Airline Division, RAH Meet to Discuss
Status
Representatives
of the Airline Division and Republic Airways management met at Teamsters
Headquarters in Washington, DC on October 17th to discuss re-starting
negotiations to reach an amended collective bargaining agreement. General
President Hoffa called for this meeting following an announcement by the NMB
that mediation between the Teamsters and the carrier were to be “parked” for an
indefinite period of time due to the distance between the parties in
negotiations.
To break this
logjam, President Hoffa requested Republic meet with the Airline Division and
appointed Capt. Rick Dubinsky of the Airline Division to head up renewed
negotiations. At the meeting, the carrier agreed to restart negotiations with
the assistance of a private mediator to help the parties reach
agreement.
Following that
meeting, representatives of the Airline Division and Local 357, which represents
the Republic Airways pilots, also met. The Local’s representatives provided the
Airline Division with a brief overview of their last comprehensive proposal to
the Company.
A meeting with
Local 357’s Negotiating Committee and other representatives is scheduled for
next week, November 7th, also at Teamsters headquarters in
Washington, DC. The plan is to review in depth the negotiation history and
relative position of the parties.
The Airline
Division is moving quickly to restart negotiations as soon as November 2013. A
negotiation team composed of Airline Division staff and Local 357
representatives will be announced soon.
George Miranda Appointed to Board of
Global Gateway Alliance
The Global
Gateway Alliance has named three new members, including George Miranda,
Secretary-Treasurer of Local 210 in New York and President of Joint Council 16,
to the organization’s Board of Directors. Miranda has been a Teamster since 1967
and in additional to his duties at Local 210 and the Joint Council, currently
serves as President of the Teamsters National Hispanic Caucus, Chairman of the
Board of Directors for the Teamsters Airline Division and Vice President of the
NYC Central Labor Council.
Comprised of
14 leaders in business, labor, government and academia representing the New York
New Jersey region and the nation; the GGA has been instrumental in addressing
the major challenges facing the metropolitan region’s airports in an effort to
improve infrastructure and facilitate the continued growth of the area.
“Tackling the
challenges that face the region’s airport should be a collective goal. Its
benefits will help not only businesses, but workers, as well. Improving our
airports will result in considerable growth for the region, and thousands of
good jobs” said Miranda. “I look forward to working with everyone involved to
make sure that the New York Metropolitan area continues to be the world’s top
destination.”
“I want to
congratulate Brother George Miranda on his appointment,” said Airline Division
Director David Bourne. “Not only is he an integral part of the Airline Division
and a tremendous leader, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the
GGA that very few people possess. He is an outstanding choice and I commend the
GGA decision to appoint him,” he concluded.
Teamster Mechanics and Pilots attend
NTSB “Go Team” Training
Members of Teamster Airline Division
Locals 19, 769, 781, 1224 and 2727 attended T.A.M.C. (Teamsters Aviation
Mechanics Coalition) Airline Division Sponsored, Crash Investigation Training
recently in Houston. Teamsters Local 19 hosted training and provided the meeting
space. The two day training was provided by industry expert and former NTSB
member John Goglia, who is also an A & P mechanic, and has decades of NTSB
investigatory experience.
The syllabus included an overview of
how an investigation works, what is expected of team members’ members at the
crash site and how to structure an airline "Go Team." Goglia also gave an
overview of the history, structure and mission of the NTSB as well as a review
of several case studies from accidents that he investigated.
Enjoli DeGrasse, Industrial Hygienist
from the Teamsters Safety and Health department was on hand as well to teach a
course on Blood Bourne Pathogens and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which
is required if members are to gain "Party Status" and be on site to assist the
NTSB in an investigation. The attendees were also fortunate to have Brothers
from Local 2727 on hand who had participated in the recent UPS accident
investigation and were able to share their experience with the group.
Commenting on
the training, TAMC Chairman Chris Moore said, “The presentation and training was
outstanding. The Airline Division, as a leader in aviation representation, will
continue to provide training and develop programs that support our aviation
professionals throughout the industry.”
Airline Division Participates in GAO
Meeting on Whistleblowers
Airline
Division representatives Bob Fisher and Chris Moore represented the Teamsters in
a discussion with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) on October
28th. Currently the GAO is
mandated to review whistleblower protections for employees in the transportation
industry, under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century
Act (MAP-21), P.L. 112-141.
The
discussion centered on transportation-related whistleblower statutes, to what
extent the provisions and numbers of claims made in selected years differ, and
what factors may help explain the differences.
According to
Bob Fisher, “We focused on the small number of whistleblower claims filed in the
airline industry and why. Our synopsis is that first and foremost the airline
industry is very safety-centric and in many cases an airline will act on its own
to correct a problem because of very stringent Government oversight. Further,
the majority of Air Carriers have active ASAP and MSAP programs which provide a
non-punitive reporting system to identify and correct safety issues.”
“We also
discussed how the Teamsters represent whistleblowers,” said Moore. “We stated
that the Teamsters provide Safety and Health experts to help determine if a
workplace safety violation exists and help our members gather the information
they need to make their case. Should the company attempt to discipline a member
for bringing a safety and health concern forward the Teamsters will be there to
defend them.”
The report is
due out in the summer of 2014 and both representatives will be available for
additional discussions as necessary.
Piedmont Negotiations
Continue
Negotiations resumed on Monday,
October 28, 2013. Prior to meeting the
Company informed the Union that it was unable to respond to the Union’s last
economic proposal. The reason stated was
that the Piedmont pilots, through ALPA, had reached out to both USAir and
Piedmont to discuss bringing jet aircraft to the Piedmont fleet.
Meaningful dialogue took place and the
union passed proposals on Article 3 – (Classifications) and Article 5 – (Filling
of Vacancies). The session was
productive although no resolution was reached on either Article.
Talks
concluded on Thursday, October 31st and are scheduled to resume on
November 11th.
Airline Industry News
Governmental and
Regulatory
The FAA announced a
change in its policy on personal
electronic devices, expanding the use of
portable electronic devices (PED) "gate to gate."
Jeffrey Guzzetti,
assistant inspector general for aviation audits at the Department of
Transportation, said the Federal Aviation Administration is not
adequately prepared for NextGen
certifications.
The NTSB is
recommending additional
training for airline pilots to recognize and recover from
stalls.
Airlines, Industry and
Labor
American and
USAirways have proposed a method
of settling the lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice over their pending
merger.
Boeing announced
plans to design its 777X with
input from engineers in five states and Russia – but not from employees in its
headquarters of Washington State.
Delta Air Lines
announced it is restarting its fluid catalytic
cracker at the carrier's oil refinery in Trainer, Pa., which outputs 185,000
barrels a day.
Atlas
Air has
readjusted its full year forecast to reflect airfreight demand.
The Justice Department's
attempt
to prevent a proposed merger
between US Airways and American Airlines is "perplexing," writes Jeffrey Shane,
general counsel at the International Air Transport Association.