Dear Sisters and Brothers:
As labor activists, one of the foundations we uphold is that all our members enjoy secure futures and justice on the job. We believe it is a natural right of working people to enjoy to the full extent the wealth created by their labor. We believe that, given the state of work in our current world, people must unite to obtain the full reward of their labor. We believe that working people should exercise their rights cooperatively and economically for the benefit of all people. We pledge ourselves to work for our Members to continue preserving and growing the IAM on the basis of solidarity and justice, and to strive for a higher standard of living for people who work.
Last week, Qantas management went beyond the scope of any modicum of equanimity when they terminated IAM Union committee member Ed Berg. It is no secret that Ed has been a cog in the machine that brought everyone to the precipice of obtaining a fair and equitable agreement that you deserve. Ed has been treated less than fairly, as the charges brought against him were baseless and lacked any independent proof. This should make you angry, as it could have been any one of you in the crosshairs. We do not make that statement blindly either. That statement comes from decades of experience in labor relations, just on your committee alone. The charges were empty at the beginning and remain empty at the end.
The Company needs to understand that actions such as these will not be tolerated by you or the Union. If the Company has a case, we will be challenging them to make it. We are confident we can overturn their termination of Mr. Berg. If the Company chooses to hide behind an unfinished collective bargaining agreement, then that should tell you everything you need to know. We will be addressing this matter with Qantas management this coming week. As soon as we have a response, we will let you know via a similar bulletin. In the meantime, we will leave you with a relevant thought: “If you, the Qantas membership, will not stand for Ed, then you will all fall for anything.” Do the right thing and let your voices be heard on Ed’s behalf. If you have any questions, please reach out to a committee member for feedback.
Sincerely and fraternally,
| John M. Coveny, Jr. President/Directing General Chair | James M. Samuel General Chair | Boris Kochanoff General Chair |
| Edward Berg IAM Union Consultant | Saneel Kumer LAME/Qantas Airways LAX | Miguel Maldonado SAME/Qantas Airways LAX |