Pumps are supposed to be things you wear on your feet ...

not things that wear on your Gucci pocketbook – everytime you buy gas

Sister McBitter offers her advice on what works –and what doesn’t– when it comes to pumping more dough back into your sequins purses. Read her article below.

District 141 Officers Election

Update

Members of Local 1782 gave a decisive overall win to Rich Delaney, Greg Brown, and the entire district lodge officer’s slate of A New Direction, when our local lodge voted in that election on Wednesday, June 4.

The nationwide voting process for district officers is not over. Many locals representing line stations across the country vote on different dates through the remainder of June 2008. In addition large US Airways stations in Charlotte and Pittsburgh vote.

If Local 1782 President, Greg Brown, candidate for District 141 Trustee, is elected District Trustee when the month-long voting has concluded, he could hold both offices.

Our sister local 1781, representing San Francisco Ramp & Stores, also handed Greg and A New Direction a win when their voting took place this week.

Our 1782 Members voted in a separate election to appoint delegates to the District 141 convention. Delegates are expected to speak on behalf of Members at the convention on issues related to upcoming contract negotiations. Members selected the following candidates from a qualified pool: Nancy Levinsohn, Marie Tirona, Danny Tatum, Rene Toledo and Mike Mancini.

Car Fuel Economy

To Hell With A Barrel Jet Fuel. Sister wants to know, how can she spend more on her pearls and less at her pump?

What really saves gas for your car? And how much? Check out Edmunds article, “We Test the Tips,” By Philip Reed, Senior Consumer Advice Editor and Mike Hudson, News Editor. It spells out each of the bullet points below. Edmunds is the “blue-book” organization, long associated with cars and car values.

Consider changing your driving habits. Edmunds says you can improve fuel economy up to 37 percent right away (depending on how you drive). Combine several tips and perform routine maintenance and you will save real dollars, not just pennies.

No time to click and read? Here’s what to do to start saving gas dollars right away.

• Quit driving like a maniac. Save up to 37% with 1/4-acceleration instead of full throttle
• Drive the speed limit
• Use cruise control if you got it. (Standard on all 1958 Cadillac Coupe de Villes, including the Sister McBitter Edition in McBitter pink).
• Avoid excessive idling (More than a minute is excessive)

Here’s a couple things that do NOT save much gas

• Windows down with air conditioning off. Open the sun roof, and gas mileage gets worse
  Instead, be comfortable. Roll up the electric windows up and turn on the A / C
• Tire pressure. It's a good idea to check it frequently for safety reasons, but don’t expect much return in better gas mileage

The jury’s out on the following tips (or are they myths?)

Some experts say don’t bother doing this stuff; others would disagree

• Buy gas in the morning. It’s true that gas molecules expand with heat, and that a tank of 70-degree gas will not take you as far as a tank of 55-degree gas. The question is whether significant temperature variance occurs in massive underground tanks at the gas station you go to.
• Don't top off at a vapor-recovery pump. When it clicks off, just stop. The idea is that vapors go back in the hose and condense into gas, which the vendor gets to keep.

Finally a common-sense suggestion or two

• You don't need your motor running to put on and take off a seat belt. Get in the car, buckle up, adjust mirrors. Only when you're ready to move the car, start the engine.
• Conversely when you return home, park and stop the engine immediately. Then take off your seat belt, gather up the kids, even roll up power windows by turning to the on position without re-starting.

Big Oil hates this one

A political issue the oil companies despise is retrofitting gas pumps to compensate for the temperature of fuel. They claim it would take two thousand dollars per pump, and only return pennies. Meanwhile, Canada has done this for years to correct for excessive cold weather. U.S. oil companies calculate their mileage ratings based on sixty-degree fuel. So basically we get screwed in the summer, when the prices take their seasonal hike.

Looking ahead

Remember that rainy day Sister McBitter told you about in her Fog Report

A very smart thing to do, looking ahead, would be to take some money you save from working a little overtime (or divert from spending on gas), and sock it away in a personal emergency fund. This is especially true for Local 1782 members who work for United Airlines.

UAL Corporation is lining up its anti-labor vice presidents. Its violins are ready to play sad songs about cyclical downturns in the industry (overlooking the piss-poor performance of its top executives).

We –you and me– need to be ready to turn a deaf ear, and shut their pathetic corporation down in event of a strike.

The industry has had cycles for years. It has had “events” for years such as the gas shortage of 1972. No typo, that’s seventy-two. What it hasn’t had until the past decade are greedy s.o.b.’s like Tilton and his Tiltonettes, whose greed is exceeded only by incompetence, coupled with the most anti-worker federal government in U.S. history.

So all the sad songs tilton and his cronies will sing have already been sung before.

Prepare to shut him down.

Do it now while we are not in crisis. Work a little –but steady– overtime. Save a buck where you can. Be smart when it comes to dealing with UAL’s greedy corporation.

It will take personal savings, and discipline in the present, to weather a UAL storm.

Still more elections

The Vote-Vote-Vote frenzy can be a little overwhelming. This narrows it down.

• RICHARD HOLOBER (CA Assembly, 19th District) June 3. Mr. Holober www.holober.com is a life long friend of labor and working people, with a good chance of winning. But he faces strong opposition from an entrenched politician named Jerry Hill, who has support of CA state worker’s union. Hill represents state workers well, but Mr. Holober does a significantly better job of representing everybody else, including us. That’s why Local 1782 and our ramper’s sister local, 1781, endorses Richard Holober.

UPDATE: Richard Holober lost along and vigorous campaign to incumbent Jerry Hill, who was backed by state workers.

• IAM DISTRICT 141 OFFICERS ELECTION Described in detail above, although an official endorsement by Local1782.Org is forbidden by IAM by-laws and other governing regulations.

UPDATE: Delaney and A New Direction (including Greg Brown as Trustee) won Local 1782, and based on reports from locals are winning in most locations nationwide.

• IAM DISTRICT LODGE 141 CONVENTION DELEGATES The significance of electing these delegates is that of representing Member's on contract negotiation issues.

UPDATE: Members selected as district convention delegates: Nancy Levinsohn, Marie Tirona, Mike Mancini, Danny Tatum, and Rene Toledo

• GRAND LODGE CONVENTION DELEGATES Just to clarify, this is a separate election from all of the above that has already taken place. In the highly orchestrated grand lodge convention, aviation delegates may have an opportunity to speak against a dues increase. However the Grand Lodge itself strongly advocates an increase.

• LAST BUT NOT LEAST Having been appointed to a temporary position in Local Lodge 1782, Marie Tirona is running in a special election to serve out the remainder of the conductor-sentinel term (December 2008). Also running for the Conductor-Sentinel is Julio Menjivar. Pat Nolan was appointed temporary Recording-Secretary. Until recently, Pat has been seeking to serve out the remainder of her term (December 2008), and if she runs, she would do so unopposed as of this update.

UPDATE: The position of Conductor-Sentinel is being sought in a special election at the July membership meeting by both Marie Tirona and Julio Menjivar