San Francisco Local Union Activists Offer Education, Preparations for This Fall

San Francisco Local Union Activists Offer Education, Preparations for This Fall

Jul 16, 2020 | American, COVID, EAP, Front Page, MNPL, Uncategorized, United | 0 comments

SFO Local 1781 and 1782 Conduct 3 Days of Briefings to Help Members Prepare 

Chris Lusk, IAM District 141 Educator and Vice President of 1781, briefs the membership about efforts their local is taking to prepare for the potential of large-scale labor that major airlines are planning for this fall.

Members discussed the potential impact that impending furloughs are likely to have on airline workers in the region. IAMAW  Union activists also helped educate each other on how best to prepare, and shared ideas for how other local lodges can hold similar meetings for their members, as well. 

 

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American Airlines to Offer Revised Leaves of Absence and Voluntary Early Outs

American Airlines to Offer Revised Leaves of Absence and Voluntary Early Outs

Jul 15, 2020 | American, Front Page, The Association | 0 comments

July 15, 2020

American Airlines will announce today that they are offering ‘enhanced’ Leaves of Absence and Early Outs to Association members. Association leadership discussed these revised offers and made several suggestions that would make them more attractive to our members. Most of the suggestions were not taken.

We advise all of our membership to consider these offers carefully. Each person must weigh the costs and benefits that accepting any of the offers would have on their unique situation. The Company will communicate the offers and provide information relative to them. Questions about the leaves and early-outs should be directed to management. Questions about the contracts should be directed to your union representatives.

In these unprecedented times, we urge all of our members to be safe. We also remind everyone that our solidarity is our greatest asset in both good and turbulent times.

The Association Leadership Team

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Association Update: American Airlines Issues WARN Notice

Association Update: American Airlines Issues WARN Notice

Jul 10, 2020 | American, COVID, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, MNPL, Row 2 | 0 comments

July 10, 2020

To All TWU/IAM Association Members at American Airlines:

American Airlines has informed the Association that it will be sending Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications (WARN Act notifications) to Association covered employees. This notice, which is required by law, will contain information indicating that American Airlines may furlough employees.

All of the TWU/IAM Association Collective Bargaining Agreements ratified on March 26, 2020, contain industry-leading System and Station protections for our members. It took several years to achieve the Industry-Leading Contract that you are covered by and the Association Leadership is willing to participate in any discussions that may help the situation we are faced with, but by no means does this mean we are willing to concede any of the contractual protection or language we fought so hard to get. Should American attempt to violate any provision(s) of our Agreements, the Association is prepared to defend the membership.

The reality is that we are in very unstable and worrisome times. While there are certainly more passengers flying today than in late March, this industry is still operating at only a fraction of 2019 passenger levels. And due to a lack of a coordinated national response to the coronavirus pandemic, rising infection rates in the US and several state-mandated quarantines, there is great risk that a significant rebound in air travel demand will not occur soon enough to return American Airlines to the record profits they achieved not too long ago. The TWU/IAM Association is committed to make all efforts to mitigate the effects this instability may have on those we represent.

Association leadership has had dialogue with American’s senior leadership expressing ideas that could lead to more members opting for a Short Term leave or Voluntary Separation (including offering the Early-Out American presented to members on JetNet during negotiations), fully implementing the work provisions of the negotiated JCBAs and bringing in work currently performed by vendors.

The TWU/IAM Association is also working very hard with legislators to extend the Payroll Support Program (PSP) component of the CARES Act through March 31, 2021. If we are successful, this would mitigate any involuntary furloughs and protect our members for an additional six months. We ask every member to reach out to their elected officials to support the PSP extension. Please CLICK HERE to send a message to lawmakers now, asking them to send help as soon as possible and delay furloughs at our airline.

In closing, we have faced tough times in the past as an Association and each time we have been tested, our common bonds and solidarity have been the driving principles that have led us forward and made us stronger. We must not allow fear, differences of opinion, unsubstantiated rumors, or inflammatory rhetoric to divide us.

Now is the time for unity, not division.

The Association Leadership Team

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Paying Dues on Company Leave (COLA) and Furlough

Paying Dues on Company Leave (COLA) and Furlough

Jun 15, 2020 | Airlines, American, COVID, Front Page, Hawaiian, Uncategorized, United | 0 comments

/// En Español

 

Question: How do I pay my dues while I’m out on Company Offered Leave?

