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President of District Lodge 141 Mike Klemm traveled out west this week to visit IAM members. Here is an inside look at his busy schedule and activities as he went to San Francisco, Honolulu, and Los Angelos airports.
UPDATE: The FAA Re-Authorization Bill of 2018 was approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president on October 5.
The US House of Representatives approved the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which includes strong “Union Made” language. The bill is now headed to the Senate.
“Machinists should be very proud of the work that we’ve done together on this bill,” said District 141 MNPL Director Dave Roderick. The IAM141 MNPL, or Machinists Non-Partisan League, is the legislative department of District 141. The IAM141 MNPL works to make sure that airline workers have a seat at the table as laws that impact their industry get made.
“Laws shouldn’t be written entirely by Wall Street investors and CEOs,” Roderick
explained of the work his department does. “Congress should hear from just as many break rooms as they do from boardrooms.”
“And, while we didn’t get everything we wanted, airport break rooms were heard loud and clear in the new FAA Reauthorization Bill.”
IAM141 in DC: (From left: IAM141 Legislative Director, Dave Roderick, IAM141 Communications Coordinator and New Jersey State Council of Machinists President Ines Garcia-Keim, Ross DelConte (Local 914 EWR), Darlene Williams (Local 1487 ORD), and Local 914 EWR President, Bill Gula.
IAM Activists aggressively fought for two years to have Congress include pro-airline worker language in H.R.-4, the proposed $17 billion, five-year Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018.
The result of all the MNPL work is a final bill that contains many of the top priorities of IAM Members within the commercial aviation industry, as well as important improvements for the flying public.
Among the highlights:
This is what it looks like to be “off duty” if you’re a flight attendant.
Exhaustion in the skies is much more than a workplace annoyance for flight attendants; it can also be a serious safety issue. Flight crews are responsible for the security of the aircraft cabin, while they also perform functions that create the primary customer experience for most passengers.
The FAA Bill will help make flights safer, and help Flight Attendants enhance customer service by increasing rest periods to at least ten uninterrupted hours between shifts.
Now passengers are legally required to chill.
Airline CSAs have critical security responsibilities at our nation’s airports, and yet are often the victims of severe abuse by passengers. Hundreds of attacks against gate and ticket counter agents occur every year, and many go unreported.
IAM Members have lobbied to require airlines to implement an assault prevention plan that protects CSAs from abuse while they are on the job. The new FAA Bill will require the immediate reporting of any verbal or physical assault on gate and ticket counter agents and establishes protocols for law enforcement to assess and take action before a passenger involved in a violent assault is allowed to proceed through security or board an aircraft.
Airlines must implement the new protections and training within 90 days of the reauthorization, and the Secretary of Transportation will also oversee a study that will gather data and make recommendations for future training and best practices.
The new FAA Bill will make getting bumped less of a drag.
Bumping Protections are included in the new FAA Bill. The new rules specifically address a well-publicized incident that took place last year, as the bill prohibits the “involuntary bumping of passengers once they have boarded the plane.” It looks like once the gate crew has cleared you to board the plane, you’re good to go.
Soon airplane seats may become less horrible.
For passengers that are big or tall or anyone with a bad back, air travel is more than just a pain. It can literally be torture. Air travelers that dread long hours in cramped seats may have some welcome relief on the way. The bill requires the FAA to set minimum standards for passenger legroom and seat width.
The bill also requires all newly manufactured commercial passenger aircraft to be equipped with secondary cockpit barriers, bans in-flight voice cell phone calls, requires the regulation of service and emotional support animals on aircraft, and improves the safe transport of lithium batteries.
The bill now moves to the US Senate for approval. Please contact your Senator and urge them to keep the pro-airline worker language in the FAA Reauthorization Bill of 2018.
“This bill has provisions that help protect IAM members and the traveling public,” said Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “It will also ensure continued investment into the aviation infrastructure which will provide a stronger workforce for our members. I encourage all our members to call their senators to urge them to pass this legislation.”
Tell your Senator that you support airline workers and the new FAA Reauthorization Bill Now.
The IAM141 Machinists Non-Partisan League is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members like you. To become a supporting member of the IAM141 MNPL, please complete an MNPL Automatic Payroll Deduction Card for any amount today. Cards can be found by visiting the MNPL page at IAM141.org.
To reduce the number of workplace accidents at our nation’s airports, union activists promised to form stronger partnerships with airline and industry leaders at the IAM141 Safety Conference, which began on Tuesday.
Bill Salo is the IAM141 Safety Director (United Airlines.) His work has led to safety policy changes at airports around the nation.
The IAM141 Safety Conference is an annual event that brings together union leaders and activists, company representatives and workplace safety experts from around the nation to discuss the topic of workplace safety. Each year, attendees review ongoing safety issues and priorities and develop employee-level strategies for enforcing workplace safety.
Throughout the conference, speakers repeatedly underscored the importance of front-line workers actively partnering with company-based safety teams. “It’s crucial that we’re working with the company.” Said Bill Salo, who, along with Tony D’Aloiso and Kaulana Pakele is a Safety Director at IAM141. “As union members, we sometimes disagree with companies about a lot of things, but safety is not one of them.”
Tony D’Aloiso, IAM141 Safety Director (American Airlines) has helped employee-level safety programs take flight.
Union activists and leaders were quick to acknowledge the need for well-planned company-led safety programs and training but insisted that these programs are not enough by themselves. Worker-led programs and front-line safety reporting are also needed.
Erik Stenberg is the IAM141 Director of Safety. ““The workers have the information that companies need to make policy decisions regarding safety.”
“The workers have the information that companies need to make policy decisions regarding safety.” Said IAM141 Safety Director Erik Stenberg. “We know and understand the work and the challenges that front-line workers are facing on the job. If we can get this information to company managers, they can make better decisions about company policy.”
“We’re trying to work together. We’ve invited the company to attend this conference, and they have been very receptive to us so far.” United, Hawaiian, and American Airlines all sent representatives from management as well as front-line workers to participate in the Safety Conference.
From Houston, Texas: Safety Supervisor of Airport Operations for United Airlines Gary Snead (left) and IAM Local 811 President Leroy Taylor (right) at the 2017 IAM141 Safety Conference.
Airline managers are happy to welcome the help of front-line workers. “I think this partnership is great, and it’s here for one goal. And, that’s creating a safer and healthier work environment for everyone.” Said Gary Snead, the Safety Supervisor of Airport Operations at the United Airlines’ massive Houston hub, Gary Snead praised the efforts to team up with union members.
Echoing the sentiments of union-side safety advocates, Snead went on to say, “You know, the company and the union don’t agree on a lot of things, but we are united for safety.”
Kaulana Pakele is the IAM141 Safety Director for Hawaiian Airlines. Pakele has helped ensure that IAM Members have direct lines to management whenever they are reporting safety issues at work.
IAM141 President, Mike Klemm praised the partnerships as he delivered the opening remarks at the 2017 Safety Conference. Pointing out programs such as the GSAP reporting system and the IAM safety tracking system “UnionSafe,” he repeated the sincerity of the efforts of both sides to improve airline safety.
“Safety has improved, and will continue to improve.” President Mike Klemm said, “Obviously, our members coming home, and the company’s employees coming home, the same way they went to work is crucial to both the company and the union. Until we arrive at the day where nobody is getting hurt on the job, we will always strive to improve on safety.”