According to Wikipedia, a "Blog" can be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content. With that definition, this thing could go on, and on, and on, so when Jock asked me to add something to this Blog forum, I originally thought for fun, to write one continual sentence that like the Blog, would go on, and on, and on, but I did mean it to be a continual sentence without the benefits of repetitious words like on, and on , and on, and to be at least somewhat informative in nature because, and otherwise, a continual sentence that went on and on and on, would be just a waste of time and generally uninviting which runs opposite of a Blog’s intent of new cutting edge information due to the continuous gesture of the same repetitive transcript that would just continue to go on, and on, and on, whereas to repeat the same phrase like on, and on ,and on, would fail to represent original thought by the use of redundant entries that go on and on and on, and would in truth add no rational or stimulative value and may be deemed by some scholars and intellects to be simply ……………….stupid.
That aught to fill some space, but, maybe I’ll digress from that thought.
However, speaking of things going on, and on, and on………………..and stupid for that matter;
Lets talk about the injustice being done to the employees at Oak Harbor Freight. The strike that is now mostly centered on health and welfare, has been going on for over 5 months now and Teamster represented employees have worked without a contract since October 31, 2007. The strike is recognized by the NLRB as an Unfair Labor Practice Strike. To get the most accurate and up to date information, visit http://www.teamsters174.org/ . I wish all our IBT brothers and sisters the best in their continued efforts. Unfortunately, this type of ignorance and disrespect by many employers towards its workforce, just continues to go on, and on, and on………….Isn’t that just stupid?
How much does it cost to replace chairs at the Red Carpet room in SEA? More than half a mechanics annual salary. WTF? Yup, chairs, by my figures about 26, were purchased for the up scaled waiting room at the tune of $1400.00 each adding to a grand total of just over $36,000.00. I say again WTF?? An argument could be made, I guess, that the expensive chairs are to keep those frequent flying and high valued customers happy. But wouldn’t the money have been better spent on Jobs, and the people to do them? As you know, one of the cuts was to M-10, and without that key position, we are seeing the lack of support and parts needed to fix those pesky problems like airplanes. Hmmmmm, maybe that’s it? Maybe, the big cheese decision makers would rather have the top flyers more happy and comfortable on the ground, because they created a departure schedule than can no longer be dependable? Maybe they anticipated the lack of parts, time, or manpower we need to get the aircraft going, and they reacted in a constructive manner with the butts of the wealthy in the forefront of their thoughts? Maybe, but I doubt it. The fact is, the wasteful and completely unintelligible spending we see now, goes on and on and on……………….. Stupid too.
But wait there’s more. After months of being forced to eat our lunch in a room with a dirty table and sticky floors a mop wouldn’t dare go near, and after having to take our bathroom breaks in a stall so filthy it could drive a Biker Dude to clean it (for the record, he did), we have seen a bit of a change. There has been some headway in the cleaning and janitorial function hired by our station Mgt team, but we are not sure yet if it will be enough. We’ll monitor it for a bit and see how it turns out. If it is still does not agree to our satisfactions, we will try to bring up the cleanliness problem again. Just don’t be too surprised by the company’s failure to act on our grievances. The many excuses for not concerning themselves with the welfare of their employees simply goes on and on and on……………..…
Did I mention the new Diamond plate chrome walls or the “lavender purple paint in the break room? ……………….stupid too.
I have been asked by Chris Moore of the TAMC to take over as the steering committee member to represent the mechanics at UAL. I regard this as an honor even to be considered and have accepted. Chris has put together an aggressive schedule and campaign to get the word out about the Teamster Aviation Mechanics Coalition. We will soon put out our first Newsletter which will be pre empted by a brochure describing the group. I am looking forward to the cooperative involvement of all Mechanics at UAL and will be depending on Chief Stewards and Shop Stewards to help with efforts. My central focus, for the time being at least, will be on the continued contributions to our MRO defect reports. This to me is the most important fight right now as far as air travel safety and the security of our jobs goes. Airlines have brought the fight to our families and it’s time we fight back, but this is a fight that will go on and on and on..………...........The stupid part is in those who think we will sit back and do nothing about it.
