Special Negotiations Update

 

Understanding that future negotiating dates were cancelled, and further it appeared that it would be an extended length of time before new dates were to be assigned; Division Director David Bourne reached out to mediator Gerry McGuckin to discuss possible paths to move forward. 

Mediator McGuckin shared that he believed 35 people at the table from the IBT at one time was unproductive. Mediator McGuckin also shared that he believed that for negotiations to continue in a manner that would produce a TA the committee size should be reduced drastically. 

McGuckin further said that if the IBT was willing to do this he would rearrange his schedule and provide future dates. After further conversation with the mediator, Director Bourne then set a call with all of the Principle Officers on the system to discuss the proposal from the mediator. The PO's discussed the pros and cons of moving forward in this fashion. At the end of the call, all of the PO's agreed it was in the best interest of the membership to try this approach.  

The PO's made this decision for two reasons. The first reason is the company is currently making a lot of money and no one knows what the future holds in this industry, especially reading the headlines lately. Secondly, approval of any TA would still be in the hands of the membership through a ratification vote.  

A follow up call next week amongst the PO's will determine the committee makeup. Once that call is completed Director Bourne will reach out to mediator McGuckin to ask for future dates. As soon as the dates are determined they will be reported in the Dispatch.

Negotiations Update October 24, 2014

The parties reconvened in Chicago this week for another session of bargaining under the direction and supervision of the National Mediation Board.
 

On Monday; prior to meeting with the company, representatives from TeamCare gave the committee a presentation on what the fund has to offer in regards to health and welfare benefits. There was initial interest, but the committee still requires further information on the various plans offered by TeamCare and associated costs. 

On Tuesday morning the company made a proposal in the form of three different bundled economic packages. The committee worked all day on counters to the packages. Late Tuesday evening the negotiating committee made counter proposals on the three packages. The IBT committee’s counter was not well received and was met with anger and hostility by the company. 

On Wednesday morning the NMB Mediator Gerry McGuckin informed the IBT committee that he was disappointed with the counter received on Tuesday night. He informed the group that he sent the company negotiators home. In addition, he told the committee that he was “unwilling to waste the taxpayers’ money,” since it appeared to him that the committee wasn’t at all serious about reaching an agreement, and that future negotiation dates were in jeopardy. The committee vented its frustration to the mediator and voiced their strong view that the company wasn’t serious about reaching a fair agreement from the beginning of what has become a long drawn-out negotiation.  After listening to the committee, the mediator suggested that if they would put together a counter proposal; clearing out the remaining non-economic items he would consider reinstating future mediation dates. The committee then began the process of crafting that counter. 

Late on Thursday, after two full days of internal deliberations, the committee delivered its non-economic counter. Mediator McGuckin reviewed the proposal and, while he thanked the committee for its hard work, he determined that given the state of the non-economic proposal; to move forward he would need to see a comprehensive proposal including all items. The committee continued discussions until aroundmidnight and determined that they considered the mediator’s comments and instruction to be unfair. They believed that if they made any further moves at this point, they would be negotiating against themselves and would do a disservice to the membership.  The committee therefore decided that it would not put a new comprehensive proposal together and that they would wait for the company to make the next move.  The committee asked the IBT leadership to ask the mediator to advise them in writing exactly what his expectations are concerning his request that they put a new comprehensive proposal together.   The committee also asked that the IBT leadership ask the mediator to assist in obtaining information that it has been waiting for from the company for many months. 

At this time the IBT leadership is working on the committee’s requests. As a result there are no scheduled dates through the end of the year. If that changes it will be reported in the Dispatch.

UAL Negotiations Update

September 14, 2014

The parties met in Washington DC on September 11^th and 12^th at the offices of the National Mediation Board under the auspices of mediator Gerry McGuckin. 

Thursday morning the company presented a comprehensive economic term sheet proposal. After the company explained their proposal to the full union committee the work of producing a counter proposal began. 

The rank and file negotiating committee spent the next day and a half, working late into the nighton Thursday, reviewing and putting in writing the counter proposal. With help from lead negotiator Clacy Griswold, the committee was able to present its counter on Friday afternoon.  

