Airline Division Director Joins with UAL Representatives to Showcase SFO Maintenance Facility
Airline Division Director David Bourne joined UAL Senior Vice President Jim Keenan and Base Vice President Mark Mounsey on January 28th as they welcomed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom to the UAL SFO maintenance base for a special tour of the facility. During the tour, Director Bourne and the UAL representatives showed the mayor the facility and explained how, as an economic anchor for the airport and city, they contribute heavily to local economy and that by working together with his support, the Teamsters and UAL can find creative solutions to keeping jobs in the Bay area.
Director Bourne and the UAL team also joined forces with Mayor Newsom and SFO airport manager John Martin to support the Mayor's endorsement of "NowGen," to update and upgrade the airport's aging Air Traffic Control systems.
Speaking upon the return of his trip, Director Bourne said "I was a great honor to have joined in the welcoming of Mayor Newsom to the SFO UAL facility. The ability for him to see firsthand the quality work done by our dedicated Teamster's in that facility should leave no question about the possibilities for this facility and importance of keeping these jobs in America. By continuing to work with United and the city, we will continue to explore every option that ensures that the work done on United aircraft is done by the best union employees in the world, the men and women of the Teamsters Airline Division."
Last Thursday, IBT Transition Team Chairman Scott Hegland, IBT Representative Paul Alves and others from the Airline Division met with
Commenting on the recent election that brought the Airline Division back to Cape Air as their bargaining agent, Captain Rhude said, "We're very excited not only in having the Airline Division back, but also happy to see the positive changes that have occurred over the past year. The level of support we have already received is fantastic and I'm looking forward to working with the Airline Division and the members of our TEC to provide excellent support and representation to our pilots and to conclude a contract with management that recognizes our pilots and their families for their efforts and dedication that have made Cape Air the success that it."
Airline Division Representatives, Gulfstream Pilots Meet with Management to Begin Negotiations
Airline Division representative Paul Alves, LU747 Business Agent John Liebenow and members of the Gulfstream (GIA) ExCo and Negotiating committee held their first formal meeting with management as they begin the process of negotiating a contract for the GIA pilots. Representatives of the GIA pilots, including Cecil Stewart, Michael Hampel, Bryan Fordham, and Dan Rangel and the IBT met with Director of Operations Phil LeFevre, and Pete Taggart, VP of SOCC who represented the company. Gulfstream President and CEO Dave Hackett participated in the first day of negotiations.
In addition to receiving a list of the company's major proposals for the new contract, they were briefed by the Company on their position on key areas such as vacations, duty rig, and compensation. The union discussed areas of key concern with the Company; scheduling, payroll, insurance, and commuting, presented a draft of a Protocol Agreement to the Company which would formalize the mechanisms and procedures to be used in the negotiations and worked with management on producing a commuter policy.
The union presented a list of areas in which the pilot group wants improvements and presented written proposals to the Company on Sections 4 (Alcohol/Drug Testing), 12 (Physical Standards), and 14 (New Aircraft). These proposals produced Tentative Agreements on Sections 12 (Physical Standards) and 14 (New Aircraft).
Both sides agreed to continue discussions electronically in preparation for the next round of negotiations, currently scheduled for the week of March 16th.
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
Continental Airlines' 7,600 baggage handlers, cargo workers and other ramp agents — including 2,800 in the
Regulatory & Safety
Key aviation safety reforms will come to the floor of the U.S. Senate in March, after Sen. Charles E. Schumer persuaded Senate leadership to move ahead with legislation that had been bottled up for six months — Koito Industries, whose parent company is affiliated with Toyota Motor, will fix about 150,000 passenger seats in planes operated by 32 airlines after saying that it falsified test results and made unauthorized design changes. "Fraudulent acts were conducted across the organization," Koito's president, Takashi Kakewaga, said Monday in
Delta and US Airways may proceed with their proposed slot swap at Reagan Washington National and New York LaGuardia airports, but it won't be a straight-up deal, DOT ruled on Tuesday. DOT said Delta and US Airways must sell some of their slots to airlines with no or limited service at the two airports, because increased competition would best serve consumers — FAA chief Randy Babbitt told Congress last week that his agency has done essentially nothing about the safety lapses that contributed to the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo last February.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
Nearly everybody won in the battle for a partnership with floundering Japan Airlines. Bankrupt JAL said Tuesday it will retain its partnership with American. The announcement ended months of negotiation with Delta, which had sought to take over as the
Every air traveler resents paying those annoying "ancillary fees" for checked luggage, priority seating, itinerary changes and a whole lot more. One by one, these charges can add significantly to the cost of an airline ticket — the blanket and pillow are going the way of the in-flight meal on American Airlines – if you want one, you'll have to pay for it?what's more, next time you think about flying standby on American Airlines, be prepared to give the gate agent your name and $50. The days of hanging around the agent's desk, hoping for a free switch to an earlier flight are over at American for many passengers.
Miscellaneous
A return to normal could be days away for the nation's airlines after they canceled thousands more flights Thursday following the second of two major East Coast snow storms…a potential buyer has emerged for Sun Country Airlines, but the carrier's bankruptcy attorney said Thursday that a specific bid hasn't been made. In a court filing, the airline said Sun Country recently received "a letter of interest from a qualified prospective buyer indicating a price which may be of interest — upset with fee and rent increases tied to outstanding debt, the two biggest airlines at O'Hare Airport are putting the brakes on talks with Chicago to complete a major airport upgrade — the government's plan to install body scanners in dozens of airports could lengthen security lines and congest terminals, airline and airport officials warn.