I want to take a second to thank Jock, for developing this Blog. He has put hours into doing all he can to keep those announcement lines open, and is always coming up with a new or better way. Thanks to him, communication here in Seattle with the IBT will go on, and on, and on, ………………………..nothing stupid about that.
Dave
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Steering Committee Continues
In preparation for the start of negotiations, members of the Teamsters UAL Steering Committee from across the system gathered again in San Francisco on February 11th and 12th to continue the process of reviewing contract proposals submitted by the membership. The two days of meetings saw the Committee make great progress in developing proposed changes to the Agreement, but the extent of the task at hand makes it is clear there is more work ahead.
Seattle Chief Steward and Steering Committee member Dave Saucedo summarized the two days of meetings hosted at Local 856’s Chetcuti Hall this way:
“In the Chetcuti Hall, the 27 present members of the steering committee continued the arduous task of dissecting the contract in an attempt to purge any limiting language and strengthen the agreement to which we are bound with UAL. We are doing all we can to keep the remaining members of the IBT Airline Division Mechanics employed by UAL safe. The process is slow going, in an attempt to be as careful and thoughtful as possible, leaving nothing to chance or interpretation. Many articles were discussed, but there are still more to go. We will meet again here on the week of March 16th to discuss further changes. If you or members in your work group have proposed changes to the contract, you should get them to you Chief Steward or Steering Committee member as soon as possible.“
As negotiations get closer, the Steering Committee will intensify its efforts to complete the development of all non-economic proposals by the end of March. Our hopes are to have those proposed changes reviewed by our legal teams and ready for submittal to the company somewhere in April. This will begin our official negotiation period with UAL. To further this goal, the Steering Committee will be meeting for the entire week of March 16th. Teamsters Airline Division would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Steering Committee members and once again encourage you to submit all non-economic proposals to your Chief Steward or Committee member prior to March 16th.
Seattle Chief Steward and Steering Committee member Dave Saucedo summarized the two days of meetings hosted at Local 856’s Chetcuti Hall this way:
“In the Chetcuti Hall, the 27 present members of the steering committee continued the arduous task of dissecting the contract in an attempt to purge any limiting language and strengthen the agreement to which we are bound with UAL. We are doing all we can to keep the remaining members of the IBT Airline Division Mechanics employed by UAL safe. The process is slow going, in an attempt to be as careful and thoughtful as possible, leaving nothing to chance or interpretation. Many articles were discussed, but there are still more to go. We will meet again here on the week of March 16th to discuss further changes. If you or members in your work group have proposed changes to the contract, you should get them to you Chief Steward or Steering Committee member as soon as possible.“
As negotiations get closer, the Steering Committee will intensify its efforts to complete the development of all non-economic proposals by the end of March. Our hopes are to have those proposed changes reviewed by our legal teams and ready for submittal to the company somewhere in April. This will begin our official negotiation period with UAL. To further this goal, the Steering Committee will be meeting for the entire week of March 16th. Teamsters Airline Division would like to acknowledge the hard work of the Steering Committee members and once again encourage you to submit all non-economic proposals to your Chief Steward or Committee member prior to March 16th.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
FAA Shuts Landing-Gear Repair Company
The FAA issued an emergency order temporarily suspending the certificate of Miami repair station AAR Landing Gear Services. To read more click on the link.
FAA Shuts Landing-Gear Repair Company
FAA Shuts Landing-Gear Repair Company
Saturday, February 14, 2009
GQ/PV maintenance review
As you all know there is currently a GQ/PV maintenance review underway at the 9 non-hub stations that follow; HNL, SAN, PDX, SEA, BOS, PHL, EWR, JFK, and LGA. Many of you are wondering what the Union's role in this process is. In this case, our Union committee will be working with IBT economists to analyze the financial information collected during the process in order to find solutions that keep the work in house.
