federal Court by the DOL against local 2750 seeking a new election. President Paulsen agreed to the terms and conditions.
The statement that all communications were shut down by the DOL is factually incorrect. The whole story is the DOL presented two options: allow monitoring to avoid abuse of Union resources or cease communications entirely until the new election was concluded. Our Executive Board clearly did not want to be monitored and chose the option to CEASE all communications. The Amazon announcement appears to have required the Eboard to reconsider their choice and agree to be monitored, thus allowing the crew call to occur last week. Control of this local and YOUR Union belongs to YOU. That control does not belong to Michael Steen, Scot Ridgeway, or Atlas management. YOU and your fellow Brothers and Sisters are the sole owners and stake holders of this union!
Thank you,
Don Sorrentino
IAP 2750 Steward
Candidate for Recording Secretary
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