Questions About Union Picnic Prize Fund

On August 28^th, 2011 ATU757 had our annual picnic. Over $20,000.00 in gift items had been purchased from Costco to give as prizes. Costco has confirmed that ATU757 does not have a membership to buy items at their store. The prizes had been bought using a Costco card under the company name of Hunt Court Yard. 

Questions:

1.       How come ATU757 does not have a Costco Card and why wasn’t it used to increase possible prize items?

2.       What type of membership does Hunt Court Yard have and was any funds converted due to these items bought?

3.       Is this a violation of Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959?

http://www.atu757.info/CostcoUse.pdf

Campaigning Reality Check

I am getting word back from people saying how crazy I am to think that it would cost $20k - $30k to run a successful campaign. According to our 2010 LM2 report we have a total of 4,383 members. To run a successful campaign you need to get some type of word out to all of these members (if you are running for President, Vice President or Secretary). Because the properties are so spread out the easiest answer is to mail them something. So let’s look at that:

Stamps                                 $0.44each            X 4,383 members             $1941.67

That is only for the stamps. It does not include paper, ink, envelopes or access to the mailing list. All candidates have only one company that they are able to do this type of work for them and I do not see a candidate for President, Vice President or Secretary being able to spend less than $1 per member. To be closer on the real side you should at least expect to pay close to $2 to $3 per member just on one mailing. This will bring the actual cost for one mailing around $8,766.00 to $13,149.00 and this is only for a one time shot and does not include any other activity the candidate might do. The time, gas, travel expense, food and so much more is all a part of campaigning.

ATU757 August Meeting Minutes 2011

For all ATU members!
Here is the minutes of ATU757's August 2011 Charter meeting. Feel free to comment on this post as it is an open outside meeting from our union.
http://www.atu757.info/Minutes/20110814

Who is the fool here?

To warn you in advance, this will be a very long post.

On August 14^th, 2011 I attended a Union meeting and left that meeting asking myself questions like:

Who is the fool here?
What or who can we believe now days?
Does our Union Constitution mean anything?

For the past few years I have shown a very strong passion towards my Union and my Employer. With this passion I have questioned the authority of both the Union to which I belong and the Employer that employees me. In doing so there has been very strong resistance from both. In communications with fellow members it appears that the membership feels frustrated and helpless. Members express fear of retaliation from both our Union and our Employer. This fear has also extended out towards fellow members fearing other members. Each one of us has our own views, passions and ideas about how our lives should be. Is living in fear the way of life you want to be a custom to?

UPDATE 08/12/2011:

The intention to “Prefer Charges” towards President Jonathan Hunt has been based off of communications and documents between him and me in reference towards the delivery of documents to a member. There was a dead line of July 30^th, 2011 for the documents to be delivered to the member. It is not clear that this dead line had been met, yet it appears that the member has received the documents and the proceeding is moving forward.

Because the proceedings are moving forward and the member has the required documents as stated in our communications I find the intention of “Preferring Charges” towards President Jonathan Hunt Null Void and is not warranted. Though the delay is questionable the end result is the factor of dismissing the intention of “Preferring Charges”.

In Solidarity

Define Solidarity:

Solidarity is the integration, and degree and type of integration, shown by a society or group with people and their neighbors. It refers to the ties in a society - social relations - that bind people to one another. The term is generally employed in sociology and the other social sciences. What forms the basis of solidarity varies between societies. In simple societies it may be mainly based around kinship and shared values. In more complex societies there are various theories as to what contributes to a sense of social solidarity.

Yes my paper work is signed “In Solidarity” and I am proud of it!

Preferring Charges against President Jonathan Hunt

UPDATE 08/12/2011:

The intention to “Prefer Charges” towards President Jonathan Hunt has been based off of communications and documents between him and me in reference towards the delivery of documents to a member. There was a dead line of July 30^th, 2011 for the documents to be delivered to the member. It is not clear that this dead line had been met, yet it appears that the member has received the documents and the proceeding is moving forward.

Because the proceedings are moving forward and the member has the required documents as stated in our communications I find the intention of “Preferring Charges” towards President Jonathan Hunt Null Void and is not warranted. Though the delay is questionable the end result is the factor of dismissing the intention of “Preferring Charges”.

Today I am making it known of my intention to “Prefer Charges” against President Jonathan Hunt for nonfeasance in office. I have created a PDF file that has all the required documentation to bring this action forward. I am in need of ten (10) signatures from members of ATU757 who are in good standing and in support of this action. Please read all the documentation and if you are in support fill out and mail the last page to me as instructed in the instructions of the that documentation. Thank you for your support. -Chris