Continental Negotiations Continue in
The Continental Negotiating Committee met with the company this week in
Conflicts that will prevent the mediator from attending the session the week of April 26th have caused the planned session to be canceled for that week; however the negotiating committee will use this time to review and prepare future proposals to present to the company.
UAL Discussions Productive
Teamsters Local 856 in
The parties reached a tentative agreement Article 16 (Transportation), covering pass travel for pleasure; and travel for Union representatives conducting Union business. Discussions on issues related to payroll practices resulted in agreement on several areas. Additionally, the parties discussed Article 4 (Classification of Work), specifically Inspector issues. SFO Inspector Kevin Sloan participated in the discussions and provided valuable assistance and his expertise to the Union Negotiating Team.
Negotiations will continue the week of May 3rd.
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
Federal officials have dealt labor unions at American Airlines a setback by refusing to start a 30-day countdown toward possible strikes…hundreds of American’s union workers chanted "Stop corporate greed!" and "Share the pain!" during informational picketing Thursday at DFW. Frontier employees cheered Tuesday when company leaders announced that Republic Airways will fly its planes under the Frontier name and keep the
Continental Airlines will lay off 20 unionized baggage handlers at
Volcanic Ash Disruption
A huge ash cloud from an Icelandic volcano caused further air travel chaos across Europe on Friday on a scale not seen since the September 11 attacks, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded…the volcanic ash crisis is now well into its next stage, which is how to cope with the stranded and restless…the eruption of a volcano in the Eyjafjallajoekull region in Iceland, which has disrupted air travel throughout Europe, was an uncommon event, but that alone did not mean that passenger rights were being cancelled along with their flights, the European Commission said today.
An Indonesian passenger plane carrying more than 100 people veered off a runway as it landed in Papua, then snapped in half as it came to rest in a nearby river, a transport ministry official said on Tuesday…DOT’s much-talked about and, in many circles, highly-controversial new rule to upgrade protections for airline passengers will take hold at the end of April…airlines would be prohibited from charging fees for carry-on bags, according to U.S. Senate legislation introduced Tuesday to counter a new luggage fee of up to $45 at low-cost carrier Spirit.
Airline Industry Finances & Structure
IATA has called for more tie-ups in the airline industry as the struggling sector braces for rising oil prices…United Airlines and US Airways may need to relinquish routes to gain approval for their merger from a tougher DOJ than the one that sank their previous marriage proposal in 2001…and shares of Continental and the parent of United Airlines rose Thursday after reports that the carriers are talking about combining to create the world's largest carrier.
Miscellaneous
In a rare show of unanimity, more than 200 travel agents, corporate travel departments, travel management companies and travel agency groups from 10 countries urged airlines to work cooperatively to develop industry standards to ensure that the airlines' unbundled products are easily accessible by all travelers…companies are sending more of their workers back on the road this year after having slashed travel budgets and halted trips to save money during the recession.