Negotiating Committee to meet

The newly formed rank and file committee will meet in San Francisco October 18th and 19th at Local 856.

The committee will discuss the negotiations process as well as the priorities of the membership in preparation for negotiating an agreement. The following members will serve on the Committee; Larry Calhoun, Jay Koreny - Local 210, Mike Pecoraro, Scott Baroni – Local 781, Mitch Hunt, Scott Brown –Local 455, Roger Apana, Dion Cornelious, John Lauren, Don Stevens Mark DesAngeles – Local 856/986

Parties to resume negotiations The parties will return to the table beginning October 24th in Chicago to attempt to reach an agreement prior to the commencement of mediated talks.

Airline Division attends Craft meetings and Steward training for Locals 986 and 856

This week representatives of the Airline Division and TAMC met with members in San Francisco at the monthly craft meetings to discuss issues relating to the recent lobbying effort as well as the current state of negotiations with United. Dave Saucedo relayed to the membership the importance of the passage of a long term FAA reauthorization bill and reported on the efforts made to achieve that goal to this point. Airline Division Representative Bob Fisher related that negotiations are scheduled to resume in October and gave a brief overview of the continuing negotiations process under the Railway Labor Act.

Over the previous weekend, representatives from Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco and Portland Oregon attended shop steward training sessions which were held by Locals 986 and 856. Local 856 Vice President Peter Finn and Local 986 Principal Officer Chris Griswold opened the training Friday afternoon. Division Deputy Director Steve Nagrotsky thanked both Locals for the invitation to attend and thanked the stewards for their hard work on behalf of the membership. Stewards received information from Ileana Flores on grievance handling, Steve Nagrotsky on the Railway Labor Act and Chris Moore on the mission of the TAMC.

Today in History Sept 23

President Franklin D. Roosevelt defends his dog.

On this day in 1944, during a campaign dinner with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, President Franklin D. Roosevelt makes a reference to his small dog, Fala, who had recently been the subject of a Republican political attack. The offense prompted Roosevelt to defend his dog's honor and his own reputation.

After addressing pertinent labor issues and America's status in World War II, Roosevelt explained that Republican critics had circulated a story claiming that Roosevelt had accidentally left Fala behind while visiting the Aleutian Islands earlier that year. They went on to accuse the president of sending a Navy destroyer, at a taxpayer expense of up to $20 million, to go back and pick up the dog. Roosevelt said that though he and his family had "suffered malicious falsehoods" in the past, he claimed the right to "object to libelous statements about my dog." Roosevelt went on to say that the desperate Republican opposition knew it could not win the upcoming presidential election and used Fala as an excuse to attack the president. He half-jokingly declared that his critics sullied the reputation of a defenseless dog just to distract Americans from more pressing issues facing the country.

United Airlines First Boeing 787 Dreamliner

Boeing sent photos to United and the airline shared them on their FaceBook.

Negotiations Update 9/19/2011

The parties expect to return to the table in mid October to attempt to complete an agreement prior to entering mediated talks which are scheduled to begin in February of next year. A big part of the process prior to re-entering negotiations is membership feedback. To aid in that effort the Division is conducting a United Airlines mechanic’s bargaining survey. There is still time to complete the survey as it is open until September 30th. It is very important that you make your priorities known. The survey can be found at http://surveygoldplus.com/s/2B85473BE6084779/27.htm

TAMC hits the hill in support of FAA Reauthorization

14 Teamsters from the Airline Division descended on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 13 for a final push to ensure that a single standard of safety and the new, fair voting rules for RLA elections stay in the FAA Re-authorization bill.

 Eleven Mechanics from seven local unions, Cedric Washington XJT Local 19, Vincent Graziano, Steve Olsen CAL, Tom Reid and Jay Korney UAL Local 210, Mitch Hunt UAL Local 455, Geoffrey Maloney ASA Local 528, Gary Kagel CAL Local 769, Joe Foley UAL Local 781, Dave Saucedo and Fred Wood UAL Local 986 along with TAMC Chairman, Chris Moore and Airline Division Representatives Bob Fisher and Paul Alves attended the meetings. The group met with following Senate and House offices. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Sen. Robert Mendez (D-NJ), Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Sen. Michael Bennett(D-CO), Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), Sen. Mike Kirk (R-IL), Sen. Richard Durbin(D-IL), Congressman Hank Johnson (D-GA) and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart(R-FL), who took time away from a house vote to meet with the group personally.

