UAL Negotiators, Division Director Meet with UAL Mechanics at Dulles Roadshow; “This is the first step that secures your rights in the merger,” Director tells Crowd
Addressing approximately 100 mechanics throughout the day on Friday, members of the UAL mechanics Negotiating Committee and Airline Division Director David Bourne outlined the gains in the recently agreed to Transition Tentative Agreement and spelled out the importance of the agreement as the merger moves forward.
“While the agreement contains long sought raises and work rule restorations and improvements over the current contract, it does something much more important,” explained Bourne. “This agreement sets the stage for what really matters; the negotiations for the consolidated agreement between UAL and CAL that will begin immediately.”
In response to a question about why the TA only addressed certain areas, Bourne said, “The question to ask yourself is this; “Do I want to go into those negotiations with my current pay and work rules, or do I want to go in with better work rules, and have my negotiators begin at a higher starting point? Your negotiators have two options; go in and bargain under your current rules and rates or start with newer, higher rates and better rules and go from there. Either way, they will be at the table again right away. They feel, and I agree that you have a better opportunity for bigger gains if you start at a higher level,” he continued.
“I think as the membership begins to see that this is strictly a transition agreement, to give their negotiators a better starting point, they see the value in this even beyond the pay raises and work rule improvements,” said Bourne. “I also understand why there are some who are out there saying otherwise; to do anything else would mean they have to admit that the previous unions sold the mechanics out in pay, benefits and work rules. We don’t sign those kinds of agreements in the Airline Division on my watch,” said Bourne.
Seeming to echo the Directors statement, a senior mechanic who spoke during a break, requesting that his name not be used said, “I’ve been here for many years and watched IAM and AMFA give up work rules, our pay, and our pensions. And now they want to come back and do it again. This is the first time someone has actually stood up for us, and has a clear plan of how to make things even better in the merger. It’s about time.”
NMB Issues Ruling on Single Carrier Status for Republic
Responding to a filing by the IBT Airline Division for a determination about the existence of a “single transportation system” for the class or craft of pilots, the National Mediation Board on April 8th issued their findings and determination.
The Board determined that Chautauqua, Shuttle, RA, Frontier, and Lynx are operating as a single transportation system for the craft or class of Pilots for representation purposes under the Railway Labor Act. The former pilots of Midwest Express were also found to be included in the single transportation system.
Notified of the Board’s ruling, Airline Division Director David Bourne said “We are very appreciative of the time and diligence the Board spent on this matter. We will be contacting all of the pilot groups involved in the coming days to schedule discussions on how best to continue the implementation of the merger process.”
Teamster Mechanics at UPS Ratify New Agreement, Again Setting the Industry Standard
UPS aircraft mechanics overwhelmingly ratified a new contract this week that maintains health care benefits and provides wage increases. The contract, which runs through Nov. 1, 2013, covers nearly 1,300 aircraft mechanics and was ratified by a margin of 69 percent to 31 percent. Nearly 90 percent of members voted.
“This has been a difficult and long battle with UPS, but we didn’t back down and our resolve has paid off. This is a big victory for UPS aircraft mechanics,” Combine said. “This contract and the vote behind it prove that even in a tough economy, the Teamsters have the clout it takes to get the job done.”
The contract maintains existing health care. It also secures an average wage increase of 17percent over the life of the contract and retroactive pay through November 2006, when the previous contract became amendable.
The ratification was the first in the Local’s history in which members approved a contract on the first vote; a strong sign of the strength of support for negotiators and the contract.
““The fact that the membership voted by 69 percent in favor of this contract shows the strength and the power of the Teamsters,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “This is an industry-leading contract that secures for our members the economics and benefits they deserve. That’s a testament to Bob Combine, his negotiating team at Local 2727 and the strength and resolve of the membership.”
“This is a tremendous victory for the members of Local 2727,” said Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne. “Once again, they have set the industry standard for airline mechanics. We are proud to represent them and congratulate their negotiators for their diligence and focus on protecting their member’s rights and negotiating strong gains in this contract.”
Omni Negotiators, Management meet with Mediator in Washington
Discussions continued this past week in Washington between union negotiators and Omni management under the guidance of a Federal mediator. Discussions have covered critical open areas and have been very open and frank. Appraised of the proceedings, Airline Division Director David Bourne stated, “We expect that these issues and the contract will be resolved; one way or another, very soon.”
The groups will reconvene in Washington next week.
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
TWU released a report Wednesday condemning the use of aircraft repair stations outside the United States, and the union called on Congress and FAA to toughen the FAA's oversight. In particular, the TWU backed legislation now before Congress that would offer "an opportunity to maintain the safety of U.S. aircraft and protect U.S. passengers," including: "require all maintenance on U.S. aircraft take place in FAA-certified repair facilities; "require all repair facilities to meet uniform standards, including background checks, drug and alcohol testing and aircraft mechanic certification; and require, as a condition of certification, all repair stations to be subject to unannounced FAA inspections."
A British Airways pension fund trustee has resigned after the airline switched to calculating payments against a reduced measure of inflation, it has emerged. The Airways Pension Scheme (APS) board of trustees have voted for pensions to be calculated based on the consumer price index CPI rather than the retail price index, which is expected to be around 1% higher for the next five years.
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-300 carrying 142 people diverted to Los Angeles because of a burning electrical smell in the passenger cabin, officials said, two days after another company 737-300 made an emergency landing in Arizona after a hole was torn in the fuselage ceiling…a flight attendant was making the usual announcements about snacks and in-flight entertainment as United Airlines flight 497 soared past 4,000 feet flight early Monday morning. Suddenly the public address system went dead.
Investigators have discovered the wreckage of an Air France Airbus A330, which crashed in mysterious circumstances almost two years ago. The aircraft, flying from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, came down in a storm in June 2009 with 228 people on board. A French judge recently filed preliminary manslaughter charges against Air France over the crash. A fourth attempt to locate the aircraft's voice and data recorders started last month. The wreckage was located in the past 24 hours, investigators in Paris are reported to have said.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
United Continental Holdings has requested US regulatory approval to operate to Tokyo Haneda Airport if Delta Air Lines abandons the airport following the 11-Mar-2011 earthquake and tsunami…Jeff Knittel, President of Transportation Finance at CIT, sees the aviation market improving for 2011 as core economic growth continues to drive traffic. In this exclusive CAPA interview, Mr Knittel talks about industry growth opportunities, LCCs and the South American market.
The Chinese tourism market is creeping closer to the volume of US travellers, expected to shoot up from its sixth position on the world’s travel and tourism sector list in 2008 to second place by 2020. According to a Business Consulting Group survey there will be up to 25 million first-time Chinese travellers, up to 70,000 every day spending money on outbound travel.
Miscellaneous
Video conferencing is going to replace more and more corporate travel in the near future, according to Regus’ Simon Hunt. The product director for the serviced office and video conferencing provider said video will become more of an alternative to travel, with more meetings being done remotely…US Airways has upgraded its meals in international first class, domestic business class and is now retrofitting its regional fleet to accommodate first-class service in all its larger regional jets…and online travel company Orbitz has kicked off a campaign to celebrate its 10th anniversary with the results of a “Then vs. Now” consumer survey which examines how travel has evolved over the past 10 years.