Jon Hunt brought a guest for moral support and note taking.
Several members objected, including one who referred to her own case where she was not allowed to have a guest attend.
A vote was taken and the majority voted to allow his guest.
There were several by-laws changes proposed, not really sure what the procedure is for this further down the line.
Jon Hunt turned the meeting over to Sam Swartz who presented the charges against Jon.
He objected because of the cost of the proceedings.
Sam proceeded to read the charges in a monotone that you could fall asleep to.
Some guy sitting in the front row starting talking about "death row" and other incoherent things.
Sam was clearly against the charges going forward.
There was a motion for this to be a secret ballot, the crazy guy in front starting ranting again.
The usual procedure is a hand vote, a lengthy discussion ensued that really had no meaning.
Evette made a good point in stating that arbitration's are conducted in a secret method.
It was decided to split the vote into two parts.
Part 1 was regarding Hunts dismissal of Chris Day. Hunt further explained that he followed Robert rules of order when he refused Chris re-entry into the meeting because Chris was disrupting the meeting.
It seemed that members were not clear about what they were voting on and it had to be explained numerous times that this vote was for the authorization of a tribunal to be formed to investigate the charges.
Sam stated that Chris was allowed to come to the next meeting and proceeded to take pictures with his phone.
Several members strongly objected that Jon gets to keep his job after a DUI but the rest of us would be fired for it.
A member reminded others that Jon Hunt signed the provision that allows Trimet to terminate us for a DUI, not only on duty for the company but in our own private vehicle. AL THOMAS said that the man that brought that point up did not know what he was talking about and never knew what he was talking about. Al then proceeded to act irresponsibly.
A rambunctious discussion ensued.
Evette challenged Jon's statement that his problems have cost the union nothing.
The vote was more or less a landslide for Jon Hunt.
11 YEA 60 NAY ON CHRIS DAY CHARGES
19 YEA 60 NAY ON THE DUI CHARGES
100 MEMBERS SHOWED UP ABOUT 7% OF TRIMET UNION EMPLOYEES ---------------------------------------------------
I found the whole thing completely dysfunctional and a waste of my time. The way the union handles these types of procedures is despicable. In my opinion this should be voted on by all the members by mail. I never expected this to go forward, but I was not expecting this much of a circus. From appearances it seems that most people think our union is doing a wonderful job. I see lots of failure, but apparently most people feel otherwise.
 |
| Vote for Vermin Supreme president ATU757 |
 | |
| Jeff Ackerson poses while voting |
 | |
| Jon Hunt goes back to business as usual after winning the vote |
 |
| About 100 people showed up |
2 comments:
This is precicly how President Hunt intends to win re-election--his plan, as I have it from someone inside his camp, is to pursue the 60% majority of non-TriMet votes because, "They don't know nothing...they don't matter!"
We have a lot of work to do because of this--not only to turn the other properties away from Hunt, but also to offer a radically progressive alternative to the status quo.
I try to love everybody, I do. But I believe there is a majority of TriMet members who want major changes, such as a really local local, like just Portland Metro Area workers, or even just TriMet by ourselves, if not a complete change in chartered membership with some other labor union altogether.
This is the kind of 'outside the box' thinking my guy does. The difficulty is in winning those who are stuck inside the box, and empowering them to take increasing control over their own collective bargaining unit, without regard to which name is on the door.
In my opinion, that radical alternative is www.AAALeadership.org and
Lionel Rampant.
Well, the meeting this morning was...quiet, with only 25 in attendence. Only 2 items were continued from the previous meetings--both were PofC's against Pres Hunt. Only 2 other members besides myself debated the issues with the Chair. On both PofC's the vote to prosecute the charges in trial were 1 in favor (me), fewer than a handful of voiced abstensions, and the rest voted to dismiss. This is a disheartening situation where the will of the largest member group (TM) is being oppressed by the majority. The Rampant Lion will have more to say on breaking out of this 'box' in the near future, so don't give up, stay tuned! (Lionel Rampant)
Post a Comment