Local 2727, UPS Reach Tentative Agreement
After many long months of negotiations and mediation, a Tentative Agreement has been announced between UPS and Local 2727, which represents Aviation Maintenance Technicians, Aircraft Maintenance Utility, Aircraft Maintenance Controllers, Flight Simulator Technicians, Engine Condition Monitoring Technicians and Aircraft Maintenance Technical Publication personnel at the carrier. Details have not yet been released on the agreement; the Negotiating Committee and Local 2727 leadership are scheduled to meet next week to finalize the document.
PATCO Ratifies First Contract for Air Traffic Controllers
After ten months of negotiations, members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers union (PATCO) have ratified their first collective bargaining agreement with SERCO, the company that manages air traffic control towers and many locations in the U.S.
Commenting on the agreement, PATCO President Ron Taylor said, “The real winners here are our brothers and sisters, who stood together in solidarity these past ten months, patiently waiting as negotiations between their Union and SERCO were taking place. Without their professional input, dedication and advice,” he continued saying, “the collective bargaining agreement between PATCO and SERCO would not have been accomplished.”
The three year agreement protects pay raises, has improved job security provisions and enhancements to benefits. “PATCO is honored to represent these dedicated professionals, and will work hard to ensure that their voice is heard, rights are protected, and that they have a brighter future,” said Taylor.
Commenting on the agreement, Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne said, “I congratulate President Taylor and his members on this first contract. We are honored to have an alliance with PATCO and look forward to working with the union and their membership for many years to come.”
PATCO represents air traffic controllers at control towers in Glacier Park, Montana, Tacoma Narrows, Washington, San Luis Obispo, California, Lihue, Hawaii, Kenai, Alaska, Lancaster, California and Kodiak, Alaska.
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
Flight attendants at United Airlines and Continental are represented by separate unions, but the union at United filed papers Tuesday that could start the process of combining them as parent company United Continental Holdings Inc. combines the two airlines into one. The Association of Flight Attendants represents United attendants, and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers represents Continental flight attendants.
Outsourcing
A decade ago aircraft repairs were mostly done by the airlines flying the planes. Today, carriers are outsourcing the bulk of heavy maintenance. Should we worry? This is an excellent 18-minute investigative report from PBS Frontline.
The 787 is not merely a historic feat of engineering. The deeply troubled program also marks Boeing's departure from its own time-honored manufacturing practices. Instead of drawing primarily from its traditional pool of aircraft engineers, mechanics and laborers that runs generations deep in the Puget Sound region around Seattle, Boeing leads an international team of suppliers and engineers from the United States, Japan, Italy, Australia, France and elsewhere, who make components that Boeing workers in the United States put together. "Do you see the stupidity in that?" said James Williams, an imposing 43-year-old who has been employed by Boeing for 15 years, mostly working in factory safety.
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
U.S. airlines did not have a single fatality last year. It was the third time in the past four years there were no deaths, continuing a dramatic trend toward safer skies. Years without deaths have occurred sporadically since the dawn of the jet age, but never have so many occurred in so short a period, according to an analysis of data from the National Transportation Safety Board. The average number of deaths fell from about 86 a year in the 1990s to 46 a year since 2000, a 46% drop.
It was only a matter of time before the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) campaign of groping and intimately photographing frequent flyers would come back and bite the agency. That time has come. House leaders have put a frequent traveler in charge of the Oversight Subcommittee on National Security, Homeland Defense and Foreign Operations…American Muslim leaders, who have struggled to present a clear public voice or organize politically in the decade since Sept. 11, are increasingly apprehensive about the direction U.S. Rep. Pete King will take when he convenes hearings next month on the threat posed by radical Islam in America.
Qantas has a crisis of perception that became worse overnight when a faulty fuel valve caused one of its aged Rolls-Royce powered Boeing 747-400s to make a precautionary landing in Fiji yesterday, stranding 375 passengers until this afternoon, when a replacement jet picks them up. The pilots noticed that the valve, feeding the number 4 engine, had stopped, and decided that the non-stop flight across the Pacific to Los Angeles, and on to New York, would also stop as soon as possible, and landed it at Nadi, which was conveniently close to their position.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
Even as rising fuel prices hike operating expenses, Southwest Airlines said Thursday that fourth-quarter earnings were up 13 percent and that bookings were strong through March. "Except for fuel, we have a great outlook for 2011," Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly told investors during a conference call. "In particular, I believe business-travel demand will continue to strengthen." The Dallas-based carrier's "Bags Fly Free" and "No Change Fees" advertising campaigns are expected to "continue to provide tremendous momentum," Kelly said.
American Airlines swung to a quarterly loss on Wednesday and warned that sharply rising fuel prices would put pressure on earnings in the coming year, triggering the largest drop in its share price for more than three months. During the past two years, most airlines have returned to profitability thanks to a moderate global economic recovery, a strong rebound in demand for travel and significant reductions in capacity that have allowed companies to raise ticket prices. At the same time, American is involved in a potentially damaging dispute with the companies that sell and distribute its tickets – a dispute that could substantially raise the carrier’s costs and cause it to lose billions of dollars in revenues.
Miscellaneous
United and American airlines sued Chicago on Tuesday to block the continued expansion of O'Hare International Airport, escalating a bitter dispute between the once-close allies over how and when to complete the costliest airfield overhaul in U.S. history…Boeing has confirmed a further delay to the long overdue delivery of its first 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The manufacturer said it expects delivery of the first 787 in the third quarter of the year.