EAP Representative Receives Award
On August 14th, 2014, Denver Tech Ops management, on behalf of the United Corporation, recognized sub-UA Teamster-E.A.P. committee member Michael Brooks for his years of contribution and dedication to his fellow employees. His work as an active board member on the “United We Care Employee Relief Fund” was memorialized with the presentation of a Professional Crystal Award and cake. The award ceremony took place among his peers at the United Hangar in Denver. During the presentation, the success of the Teamster Employee Assistance Program was noted. To Michael’s credit, he has worked tirelessly for many years in his position as EAP Rep, and he has changed the lives of many of his co-workers for the better. The union Employee Assistance Program on the sub-UA has been a cornerstone piece of success for over a quarter of a century in helping so many co-workers at United.
Seniority Committee Update
Two representatives of the Seniority Integration Committee (SIC) met with company officials in May 2013 to start the construction of a merged sUA/sCO/sCMI single seniority list. The union committee members worked alongside the UA representatives assigned to do the actual task of blending the three lists covering mechanic and related classifications into one.
As previously reported several meeting dates advanced the recommendations of the full SIC in compiling an accurate list. Progress essentially halted as the parties entered mediated talks. While much work was accomplished and there are still several unresolved concerns preventing a published finalized merged seniority list.
The committee anticipates that the final work of combining the seniority list will resume in the coming weeks. The list must be complete ahead of an amalgamated agreement between the carrier and the company and to that end the full SIC will be meeting in Seattle at the end of the month. A report on the committee’s progress will be made in an upcoming Mechanics Dispatch.
Local 986 and 856 host Stewards Training Seminar
Local 986 and 856 hosted a training seminar for stewards on September 19th, 20th and 21st in Lake Tahoe.
Principal Officers Chris Griswold of Local 986 and Peter Finn of Local 856 opened the seminar on Friday and outlined the agenda for the next several days. Airline Division Director David Bourne made opening remarks and thanked those attending for their participation. These remarks were followed by an update from attorney Ed Gleason on the current state of the system-wide arbitration cases. This was followed by a history of the Teamsters presented by Karin Jones.
Following the presentations of the first day a break out session was held for the stewards from SFO, SEA and HNL to discuss current issues.
On Saturday three classes were held. Stewards broke into three groups to attend Grievance handling and Representation, conducted by Illiana Florez from IBT Training, Sarah Sanford-Smith Legal Director Local 856 and Bob Fisher IBT Airline Division Representative, Railway Labor Act-Negotiations Process, conducted by attorney Ed Gleason and IBT Airline Division Representative Clacy Griswold., and also TAMC, conducted by TAMC Chair Chris Moore and Local 986 Business Agent Dave Saucedo. Each class included active steward participation in order to ensure understanding of the subject matter. The TAMC class included discussion on lobbying efforts for the craft, the importance of defect reporting, as well as a possible new direction for the group as a non-profit entity for the craft.
On Sunday the conference continued with a presentation by Trish Suzuki, Political Director for Local 856. Trish explained the need for involvement in politics pointing out that our craft is heavy regulated and our future can change with the stroke of a pen. Trish also pointed out that Labor was outspent 10-1 in the last election cycle by corporations and 3-1 by the Koch brothers alone. Trish pointed out that even though Labor is outspent our power is in our vote.
The conference wrapped up with a presentation by Principal Officers Chris Griswold and Peter Finn. Both Chris and Peter thanked the stewards for taking the time to attend the seminar, but more importantly for their dedication to the membership. It was noted that being a steward is a real commitment and this first responder leadership role is what keeps the members well protected.
We would like to extend our very heartfelt thanks to Vivian Garcia and Connie Tarango of Local 986 and Nicole Casey, Lisa Saccoman and Trish Suzuki of Local 856 for the outstanding work they did in making this seminar a success.
All members urged to update their addresses
Members on furlough are advised to keep their addresses current with the company while on layoff. It is predicted that there will be many movements this year and there have been several members that have been removed from the seniority list because old addresses were on file when notices were sent.
If you are in touch with a furloughed member, please forward this information to them. Updates may be emailed to: [email protected] . The ESC will provide a fax number and ask members to send the address change accompanied with a signature.