Pat Friend’s Best Advice: “Off With Her Head!”

Pat Friend’s Best Advice: “Off With Her Head!”

As the Northwest and Delta flight attendants continue their long, slow fall down the never-ending rabbit hole to the confusing, baffling wonderland that is AFA, Pat Friend is playing her best Queen of Hearts, while flight attendants everywhere are paying dearly for Pat’s altered sense of reality.

In the 4 years that AFA has been on the Northwest property (most of that time being spent to woo the Delta flight attendants each time resulting in incredible failures), Pat has provided precious little inspiration or strategy or planning or (dare I say it) leadership.

What Pat is good at though – besides handsomely rewarding her political cronies and collecting her own hefty salary – is quashing any attempts at true union activism or reform of her asylum of corruption and incompetence. In case there is any question left of Pat’s need to extract vengeance against the free speakers and independent thinkers among our group, here is what she had to say with regard to Kate Day’s recent resignation letter:

“Well if there is anyone left who was willing to give Kate the benefit of the doubt that she was not the direct link to Jose, this destructive piece should persuade them of the truth.” ~ Pat Friend, AFA President

(Note: this quote and all the quotes below were written after Kate Day’s AFA email account was shut down. Pat was wrong in her accusation of Kate, just as she has been wrong in the devastating direction she has led the flight attendant profession during her time in office. – Kate Day’s letter can be found here.)

“I don't know how you want to respond. I'm sorry to say this but she's one of yours and you need to figure out as a group how to respond. You could of course just say she's a liar, always has been and this is nothing new.” ~ Pat Friend, AFA President

“. . . So my recommendation is hit her back hard. You don't need facts – she didn't use them - tar her with any brush of allegations and innuendoes you choose to use. If you worry about what can be proved, you will lose the battle to her. Play her game and play to win.” ~ Pat Friend, AFA President

Leave it to Pat Friend to once again reach a faulty, illogical conclusion and start another smear campaign. This – more than anything else – is her true talent and the reason she has been able to remain in office for so many years. Dictators everywhere should sit up and take notice.

Of course Pat’s minions (those AFA staffers who do little to no actual work for the flight attendants, but insist on collecting their full-time AFA salaries, expenses and perks) are falling all over themselves to appease Her Highness lest they risk losing their own heads.

The MEC Grievance Chair, who is too nervous to pursue the all-important second LOA 35 (me-too) grievance (worth up to ~ $195 million in concessionary wages and work rules) to arbitration (once he finally figured out it even existed) but bold enough to bill the union $57 per day in per diem to pay for the can of Progresso soup he eats at his desk, despite the fact that he lives and works in MSP, had this to say:

“I'm not an official part of the campaign, and I try not to muddy that water. However, having been through some serious mud-slinging in my time, and having a pretty good idea who is supporting Kate, my best advice would be to follow Pat. I don't think this is a time to be "politically correct". This person means great harm to all of us and the campaign - and I think the response should be swift, harsh, and true. She's supplied all of the fodder the MEC needs to draft a response that should expose her for what she is. Don't let her hide behind the curtain any longer.” ~ Gregory S Riffle

It’s unfortunate that Greg S Riffle believes the truth to be harmful, but perhaps that explains why he prefers to cower in the shadow of lies with Pat and her gang. And when we read Greg’s heavy endorsement of Pat’s plan to attack and destroy dues-paying AFA members, we have to ask ourselves who is it really that is hiding behind a curtain of trickery and dishonesty? Just what does former non-dues payer Greg S Riffle propose “exposing” Kate as? One of 2 LEC presidents who managed to stay within her budget year after year? The representative with one of the best grievance-win records at NWA? The person who, realizing its value could be $195 million, filed, and pursued the 2nd LOA 35 grievance that Greg S Riffle was too lazy to file? Greg S Riffle is much too busy checking grocery store shelves for new flavors of Progresso and dodging work to be bothered with serious matters that affect the lives and livelihoods of AFA members, but all too eager to jump on board the smear train.

................All Aboard!