Included in both of the parties’ proposals were items addressing Scope, Pensions, Health and Welfare and Wages. The committee was assisted in its Scope and Pension responses by attorney Ed Gleason, and for Health and Welfare by actuary Gaelle Gravot, and finally with Wages by economist Dan Akins.  Creative solutions are still being explored for health and welfare benefits, which are a major concern of the committee and the membership. One possible solution to health and welfare being discussed was TeamCare, which the UPS workers just recently accepted as their new plan.  

After passing the counter proposal on Grievance Procedure, Article 19 was T/A’d. There was also some progress made on items that were not part of the four corner stones. Mediator McGuckin was satisfied with the progress made and encouraged the parties to work in small committees ahead of the next scheduled session in October.  

The next formal negotiating session will be the week of October 20^th in Chicago. 

Please Sign the Petition

The Department of Transportation must rule by August 31st on Norwegian Air International’s (NAI) application for a waiver allowing it to begin transatlantic service in the U.S. before receiving a formal permit to do so. We are asking the DOT not to grant this waiver, and we hope you’ll sign our petition opposing the waiver as well.

Although Norwegian in origin, NAI will register its planes in Ireland, hire pilots in Singapore, and base flight crews in Thailand – all so that they can skirt Norwegian labor laws. NAI is being likened to a “WalMart of the skies” for this race-to-the-bottom search for cheap labor. U.S. officials need to demand more from carriers looking to provide service in the U.S., and they must look out for the best interests of American workers. If the NAI exemption is granted, American middle-class jobs will be the ones to suffer.

Please sign our petition today voicing your opposition to the NAI waiver application.

Negotiations Update

August 24, 2014

August 19^th through 21^st the parties met in Chicago under the direction of Federal Mediator Gerry McGuckin.  On the 19^th the parties were briefed by Mediator McGuckin on the negotiations process moving forward.   

The parties then began the week by reviewing each party’s respective open items lists. A combined list of these open items and respective party positions was given to the mediator after this review. The parties then reviewed Articles line by line to ensure any new language accurately reflected what had been agreed to in previous sessions. 

At the end of the week the parties TA’d final language on two Articles and reached agreement in principle on final language in 201 paragraphs and sub paragraphs covering nine other Articles. The Articles TA’d were: Board of Arbitration – (Article 20) and Apprentice Mechanics (Article 23). 

The other Articles containing the finalized language paragraphs were Definitions (Article 2), Filling of Vacancies (Article 5), Reduction in Force (RIF) and Recall (Article 6), Holidays (Article 8), Field Trips (Article 12), Union Security (Article 18), Grievance Procedure (Article 19), General & Miscellaneous (Article 21) and Transportation (Article 22). 

Mediator McGuckin was pleased with the work at the end of the week accomplished by the parties and thanked the negotiators for performing this very important step in the process. The progress made this week puts the parties in a much better position to begin passing comprehensive economic proposals in the next few sessions. 

Negotiating sessions were scheduled for one week each month through year’s end in various locations, beginning with a short session at The National Mediation Board HQ in Washington, DC on September 11^th and 12^th.  October’s sessions will be held in Chicago the 20^th through the 24^th with future locations to be determined.  Tentatively the November session will be held during the week of the 17^th and the December session will be held the week of the 8^th.

Mechanics Update

TAMC to Lobby Capitol Hill 

Several members of the TAMC led by International Rep. Chris Moore will be lobbying on Capitol Hill this Monday the 18^th. The groups will focus on new certifications for foreign repair stations and other aviation maintenance safety related items. The Albertine Group will be joining the group and have set the meetings with members of Congress. As of the writing of this report the members have meetings scheduled with almost twenty offices. A report will be issued in the TAMC newsletter when it comes out.

Mediated Negotiations Begin 

The week of the 18^th will be the start of mediated negotiations with the carrier. An open items list was prepared for mediator Gerry McGuckin so that he can better understand where the union is in terms of bargaining. There are a few smaller items that are carry overs from the bargaining sessions that ended last winter. Of course the four cornerstones of Scope, Pension, Wages and Benefits all remain open. A report of this week’s session will be in the next Dispatch.

