Bargaining Focuses on Training and Integrating MPA’s into the Contract
Negotiations continued on January 26th, 27th and 28th in Chicago. The week’s bargaining centered on talks regarding Training as well as integrating the Maintenance Planning Analysts (MPA) into the Mechanics Agreement. The training sub-committee made significant progress on a number of issues and discussions will continue in the coming weeks. The sub-committee tasked with discussions on integrating the MPA’s into the Mechanics Agreement was extremely productive, and although very close to reaching agreement, there are a few legal/technical issues that need to be resolved.
Top Union and Company Officials Meet to Review SCOPE
Teamsters Airline Division Director David Bourne, along with union chief negotiator Clacy Griswold and IBT attorney Ed Gleason, met on January 28th with top Company officials including VP of Labor Relations Doug McKeen and VP of Maintenance Jim Keenan. The meeting was arranged to review the Union’s SCOPE proposal that is designed to ensure job security.
Upcoming Negotiation Dates
Weekly negotiations will continue on February 2nd in San Francisco
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Negotiation Update
The Teamster bargaining team resumed negotiations with United Company on Tuesday, January 19th in Chicago, with a continuation of meetings among various sub-committees assigned to discuss several of the open articles remaining in negotiations. Thursday morning, Airline Division Director David Bourne and Director of the Teamsters Benefits Department John Slatery led a Union contingent that met with United's benefit experts to collect the information necessary to prepare for discussions on the Health and Welfare section of the contract. Chief Negotiator Clacy Griswold, IBT Attorney Ed Gleason, and IBT Economist Norman Weintraub attended for the union and while the meeting did not involve the passing of proposals, it was deemed productive in terms of information sharing and compiling the data necessary to allow the Union to engage in official talks on medical and other benefit issues in future discussions.
Negotiations will continue on Tuesday, January 26th in Chicago.
Negotiations will continue on Tuesday, January 26th in Chicago.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Citizens United Opinion Widens Corporate 'Personhood' Rights
WASHINGTON - January 21 - Today's Supreme Court decision in Citizen's United vs. Federal Election Commission will significantly expand the role that the most powerful corporations play in election financing.
In a shocking burst of judicial activism, the Supreme Court decided that corporations should be treated in the same manner as ordinary citizens and be allowed to spend the massive amounts of money they accumulate on direct attack ads for or against Members of Congress.
"This egregious decision turns back the clock on over 60 years of precedent," said Lisa Gilbert, Democracy Advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
"A corporation is not, nor has it ever been, a person with voting rights. Corporations are not your neighbors, they cannot get married, they cannot die, and a corporation is not part of "We the People," she added. "It is essential that we fix this misstep by the courts, before we see the landscape of elections financing washed away in a raging flashflood of corporate money."
Lifting the ban on corporate money could further diminish the public voice in a system that already favors monied special interests, and will certainly lessen the public trust in our officials.
Lisa Gilbert, Democracy Advocate
In a shocking burst of judicial activism, the Supreme Court decided that corporations should be treated in the same manner as ordinary citizens and be allowed to spend the massive amounts of money they accumulate on direct attack ads for or against Members of Congress.
"This egregious decision turns back the clock on over 60 years of precedent," said Lisa Gilbert, Democracy Advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.
"A corporation is not, nor has it ever been, a person with voting rights. Corporations are not your neighbors, they cannot get married, they cannot die, and a corporation is not part of "We the People," she added. "It is essential that we fix this misstep by the courts, before we see the landscape of elections financing washed away in a raging flashflood of corporate money."
Lifting the ban on corporate money could further diminish the public voice in a system that already favors monied special interests, and will certainly lessen the public trust in our officials.
Lisa Gilbert, Democracy Advocate
Monday, January 18, 2010
Teamsters Leader Praises Obama For Leadership On Health Care
Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said today that the agreement reached Thursday with the White House on the Senate’s proposed health insurance excise tax moves the country much closer to providing affordable health insurance for all Americans.
