Tentative Agreement

As reported last week; at the direction of the NMB, the negotiating committee and company representatives were summoned to Washington, DC this week to meet with the federal mediators in hopes of resolving the outstanding issues of concern. The meetings started on 

September 26^th with each party explaining their positions to the mediators. The next two days were spent in discussions with both parties explaining their positions and offering potential solutions in order reach consensus on the areas of concern.

As of this afternoon (Wednesday), these discussions were largely complete and the committee was tasked with turning this AIP in to a Tentative Agreement. After some detailed discussion, the committee concluded that the Agreement in Principal has reached all the minimum points required to turn it to an industry leading Tentative Agreement.

In the coming weeks, the full and complete TA, along with all accompanying information, will be compiled and checked for errors by members from the committee. Once this task is accomplished, we will then make it available electronically and through mail to the membership.

We will keep you updated as progress is made.

September 20, 2016

On September 19, the National Mediation Board sent a revised meeting notice that reconfirmed the status conference on September 26 and directed the parties to remain in Washington through September 28 to finalize all open issues.  The NMB notice also reaffirmed that the NMB’s gag order remains in place, but authorized the parties to disseminate key agreed upon terms of the AIP.  Below is a summary of the key agreed upon terms.

Pay:   

A&P “all-in” top of scale hourly base rate      = $47.31   at date of ratification

            All other classifications will receive comparable increases to A&P technicians

                                    Basic Hourly Rate                               = $40.06                     

A&P License Premium                       = $  5.25

Line Premium                                     = $  1.00

Max. Longevity                                  = $  1.00

In addition to the all-in rate, a $1.20/hour VEBA contribution up to 2,080 hours/year-effective with start of new medical plans * see note                      

Retro Pay:     

            $185 million pool for lump sum distribution

            Average of $20,500 per technician, based on historical earnings

           

Retirement:

All technicians (including new hires) to participate in defined benefit pension plan

·   s-CO & s-UA technicians to participate in CARP, plus additional 1% Company contribution to 401(k) for those with more than 30 years of credited service in CARP 

·   CMI technicians continue in Western Conference of Teamsters Pension Plan, with comparable, increased company contribution $3.00

Plus all technicians to participate in 401(k) plan with matching company contribution of up to 3% of pay (current s-CO plan)

Vacation, Holidays & Paid Sick Leave:

            Up to 35 days paid vacation per year, per existing s-UA plan

            10 paid holidays per year, including 4 floating holidays, existing s-CO plan

            100% pay for all sick leave

Job Protections:

            All employees on the seniority list as of date of ratification are protected from furlough

            San Francisco and Houston base job protections for the life of the agreement

Improved “scope” language to prevent contracting out of work due to attrition

Early Out Program:

            $5,000 per year of service to a maximum of $100,000

Medical:

Active medical identical to pilot, flight attendant, airport agent & dispatcher plans

·   Aggregate 80/20 cost share, with year-over-year increases capped at 9.25%

·   Special enrollment to occur in 1Q17, plans to be effective in April 2017 * Note start date of VEBA and medical plans to be clarified with NMB

Retiree medical – harmonize to s-CO retiree bridge medical plan, which will phase out in 2026

Profit Sharing:

Transition to profit sharing pool equal to 5% of pre-tax net income, with escalator trigger to 10% of profits over a 6.9% margin

Duration & Out Year Increases:

            Six year duration, with minimum increases in basic hourly pay rates of:

1.5% at DOS + 12     

1.0% at DOS + 24     

1.0% at DOS + 36                             

1.0% at DOS + 48       

1.0% at DOS + 60

Letter of Agreement providing “industry reset” every two years that adjusts pay rates to keep pace with the industry and ensure that United technicians are always at least 2% above AA and DL in total compensation, as established through defined and agreed criteria.  UA technician total compensation under the August 12 AIP, per the defined reset formula, would be 5.8% above the industry average of AA and DL.

Update September 2, 2016

The committee met to continue the process of reviewing and writing the language associated with the recent Agreement in Principal.  Items of concern were discussed over the course of two days of meetings. These items will be presented to the company for proposed change. After these suggested edits are finalized they must be reviewed by the committee before a TA can be achieved.  The process will continue until the IBT and UA agree upon a final draft.  At that time, a TA will be reached and presented to the membership. 

The committee asks your patience while we go through the process of ensuring that a proposed contract reflects the spirit and intent of the items we’ve agreed to in principal. As the parties are still under the NMB gag order until this process is finished, no details will be released until a TA is reached. There will be work done over the next two weeks in an attempt to complete this process. Please watch the Dispatch for further information regarding upcoming meetings.