Teamster Aviation Professional TAMC Newsletter

The summer edition of the Teamster Aviation Professional is hot off the press. Volume 5, Issue 2 of the newsletter is a full digest of news related to the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) as well as industry insights and useful information for all members of the mechanics and related class and craft.

Click here to read the newsletter.

Articles in this issue include:

•    Hoffa Visits SFO UAL Base as New Work Brought in House
•    TAMC to FAA: Implement Single Standard of Drug Testing Requirements at Foreign and Domestic MROs
•    TAMC Members Go to Advanced GoTeam Training
•    Ground Safety: Occupational Noise and Hearing Protection
•    Negotiations Updates: Sub-ASA, Horizon, NetJets, Piedmont, Southwest, and UAL
•    Online Updates at TeamsterAir.org/TAMC

The Teamster Aviation Professional is the official newsletter of the TAMC. Its pages are filled with essential news, information and insights from Teamster airline mechanics and leading TAMC members who are fighting every day for airline safety and the advancement of our craft.

The TAMC is the voice of airline mechanics in the industry - and this is our publication. The newsletter is distributed electronically and is designed to reach mechanics around the world. It keeps aviation mechanics up to date on the issues that are important to us. In addition to updates from the Airline Division on what the TAMC is doing on Capitol Hill and throughout the industry, the newsletter regularly includes articles from our members that deal with topics from ASAP to outsourcing.

Check out the latest issue of the Teamster Aviation Professional today!

TEAMSTERS SUBMIT COMMENTS ON FAA REQUIREMENTS FOR DRUG TESTING AT FOREIGN REPAIR STATIONS

Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition Recommends Single Standard for
 Drug Testing Programs for Foreign and Domestic Repair Stations

(WASHINGTON) – The Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) called for the implementation of a single standard of drug testing for airline mechanics in its comments submitted today to the FAA on its proposed rulemaking, (Docket No. FAA-2012-1058), for required drug testing at foreign repair
stations.

In its comments, TAMC recommended that all authorized individuals that perform safety-sensitive maintenance on commercial carriers at both foreign and domestic repair stations be subject to a single standard of drug and alcohol testing.

“The TAMC has taken the position that in order to maintain consistent safety standards in a global economy and regardless of where safety-sensitive maintenance functions are performed, a single standard of aviation maintenance safety must be achieved,” said Chris Moore, chairman of TAMC, in the comments. “If we in the United States believe that certain drugs and the use of alcohol are a threat to aviation safety, we must ensure that anyone performing safety-sensitive maintenance is held to the same standards.”

The full comments submitted today can be found here.

“When it comes to aviation safety we cannot afford to leave anything to chance,” said Teamsters Airline Division Director Capt. David Bourne. “Standardizing drug and alcohol testing across the industry both at domestic and foreign repair stations just makes sense. The flying public and every man and woman that works in the airline industry deserves nothing less to ensure every aircraft is safe – on the ground and in the air.”

Negotiations Update

In preparation for the upcoming mediation sessions, the parties met in Chicago during the week of July 7, 2014 through July 11, 2014. During this session the union committee revisited the problems resulting from the company’s incorrect interpretation of, and failure to implement, certain provisions of the respective stand alone contracts.

These problems have been reported in previous updates. At this week’s session the rank and file committee unanimously and adamantly voiced their concern to the company that until these issues are resolved, moving forward with negotiations would be difficult at best and in all likelihood counterproductive.

In order to ensure productive future negotiation sessions the parties agreed to establish an Implementation Committee consisting of both Company and Union Representatives. The committee has been tasked with ensuring that these issues are resolved timely and definitively so as not to interfere with future negotiations. The members of the oversight committee are Business Agents Javier Lectora (Local 856) and Thomas Esposito (Local 769), along with Negotiating Committee rank and file members Mitch Hunt (Local 455), Joseph Prisco (Local 986), Michael Nerren (Local 19) and Vincent Graziano (Local 210).

The company has committed that many of these implementation related items should be resolved in short order. The oversight committee will report on the status of these items to the negotiations committee as the changes are completed. It is anticipated that progress will be reported over the next several weeks in advance of the first scheduled mediated session in August.

