Dear Members,
As you all are aware the Union has currently been in formal non-economic discussions with the Company.
The third prescribed meeting was held in Houston Texas on the 28th and 29th of January 2009 and some of the topics of debate were Article Two “Definitions” and Article Three “ Covered Classifications and Bid Areas”. Advancements were made in both Articles and the number of open issues has narrowed.
As many of you know, locally we have had many suggestions and questions from the members regarding license requirements for specific Bid Areas as well as concerns about whom will be responsible for signing-off the work of others. Article Three is the article that directly defines these requirements and responsibilities.
The company has some proposals of their own concerning these issues and the Union had requested various documentation to better help the committee understand their concerns. That information has been received and the Unionis reviewing it for accuracy. As these negotiations continue information, along with data pertaining to certain areas of these articles will be requested and reviewed.
During our meeting the company submitted a complete counter proposal to Article Four “Seniority”. Significant progress was achieved and we are fairly confident this Article will be closed out shortly.
The parties are scheduled to meet in Los Angeles during the week of February 23, 2009. As you know negotiations is quite an arduous process. Research and determination are extremely important when it comes to negotiating the many open work rule related items the membership has proposed. As many of you have inquired or commented on, timing is equally as important when it comes to putting other areas of the Agreement out there for discussion. We thank those of you who have conveyed your suggestions on these specific aspects of negotiations.
We would like to thank those of you whom we have contacted concerning feedback on some of the aforementioned contractual language being negotiated early on. It is only with your feedback, experience and cooperation that we are able to move forward in certain specific work area related items. If anyone has any questions feel free to contact the Union office.