Frontier Pilots Offer Deep Concessions, Vote on Airline Survival
Facing the reality that their airline continues to drag down earnings of the parent company, about 700 Frontier Airlines pilots voted this week on whether to ratify a tentative agreement that would give them an equity stake in the airline in exchange for reductions in pay and benefits. In an email to employees, Republic CEO Bryan Bedford said, "It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that failure to ratify would likely derail the entire restructuring effort."
If the deal is approved, parent company Republic Airways Holdings' ownership in the carrier would drop below 50% and allow it to raise approximately $70 million, while paving the way for restructuring that hopes to cut Frontier’s annual costs by more than $100 million dollars.
TAMC Urges Members to Participate in Fatigue Study
In an ongoing effort to continue to improve our safety, working conditions and quality of life, the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition, (TAMC) is urging you to participate in the aviation maintenance industry fatigue benchmark study. The anonymous online survey is hosted by the University of Illinois to collect data on maintenance technician work practices and operational conditions related to work and duty patterns across the industry. This information is being collected as part of an ongoing effort by the FAA/Industry Maintenance Fatigue Working Group. The TAMC and Airline Division are working to ensure that we are a part of this Working Group.
Your responses will be anonymous and confidential. Neither your organization nor the FAA will see your individual responses. The survey should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
To enter the survey, please click here: http://surveys.scisms.com/s3/tm060u2f
If the above link is not highlighted in your email client, please cut and paste the address into your web browser.
If you have any questions about this study, please feel free to contact Russ Leighton, Aviation Safety Coordinator, and Teamsters Airline Division at (800) 294-1224 ext. 6615, or Dave Saucedo, TAMC Steering Committee, UAL at 425-358-1006 or Email: [email protected]
CAL Mechanics Benefits Sub Committee meets with Management
The CAL Mechanics Benefits Sub-committee held its quarterly scheduled meeting this past week with company representatives. Committee members took the opportunity with this meeting to question the company on the issue of how the calculations are determined for the employee contribution percentage as it relates to health care costs. Also of great concern was to ensuring that members were not picking up the cost for any subsidy or reduced rate for employees not in the unit. Examples of concern were presented to the company and in each case the committee was assured by the company that the burden was not added to the members benefit costs and they would provide additional documentation on the issue.
The topic of active medical claims was also discussed as well as other matters, including the new health care reform law, especially requiring the employers to cover dependents to age 26 that add an extremely high cost to the system. A complete report of the meeting was sent to members and the parties have agreed to meet again on July 26th to review the costing of next year’s benefits for members.
UAL Mechanics and Related Update: NMB Mediation
The following message was sent to all UAL mechanics on Friday, June 17, 2011:
The Airline Division reached out to the NMB today and learned that the NMB has taken the Company’s and the Union’s positions regarding amalgamated mediation under advisement, and that it will provide the parties with an answer once it makes a decision. The Union has opposed the Company’s request that the UAL mediation take place on an amalgamated basis, and has argued that the agency must proceed with the mediation on a single contract basis involving only the UAL mechanics and related.
Additionally, as Airline Division Director Captain David Bourne had predicted, the NMB has set a mediation schedule that will not commence until much later this year. The NMB has advised that it will conduct its initial conference with the parties in November, 2011, and will set formal mediation dates to start thereafter. The Airline Division is extremely disappointed but not at all surprised with the NMB’s scheduling order, and will be using all means necessary to accelerate this schedule. To that end, the Airline Division and the UAL Local Union Principal Officers are establishing, an action committee to develop strategies in coordination with the membership to persuade the NMB to set an expedited mediation schedule.
Week In Review News
Industry
Boeing’s new long range forecast predicts the need for 33,500 new aircraft in the next 20 years; up 8.4% from last year’s estimate…American is no longer top dog in San Juan…Boeing CEO Jim McNerney has been selected to head the Business Roundtable…a USAirways mechanic stowed away in the cargo hold of a flight bound for Charlotte on Wednesday…
Labor and Regulatory
The FAA is proposing a $425,000 dollar fine against Atlantic Southeast Airlines… Canada's Tory government threatened to order Air Canada's customer service and ticket agents back to work, but the 3,800 workers reached an agreement with the carrier to end their strike…NTSB Chairman Debra Hersman says having two bosses is the least of her concerns…USAirways CEO Doug Parker said that unions are relevant and managers — not labor — bear the blame for contracts that become problems when airline fortunes go south.