Just to be clear, we are indeed in a tough spot immersed in the following information;The total cost of the UAL mechanics performing the scope of maintenance work Versus The total cost Vendor mechanics performing the scope or work (unknown at this time.
The Company has put together "scope of work" documents for each station as part of a "request for proposals" that will be distributed to vendors next Tuesday 2/17/09. Bids will be collected over a 4 week period ending on 3/17/09. Once those vendor responses/bids are on the table we will have a better idea of where we stand.
Simultaneous to the above project the company is also working on another project know as Real Estate Optimization (REO). What does this mean to us? In Seattle it apparently means the company is selling some of its Jetways to the Port of Seattle, which ultimately means our scope of work is shrinking. To be sure, transactions like this are happening all across the system. The company confirmed this in Chicago when they stated that REO is a never ending process.
It doesn't seem right to me, offing scope work during a review process that supposed to be looking for mutually beneficial solutions that don't result in mechanic reductions. I have therefore requested that the Company suspend these transactions during the review process. We'll see how that goes.
In spite of all that, know this, the IBT is fighting for your jobs and where there's a will there's a way, so stay strong.
Phillip C. Stewart III
Teamster Local 986
SEAGQ/PV Chief Steward
Just to be clear, we are indeed in a tough spot immersed in the following information;The total cost of the UAL mechanics performing the scope of maintenance work Versus The total cost Vendor mechanics performing the scope or work (unknown at this time.
The Company has put together "scope of work" documents for each station as part of a "request for proposals" that will be distributed to vendors next Tuesday 2/17/09. Bids will be collected over a 4 week period ending on 3/17/09. Once those vendor responses/bids are on the table we will have a better idea of where we stand.
Simultaneous to the above project the company is also working on another project know as Real Estate Optimization (REO). What does this mean to us? In Seattle it apparently means the company is selling some of its Jetways to the Port of Seattle, which ultimately means our scope of work is shrinking. To be sure, transactions like this are happening all across the system. The company confirmed this in Chicago when they stated that REO is a never ending process.
It doesn't seem right to me, offing scope work during a review process that supposed to be looking for mutually beneficial solutions that don't result in mechanic reductions. I have therefore requested that the Company suspend these transactions during the review process. We'll see how that goes.
In spite of all that, know this, the IBT is fighting for your jobs and where there's a will there's a way, so stay strong.
Phillip C. Stewart III
Teamster Local 986
SEAGQ/PV Chief Steward
Friday, February 13, 2009
Stimulus package
I have just been informed that the proposed amendment to the stimulus package to protect jobs in the US airline industries has been stripped. This was a moratorium not to allow anymore aircraft maintenance to be farmed out overseas for until December 2009. It was considered “Pork”. Now this had no monetary value and did not cost the American tax payers anything. So how is this “pork”?
Contract Steering Committee Meeting
6:58PM, we are now at 36,000 feet on our way back to Seattle from San Francisco. Dave, Phil and I have just finished another round of meetings for the “Contract Steering Committee”. Of course Phil had just finished having a two day conference with the company in Chicago on the PV/GQ saga before coming out to San Francisco; maybe the company will give him frequent flyer miles.
Our day starts out in the morning at the local hall, there is coffee and donuts, they’re nice, but as the time goes on you realize they are not going to let you go! Even during lunch time Local 856 brings in sandwiches and we have a working lunch. Now back to work, after a while of pouring through the contract you lookout the window and the sun has gone down and you are hoping that we get through this one last article. It is now after 7:00PM and we’re headed back to the hotel. We set down for a late dinner and discuss some of the hurdles we had during the day.
It is amazing that there is so much experience in the room. As we talk about one section of the contract someone will raise a question and remind us that there is language in another area on the same subject and explains the trouble we have had. As it was said before this is a very mature contract and is in need of a cleanup.
We have completed more then half of the contract and plan a five day blitz in March to complete the rest. I do find this is a very good and democratic process. We should be ready to preset our proposals in April.
