As a SWA dispatcher, I am all but required to be a member of the dispatcher’s union. Ours is a local union with no affiliations with a larger organization, so we handle everything ourselves. Our current contract is nearly the end of its 12-year timeframe, an extremely long time, so many of the members are eager to negotiate a new contract starting near the end of next year. Unhappy with the perceived level of respect that we get from management, the union’s board of directors has proposed affiliating with the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), a large international union that represents dispatchers at many other airlines as well as the flight attendants and ground workers here at SWA. The board believes that this affiliation would give us more clout and more resources and would save us money. The vote will occur later this month. For political reasons I won’t offer any opinion here, but those who know me well probably know where I stand. From what I’ve heard around the office, I think we will vote to join TWU.