Also in preparation for the August mediation session the parties exchanged their respective open bargaining items lists. These respective lists will be submitted to Mediator McGuckin shortly. 

What follows is the list of contractual issues brought forward by the system: 

• Holiday Deferral - should be done in accordance with sCAL system board decision (926-IAH-03) allowing employees to defer and use that day up to thirty (30) days in advance.
•  Holiday Movement – a sCAL Arbitrators decision allows an employee to, at his option, take another day off immediately before or after the employee’s regularly scheduled days off if a holiday falls on his regular day off or in lieu of an additional day off he may receive an additional eight (8) hours pay.
•  Inconsistent VAC-DAT application - Members have reported inconsistent application of the awarding of Floating Holidays and VAC-DAT.
•  Holiday Overtime - Members reported the Company was not paying the applicable overtime rates (1.5X or 2X) when an employee was awarded overtime on a holiday.
•  Personal Convenience Leave – Some managers took the position that personal convenience time is limited to eighty (80) hours per year.
•  Work Area elimination – Members reported the elimination of Work Areas in certain stations.
• LCA’s (Last Chance Agreements) for Drug and Alcohol violations – There were reports of inconsistent applications of the policy.
•  Travel on sick/long term illness – Members reported denial of this right.
•  Rest Violations – Members reported incorrect application of the overtime provisions regarding rest violations in regards to offers of overtime.
•  Known Outages – Members reported the company was not properly staffing for known outages.
•  OT by Qualifications – Members reported OT lists being run using qualifications in some areas.
•  BAQ’s – The final BAQ list on the sUAL side has not been completed and there were instances of changes to the sCAL list.
•  ELA - Members have reported the inconsistent application of Emergency Leave of Absence (ELA) time.
•  Full time Training Leads - sUAL employees reported the Company wasn’t filling full time trainer positions by seniority.
•  Discipline Inconsistencies - Members have reported an inconsistent application of progressive discipline on the sUAL side.
•  Separate Maintenance Operations – Members reported intermixing of work forces in certain cities.
•  Management Troubleshooting - sUAL members reported the Company was using Tech. Support management personnel to troubleshoot and work on an aircraft without a unit member present to actually perform the work.

Mechanics Dispatch

New Work in SFO

Normally we don’t report on United Daily articles but the article titled, “Base teams begin historic heavy maintenance on Airbus” found here is different. This is a story about the first HMV visit in SFO in twelve years. As part of the company’s cost reduction efforts they determined that bringing this work in would save money. 

As reported in the article, “This is the first of what will be a nonstop parade of Airbus heavy checks and other services.” Kudos to Business Agents Rich Petrovsky of Local 986 and Javier Lectora of Local 856 for their efforts to help make this happen.

For those viewing this on the Union board the address of the article ishttps://united.intranet.ual.com/web/content.jsp?SID=News&path=UnitedDaily/2014/06_June/140626_7airbusSFMC.jsp

Arbitration Update

On Thursday, June 26th the Resource Utilization Letter arbitration case continued in Newark. The Union rested its case subject to rebuttal. The company will begin its case when the panel is scheduled to reconvene on September 16th.

Sub UA Joint Board Held in SFO

On Tuesday, June 24th a Joint Board session was held in SFO. One case was heard at this Board session as agreed by the parties. The case involved a discharge of an employee and an answer will be given to the parties shortly. There are several discharges currently on the system and the Board is in the process of scheduling these hearings.

For those that have never been involved with the Board there are three different decisions that may make. The Board can sustain a grievance, in which case the grievant wins his or her case, or the grievance can be denied, in which case the grievant loses his or her case, and finally the Board can deadlock a case. If the Board deadlocks the matter it can then be moved to a neutral third party arbitrator. The Board can also remand the grievance to the parties for resolution. A remand means that there is generally enough evidence on each side of an issue that it is apparent the parties should try to settle the issue prior to the grievance proceeding through the process.

Mechanics Dispatch

June 22, 2014

Steering Committee Set to Meet

A notice to the steering committee was sent out for the body to reconvene July 24^th and 25^th in Denver. The notice was sent to the seventy sitting members of the committee covering all locations from Boston to Guam. The committee will be briefed on what has transpired since the last meeting and then there will be a discussion on how the talks will proceed under mediation.