Our day starts out in the morning at the local hall, there is coffee and donuts, they’re nice, but as the time goes on you realize they are not going to let you go! Even during lunch time Local 856 brings in sandwiches and we have a working lunch. Now back to work, after a while of pouring through the contract you lookout the window and the sun has gone down and you are hoping that we get through this one last article. It is now after 7:00PM and we’re headed back to the hotel. We set down for a late dinner and discuss some of the hurdles we had during the day.
It is amazing that there is so much experience in the room. As we talk about one section of the contract someone will raise a question and remind us that there is language in another area on the same subject and explains the trouble we have had. As it was said before this is a very mature contract and is in need of a cleanup.
We have completed more then half of the contract and plan a five day blitz in March to complete the rest. I do find this is a very good and democratic process. We should be ready to preset our proposals in April.
Monday, February 9, 2009
2-9-09
Today, Phil Stewart Chief Steward for SEAGQ/PV left for Chicago to discuss and review the company’s quest to outsource the PV/GQ jobs. Phil has spent all of last week gathering information and compiling talking point for this meeting. As soon as I hear from him I will update the Blog.
This Wednesday Dave, Phil and I will once again travel to San Francisco to work on the “Steering Committee” for the upcoming contract negotiations. As we go along we will update you on the progress.
Jock Creach
Teamster Local 986
Coordinator
Seattle, WA
This Wednesday Dave, Phil and I will once again travel to San Francisco to work on the “Steering Committee” for the upcoming contract negotiations. As we go along we will update you on the progress.
Jock Creach
Teamster Local 986
Coordinator
Seattle, WA
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Economics
Last night the US Senate worked on the Economic Stimulus that last well into the night. At last count, there were 263 amendments. Most of these did not passed do to the fact they violated Senate Budget Rules. The one the struck me as odd was the McCain S.AMDT 279. This would remove all “Buy American” requirements. McCain motion failed.
I had thought that the Stimulus Bill was to create jobs in the US not more jobs in China. If would like to see more on this Bill click on the link below.
McCain S,AMDT279.
I had thought that the Stimulus Bill was to create jobs in the US not more jobs in China. If would like to see more on this Bill click on the link below.
McCain S,AMDT279.
Monday, February 2, 2009
SEAGQ/PV Update
Jock Creach and I both attended a 4 hour Ground Equipment and Facility Maintenance Seattle Station Review meeting with Ray Ames (Field Service Maintenance) and Eric Younquist (Vendor Planning) both company representatives from WHQ. We we're the third stop on their itinerary, HNL (1/28), PDX (1/29) & SEA (1/30). They will continue on with the East Coast next week. It sounded like they would do the NY point first (JFK, LGA, EWR), then BOS then PHL then SAN. They weren't certain whether or not they could have this done before the 2/9 ORD meeting.
The above Company representatives used a PowerPoint along with copies of the 2009 GQ/PV Planned Budget in order to conduct the Station Review by directing questions at Jim Witzman (Station Manager), and Wendell Nascimento (SEAGQ/PV Manager) while providing opportunities for the Union to add in their commentary.
They seem to be focused on a comparison of 1) Hub, 2) Line, and 3) Field Service cost/unit data, primarily on the GQ side, PV data seemed more obscure. I asked Ray Ames which "industry leading service providers" they were looking at and he responded with Johnson Controls, ASIG and JBT. The tone of the meeting was courteous and professional.
Phillip C. Stewart III
Teamster Local 986
SEAGQ/PV Chief Steward
The above Company representatives used a PowerPoint along with copies of the 2009 GQ/PV Planned Budget in order to conduct the Station Review by directing questions at Jim Witzman (Station Manager), and Wendell Nascimento (SEAGQ/PV Manager) while providing opportunities for the Union to add in their commentary.
They seem to be focused on a comparison of 1) Hub, 2) Line, and 3) Field Service cost/unit data, primarily on the GQ side, PV data seemed more obscure. I asked Ray Ames which "industry leading service providers" they were looking at and he responded with Johnson Controls, ASIG and JBT. The tone of the meeting was courteous and professional.
Phillip C. Stewart III
Teamster Local 986
SEAGQ/PV Chief Steward
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