Hoffa also thanked President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families and for his commitment to solve one of the country’s most urgent issues.
“This agreement goes a long way in making sure that Teamsters will continue to have excellent collectively bargained health insurance coverage without having to pay a new tax,” said Hoffa, who was a leader in negotiations with the White House to make major changes in the health care reform plan. Hoffa from the beginning led the fight against a proposed excise tax on health insurers, which would be passed on to middle-class Americans.
“I want to thank President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families,” Hoffa said. “He understands the middle-class should not bear a disproportionate cost of health care reform in this country.
The agreement would:
* Exempt collective bargaining contracts, state and local workers and VEBAs through Jan. 1, 2018.
* Raise the threshold to $8,900 for single plans and $24,000 for family plans. (Taft-Hartley plans will be considered at the family rate.)
* Add adjustments for gender and age, raising the threshold for plans that have significant numbers of women and/or older workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with workers in high-risk professions, affecting more than 9 million workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with retirees age 55 and up.
* Exempt dental and vision costs beginning in 2015.
* Raise the threshold on plans further if health care costs grow faster than expected from 2010-2013.
Hoffa also thanked President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families and for his commitment to solve one of the country’s most urgent issues.
“This agreement goes a long way in making sure that Teamsters will continue to have excellent collectively bargained health insurance coverage without having to pay a new tax,” said Hoffa, who was a leader in negotiations with the White House to make major changes in the health care reform plan. Hoffa from the beginning led the fight against a proposed excise tax on health insurers, which would be passed on to middle-class Americans.
“I want to thank President Obama for listening to the concerns of working families,” Hoffa said. “He understands the middle-class should not bear a disproportionate cost of health care reform in this country.
The agreement would:
* Exempt collective bargaining contracts, state and local workers and VEBAs through Jan. 1, 2018.
* Raise the threshold to $8,900 for single plans and $24,000 for family plans. (Taft-Hartley plans will be considered at the family rate.)
* Add adjustments for gender and age, raising the threshold for plans that have significant numbers of women and/or older workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with workers in high-risk professions, affecting more than 9 million workers.
* Raise the threshold for plans with retirees age 55 and up.
* Exempt dental and vision costs beginning in 2015.
* Raise the threshold on plans further if health care costs grow faster than expected from 2010-2013.
Friday, January 15, 2010
Negotiations Update
General President Hoffa, Airline Division Director Bourne Meet with United Management
International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James Hoffa and Airline Division David Bourne met with United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton and Senior Vice President for Labor Relations Douglas McKeen at Teamsters Headquarters in Washington this week. General President Hoffa and Director Bourne expressed their concerns to the executives about ways that the airline and union can work toward common strategies to help the airline further stabilize its operations while protecting and enhancing employee job security and reducing outsourcing.
General President Hoffa and Director Bourne were both pleased at the positive tone of the meeting. "This was the first time that we have had an opportunity for both sides to sit begin building a relationship," Bourne said. "It also gave us a chance to discuss a number of issues that our members are currently dealing with that concern both UAL and the Teamsters," he went on to say. "I'm confident that these discussions will continue in a spirit of openness and that by working together, we can and will find areas of common agreement that will benefit our membership and United Airlines."
Talks Focus on Sick Leave/Dependability, Training, Field Service, RIF, and Discipline
The first two days of negotiations this week involved extensive discussion on the sick leave/dependability issue. The Union provided the Company with numerous examples of flexibility in scheduling and incentive programs that the Union feels will address the Company's concerns regarding sick leave while protecting the spirit of the language in the collective bargaining agreement. During the final two days of the week's bargaining, the parties broke out into four sub-committees to discuss specific areas of the Agreement. The topics covered in sub-committee included training, field service, reduction-in-force, and discipline.
