January 28, 2026
Local President Update: 1st Quarter
Outgoing president Peter Stoch swore me in at the 0815 general membership meeting on January 26, 2026. Peter has been a great president and he is someone who has done many good things for this local. Some things you see like remote GMMs, gift card giveaways, etc. and some things you don’t see. He has been a shop rep, area rep, safety & standards chairman and president. He has spent many hours trying to make this local operate efficiently and effectively and we owe him many thanks for those years of service.
I would like to thank all the members who voted in the recent election in November. The voting turnout was very good in this election and we can attribute that to the voting members and the efforts put in by this LEC to get more and more people registered at amfa4.com.
Kevin Stauske has also won his election and will serve another two year term as Safety and Standards Chairman. Secretary Costin Martin has won his position by acclimation and will also serve another two year term. Kevin and Costin are experienced in these roles and I am so happy to have them staying on for another two years.
Since I was elected I have been in communication with every member of this LEC & our ALR. Pete has given me an excellent turnover and I know we will be able to get through this transition very smoothly. We already have plans in place for the future and we will continue to conduct the business of this union as efficiently as possible to serve the needs of the members. Pete and I had a meeting on December 21st, 2025 and January 7th, 2026 for a great turnover process.
On January 7th Pete and I attended the presidents meeting wherein all the local presidents discussed the various issues going on with other locals. This includes things like task card problems, sick call issues, etc. Local 605 is doing great things for their members by providing various discounts locally. Car insurance, auto parts stores and gym memberships, to name a few. I hope to work with the local 605 president to bring some of these benefits to local 4.
The system board of adjustments meeting took place on January 14th. Costin Martin and I attended along with Airline Representative Louis Upchurch. During this meeting over 60 grievances were heard on a variety of issues across the system. This was a very valuable experience to see how our CBA is being protected and enforced. I would encourage all shop representatives to attend at least once.
On January 21st we were invited to Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Illinois for a career fair focused on trades. One of our mandates as an LEC is to promote AMFA and the career of aircraft maintenance. Costin and I spent the day talking to students about the benefits of a career in aviation. This will be an annual event and I foresee more invitations like this now that we have done this.
I have planned out several station visits starting with ATL on February 11th and 12th, followed by BWI on February 25th and 26th. It is important that our members have an opportunity to meet and see those who are representing them. With contract negotiations opening up later this year it is especially important that the LEC hear the concerns of the members across local 4. In March we are planning to visit MKE on the 11th and 12th and BNA on March 30th and 31st.
The NEC is planning a station visit/roadshow on February 20th and 21st to MSP to discuss the completed temporary agreement (TA) with Sun Country Airlines (SCA) that should be approved this week. Members of the local 4 LEC will be in attendance for that event as well. SCA currently has over 200 aircraft maintenance technicians and once their TA is ratified into a CBA they will be members of local 4.
Spirit Airlines is still in negotiations with AMFA. There is news of a possible merger with Frontier Airlines. There is also news of a possible investment by a private equity firm called Castle Lake. This situation is very complex, but AMFA and our Spirit Airlines ALR Jason Salazar remain committed to continue negotiating in good faith with hopes for the future.
Lastly, I have recently recorded two interviews with NEC members and they will be available on all podcast platforms. Bret Oestreich talks about his time as National President, current affairs and his plans for the future of AMFA. In another episode Tom Wiggins discusses his biography and his roles and duties as the National Safety and Standards Director.
In solidarity,
Scott Van de Motter
