SWA Negotiations Begin
SWA Material Specialist
Negotiations began in Dallas the week of September 9th. The
Negotiating Committee along with Local Union Business Agents and Airline
Division Representatives met September 3rd thru 5th to
begin the process of compiling the results of the membership survey. The
committee had lengthy discussions regarding individual Articles and areas of
concern within the group. The committees agreed to meet again on September 16th
and 17th in Houston and anticipate their first face to face meetings
with the Company to begin in early October.
Local 19 Welcomes Sub-CAL Flight Sim-Techs
Recently, the Sub-CAL
Sim-Tech’s voted overwhelmingly to leave the TWU and join the Teamsters. On
Thursday September 12th they were welcomed to Local 19 and the
Teamsters Union in a series of Class and Craft meetings that saw over 75% of
the new members in attendance.
Local Union 19 President
Bob Clever was joined by Executive Board members; Vice President Angel Cantu,
Secretary -Treasurer Dominic Fierro and Trustee Mike Cline as President Clever
answered questions regarding Local Union structure, Steward Elections, Contract
Amalgamation, Seniority Integration and Dues. James Prout, Chief Steward for
the S-UAL Sim-Techs was on hand to explain how things have been working for the
UAL Sim-Techs since they became Teamsters.
Illiana Flores from the
IBT Training Department gave a presentation on Teamster history and structure
and Airline Division Representative Chris Moore gave an overview of the Airline
Division as well as the T.A.M.C.
In a message to the
members President Clever said, “I had a great time meeting you all yesterday.
We had a great turnout for our first Class and Craft meetings. I don’t believe
anyone else could proclaim a 75% turnout of membership at a meeting.”
TAMC to Sponsor “Go Team” Training in Houston,
Local 19 to Host Attendees
As part of the TAMC
ongoing commitment to Aviation Safety; the TAMC will be sponsoring "Go
Team" training at Local 19 in Houston on October 21st and 22nd.
The two day training will also include the Blood-borne Pathogen training
required to be on site as a party to an investigation. The training will be
provided by John Goglia, former NTSB Investigator and Enjoli DeGrasse from IBT
Health and Safety.
The refresher course is
available for anyone who has an established Go Team and an opportunity to have
members trained for any local who has not yet established one.
Local 19 is donating the
meeting space and the Airline Division will be picking up the cost of Training,
Materials and Lunch both days. Locals will be responsible their own travel
expenses.
For details contact TAMC
Chairman Chris Moore at: [email protected]
Local 210 Ballot Tied, Re-vote Scheduled
Balloting for Local 210
closed this week and the result of the vote was a tie. Of the eligible and
valid ballots received, there were 41 "Yes" votes and 41
"No" votes. 12 envelopes had no identification on the outside
envelope or on the ballot envelope and were not opened or counted because the
voters' eligibility could not be verified. 5 ballots were duplicate
(Second) Ballots from people who chose to change their vote after sending an
earlier ballot that were not opened or counted and 2 envelopes contained
only invalid Steward Election ballots.
As a result of the tie,
another round of ballot has begun. Balloting will be open for a total of 21
days, with no extensions. If any member of Local 210 has had a change of
address, they should contact the Local immediately to ensure a ballot is
received.
Members who have not
received a new ballot by September 24 should contact the Local immediately at: [email protected]. The Local cannot guarantee that you will
receive a replacement ballot in time to vote if you request the replacement
after that date.
Local 1224 Announces New Chief Counsel
The Airline
Professionals Association (APA), Teamsters Local 1224 announced this week the
addition of a new member to lead its legal team at Teamsters Local 1224. Edward
Gleason joins Teamsters Local 1224 as Chief Counsel.
“I am excited about the
experience Ed brings to our legal team,” said APA Teamsters Local 1224
President Daniel C. Wells. “The depth of his experience, from running the
day-to-day operations of unions and law firms to leading high stakes
negotiations and litigation, will serve us well at the local.”
As chief legal counsel
for Local 1224, Ed will be responsible for directing all of the local’s legal
activities to include directing all in and outside counsel, day-to-day
management of local employment matters, managing collective bargaining
agreement compliance systems (grievances), arbitrations, litigations,
negotiations, legislative and international matters.
