Launching My Local 308 Presidential Campaign

As one of my favorite underdog childhood role models used to say "That's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!"

Month after month, President Pennie McCoach and the Shadow President, Mark Weems, prove over and over that they have zero respect for the members who pay their fat, six-digit salaries. 

This is why I am launching a campaign for Local 308 president over two years in advance. I want to inspire and organize CTA workers to take their union back. 

Whether I win or lose, I want to say to those who come after me that I tried to take our union back from the CTA.

Pennie and Mark constantly prevent members from choosing who represents them and abuse our dues money for sports, parties and trips. Many members plead and demand they send me. Yet they fight the members with no legitimate justification except that the ghost-writing lawyer for International President John "The King" Costa says they can do it. 

They are so obsessed with punishing me for my unconditional support of members, that they have literally tried to have me arrested, removed from office and cooperated with the CTA mismanagement's efforts to terminate my employment. 

When I asked her what she had to say about the CTA mismanager who tried to arrest a union rep who was on union payroll in a non-work area, she said she would see what Attorney Tanay and the Labor Board would say. What a terrible message to send to those who are supposed to defend the membership!

Pennie, Mark and their loyalists demand obedience from the members while they have no respect for the members' choices of elected leaders. 

I never knew they were so corrupt until I was elected by members to be on the Local 308 "Executive Board." It is in those meetings that the masks come off. There, I saw the hearts of boss-loving, anti-democratic dictators. Everything they tell us when they run for office are exposed as pure lies.

Although I am always open to a truce in this civil war at Local 308, I will not permit them to martyr me, my career or my coworkers. Unlike the other elected people who they abuse, I will not be silent. 

Over the course of my campaign, I intend on sharing what we as a union can do to free it from the grip of our employer and the politicians. I also hope to inspire members to do what Mark and Pennie did to me: Put charges on them and remove them from office if they do not repent and change their ways.

They refuse to condemn greedy, evil, law-breaking, murderous CTA mismanagers. 

They continuously treat the members with extreme suspicion and are quick to call them liars and rule-breakers. They laugh at members in our Executive Board meetings. They side with CTA mismanagement all the time and refuse to do anything to stop the cycle of grieving and arbitrating the same immoral violations. 

They love to find excuses to not fight back like a real union. They worship the CTA lawyer, Anita Tanay and have the International ATU President, John "The King" Costa to back them up. CTA mismanagers adore them, Local 241 President Keith Hill and their butt-kissing loyalists.

They refuse to comply with Section 15 of the Local 308 bylaws and give me and my fellow union reps the time off work we need to inform, defend and inspire CTA workers in our respective departments. 

We are entering our fifth month with no Contract, no organized action, no information and no hope. This is typical and we must put an end to it. 

If me running for president will inspire you to stand up, then do it. Start paying dues again. I am going to need your vote. Now is the time: The members must take control of ATU Local 308.