Short Answer: Contact your Local Lodge Secretary-Treasurer. Your Secretary-Treasurer is the best person to talk to about all things related to union finances. Your Secretary-Treasurer can also help you find out if you qualify for special rates, automatic payroll deductions, and other assistance. (You have to be out of work from the first of the month to the last day of the month in order to get reduced fees. Again, talk to your Secretary-Treasurer for more information.)

News flash: not everyone loves paying dues. But with everyone pitching in, we have been able to do some remarkable things. Before the pandemic hit, we raised our wages and protected the health care and pensions of thousands of airline workers. These wins have led to stronger bargaining positions for thousands of additional airline workers. 

Importantly, we’ve helped create safety measures and policies that keep us and our passengers safe. We have not suffered involuntary furloughs. We haven’t experienced the kinds of deep pay cuts and benefits reductions that non-union workers have faced. Unlike non-union employees, we have earned ourselves critical time to prepare for whatever our companies plan to do. 

Non-dues paying employees at other airlines, meanwhile, have been the victims of mass layoffs, pay and benefit cuts, and worse. 

Protecting the advantages we have isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap. No single employee can possibly cover the costs alone; workers simply must work as a group in order to stand a chance.

To put it bluntly: if we weren’t paying dues, we would have been furloughed or laid off long ago. 

A typical grievance that goes into arbitration might cost airline workers (as a union) $10,000 to litigate. That’s $10k for each instance where we need to enforce our contracts. Negotiating a union contract with a major airline is another expensive project that requires strong financial support. Additionally, workers need to pay people for the work they do. A typical union salary for a local lodge president in the IAMAW is around $100 per month. Union members who work for their lodge need reimbursements for the work they do on “lost-time.” These payments to union activists are fair and necessary. There are also utility bills, rent costs and other expenses that have to be met.

Maintaining your good standing with the IAMAW is required to participate in union activities such as voting in union elections, running for office, benefiting from free college and other programs and discounts, and attending union meetings and conferences.

To find out how you can remain current, just check with your Local Lodge Secretary-Treasurer. They can look at your specific case and take care of all the back-end work for you. You may also qualify for a reduced rate while you aren’t on payroll. Your local Secretary-Treasurer can take care of that for you too. If you need help contacting your Secretary-Treasurer, just ask any local lodge officer or committee member, or send a message to IAMAW District 141. 

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There are billionaires who want to use any excuse to take away your paycheck and pension. There are billion-dollar reasons to take away your ability to work at all during the COVID outbreak. But, if we stick together as a union, we can keep what we have, negotiate fairly when needed, and survive much better than we could as separated employees just trying to hold on to our jobs and futures.

 

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Airlines Carry Half a Million Passengers in One Day For First Time Since March

Airlines Carry Half a Million Passengers in One Day For First Time Since March

Jun 13, 2020 | Airlines, American, COVID, Front Page, Hawaiian, Philippine, Row 2, Spirit, Uncategorized, United | 0 comments

More than half a million air travelers passed through TSA checkpoints on Thursday, the highest number since mid-March. The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) reported 502,209 screenings at US airports.

Airlines hit the milestone as over 400,000 passengers took to the skies on three separate days in the preceding week, in the clearest sign yet that air travel is beginning to slowly recover. 

While this number is less than a quarter of what is normal for this time of year, it represents a marked improvement over the lowest point on April 14, when only 87,534 travelers were screened at TSA checkpoints.  

The airline and travel industries are facing a perfect storm of suppressed demand because of COVID-related restrictions on in-person gatherings, high unemployment, and a negative feedback loop, where airlines cannot serve cities without higher levels of customer demand. 

To attract more passengers, airlines have aggressively cut fares and fees. These moves have brought in more travelers, but have also reduced revenue.  The addition of thousands of new passengers willing to fly brings airlines closer to financially breaking even. 

Airlines are growing again, slowly.

Despite the hardships, airline stocks are on the rebound, and insiders expect the industry might reach passenger loads as high as one million travelers a day by the end of July.

In a press release earlier this month, American Airlines announced it was planning to increase flight activity to 55% of normal capacity in July. The carrier added it is planning to increase its lucrative international routes back to 20% of 2019 levels.

