UAL
Negotiations Continue
Negotiations
resumed the week of October 7th with the company in Phoenix, Arizona.
Both parties engaged in an effort to narrow issues in order to reach a Joint
Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
The
week began with a presentation from United on the highlights of the TA for IAM
represented employees, brief preparations of the committee by representatives of
the Airline Division, and an article by article review of open items. An overview of benefits information was given
by Gaelle Gavotte of Cheiron, who represents the actuary, and established a
baseline for continued talks regarding benefits including medical, dental ,
vision care, flexible spending accounts (FSA), and healthcare spending accounts
(HSA, VEBA). The committee was also
briefed on United’s current financial situation as it relates to the industry at
large and competitors by the group’s financial analyst Dan Akins.
Members
from the ranks of the Flight Simulator Technicians and Engineering Groups on sCO
and sUA discussed their integration into our agreement. The union committee was
given a presentation by the FST’s regarding the supplemental changes needed to
integrate these groups into the mechanic’s agreement. Recently, NMB ruled that the FST group is a
standalone craft and class and an election was held where the two subsidiary
groups chose the IBT as their representative.
The sUA group has been a part of the agreement since the 1969
agreement.
Negotiations
continued through the week with progress being made to close out several
articles with open items from the previous round of talks. The committee will next meet with United in
Chicago for the week of November 4th to continue
negotiations.
UAL
Scope Committee Meeting
The
UAL Scope Committee will convene in Houston on October 17th. Both the
sCO and sUA committees will meet with the company to review the hangar plan each
subsidiary.
SWA
Material Specialist Contract Negotiations Continue in Dallas
This past
week the Negotiating Committee, along with Local Union Business Agents and
Airline Division Representatives, met with Southwest Airlines management on
October 8th and 9th to start the first round talks. The
results of the hard work of the Negotiations Committee prior to the first
meeting with the Company were evident as they were able to reach Tentative
Agreements on Articles 7 (Training), Article 17 – (Safety and Health), Article
19 – (Moving Expenses), Article 24 – (Union Representation) and Article 25 –
(Union Security). The committee also
worked on proposals for Article 21 – (Grievance Procedure), Article 22 –
(Arbitration) and Article 26 – (Savings Clause). Additionally, the Company passed proposals on
Article 18 – (Severance Pay) and Article 23 – (General and
Miscellaneous).
Dates for
the next round of talks are currently under discussion.
Airline
Industry News
Governmental
and Regulatory
The
House of Representatives passed a bill to
fund
the Federal Aviation Administration through fiscal 2014, which would allow the
agency to recall furloughed employees. However, the Senate is not expected to
approve the bill, experts say.
The
Federal Aviation Administration is recalling
more than 800 furloughed
workers this week. The employees returning to work include airline and aircraft
inspectors. "As the government shutdown continues, the agency will determine
whether additional employees need to be recalled to provide oversight of
potential risk," the agency said.
The
Transport Workers Union will file a
brief
in the American Airlines-US Airways antitrust case but will not intervene in the
case.
Airlines,
Industry and Labor
Boeing
is revamping its commercial aircraft marketing strategy after it lost a $9.5
billion order from Japan Airlines to rival Airbus.
Airbus
forecasts a
demand for about 870 freighter planes in the next 20 years, spurred
by market expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Boeing
executives said the 747-8 is
faring well
at Lufthansa, the launch customer of the jumbo aircraft. Lufthansa created a
video testimonial of the benefits of the 747-8, which is displayed on the Boeing
website.
Several U.S.
carriers
are awaiting delivery of new aircraft, which have been delayed due to the
government shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration office handling the
paperwork is closed.
After
the aircraft manufacturer lost a key
order
from Japan Airlines, Boeing is focusing on Japan's ANA Holdings, sources say.
ANA Holdings is considering both the Airbus A350 and the Boeing 777X to replace
its Boeing 777s. The airline said it would reach a decision by 2014.