What follows is an edited version of a resignation letter I submitted to Recording Secretary Ryan Ryder in March 2024. Ryder acknowledged the union received the letter at the next meeting, but he did not read it. Union leadership still isn’t giving the Young Machinists Committee the support it needs.

I have decided to resign from the Young Machinists Committee (YMC) of Local S6 on April 1st, 2024. I have wrestled with this decision for a while. While I wish to continue to assist and be involved in the union, it is no longer desirable nor worthwhile to continue in the YMC. This decision comes from the repeated failures to communicate scheduling and the committee no longer meeting my expectations. The YMC was supposed to be an educational, informative, and solidarity building committee for mechanics in my age range, as well as for newer mechanics. The YMC has not performed these functions. Instead, the YMC has become a recreation committee. Our one and only achievement has been the disk golf tournament. This is all the membership knows our committee for. 

I do not regret the opportunities that involvement in the YMC has provided me. Educating, assisting, and otherwise using my position to help fellow mechanics on second shift has been its own reward. I wish to continue to provide this help both to the union and its members. I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about how the union works, the various people that help make our union function, and to have helped prepare members for the 2023 contract negotiations. I would like to thank Dave Sparks for all the people that he’s helped and for being a fantastic resource for mechanics. I would also like to thank the second shift stewards, Tim Suitter, and Matt Dustin for being fantastic to work with. Thank you for all the support along the way.