Teamster Experts Brief Negotiating Committee
On Tuesday evening, Walter Pentz from the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust held a three hour question and answer session with the Union bargaining team. The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan is the largest Union pension plan in the nation, and in terms of its funding status, remains in the "green zone". Mr. Pentz also went over plan details such as the two-for-one past employment credit for new groups entering the pension plan. This special one-time credit would mean a mechanic with at least ten years of seniority who works for 5 years after entering the plan would be credited with at total of 15 years of service for benefit calculation purposes.
Prior to the start of bargaining on Thursday, IBT Economist Norman Weintraub spent the morning providing the negotiating team with an analysis of the industry and bargaining unit's placement in the industry in terms of wages and fringe benefits.
Negotiations will resume on Tuesday, January 19th.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters General President James Hoffa and Airline Division David Bourne met with United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton and Senior Vice President for Labor Relations Douglas McKeen at Teamsters Headquarters in Washington this week. General President Hoffa and Director Bourne expressed their concerns to the executives about ways that the airline and union can work toward common strategies to help the airline further stabilize its operations while protecting and enhancing employee job security and reducing outsourcing.
General President Hoffa and Director Bourne were both pleased at the positive tone of the meeting. "This was the first time that we have had an opportunity for both sides to sit begin building a relationship," Bourne said. "It also gave us a chance to discuss a number of issues that our members are currently dealing with that concern both UAL and the Teamsters," he went on to say. "I'm confident that these discussions will continue in a spirit of openness and that by working together, we can and will find areas of common agreement that will benefit our membership and United Airlines."
Talks Focus on Sick Leave/Dependability, Training, Field Service, RIF, and Discipline
The first two days of negotiations this week involved extensive discussion on the sick leave/dependability issue. The Union provided the Company with numerous examples of flexibility in scheduling and incentive programs that the Union feels will address the Company's concerns regarding sick leave while protecting the spirit of the language in the collective bargaining agreement. During the final two days of the week's bargaining, the parties broke out into four sub-committees to discuss specific areas of the Agreement. The topics covered in sub-committee included training, field service, reduction-in-force, and discipline.
Teamster Experts Brief Negotiating Committee
On Tuesday evening, Walter Pentz from the Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Trust held a three hour question and answer session with the Union bargaining team. The Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan is the largest Union pension plan in the nation, and in terms of its funding status, remains in the "green zone". Mr. Pentz also went over plan details such as the two-for-one past employment credit for new groups entering the pension plan. This special one-time credit would mean a mechanic with at least ten years of seniority who works for 5 years after entering the plan would be credited with at total of 15 years of service for benefit calculation purposes.
Prior to the start of bargaining on Thursday, IBT Economist Norman Weintraub spent the morning providing the negotiating team with an analysis of the industry and bargaining unit's placement in the industry in terms of wages and fringe benefits.
Negotiations will resume on Tuesday, January 19th.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Negotiations Begin in Chicago
The Union bargaining team arrived in Chicago on Tuesday, January 5th and promptly held a union-only meeting to begin preparing for month-long "accelerated" negotiations.
This accelerated negotiation process will involve a slightly different approach to bargaining. As opposed to simply passing proposals back and forth, the parties first identify the core issues that need to be addressed in each Article. After identifying them, the parties collectively discuss the underlying issues and work to develop possible alternative solutions until an agreement can be reached.
While we are cautiously optimistic that this approach can be productive and lead to a comprehensive agreement, the union negotiating team is willing revert back to traditional bargaining if the process is unsuccessful.
Tentative Agreement Reached on Article 25 - Union Representation
This week's bargaining sessions involved discussion on the following items:
Article 10 - Seniority
Article 16 - Transportation
Article 25 - Union Representation
At the conclusion of Thursday's bargaining session, the Union and Company reached a tentative agreement on Article 25-Union Representation.
Progress was made on both the Seniority and Transportation articles and discussions on those items will continue next week.
Upcoming Negotiation Dates
Negotiations will resume Tuesday, January 12th in Chicago and will continue each week in January.