“Coupled with a list of
impressive credentials, Gleason is intimately familiar with many of the other
locals within the International and the Teamsters Airline Division, and even
has extensive relationships with international unions,” Wells noted. “This will
be of great assistance when we need to coordinate our activities.”
Since 2007 and until
last month, Ed has worked as a staff attorney for the International Brotherhood
of Teamsters (International) in Washington, D.C., serving as counsel to the
Airline and Carhaul Divisions and handling ERISA matters affecting the
International’s
400+ multi-employer
pension plans; totaling many billions of dollars in assets, across the country.
In addition, Ed has represented both the Airline and Carhaul Divisions in
numerous negotiations, bankruptcy, arbitrations, federal court proceedings and
legislative matters.
“I look forward to
working directly with the Executive Board of Teamsters Local 1224 to help
advance the members’ working conditions and their industry,” said Gleason. “I
enjoyed working with Local 1224 as counsel to the International Brotherhood of
Teamsters Airline Division, but I have even more greatly enjoyed representing
the locals directly, because it provides me with an even closer and stronger
connection to the front lines of the labor movement and the members
themselves.”
Prior to joining the
Teamsters, Gleason represented labor organizations in other industries,
particularly in the maritime, trucking and mining industries. He served for
seven years as general counsel to the Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association
(MEBA), a national labor organization that represents United States Coast Guard
licensed merchant officers who work aboard United States flag merchant ships
engaged in domestic and international trade. With nearly 25 years in the legal
profession, he has been a partner of, and managed, several law firms and also
has experience as lead counsel in state and federal civil suits involving
various labor matters arising under the LMRDA, LMRA, ERISA, ADA and Title VII
and representing clients before federal regulatory agencies including the
Department of Labor, National Labor Relations Board, National Mediation Board,
Department of Transportation, Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, Department
of Treasury, Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security.
In addition to his
everyday work as a lawyer, Gleason is an adjunct professor of law at the
Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. where he has taught Advanced
Labor Law and Practice and Procedure before the NLRB, since 1996. His pro
bono work has included representing and assisting numerous labor and human
rights organizations around the world. This has included landmark cases
involving Indonesian, Columbian, and Burmese citizens brought under the Alien
Tort Claims Act against huge, multinational corporations. He has also been
extensively involved in helping many of the human rights groups in Burma to
bring democracy to its citizens.
Gleason is admitted to
practice before the state courts in Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C, the
United States Supreme Court, the United States Courts of Appeals for the
District of Columbia, Third Circuit and Seventh Circuit, the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia, and the United States District
Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
“The Local 1224
Executive Board is proud of the team of legal professionals we have assembled
at our local. Under Ed’s leadership, we will aggressively work to better the
working conditions of our members and have a positive impact on the piloting
profession in the United States and internationally,” said Wells.
Airline Industry News
Governmental and Regulatory
The Federal Aviation
Administration said “[c]ollaboration is now the rule, not the exception”
regarding the reporting of incidents.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.,
said he is developing
a new law that would mandate
airports must use private screeners instead of Transportation Security
Administration agents.
The Federal Aviation
Administration awarded
a grant for aviation biofuel
research to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Washington State
University.
Michael Huerta,
administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said the agency continues
to be concerned
about the federal budget sequestration.
Airlines, Industry and Labor
Judge Sean Lane approved American Airlines' reorganization plan in
bankruptcy court on Thursday.
American Airlines
launched a website, www.newamericanarriving.com, to give employees a
vehicle to contact elected
officials and voice their support for the carrier's proposed merger with US
Airways.
Dave
Barger, the CEO of JetBlue
Airways, said AMR Corp. should divest all of its slots at Reagan National
Airport if the carrier merges with US Airways.
Last week, United and
Continental pilots came
to terms on a pilot seniority
agreement. Such agreements often end up in arbitration, and a landmark case in
2009 added pilot longevity to a mix of factors considered for seniority lists.
American Airlines and US
Airways Group are
responding to the Justice
Department's efforts to block their proposed merger over antitrust concerns,
with the airlines saying the deal would benefit passengers.