From: "Safety"
Dear Jose,
I am happy that you "say" you respect the democratic process and that you respect the individuality of our vote in the upcoming representational election. The problem, as I see it, is that very few people have any respect for you at this point in time. The time has come to call a spade a spade. You are one of the biggest reasons why PFAA failed as a viable organization.
As the interim Secretary-Treasurer, I know first-hand how you attempted to commandeer the first official officer election and put Guy Meek at a distinct disadvantage by placing your biography in the very edition of the newsletter that was to be in the hands of the members during the crucial election period. I know first-hand how you pouted when you saw that you lost the election against Guy and retreated to your San Francisco home where you intended to stay working out of your home until your term of office was up quite some time later. You know that I then made it crystal clear you would not receive one penny of the members' dues money as salary if you did not report back to Minnesota to finish out your term. As interim Secretary-Treasurer, I know first-hand how you attempted to steal money from our members by submitting phoney bills for reimbursement. For some reason you couldn't understand why large amounts of liquor from the Wholesale Club were unreimbursable to you. You violated the very Constitution and By-Laws that you helped create for PFAA when you went over my head as Secretary-Treasurer and sent your bills directly to the McCormick Group for reimbursement. Thankfully, the McCormick Group saw through your deviousness and returned the bills to me for examination and approval. Lo and behold, there were expenses for a weekend trip to Santa Barbara, California where you and your partner, Ed, had recently visited but not conducted union business. The expenses were denied for reimbursement and once again, you got huffy. As one of the authors of that same PFAA Constitution, you proposed and advocated HUGELY inappropriate salaries for PFAA Officers that were shot down by your very own Executive Board members as being far out of line with what the members make and yet you have the gall to say that AFA officers are grossly overpaid. Perhaps the members would find it interesting that you were also chastised by your very own Executive Board for having gone to the Narita Radisson Hotel PFAA Roadshow and made statements that simply were not true and promises that simply could not be fulfilled (such as reversing Arbitrator Starck's permanent decision so as to appease the former Hughes Airwest Flight Attendants into supporting you for President.)
A member once called you a meglomaniac and boy were they right on target. This isn't about you advancing our career collectively--this is about you advancing your personal agenda. This is about you wanting to discredit Pat Friend, AFA International, and nearly anyone who has ever held a union office that you yearned for throughout the years. It has been sour grapes for you ever since AFA defeated PFAA. I have chosen to stay on your e-mail list up until now because I wanted to see what new lies and inuendo you and your ghost-writer have concocted. The time has come, however, to request that you remove me from your mailing list.
You are a perfect example of the pot calling the kettle black, except that at AFA there is far greater accountability for the members' dues money. Their dues dollars go much farther than they ever did at PFAA. As a long-time unionist, former officer, and/or committee member for not only PFAA and AFA, but the Teamsters as well; I know the many great advances that have been made as a result of having a union on the property. For you to advocate against the AFA is ludicrous because you know full well the advances that have been made on Capitol Hill alone regarding our profession as a result of their input and involvement. You are not a friend of labor. Sadly and yet thankfully, the respect that anyone ever had for you has gone down the drain. Your message is likely to fall on deaf ears for anyone who has personally known you or worked with you. For those who have not had that opportunity, this message is intended to clear up your deviousness and devisiveness and hatred of AFA. Perhaps some of your old cronies will also begin to see things in a different light now that the cat's out of the bag. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Stop smiling and glad-handing me in the Lobby in Narita. I know too much to stay quiet regarding your antics.
Gary Helton
Air Safety, Health & Security Committee
Purser Committee
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
