Machinists Union Customer Service Workers at Soutwest are considering a Tentative Agreement that would provide historic wages and overtime protections.

Tentative Deal at Southwest: Historic Pay, Overtime Protections

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Tentative Deal at Southwest: Historic Pay, Overtime Protections

26 October 2022

The new deal, which still has to win a ratification vote, will have implications for contract talks at United and Organizing efforts at JetBlue.

Southwest Airlines has reached a new tentative agreement that would give its employees the biggest paychecks in the history of commercial aviation. The deal also tightens restrictions on mandatory overtime, a vital issue for the Machinists Union. If ratified by union members, the agreement could set a precedent for United Airlines, which is currently engaged in ongoing negotiations with multiple workgroups, all of whom are also members of the Machinists Union. It could also become a decisive factor as JetBlue Ground Operations prepares to vote on joining the Union.

The deal will give union members at Southwest a pay raise of between 16% and 25% over four years, creating the highest wages in the industry. It will also shorten the time it takes to reach the top wage. The new wage structure will include “Me Too” provisions that will ensure union members will also get whatever future raises and other pay enhancements are won by other unions for similar work at the carrier. In addition, the agreement will provide substantial bonuses. The bonuses are calculated by years at the company, with a minimum of $1,000 for newer workers with under five years of seniority and an additional $200 for each year over five.

Perhaps even more urgent to union members than higher pay is placing strict controls on the abusive use of mandatory overtime. This agreement will put caps on the total amount of overtime the company can demand and allow overtime to be refused under certain conditions. It will also impose double-time pay for some overtime work.

The Tentative Agreement must win the approval of a majority of the 8,300 Customer Service and related union members at Southwest Airlines, who rejected two other proposals earlier this year. The deal does not apply to other workgroups, such as ground service.

The IAM will hold tentative agreement informational meetings once all ratification vote locations and dates are confirmed.

“Our IAM negotiating team and membership has been steadfast to obtain an agreement that treats Southwest Airlines workers with the respect they’ve earned,” said IAM Airline Coordinator Tom Regan. “This agreement represents years of work, through a pandemic, to put our members at the top of the industry.”

Since 2008, Machinists Union Members in the commercial aviation industry have collectively bargained a series of historic milestones in the labor movement. Airline workers with the Union have won the highest-ever pay increases no fewer than five times since 2008. This includes setting new industry records for pay at United Airlines, American Airlines, and Alaskan. If Union Members at Southwest ratify the agreement, they will become the newest record-holders for highest-paid customer service workers in the airline industry.

The new agreement got the attention of JetBlue ground Operations Crewmembers, who are currently awaiting a unification vote with the Machinists Union. Within minutes of its announcement, it was shared multiple times on union-themed chat boards and social media platforms. However, in a flagrant violation of labor law, JetBlue managers, who closely monitor the online pro-union discussions, swiftly removed all mention of the Southwest agreement.

District President Mike Klemm, who is helping lead contract negotiations at United Airlines, said the possible agreement at Southwest could strengthen the Union’s hand at United. “This is where the industry is regarding pay, overtime, outsourcing… any airline has to compete for workers from a dwindling talent pool. Not everyone can pass the background checks, do incredibly hard work with absolute precision, pass the constant training requirements, all the things needed to work in this industry,” he said. “United is saying they need to hire 30,000 new workers over the next few years if they want to keep up,” he continued. “They need to invest in their workforce, or they will lose out to airlines like Alaskan and Soutwest.” 

Read the Agreement Highlights>

Customer Service Agents at Southwest are members of District 142 of The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The IAM is the largest transportation and aerospace union in North America. The IAM represents nearly 600,000 active and retired members in more than 200 industries, including more than 32,000 members in commercial aviation.

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JetBlue Union Vote Update – Your Questions Answered

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JetBlue Union Vote Update – Your Questions Answered

11 October, 2022

Union Vote Update: Election Process Frequently Asked Questions

Now that we filed for an election, what happens next?

The National Mediation Board (NMB), the federal agency that handles representation elections in the airline industry, has ordered JetBlue management to send the list of “potential eligible voters” to the NMB by 10:00 AM, October 18, 2022. Once the NMB receives the list of potentially eligible voters from JetBlue, the federal agency will compare the list with the election authorization cards submitted to determine if at least 50 percent of GO Crewmembers have requested the right to vote in a union representation election.

Who is eligible to vote?

All GO Crewmembers hired on or before September 17, 2022.

How will the vote be conducted?

