Teamster Pilots Show Support for Spirit Pilot at Informational Picket in FLL
Showing the that trade unionism has no union boundaries, pilots from the Teamsters Airline Division joined the pilots of Spirit Airlines as they conducted an informational picket this Friday at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The Spirit pilots, represented by ALPA, are involved in drawn out negotiations with management over their contract.
Included in the Teamster group were pilots from Amerijet, who recently were forced to go on strike to achieve their first IBT contract with management. Speaking on behalf of the Amerijet pilots, Captain Kamal Patel, Base Captain Representative for the Amerijet pilots said, "During our strike for our first contract, the pilots of Spirit stood shoulder to shoulder with us. Today, we are proud to stand with them as they continue to fight for a fair contract from their management." Local 769 Business Agent Daisy Gonzalez commented, "When Amerijet was on strike, the Spirit pilots stood in the rain, heat and mud with us. We're honored to stand today with them as they fight for a good contract, and while we hope they are successful, should it be necessary, we and other Teamsters will join them on the strike line as well."
CAL Fleet Service Workers Join Airline Division in an Overwhelming Vote
In one of the largest voter turnouts in recent history, the fleet service workers of Continental elected the Airline Division of the Teamsters as their choice for union representation. This addition of the over 7,600 new members is yet another victory for the division, whose membership has continued to grow since 2008, now representing over 63,000 employees. The counting of the vote by the NMB was delayed until last Friday because of the historic snowstorm that paralyzed
"This vote would not have been possible without a total team effort," said Airline Division Director David Bourne. "From President Hoffa to the organizing staff, to communications and our Teamster represented brother and sister mechanics at Continental and most of all, the fleet service workers and their families who have witnessed firsthand the benefits of Teamster representation, this is a great day and a wonderful victory for them. The fact that we were successful where five representation drives by other unions had failed over many years is a testament to the dedication of our people and the belief that we will work tirelessly to improve the quality of life for the fleet service workers of Continental," he went on to say.
Smith Named as International Representative for CAL Fleet Service Workers
Dan Smith, a longtime veteran of Teamsters service has been named as the Teamsters International Representative for the over 7,600 CAL Airline Ramp Agents, who overwhelmingly voted to join the Teamsters Airline Division last week. Smith, a Local 104 Business Agent and Airline Division Representative, he has been a Union Member since 1982 after his service in the US Navy where he served on the USS Hancock (CVA-19) as an Ordnanceman assigned to VF-211 ("Checkmates"). He joined Southwest Airlines as a Ramp Agent and also worked in other departments, holding the position of Shop Steward for twenty years. In addition to his new duties, Smith is the Chairman of the IBT/CWA Association that represents 7500 customer service agents at US Airways and has the direct representation duties for Continental Airline Mechanics, Frontier Airline Mechanics and Southwest Airline Stock Clerks along with US Airways Customer Service Agents at Local 104 in
In speaking about the appointment, Airline Division Director David Bourne said, "Dan Smith brings a tremendous level of experience and energy to his new assignment. I'm extremely pleased to have him working with our newest Teamsters at Continental and know that he will do a fantastic job for them."
Flight Options TA Includes Pay and Benefit Improvements, Voting to Begin March 1
Pilots for Flight Options, a fractional operator of luxury corporate jets based in
Captain salary increases of approximately 39% over five years and First Officer increases of approximately 27% over five years highlight the agreement along with labor protections and scope provisions. Additionally, maintenance of insurance benefits and cost controls, improvements to the 401(k) Plan, a 33% increase in the amount of paid time off pilots can accrue yearly, improved vacation benefits, two new schedule types, an expanded basing system, and labor-management cooperation and alternative dispute resolution procedures are part of the agreement.
Ballots will be sent to Local 1108 members on March 1 and counted on March 30 in
Union Leaders Meet with FAA Administrator to Discuss Initiatives
On Wednesday, Airline Division Director David Bourne, along with pilot union representatives from CAPA, APA, IPA, SWAPA and ALPA met with FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and his staff to discuss the Administrators thoughts about professionalism and pilot mentoring. While no conclusions were reached, all parties openly discussed their thoughts.
Arrow Air Section 6 Discussions Continue
Section 6 Negotiations for Arrow Air continued this week in
Arrow ExCo Hosts Pilot Meeting
Wednesday evening the Arrow ExCo hosted a pilot meeting at the Don Shula Hotel in
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
There are lots of colorful self-help gurus making a pretty good living preaching their gospel of new-age techniques that just might turn around even our worst failures. But the Teamsters Union February 12 election victory to represent 7600 ground workers at Continental Airlines shows that good old-fashioned hard work might be making a comeback–Continental is negotiating a new pilot contract against a deadline, because regulators have given it until mid-January 2011 to implement a trans-Atlantic joint venture with three partners–the union representing ground workers at American wants to take a big step toward a strike. The TWU said Wednesday it will ask federal mediators to let employees walk away from contract talks if there is no deal by March 8–and Southwest's flight attendants union turned 35 this week.
A union representing British Airways cabin crew lost a court bid to stop the airline imposing cost-cutting plans, BA said. The Unite union took BA to the High Court in a bid to overturn changes to cabin crews' working arrangements–pilots for Lufthansa, the largest airline in Germany, and two of its subsidiaries voted Wednesday to hold a four-day strike next week, raising the prospect of delays and cancellations for passengers. The Cockpit Association, which represents about 4,500 pilots at Lufthansa and the two subsidiaries, said that 94 percent of members had voted to strike.
Regulatory & Safety
American Eagle commuter carrier may be fined $2.9 million for improper repairs on landing-gear doors, the second proposed penalty against the airline this month, FAA said–federal regulators have failed to correct mounting and long-standing maintenance deficiencies at American Airlines despite receiving detailed complaints about the carrier's problems, according to a federal investigative report released this week–American prides itself as the only large carrier doing its own major aircraft maintenance, but there's an unforeseen cost to the company's approach: a seemingly never-ending series of negative headlines, government audits and fines over how the company fixes its planes.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
Blowing all other airlines out of the water, Pinnacle Airlines reported its 4Q2009 net income – USD5.6 million – was a massive 153% more than its 4Q2008 results–announcing British Airways' response to moribund business travel within Europe, CEO Willie Walsh outlined a plan which reflects the dilemma that now confronts all major European carriers. The issues are basic, but apparently near-insoluble–IATA reported that the number of premium passengers on international flights grew 1.7% year-over-year in December 2009, the first year-over-year rise in premium travel since May 2008.
Seventeen years after the U.S. DOT granted antitrust immunity (ATI) to an innovative KLM-Northwest joint venture, ATI has become one of the most controversial issues in current aviation law and policy–airlines are falling all over themselves to develop new merchandising options to increase ancillary revenue. After all, this high-yield revenue offers a life savings mechanism to keep airlines afloat in tough economic periods.
Miscellaneous
Three airports in the Midwest scored the highest of all North American airports in customer satisfaction, a J.D. Power and Associates survey released Thursday says–how do you find the best airfare? Click. Click again. Click again. Then click some more–Continental Chairman Larry Kellner left the airline at year-end to pursue the dream of building his own company. In an interview after the departure, he offered some candid thoughts on what's fundamentally wrong with the unstable and loss-plagued airline industry.
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