Injured Republic Pilot Continues Recovery
With the holiday season upon us, the family of Republic Airlines First Officer Robert Amey, who was hit by a car while on a layover in Savannah, Georgia, continues to get good news about his recovery. Robert has transitioned from being in a coma in Savannah, to being transferred back to Indianapolis two weeks ago and has now been moved to a rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery.
According to reports from Local 357, Robert is doing extremely well. While he still has an endotracheal tube for breathing, he is talking, knows his birth date, and recognizes many family members. He is also responding to direct questions, his motor skills are improving and even remembered that his car was parked at the airport and needed to be picked up.
For those who wish to send cards or wishes, they may be sent to him at:
St. Vincent Seton Specialty Hospital
Patient: Robert Amey
Room 244
8050 Township Line Rd
Indianapolis, IN 46260
The Local 357 pilot group’s grass roots campaign effort to assist the Amey family continues. All donations can be sent to:
Teamsters Local Union No. 357
Attn: Amey Family Grass Roots Donation
6100 Clarks Creek Rd. Suite 100
Plainfield, IN 46168
Make all checks payable to Elizabeth Amey.
Local 357 is very appreciative of the contributions from their fellow Teamster and others. Several donations have come from outside Local 357 and Republic Airways Holding. One of the donations was from New York City Local 210, for $1,000. The Airline Division of Local 210 includes North American and World Flight Attendants, United Airline Mechanics, and Atlas Dispatchers.
Elizabeth Amey has expressed her deep appreciation to everyone for their assistance, concern and the wishes that have been extended to Robert and his family.
Santa Arrives Early in Houston, Dressed as the Grinch for InTech Employees
Dressed as the Grinch and bearing lumps of coal, the management of InTech Aerospace Services brought a season of mean spirited tidings to their employees.
The Houston-based employees of InTech Aerospace Services, Inc., who refurbish and maintain aircraft interiors and aircraft seats, received notices on December 21, 2010 that they were going to be laid off by their employer, and were offered the opportunity to re-apply for the same jobs through a temp agency – which would strip workers of their health insurance and other benefits. The company’s move to lay off these employees came not only days before Christmas, but also only days after they signed cards seeking to be represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
InTech Aerospace Services, formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of ExpressJet Holdings, Inc., headquartered in Houston, was acquired by Utah-based SkyWest, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKYW) in November, 2010 as part of SkyWest’s acquisition of ExpressJet Holdings. SkyWest, a leading regional airline with a contentious history of labor relations, flies under contract with Delta, United, and AirTran. Newly-acquired ExpressJet Airlines flies under contract with Continental and United.
About 25 employees are affected by the layoff. They perform service on aircraft seats, including, it is believed, a contract to repair and replace the seating aboard Air Force One. InTech Aerospace is an FAA-certificated Part 145 repair station, certificate number I7ER029Y.
“The Teamsters are very concerned about the implications of laying off these workers and rehiring them as temporary employees,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “SkyWest has a long history of anti union actions against employees who choose to exercise their legal rights as American citizens by joining a union. This move destabilizes an expert workforce and could therefore impact the quality and safety of the work being done for InTech’s airline customers. Furthermore, the layoff appears to be a reaction to the employees seeking to unionize, and as such a violation of the employees’ rights under the Railway Labor Act, a federal law that applies to airlines and other companies that perform airline services,” he continued.