Tentative Agreement Announced for UAL Mechanics
After successfully getting the company to return to the bargaining table after a Tentative Agreement was rejected in September, negotiators for the UAL Mechanics and the Airline Division have announced that the parties have reached agreement on a revised Tentative Agreement this week. Feedback from a survey conducted by the Negotiating Committee was used to guide us during these last two sessions with the company that led to agreement with the company.
The highlights of this new tentative agreement include:
• Maintaining current UA medical benefits
• Signing bonus of $11,500
• Extend protection of incumbent Leads for the duration of the new agreement
• The Company commits to an Early Out Program with a max of $75,000 per eligible person
• Improved language for RQ/FST/MPA
A majority of the provisions in the initial tentative agreement were retained and will become effective if approved by the membership. To reach their goals, the committee agreed to changes in the June tentative agreement which including retaining some current 2005-2009 CBA provisions on Article 14 (Sick Leave), number of paid holidays, and 401K contributions.
Additionally the parties agreed to withdraw the $100 tool allowance, withdraw the 2.5% medical plan wage increase offset set for 1/1/2013, and move the amendable date to 7/1/2013.
“I want to commend the Mechanics Negotiating Committee for their dedication and hard work,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “They took a collective stance and grabbed the bull by the horns; focused on getting an improved agreement for their members and did so,” he concluded.
Documents are currently being finalized for the secret ballot ratification process, with the anticipation of ballots will be mailed out in late November or early December for a vote of the full membership to be completed before the end of the year.
Senate Commerce Committee Questions TSA about MRO Security
This week, the Senate Commerce Committee held hearings this week with TSA Director John Pistole being questioned on various areas of concern.
The “Known Crewmember” program is currently being implemented and is functioning at several airports, allowing airline pilots who are already in the CASS system to more efficiently proceed through airport security.
Of even greater concern to the committee members was the status of ensuring that foreign and non airline MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities comply with the same safety and security standards for their employees as airlines are required to maintain. “Non airline MRO’s often compete based on lower cost,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “One way they do so is by cutting corners on things like background checks and security that U.S. airlines must comply with. That unfair advantage not only takes jobs from our members and ships them offshore or to facilities where security is lax; there are serious questions that are raised regarding the level of expertise and oversight of the individuals making the repairs on the aircraft that the American public is flying on. The travelling public, our pilots and our flight attendants deserve better. And our mechanics and other related crafts who are properly trained, certificated and have passed the required security checks should be the ones who work on the aircraft to ensure the maintenance is done properly,” he continued.
“I would like to commend Chairman Rockefeller, Ranking Member Thune and the other committee members who have continued to be strong supporters of these issues and the concerns of our membership and the travelling public,” he concluded.
Teamsters Airline Division, Transport Workers Union Air Transport Division Meet
This past week,representatives of the IBT and TWU met in Washington, do discuss areas of mutual interest. The following joint statement was released:
The Teamsters Airline Division has had a relationship with the Transport Workers Union Air Transport Division for some time now. Between our two Unions, we represent roughly 30,000 in the Aircraft Maintenance and related Class and Craft.
We have joined forces on a number of occasions including the fight on foreign outsourcing of aircraft maintenance and other issues that are of importance to our collective membership. The meeting, held in the TWU offices in Washington DC, included a vibrant discussion on MRO’s both foreign and domestic and what we can do to ensure the quality of Aircraft Maintenance Safety in the future.
The meeting was hosted by TWU Workforce Development Specialist Gordon Clark. Present from the TWU were, John Conley Administrative Assistant to the International President, Chris Oriyano TWU Business Process and Research Analyst, John Donnelly Director of Strategic research, Angela Cox Strategic Research dept. and Attorney David Rosen.
Representing the IBT were, Bob Fisher International Representative Airline Division, Cassandra Ogren Strategic Research and Campaigns, Airline Division Attorney Nick Manicone and Chris Moore International Representative Airline Division.
Meetings will continue in the coming months as we continue explore synergies that will allow us to drive issues of importance to both of our mechanic and related members.
CAL Seniority Integration Team Meets
The CAL Teamsters Local 19 Seniority Integration Committee held its first session in Houston on November 11th. Elected members of the committee in attendance were Mike Bergen, Robert Clever, Jerry Davis, Deborah Hernandez, Craig Larsen and Local 19 Executive Board Members; Robert Rasch, Dominic Fierro, Mike Peterson, and Michael Nerren. The committee discussed their expectations, seniority integration options reviewed by other locals and additional information that is needed, including comprising a survey for Local 19 members.
The next meeting is scheduled for November 16, 2011.
Airline Industry News
Government and Regulatory
Daytona Beach International Airport in Daytona Beach, Fla., opened a testing site on Monday for the latest NextGen technology at its Federal Aviation Administration center. The airport is one of three locations in the U.S. serving as a NextGen testing site…Transportation Security Administration Administrator John Pistole will appear again before lawmakers to provide an update on the Pre-Check known-traveler program and the TSA's behavior detection program…Legislation that would modernize the nation's aging air traffic control system could be before President Barack Obama by Christmas, says Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.
JetBlue Airways could be a potential buyer of Frontier Airlines. JetBlue and Frontier have similar fleets of aircraft, and Frontier serves markets such as Milwaukee and Kansas City that could allow JetBlue to expand…Although the Boeing 787 has experienced three years of delays, the maintenance, repair and overhaul community is not completely prepared for the aircraft… Airbus is ceasing production of its A340 aircraft because of competition with the Boeing 777.
Labor and Industry
Frontier Airlines plans to lay off 120 people in Milwaukee in January. The carrier also plans to lay off 213 workers this month…AirTran Airways pilots and Southwest Airlines pilots have reached an agreement on combining seniority lists for the carriers…The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents flight attendants at Air Canada, called an arbitrator's ruling "profoundly disappointing."
American Airlines and the union representing its pilots may soon reach an agreement.
Virgin America flight attendants will begin voting Nov. 29 on whether they want union representation. The Transport Workers Union is attempting to represent more than 650 flight attendants at the carrier.