Division Director Addresses PATCO on 30th Anniversary of Strike
Marking the 30th anniversary of the assault on organized labor when then over 13,000 air traffic controllers were fired for striking over better working conditions and wages, Airline Division Director David Bourne addressed the PATCO (Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization) as the keynote speaker at their convention this week in Florida.
Noting the continued assault on American working men and women that gained momentum by the firings, and the current assaults led by some members of Congress and states like Wisconsin and others, he brought home the point that the concerted attacks continue unabated. In his remarks to the controllers he said,
“Thirty years ago 13,000 of your fellow controllers; including some among you today, stood up for a principal. You stood up for better work rules, pay and safety. Thirty years ago, you stood up for each and every American working man and woman.
In the past thirty years, we have seen the continuing erosion of pay, benefits and working conditions. We’ve seen the continued use of the bankruptcy code to strip away any gains that employees have fought to get back in the collective bargaining process. We now live in a time when the average corporate CEO makes four hundred times what their employee makes.
And they want more. They want you to work more. They want you to give up your health care. They want you to do it for even less.”
Addressing the anti-labor climate in Washington he continued, “The assault on you is now in the open. How many of you are in the upper 1% income bracket in this country? I’m not. And each of us is expected to fund their excesses. The tide is changing. Americans across the land are fed up. They are rising up and demanding a different way. They are demanding their voices be heard. And they are demanding something we haven’t heard in thirty years. They are demanding that the rights of American workers…union workers…be protected. They are now seeing what you have lived. And fought for. The VALUE and importance of unity…and of union representation.
The labor movement has taken a beating for decades. And to be fair, we all shoulder some of the responsibility. It was easier to not be as vocal when the voices from the other side were louder. . Over and over they have chanted the mantra of their anti labor, big business paymasters…labor is bad…employees should be lucky we pay them…greed is good.”
“No more,” he said.
In closing, he urged the controllers to remain united and continue the fight for their rights. He reminded them that as a pilot, he always knew that air traffic controllers were always there and always looked out for the safety of him and his flight crew. “You always had our back,” he said “I want you to know that the Teamsters will always have yours.”
Senator Cardin Chairs Senate Vote to Restore FAA Funding, Applauded by Division Director
One day after calling on Congressional leaders to act swiftly to return thousands of FAA workers and tens of thousands of construction workers to their jobs, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) presided over a pro forma session of the Senate that ended the 14-day shutdown. In a statement released on Friday, he said,
“For two weeks, 4,000 FAA employees and nearly 75,000 construction workers have been held hostage by a Republican House of Representatives that was more interested in advancing an anti-labor agenda and scoring political points than the safety and future of our nation’s aviation infrastructure. For two weeks, I have been imploring my colleagues to put the good of the nation and the livelihood of these workers and their families first by ending this shutdown.
“At a time when our economy can least afford it, the House Republicans needlessly took workers off the job and cost taxpayers approximately $350 million in revenues dedicated to support the maintenance, improvement and operational safety of our complex aviation system.”
Cardin, who served nine terms in the House and is now the junior Senator from Maryland went on to say, “Over the last two weeks I have heard from dozens of troubled and angry Maryland FAA employees who were furloughed. I shared their anger at the predicament they were in, which is why I fought to preserve their ability to pay their bills and care for their families, and to receive back pay for the furlough period. These workers were the innocent victims of a political game that the Senate responsibly ended today. This shameful display must never happen again and I urge my colleagues in the House to finally appoint members of the conference committee to work in good faith and negotiate a more permanent solution to reauthorizing FAA funding authority.”
Senator Cardin was the first Senator, after Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), to go to the Senate floor to speak about the impact of the FAA shutdown. Throughout last week’s debate over the debt ceiling, he continued to speak about the human cost of the shutdown, urging his colleagues not to recess until the problem was resolved. He then pressed House and Senate leader to use the pro forma sessions to end this stalemate, saying that it would “completely validate the American public’s distrust and anger with Congress” if we left these workers in limbo.
“I appreciate and applaud the leadership role Senator Cardin has taken in bringing to an end this unconscionable shutdown,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “Throughout his tenure in the House and now in the Senate, he has distinguished himself as a steadfast friend of American working men and women and his actions clearly show the best in what good government can do when it’s focused on the needs of everyday citizens,” he concluded.
Teamsters President Condemns Republicans for Hostage Taking at FAA
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa today praised the Senate and administration officials for acting responsibly and ending the impasse over Federal Aviation Administration spending.
“I applaud the Senate and Secretary LaHood for their willingness to put the public interest first,” Hoffa said. “But this hostage-taking has to stop. House Republicans can’t continue to threaten the well-being of our country for petty partisan advantage. Our elected officials should not be forcing Americans out of work to settle political scores.”
The dispute between the House and Senate over air service for small communities masked the real reason lawmakers couldn’t agree on funding the FAA. Republicans want to repeal a commonsense change in the union election rule implemented by the National Mediation Board last year. The rule no longer counts absent voters as “no” votes. As a result, union elections are now just like every other election in a democracy. But because Republican leaders oppose workers’ rights, safety and modernization projects are halted and people are losing their jobs.
“I’m also pleased that the Senate is standing firm on the basic democratic principle that the majority rules in a union election for airline workers,” Hoffa said. “If House members were elected by the same system they want to impose on airline workers, none of them would be in office today.”
An estimated 74,000 constructions and agency workers were idled because of the partial FAA shutdown.
Division Director Attends UAL Quarterly Meeting in SFO
SFO was the location of the latest UAL quarterly meeting and station visit of IBT Airline Division David Bourne. Keeping his promise to continue maintaining an open dialog, he was joined by a team that included Lead Negotiator Clacy Grizwold, to provide a real time update to the membership, including some insights to Jim McKenzie who has been named by the NMB to mediate the negotiations with UAL.
Mr. McKenzie is well regarded and considered to be a fair and impartial mediator, according to Lead Negotiator Clacy Grizwold. While no decision made as to the status of negotiating standings, it was reported that the parties should hear something in the near future.
Members were also advised that there would be another national survey to again gain member input and opinions in what is most important as the process moves forward.
“I appreciate the time that our brothers and sisters took to attend the meetings,” said Bourne. “The feedback was excellent with a lot of great questions and solid discussion and I look forward to our next meeting,” he concluded.
Industry News
Despite seeing an overall earnings dip in the second quarter, Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings enjoyed first-half 2011 revenue rise 28.1% to $306.5 million and reported a net profit of $34.4 million for the 2011 first half, down 48.2% from $66.4 million in net income posted in the first six months of 2010…the partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration helped boost revenue for the airline industry…SkyWest Airlines has not met expectations partly because of its acquisition of ExpressJet and reported a $1.6 million profit for the second quarter…USAirways reported a 3.6% increase in traffic for July… BWI Airport has set new passenger records for the first half of 2011…Atlas Air Worldwide expects to take delivery of its first 747-8F aircraft in October 2011 and to receive two more in November.
Regulatory
The DoT has fined Air Canada for deceptive advertising and United for providing inaccurate information on baggage compensation on international flights…