United’s plans for July include restoring non-stop service in over 140 domestic routes and the airline will add flights to Europe and several cities in Asia, along with destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

Hawaiian Airlines suspended most inter-island flights and has operated just one daily flight to Los Angeles since March 26 when Hawaii state officials instituted a mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving passengers. The airline is planning to increase flight capacity by 18% when the quarantine mandate for inter-island travel is lifted on June 16. The quarantine for all passengers arriving from out-of-state will be in effect through July 31.  

Spirit Airlines is expected to triple the number of flights it operates at its home base in Fort Lauderdale (FLL). They expect to operate 70% of their schedule in July and are going ahead with plans to expand international destinations.

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All this is great news for anxious airline employees whose jobs are secure until September 30 thanks to payroll protection funding allocated by the CARES Act. Every airline is planning to have a much smaller workforce after that date due to uncertainty about whether the number of coronavirus cases can be contained until there is an effective vaccine or treatment, which is expected to take a year, possibly longer. Hundreds of airline employees have already taken some type of voluntary unpaid leave of absence, and the companies are unveiling a variety of early retirement programs. 

The Summer 2020 travel season will be very different for passengers and airline employees, but the industry as a whole hopes the recovery will be better and faster than forecasts show. 

 

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Senator Casey: Hours Reductions are Not Allowed Under CARES Act.

Senator Casey: Hours Reductions are Not Allowed Under CARES Act.

Jun 10, 2020 | American, COVID, Front Page, Hawaiian, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Spirit, Uncategorized, United | 1 comment

Senator Casey: “Reducing workers’ hours without their consent reduces workers’ paychecks in the same way that reducing workers’ rate of pay would.”

 

This week, Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) called on Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin to issue clear guidance to airlines and industry lobbyists stating that cutting the pay and benefits of airline workers violates the CARES Act, even if those cuts come by way of furloughing full-time workers to part-time. Senator Casey is a member of the Senate Committee on Finance, which played a major role in drafting the bill. 

Senator Casey said the clear intent of the CARES Act, which delivered billions of taxpayer dollars to airlines, was “specifically to protect the jobs and livelihoods of workers in the airline industry,” and that airlines could not reduce the pay of their workers after accepting relief funds.  Further, Senator Casey said in the letter that reducing full-time workers to part-time reduces their pay and benefits, despite leaving pay rates intact. 

“I write to express my concern that multiple air carriers have threatened to or are currently involuntarily reducing the hours of employees despite receiving payroll support under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act,” Senator Casey said in the letter. “In passing this legislation, Congress made clear its intention that any air carrier receiving assistance must agree to maintain payroll and not cut employee compensation. I urge you to immediately issue guidance that makes clear that unilateral and involuntary reductions in employee hours are prohibited under the CARES Act.” 

Senator Casey also sent letters to the CEOs of United, jetBlue, and Delta, and to Airlines for America, the lead lobbying group for US air carriers, putting industry executives and lobbyists on notice about the importance of following the law and respecting workers.  

A growing number of lawmakers involved in creating the CARES Act have written to the CEOs of major airlines following a scheme by United Airlines executives to take billions in relief funds intended to cover payrolls – and then cut payrolls while keeping the money. United Executive Vice President Greg Hart tried to defend the move and said the furloughs weren’t really pay cuts because pay rates would remain the same. Senator Casey, who has a legislative record promoting economic security for working families, showed little patience for such word games. 

“This is in clear violation of Congress’ intent and should not be undertaken by any air carriers accepting federal assistance,” Senator Casey said. 

“Congress’ intent that air carriers use this assistance to fully protect workers’ compensation and employment was clear,” he wrote. 

IAMAW District Legislative Director David Roderick praised the actions of Senator Casey and other lawmakers who have come forward in defense of working families in the airline industry over the past two months. “Senator Casey is a true friend for airline workers. He’s been a trusted ally and strong voice for airline safety and the fair treatment of airline employees and passengers for years.” 

Read the full statement by Senator Casey Here >>

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Lawmakers need to know that we appreciate their help. If you are a constituent of Senator Bob Casey, please take a second to let him know that our union values his assist.

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What do YOU Think?

Do you feel that furloughs before October 1st are a violation of the CARES Act…

…even if they are only furloughing full-time agents to part-time?