The vote will be conducted by mail ballot. It is important that we have our most current address updated with JetBlue, as JetBlue will give the NMB the address it currently has on file when it is time for the NMB to mail us our ballot.

It is also important to know that we will vote by secret ballot and that our vote is confidential. JetBlue management is prohibited under federal law from ever knowing how we voted, or if we voted.

How long will it take the NMB to schedule our vote?

Once the NMB determines that at least 50 percent of all GO Crewmembers requested a union representation election be held (signed a card), the federal agency will schedule a voting period. If JetBlue management submits an accurate list of potentially eligible voters to the NMB, which airline management is required to do under federal law, then it is possible that the vote will be scheduled within the next few months.

However, we expect JetBlue management and their high-priced lawyers to delay the process as much as they can, and they’ve already started. JetBlue requested a week extension to submit the list of potentially eligible voters to the NMB by October 18, 2022. The list of eligible voters was originally due by Tuesday, October 11, 2022. The NMB granted their request.

Why would JetBlue want to delay the vote?

Like management at all corporations, JetBlue management wants to retain total control over all decisions. The best way for them to do that is to do everything possible to influence and coerce their employees not to unionize. When workers unionize, they have a seat at the table and the right to negotiate and vote on their terms of employment.

When workers are not unionized, they don’t have those rights (collective bargaining rights).

By delaying the process, JetBlue management and their attorneys will have more time to try and convince Crewmembers that we don’t need to unionize and negotiate a legally binding contract. It’s important that we understand that everything JetBlue management does from this point forward is to influence GO Crewmembers to remain non-union, with no legal rights and no contract.

What can JetBlue management do to delay the NMB process?

We expect that JetBlue management will make every attempt to inflate the list of potentially eligible voters by placing individuals on the list who are ineligible. For example, we expect JetBlue to place AO Crewmembers on the list.

This will force us to identify the ineligible workers and object to their inclusion on the list of potentially eligible voters. Under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), workers must organize according to “class and craft” (job classification). According to the law, GO and AO are separate classifications of work and therefore must unionize separately.

We hope JetBlue management doesn’t engage in any dirty tricks to delay our right to vote. If they try, we are prepared for anything and we will keep the Department of Labor and elected officials abreast of the situation.

What are our rights during this process?

>> We have a federal right under the Railway Labor Act (RLA), to form and join a union without interference from JetBlue management.

>> We have the right to talk to our co-workers about the Union just like we talk about any other subject at work. We have the right to hand out flyers and other information during non-work times in non-work areas.

>> We have the right to wear a Union Pin.

It’s against federal law for management to stop us from exercising these rights, or retaliate against us for exercising our federal right to form a Union. The Railway Labor Act—the federal law that gives us these rights— prohibits management from influencing or interfering with our right to join a union. Ask yourself, is JetBlue management, or any other person, trying to influence us to not unionize?

The law states, “No carrier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question the right of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizing the labor organization of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees.” “All employees are free to express their desire to be represented by a labor organization or to be unrepresented.

The Carrier is not permitted to influence, interfere or coerce employees in any manner in an effort to induce them to participate or refrain from participating in an election should there be one.

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JetBlue Union Vote Update

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JetBlue Union Vote Update

5 October, 2022

Union Vote Update: Timeline and Our Rights

As you know, the IAM filed an application with the National Mediation Board (NMB), a federal agency, to conduct a union representation vote on Friday, September 23, 2022.

On September 26, 2022, the NMB ordered JetBlue management to forward to the NMB the list of “potential eligible voters” by Monday, October 11, 2022.

Yesterday, JetBlue’s high-priced attorneys requested a one-week extension, until Monday, October 18, 2022, to submit the list (we will let you know if the extension is granted).

Once the NMB receives the list of potentially eligible voters from JetBlue management, the federal agency will then determine if at least 50 percent of GO Crewmembers signed an election authorization card (a-card), requesting a union election be scheduled.

The NMB controls the timeline of this process, and we will keep you updated on any developments every step of the way.

It is very important that all GO Crewmembers understand that our right to join, and express support to form a union of JetBlue GO Crewmembers, is protected under federal law.

The NMB’s Notice to Employees states: “No carrier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question the right of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizing the labor organization of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees […] The Carrier is not permitted to influence, interfere or coerce employees in any manner in an effort to induce them to participate or refrain from participating in an election should there be one.”

If you believe that JetBlue is attempting to influence, interfere or coerce you against exercising your right to join a union, please notify an IAM representative. CLICK HERE to find out more about your rights, and how you can file an ANONYMOUS “carrier interference” charge.

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