Arbitration Update

On the 18^th the arbitration case on the deicing equipment was held in Newark, NJ. The oral arguments were finished in one day and now both sides will submit briefs to the arbitrator. The resource utilization case will continue on June 26^th in Newark. As soon as decisions are rendered they will be reported in the Dispatch.

Mechanics Dispatch

June 15, 2014
President Hoffa Visits SFO
On June 13th President Hoffa visited with members at the Maintenance Base in OV and Engine Shop.
Mr. Hoffa walked the floor and spoke with several members during the tour of these two areas. A short meeting was held afterwards with stewards, and Business Agents in the Union Office at the Base.
Pictured to the left are: Engine Shop Chief Steward Steve Anderson, Local 856 Business Agent Javier Lectora, General President James Hoffa, Airline Division Representative Clacy Griswold, and Local 986 Business Agent Rich Petrovsky

Rumors
Recently an individual with no facts decided to put out a “newsletter”. The term “newsletter” can only be used to describe the format as the content is nothing but speculation and innuendo.
The report outlines a new pension plan that would prohibit a surviving spouse from receiving benefits. This would be a violation of Federal law. Nothing more needs to be said about that.
Another point in the factually incorrect letter was that the APU grievance was withdrawn as some sort of a deal. The reasons for the withdrawal were relayed to the Business Agents. As the last Mechanics Dispatch reported, the grievance was withdrawn “without prejudice” meaning it can be refiled.
The reasons for the withdrawal are not being put in print for one very important reason. Past grievances have been lost as a result of previous unions on the property that tended to write down every detail of a case or meeting. These written responses were then used against this membership, whether at face value or by twisting those written words, in several arbitration cases. Since as stated this grievance was withdrawn without prejudice and may be refiled, it is
not in anyone’s interest but the company for the Division to write down the reasons for withdrawal.
There is more in the “newsletter” but devoting more resources to someone who is clearly not interested in facts is a waste of everyone’s time. Please do not succumb to rumors as a divided membership only benefits the company.
Steward and Craft Meeting at IAD
Last week Business Agent Ralph Salzano conducted a Steward meeting and a craft meeting for mechanics at Dulles. Also in attendance were Chief Stewards Jay Koreny from IAD and Vincent Graziano from Newark. The two day meeting covered contract interpretation as well as other local issues.
Happy Father’s Day
From all of us at the Airline Division, a Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!
Furloughed members urged to update their addresses
Members on furlough are advised to keep their addresses current with the company while on layoff. It is predicted that there will be many movements this year and there have been several members that have been removed from the seniority list because old addresses were on file when notices were sent.
If you are in touch with a furloughed member, please forward this information to them. Updates may be emailed to: ESC@united.com . The ESC will provide a fax number and ask members to send the address change accompanied with a signature.

UAL Mechanics Dispatch - Week Ending May 31, 2014

Meeting in Chicago 

On May 28^th and 29^th the parties met in Chicago for the purpose of further understanding the economics of the respective proposals. However due to concerns brought up on the Chief Steward's call the week prior, there were broad issues that needed to be addressed. The Chiefs expressed concern that on the sub UA side there were still major implementation items that were causing frustration. Similarly on the sub CO side there appeared to be a reinterpretation of old and settled language. The 28^th was dedicated to discussing these issues along with proposed solutions by the IBT. The morning of the 29^th the company addressed several of the concerns that were brought up the day before. While there was no single agreed upon solution, it was agreed these issues are serious and they will be addressed in a parallel track with the ongoing negotiations.  

The afternoon of the 29^th was spent discussing open proposals. It was clear that the full committee would be needed to advance these discussions. The parties agreed that the full committee would meet for the full week of July 7^th.  

Sometime after the meeting in July, and before the August mediated session, the steering committee will meet to discuss what has transpired.

