May Flowers

Spring is in the air and the April Union meetings will herald the election of the annual Financial Review Committee.

This year the committee will have to grapple with a serious issue and one that should be of great concern to all Mebites, active as well as retired:

How is it that Tim Brown, President of the MM&P who is a mere Captain, makes 350 grand a year, while Ron Davis who after all, is an Admiral is paid only half as much?

Something should be done to rectify this situation and quick too.

“But wait!” you say, “What does Davis do to warrant such a fat raise?”

That’s not the right question. The question is: “Can the MEBA afford to be seen as a cheap little Union and Davis seen as a cheap little guy?” Well, maybe that’s not the right question either. But look at it this way:

When Davis hired Messrs. Joseph and Kelly to help him do his job, and get the MEBA embroiled in a $400 million lawsuit, you were in effect paying $375,000 per year for a MEBA President. Davis now has cast Joseph and Kelly adrift. Is it not fair that he should participate in the savings? Double Davis to equal Tim Brown and you’re still saving $25,000 per year. It’s all how you look at it!

But 350 grand a year means there is still no real difference between the two Union heads. Why not go a bit further: fire Billie Doyle and pay Davis 400 grand! Now there’s a respectable difference between Davis and Brown and…..you’ve now saved $70,000 per year. See, this gets easier al the time! In short, the more you pay Davis, the more hard working Members dues you save!

At public occasions Davis now follows Mike Sacco around like a lapdog, giving credence to the notion that the MEBA has become a de facto subsidiary of the SIU. Davis’ position as President of the MEBA will be secure as long as he does what he’s supposed to. Mike Sacco has reason to be friendly however, seeing as Davis will be looking to transfer as much as $400 million of MEBA assets to the SIU’s real subsidiary, the AMO.

And because Davis is friends with Sacco, he does not need Joseph and Kelly to help him win Union elections anymore. And Sacco is hugs and kisses with Elaine Chao, so that protects Davis as well.

Which is why you may as well pay Davis 400 Grand per year. After all, it’s only your dues money and you can always pay more dues. Besides, if Davis is going to give away all those millions, he ought be able to afford a decent set of duds. And here’s another thing: if he’s out spending his own money, he doesn’t have time to be out spending pots of MEBA money on boondoggle projects costing millions! See, you are now millions ahead!

That’s why this year special consideration must be given to just who will serve on the committee. Should you elect someone who you feel will best represent the interest of the Members?

Silly Rabbit! Absolutely not! In fact, don’t even go to the meetings. Davis can shuttle a sufficient number of shills and officials around the country at Union expense (see “unallocated expenses” in the LM-2 statements) to get who he needs on the FRC. Anybody who is not a Davis hack will only cause the Davis Administration to spin information in order to legitimize this FRC farce. Why cause all this extra fuss? Do yourself a favor: be apathetic!