This accelerated negotiation process will involve a slightly different approach to bargaining. As opposed to simply passing proposals back and forth, the parties first identify the core issues that need to be addressed in each Article. After identifying them, the parties collectively discuss the underlying issues and work to develop possible alternative solutions until an agreement can be reached.
While we are cautiously optimistic that this approach can be productive and lead to a comprehensive agreement, the union negotiating team is willing revert back to traditional bargaining if the process is unsuccessful.
Tentative Agreement Reached on Article 25 - Union Representation
This week's bargaining sessions involved discussion on the following items:
Article 10 - Seniority
Article 16 - Transportation
Article 25 - Union Representation
At the conclusion of Thursday's bargaining session, the Union and Company reached a tentative agreement on Article 25-Union Representation.
Progress was made on both the Seniority and Transportation articles and discussions on those items will continue next week.
Upcoming Negotiation Dates
Negotiations will resume Tuesday, January 12th in Chicago and will continue each week in January.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
January 7th Flight Attendants Protest
Chicago – United Airlines Flight Attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO (AFA-CWA), will conduct a world-wide protest over the failure of United Airlines management to negotiate a new contract on time. Over seven years ago flight attendants took deep cuts in pay and then management destroyed their working conditions and cancelled their pensions. Those cuts were scheduled to conclude January 7, 2010 as the Contract becomes amendable.
Negotiations began early on April 6, 2009 as part of an agreement between the union and the company with the intention of having a new flight attendant contract in place by January 7, 2010. Flight attendants are working at 1994 wage levels in the year 2010 and working 48% more compared with 2002 schedules and staffing. When United exited bankruptcy CEO Glenn Tilton alone took a bonus that could have provided a 10% pay raise for all 15,000 flight attendants. AFA-CWA members are angry that management has not discussed the improvements envisioned, seeming only interested in delaying a new Contract for flight attendants.
AFA-CWA
Negotiations began early on April 6, 2009 as part of an agreement between the union and the company with the intention of having a new flight attendant contract in place by January 7, 2010. Flight attendants are working at 1994 wage levels in the year 2010 and working 48% more compared with 2002 schedules and staffing. When United exited bankruptcy CEO Glenn Tilton alone took a bonus that could have provided a 10% pay raise for all 15,000 flight attendants. AFA-CWA members are angry that management has not discussed the improvements envisioned, seeming only interested in delaying a new Contract for flight attendants.
AFA-CWA
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Continental Airlines CEO Refuses Pay Until Airline Turns Profit
On Friday, Continental Airlines welcomed Jeffrey Smisek as the airline's new chief executive, taking over Larry Kellner's position as Mr. Kellner moves on to a position at a private equity firm. Today, Mr. Smisek said he will not take a salary or an annual bonus until Continental records a full-year profit.
In a letter to Continental employees, Mr. Smisek said, "I am not asking you or anyone else to reduce their pay. What I am asking is that you join me in making Continental profitable again." The carrier, like most airlines, has had trouble turning up a profit during a period of weak demand for air travel.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Smisek's annual salary, as of January 1st, is $730,000. CNN says the filing of Mr. Smisek's retirement and stock purchase plans "will be impacted by his salary and annual bonus waiver."
Continental Airlines is expected to report a loss for 2009. However, recent reports from the IATA say air traffic is already starting to recover.
In a letter to Continental employees, Mr. Smisek said, "I am not asking you or anyone else to reduce their pay. What I am asking is that you join me in making Continental profitable again." The carrier, like most airlines, has had trouble turning up a profit during a period of weak demand for air travel.
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Smisek's annual salary, as of January 1st, is $730,000. CNN says the filing of Mr. Smisek's retirement and stock purchase plans "will be impacted by his salary and annual bonus waiver."
Continental Airlines is expected to report a loss for 2009. However, recent reports from the IATA say air traffic is already starting to recover.
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