“All of the meetings were successful as Democrats and Republicans alike agree with the position on both the single standard for Aircraft Maintenance Safety and keeping the new NMB voting rules; which only consider votes cast in a union election,” said Chris Moore of the TAMC.

“With the 22nd extension of FAA funding now in place and signed by President Obama, we still face a Republican Congress that has an anti-labor agenda,” said Bob Fisher, IBT International Representative. “We will continue to fight to make sure that our language stays in the bill when it is finally passed.”

FAA Proposes $1.1 Million Civil Penalty Against Aviation Technical Services

SEATTLE – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $1.1 million civil penalty against Aviation Technical Services, Inc. (ATS), of Everett, Wash., for allegedly making improper repairs to 44 Southwest Airlines B-737-300s.
“Safety is our highest priority and improper work that compromises safety is not acceptable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Passengers have the right to expect the nation’s airlines to operate properly-maintained airplanes.”
The FAA alleges that ATS failed to accomplish all the work required by three FAA airworthiness directives calling for five repetitive inspections and a one-time inspection to find and repair fatigue cracks in the fuselage skins of the planes. The inspections are part of Southwest’s Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Program.
After the inspections, ATS allegedly failed to install fasteners in all the rivet holes within the time specified for the task. The drying time of the required sealant dictates the window available to complete installation of the fasteners.
The aircraft involved returned to service between Dec. 1, 2006 and Sept.18, 2009.
The Southwest Airlines B-737-300 that suffered a fuselage crown failure in April 2011 is not one of the aircraft listed in the proposed civil penalty. ATS did not perform inspection and repair work on that aircraft prior to the April fuselage failure.
“Aircraft can be operated safely for many years if all the maintenance work is performed properly,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “It is critical to follow all the required steps.”
Aviation Technical Services has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.

Sourse FAA

Mechanics, TAMC Head to Capitol Hill to Keep Focus on FAA Funding

Despite the announcement late this week of a Congressional deal to continue providing funding for the FAA, mechanics from several Teamster locals and representatives of the TAMC will descend on Capitol Hill to meet with key lawmakers. While short term funding has been agreed to that will run through December 31st, the group intends to focus not just on ensuring that attempts by Republicans to force a repeal of recently introduced voting procedure changes by the NMB for airline employee unions; they also intend to push lawmakers to ensure that one single standard of safety remains a cornerstone of FAA policy to ensure that aircraft are properly maintained by properly certificated individuals who have had specific training and have passed the same rigorous security and background checks as their counterparts in the US.

“Airlines should never be allowed to compromise the safety of flight and cabin crews or the travelling public by using cheaper cost maintenance facilities whose employees may not have the necessary training or oversight to repair the aircraft,” said Chris Moore of the TAMC. “Additionally, when you consider the security concerns we face on a daily basis, it is unconscionable for anyone to allow people to work on aircraft without proper security and background checks being completed on not just the individuals, but the facilities as well,” he concluded.

“In America; we have a rule in elections; one man, one vote,” said Bob Fisher, International representative for the Airline Division. “Only in the airline and rail industries have managements for decades been able to count people who don’t vote as a “no” vote for representation. The NMB rule change has brought our industry in line with the rest of America. It’s time that certain airline managements and those they contribute to in Washington follow the same rules that all Americans follow,” he concluded.

NMB Agrees with IBT, Denies UAL Request for Immediate Amalgamation Talks

The Airline Division was notified this week that the NMB has agreed with the merits in the filing by the Teamsters against proceeding with United's request to immediately moving into amalgamated talks between the United, Continental, and Continental Micronesia mechanic and related work groups.

The NMB originally made the decision at the end of June; however due to a clerical error at the NMB, the Airline Division didn't receive a copy of it until this week. Several requests had made by the Division over the summer for the NMB to issue a ruling and the NMB believed the requests had been answered.

While investigating why the Division hadn't received notice from the NMB in a timely manner it was determined that the NMB sent the notice to the wrong address. In a letter dated September 1, 2011, NMB Director Gibbons issued an apology to the Division for the error.

Copies of the letter and rulings may be found at: http://teamsterair.org/nmb-agrees-ibt-denies-ual-request-immediate-amalgamation-talks

United and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Return to Negotiations

CHICAGO, Sept. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ --
United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) today are announcing an agreement to return to negotiations in advance of mediation scheduled with the National Mediation Board in November.
During these negotiations the company and IBT will focus on reaching an agreement covering the approximately 4,700 technicians at the United Airlines subsidiary.
United and Continental employ more than 8,300 technicians who are represented by the Teamsters. Continental technicians ratified their collective bargaining agreement in November 2010.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc