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.
