March 30, 2013
Negotiations continued the week of March 18th with proof reading the final pass between the parties of the articles discussed so far. Once this was completed, a full copy of all the articles with the suggested corrections was discussed with our legal representative and then sent to the company for review. New items and those items not already agreed to will be discussed starting next week in phase two of the process.
Articles that are on this list are;
Article 2 – Definitions
Article 3 - Covered Crafts, Classifications, Qualifications and Bid Areas
Article 4 – Seniority
Article 5 - Filling Of Vacancies
Article 6 - Reduction-In-Force (RIF) and Recall
Article 7 - Hours of Service
Article 8 – Holidays
Article 9 – Vacations
Article 10 - Leaves of Absence
Article 11 - Sick Leave and Occupational Injury
Article 12 - Field Trips
Article 13 − Training
Article 14 – Safety & Health
Article 17 - Overtime
Article 18 - Union Security and Representation
Article 19 - Grievance Procedure
Article 20 – Board of Arbitration
Article 21 – General and Miscellaneous
While this list might seem extensive, it should be noted that the overwhelming majority of the changes to the content of each of these articles has been discussed and agreed to by the parties. These suggested changes were the product of the recommendations from the membership and the steering committee. Language that could not reach an agreement or parts of articles that contained economic properties will be discussed further in the next phase of negotiations.
The parties took this last week to be at their home stations. Next week the parties will reconvene in Chicago along with Senior Mediator Pat Sims and Mediator Michael Kelliher. The committee will be given a presentation by the company on the present and future economic state of the airline which is a normal part of any negotiations. After that presentation is complete the union committee will meet with our actuaries and economists to continue preparation for phase two of negotiations including all economic items.