Arbitration Update 

The Resource Utilization letter arbitration case is scheduled to continue on June 26^th in Newark. The ORD Data Center case was postponed and will be heard on November 6^th. The APU grievance was withdrawn without prejudice meaning it can be refiled. The ORD Tool Room arbitration scheduled for June 4^th was moved and a discharge case has taken its place. When the new date is agreed upon it will be reported in the Dispatch. The sub CO Medical grievance will continue on August 5^th and 6^th. The sub UA Medical grievance will be heard on September 8^th. If any of these dates change it will be reported in the Dispatch.

Mechanics Dispatch

Negotiations Update 
The parties met on May 7th in Las Vegas. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare a report for mediator McGuckin on the parties’ respective table positions from last November. In discussing the positions, it became clear that a further meeting was warranted with a few subject matter experts. Accordingly the parties agreed to a small committee meeting May 28th and 29th in Chicago. In attendance for the Union will be our economist Dan Akins and several Business Agents along with Clacy Griswold and Bob Fisher from the Airline Division. It is expected that the full steering committee will meet in late July or early August to review what has transpired to this point and to discuss moving forward.
As previously reported the first mediated session is scheduled for the week of August 18th.

Arbitration Schedule 
The outsourcing arbitration case that was scheduled to be heard on the 14th of May has been postponed. A new date is currently being scheduled.
The remainder of the sub CAL medical arbitration case is now scheduled to be heard August 5th and 6th. It is hoped that the case will conclude with this session given that there are two days set aside to hear the issues.
The remainder of the sub UA medical arbitration is now scheduled to be heard on September 8th. 
The schedule for the continuation of the resource utilization letter is not yet confirmed but it will be reported in the Dispatch when known.

Airline Division Advisory Board Meets 
On May 6th, the AD Advisory Board met in Las Vegas. The meeting was chaired by Chairman George Miranda. Reports were given on all current negotiations the Division is currently involved with. A presentation was made to the Board regarding pension plans by Peter Hardcastle of Cheiron and Ed Gleason of Ed Gleason Law. The Board was given an overview of the different typical ways pension solutions were crafted in the past and how new plans should be structured in the future to protect plan participants. Chris Moore gave a presentation on the TAMC from where it started to where the organization is currently. Chris also presented a vision for that organization moving forward.

UAL Mechanics Update-Week Ending April 12, 2014

April 13, 2014 

 

Resource Utilization Arbitration 

The presentation of the union’s case began on Wednesday the 9^th however it was not completed. The hearing session concluded late that day with the parties reviewing calendars to schedule future dates. As with the two subsidiary medical grievances, when the schedule is known it will be reported in the Dispatch. 

Negotiations Update 

In late February and early March the economists from both sides met to thoroughly review the respective terms of the last table positions of the parties. Those two meetings produced a better understanding of the valuation of each side’s position. The result of the analysis was that while much progress was made in the expedited portion of bargaining there are still significant issues to overcome. Following these meetings, mediator Gerry McGuckin called the parties together for a meeting of the principals. That meeting was originally scheduled for April 11^th in Chicago but was moved to Newark on the 10^th.  

Mediator McGuckin laid out the ground rules for going forward and informed the two sides that they had now lost control of the pace of negotiations; the parties will now be bound by his schedule availability. With twenty one open, active cases, the first date available in his schedule was the week of August 18^th through the 22^nd.  

The parties agreed that there would be an additional meeting for the leadership on May 7^thand 8^th in Las Vegas, NV following the IBT Unity conference. The time from May to August will be used to reconvene the steering committee to discuss the current state of negotiations and to seek input for the full rank and file committee moving forward.     

MRO Conference 

The annual Aviation Week MRO conference was held in Phoenix last week. Attending for the Division were Representative Chris Moore and Local 986 Business Agent Dave Saucedo. Chris and Dave are working on a report which will be shared when complete. Two continuing trends brought up at the conference that affect our craft are the limited number of people entering the field and the rising rates in Asia which are increasing costs for widebody overhauls in that region. Both of these trends will continue to be a tailwind for this craft for the foreseeable future. 

Update March 30, 2014

Mediator calls Parties to Chicago

Mediator Gerry McGuckin called the leadership of the parties to meet in Chicago on April 11^th. This one day meeting will be to establish protocol for mediated bargaining. It is expected the mediator will offer future dates at this meeting for the parties to begin negotiations. In this phase of talks negotiation sessions are subject to the mediator's schedule until the parties are released for self help. 