Joining Greg S Riffle is none other than MEC Mobilization Chair Jarrod Anderson, who is making a pretty penny to sit in crew lounges and help keep the AFA spin factory twirling. You may have recently seen Jarrod Anderson in a badly choreographed AFA video singing about opportunity, unity and respect, while people shake their fingers at the camera. Apparently Jarrod Anderson could not pass up the opportunity to show exactly what he meant by unity and RESPECT with regard to dues-paying members who threaten his well-compensated position:

“If there's anything the MEC/LEC officers could provide us with such as her past actions, her intentions, solid proof that she wanted to undermine AFA (i.e., confidential things leaked to Jose) ANYTHING you can provide us with to take away her credibility would be great if that's the direction we decided to go in. If not, please provide us with something to put an end to it. Thanks! In Unity,” ~ Jarrod Anderson

I can only ask, “In unity with whom, Jarrod?” It’s certainly not with the members you are supposed to be mobilizing. Maybe it’s in unity with the other AFA bureaucrats who collect hefty monthly AFA paychecks like you do.

Newly ousted BOS LEC president Bob Cannatelli couldn’t resist another opportunity to woman bash. He was recently brought up on charges for misogynistic behavior at an MEC meeting, and retaliated by filing counter charges against his accuser on, of all things, an LEC president’s right to communicate with her members. True to form, he lied his way out of the charges, and here’s his solution-less rant on Kate’s resignation letter:

“I think what Pat meant is that it is our (NWA AFA) problem. Obviously if there is a specific route we take that would include discrediting her, then we will have to decide what we are able to provide you in terms of her past comments, written statements etc.” ~ Bob Cannatelli “Just another one of her many crazy rants! I like to call it "Kate's Manifesto" Sounds like something the "unibomber" (sic) would write in his cabin in the woods.” ~ Bob Cannatelli “For those who don't want to wade thru the sludge at the facebook site, here is Kate's crazy rant. The fact that she mentioned my name (out of context by the way) means she knew I was onto her and would not let her forget it.” ~ Bob Cannatelli

Really, Bob? You were on to her? For what, exactly? You’re the union rep that has failed to file a single grievance in well over a year while collecting a salary that is twice what the AFA Constitution allows you. What exactly are you “on to” Kate about? Fiduciary responsibility? Accountability to her members? Winning numerous flight attendants their jobs back? Being a better union representative than you, Bob, according to every objective measure of performance? Just what is it that you have on her? Once again, your accusations are full of emotion and completely void of facts or analysis.

On to the MEC officers and their words of wisdom.......

MEC president Janette Rook, who has previously treated herself to extra bonus payments, a la Bernie Madoff, while failing to pursue the second me-too grievance, thus costing every NWA flight attendant thousands of dollars per year, had this to say:

“I think we actually made history here tonight - Kaki Androsiuk is urging caution and calm and Patricia Friend is hopping mad and writing about tarring someone with her own style of sly, innuendo brush!“ ~ Janette Rook "I would just tell the members the that (sic) ask the truth - that everyone has their own very distinct perspective and version of the what the "truth" is and about what happens every day. To some there always has to be a conspiracy or a colleague to blame. This laundry list of issues that she rolls out from the past 4 years is portrayed and translated from a long term anti-AFA perspective, from a former PFAA union rep.” ~ Janette Rook

Hmmmm, Janette. Are you saying Pat is mad as a Hatter? And while Pat’s ire and wrath against those who disagree with her is certainly not new, you, Janette, seem to possess a curious ability to blend fact and truth with opinion and perspective.

The Truth is that you and AFA have failed to pursue any meaningful grievance that would benefit the flight attendants. The Truth is that you and AFA have done nothing for the past 15 months but focus on the Delta campaign and has refused to spend money and effort on protecting and improving our current contract. The Truth is that you and AFA have kept lazy, incompetent people in office for months and years, because it could be damaging to the campaign to remove them. The Truth is that laziness, incompetence and greed have caused grievances to be sidetracked or lost outright, costing us dearly. The Truth is that nothing in Kate’s work or actions or deeds identifies her as being anti-flight attendant and you can only identify her as anti-AFA to the extent that you associate AFA with the corruption and incompetence and greed that she wrote about.

That’s the Truth Janette and those are the facts. The extent to which you believe that AFA’s failure to perform is acceptable, well, that’s your “perspective”.

MEC vice president Daniel Grey took time out from updating the Janette Rook fan page on Facebook to chime in with:

“Please stand by - in the meantime, could we leave this off a lecmec distribution until the MEC has a chance to review?” ~ Daniel Grey

While we’re still officially “standing by”, the attacks have already begun. Paid AFA staffer and NWA flight attendant Julianna Helminski (who has never met Kate Day) had this to say:

“I am going to try to control my fury about this at this point in time. I know the situation and if any of you either pro or anti have any respect for me and what I have posted before, please know what Kate wrote is not about the flight attendants of PMNW; not is it about our union. It is about a personal situation that she is in at the moment. It has been going on for a while and it's very unfortunate that she chose to use her personal feelings and aggression at this point in time. It is calculated and very smart from an anti union standpoint. You will hear more shortly but I personally I am trying to take a breath right now and decide whether it's necessary to get down and dirty or whether I should take the high road to preserve what's left of Kate Day's dignity.” ~ Julianna Helminski

Well, Julianna Helminski, you never backed up your allegations and innuendoes with any facts, did you? Were you just following Pat’s orders in your blatant and baseless attack against a fellow union member for exercising her right to free speech and speak about her personal experience as an AFA officer? The big difference between Kate and you (other than the direction your respective moral compasses point) is that Kate’s letter did not foist conjecture and innuendo on another individual the way that your entire post did. I wonder if you would have done the same, had it been a Karen Silkwood or Erin Brocovich who was threatening your AFA salary or perks.

You promised that we would hear more shortly, Julianna Helminski. Well, where is it? Have you failed to follow up your diatribe because you truly never had anything to say about this topic in the first place? How incredible that you would risk your own credibility and honor by stooping so low.

Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll could easily be describing how NWA flight attendants and AFA dues paying members are feeling today when he wrote:

“But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.

"Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're
mad."

"How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice.

"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."

Are we mad, just by virtue of being part of this mad organization? If there is any question remaining . . . if there is any doubt lingering that the largest flight attendant union in the world is anti-flight attendant, they are surely erased with Pat’s latest edict, and the willingness of her cronies to fall all over themselves to comply with her orders.

Pat “Bernie Madoff” Friend’s behavior would make Nixon blush. She has already spent all of AFA members’ dues and is now well on her way to emptying CWA’s coffers, all the while conniving to attack her own members and other AFA leaders. It’s time to restrict her from destroying our careers and our lives even more than she already has.

The only people who should be calling “Off with her head” are flight attendants everywhere and those calls should be directed towards Pat Friend. It is time for the AFA Board of Directors, which convenes in Las Vegas April 27-29, to remove Pat Friend from office due to complete and utter inability to perform her job and for being complicit in conspiracies against dues-paying AFA members. If we are to believe the AFA campaign that “we” are AFA, then aren’t Pat Friend’s attacks on AFA members also attacks on AFA the organization? Any Board Member who refuses to remove her promptly from office can only explain his or her decision by condoning Pat’s attacks on flight attendants and dues-paying members, and with a union like that, well, who needs corrupt management?

Pat Friend we want to move forward. What is the delay? First you filed claiming Delta and NWA had merged then you remove the filing claiming we have not merged. Are You Mad! Or are you just running out the clock so you can sell out the flight attendants yet again when this contract is up for negotiations? Maybe you’ve already scheduled your secret meetings with Delta leadership, to somehow assure AFA’s foot in the door to the utter detriment of the Delta flight attendants.

Sincerely,

Jose Arturo Ibarra

Take action!

AFA International President Patricia “Pat” Friend
pfriend@afanet.org 202-434-0574

AFA International Vice President Veda Shook
vshook@afanet.org 202-434-0578

AFA NWA/Delta Organizer Mollie Reiley
airmom@frontiernet.net 763-479-4006

AFA NWA/Delta Organizer Danny Campbell
dgcampbell@comcast.net 248-556-6196

NWA MEC President Janette Rook
jrook@nwaafa.org 952-241-4101

NWA MEC Vice President Daniel Grey
dgrey@nwaafa.org 952-241-4102

NWA MEC Secretary-Treasurer Lynn Bible
lbible@nwaafa.org 952-241-4103

NWA MEC Grievance Chair Greg Riffle
griffle@nwaafa.org 952-241-4105

NWA LEC Presidents:

ATL President David Carter
dcarter@nwaafa.org 678-358-6201

BOS President Robert Cannatelli
rcannatelli@nwaafa.org 617-957-4877

DTW President Diana Mitcham
dmitcham@nwaafa.org 734-532-8404 ext. 6

HNL President Dave Tadlock
dtadlock@nwaafa.org 808-223-0610

LAX President Leslie Meeks
lmeeks@nwaafa.org 213-453-3688

MEM President Shawn Fivecoat
sfivecoat@nwaafa.org 901-326-1348

MSP President Bruce Retrum
bretrum@nwaafa.org 952-241-4127

NYC President Josh Zivick
jzivick@nwaafa.org 347-419-4219

SEA President Jay Hong
jhong@nwaafa.org 206-304-2489

SFO President Brett Clark
bclark@nwaafa.org 707-364-5538