Arbitration Cases Started

Last week both the sCO and sUA cases were begun in Chicago. As of the writing of this article all parties (union, company, and both arbitrators) were looking for future dates as neither case was concluded. When the dates are finalized they will be reported in the Dispatch. 

Joint Board held in Chicago

On Wednesday March 26^th, one case was heard before the Board. There were several cases on the docket but the parties settled prior to a hearing. The case that was heard dealt with 145 off site repairs and how inspectors are chosen. The Board remanded the case to the parties for resolution. If the parties cannot come to terms the Board retains jurisdiction and will call the parties to San Francisco to hear any further developments and will then render a decision. 

Mechanics Dispatch

How Arbitration Works 

Members are asking for a description of the arbitration process in regards to the upcoming expedited arbitration cases. The mechanics of the arbitration process are described in Article 20 of the three agreements with the expedited process described in Article 1. According to Article 20 arbitrators are asked to render their decisions within 60 days of the case being heard or after final briefs are submitted. 

Essentially what the process entails is the parties present their cases to a neutral third party (the arbitrator). In presenting their cases the parties attempt to persuade the neutral that their respective positions are the correct interpretation of the language in dispute.

The following excerpt is from the NMB website under the arbitration overview tab.  

"Grievance Arbitration is a process for resolving disputes regarding the interpretation or application of an existing collective bargaining agreement. Grievances, known as “minor disputes” under the RLA, must be handled through Grievance Arbitration if not otherwise resolved, and cannot be used by the parties to trigger self-help actions. 

The NMB has significant administrative responsibilities for the three types of grievance arbitration in the railroad industry. These types include those of the National Railroad Adjustment Board as well as arbitration panels established directly by the labor-management parties at each railroad: Public Law Boards and Special Boards of Adjustment. Grievance Arbitration in the airline industry is accomplished at the various System Boards of Adjustment created jointly by labor and management at the parties’ expense. 

The NMB furnishes panels of prospective arbitrators for the parties’ selection in both the airline and railroad industries. [A request to be placed on the NMB Roster of Arbitrators may be obtained from the Board’s web site at www.nmb.gov. See Forms on the Documents page.] The NMB also has substantial financial responsibilities for railroad arbitration proceedings in that it pays the salaries and travel expenses of the arbitrators. Grievance Arbitration decisions under the RLA are final and binding with very limited grounds for judicial review." 

The full document can be found at:

http://www.nmb.gov/documents/2012annual-report/02-mda/03-arbitration.html#head1 

While time lines are discussed in the arbitration articles in some cases arbitrators will require extra time after the case to formulate a response. These types of delays are common and should be expected. There are many dynamics to any particular case but hopefully this general description helps to explain how the process works. 

Aviation Safety InfoShare Conference

Report submitted by Dave Saucedo

This year’s Aviation Safety Info share was held the first week in March in Seattle Washington, home of the World Champion Seahawks who stomped the Denver Broncos by a score of 43-8. What a game…..go 12!!

InfoShare is a confidential biannual conference sponsored by the FAA, in which government and industry representatives share aviation safety concerns and discuss current aviation safety issues and mitigations.  InfoShare offers the safety community a unique opportunity to come together in a private setting to learn from each other’s experiences. Various voluntary safety programs such as FOQA, ASAP, and LOSA are used to manage safety within our respective organizations.  These programs have played a vital role in advancing safety.  InfoShare offers a unique opportunity to share experiences, advancing aviation safety for the industry.

Air carrier, trade association, labor organization, and FAA employees are encouraged to attend. As in past years, the Teamsters will be sponsoring several maintenance representatives from various carriers and stations who will participate in the meetings. These working mechanic members as well as some full time Teamster Representatives will lend concerns and opinions from mechanics perspectives to issues raised during the event.

InfoShare is a 3-day meeting that includes multiple sessions:  a joint session, followed by individual sessions for maintenance, dispatch, cabin, ground operations, and flight operations, as well as a best practices session and breakout sessions.