Union Members (And Only Union Members) Have Merger Protections

Union Members (And Only Union Members) Have Merger Protections

Union Members (And Only Union Members) Have Legally-Binding Merger Protections

Justice at JetBlue
21 April 2022

The benefits of a Union Contract: legal protections in the event of a merger.

JetBlue’s bid to acquire and merge with Spirit Airlines comes with many questions and uncertainties. Who will run the combined airline? What future guarantees do non-union JetBlue employees have?

Which carrier’s business model will be employed?

As we have seen in merger after merger in the last 15 years, airline executives make a lot of promises to win government approval. But, many of those promises can be broken if workers don’t have a contract to protect them.

A contract guarantees that workers will maintain their employment, seniority, wages, benefits, and working conditions when a merger occurs. Without these protections, management can change almost anything it wants, whether it benefits workers or not.

However, if workers are unionized and have representation, then their rights and interests are represented throughout the process.

For example, in the ten years since American and US Airways merged, IAM- represented workers’ wages have increased by approximately 50%, seniority was integrated fairly and benefits and working conditions greatly improved. After the merger of United and Continental much the same occurred, with about 15,000 pre-merger Continental workers gaining union contracts and the protections afforded by them.

The fact is, only union representation and a legally enforceable contract can provide the much-needed protection that JetBlue GO Crewmembers deserve.

Study: JetBlue as a Career

Is Ground Operations at JetBlue a good career choice? Do you plan to work at JetBlue long-term? How do you think your time at JetBlue will end? Let us know by participating in our careerism study below.

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Negotiations Continue in Houston

Negotiations Continue in Houston

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Negotiations Continue in Houston

 

16 April 2022

This week, the IAM District 141 Negotiations Committee and United Airlines continued negotiations in Houston, Texas. Both parties exchanged proposals and responded to open items regarding issues in Articles 1, 4, and 10 in the collective bargaining agreements.

While we hoped to be much further along in this expedited negotiations process, we achieved incremental progress this week. We again reiterated to the Company that IAM-represented workers at United Airlines deserve the industry’s best agreements.

Negotiations will continue the week of April 25th.

In Solidarity,

Your District 141 Negotiating Committee

Olu Ajetomobi
Joe Bartz
Victor Hernandez
Barb Martin
Andrea’ Myers
Terry Stansbury

Faysal Silwany
Erik Stenberg
Sue Weisner

Michael G. Klemm

President & Directing General Chair,
IAMAW District 141

Recording Secretaries: Please print and post on all IAMAW bulletin boards.

Machinists Union Demands Answers to JetBlue’s Potential Misuse of Taxpayer-Funded Airline Aid

Machinists Union Demands Answers to JetBlue’s Potential Misuse of Taxpayer-Funded Airline Aid

Machinists Union Demands Answers to JetBlue’s Potential Misuse of Taxpayer-Funded Airline Aid

Justice at JetBlue
13 April 2022

The IAM is seeking answers to JetBlue’s possible misuse of funds from the Payroll Support Program (PSP), a component of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

In 2020, as a response to the destruction of demand for air travel caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress passed the CARES Act. The legislation, which included the PSP, provided approximately $50 billion in aid for U.S. airlines and mandated that the carriers not engage in involuntary layoffs, cut the salaries or reduce the benefits of airline workers.

JetBlue Airways received approximately $2 billion in aid, with most of it coming in the form of taxpayer-funded grants that do not have to be repaid. However, as they took the government funds, JetBlue management cut the working hours of its employees, which consequently cut their pay and benefits.

“We believe what JetBlue did was wrong,” said Richard Johnsen, IAM Chief of Staff to the International President. “JetBlue cut the salaries of thousands of ground workers by at least 20 percent. These are frontline, essential workers who risked their lives coming to work during the height of the pandemic when no vaccine was available. They’re heroes in my book and deserve to be repaid with interest by JetBlue executives.”

The IAM’s Transportation and Legislative Departments are in communication with government officials to get specific answers to specific questions.

“JetBlue just came up with $3.6 billion to buy Spirit Airlines last week,” continued Johnsen. “Some of that money needs to be put back in the pockets of JetBlue workers and not used to shower money on greedy airline executives and shareholders.”

The IAM is the largest airline union in North America and represents over 600,000 members.

 

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United Stores Key Focus at Quarterly Meeting

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Machinists Union Meets With United Management to Discuss Stores’ Operations at the Airline

United Airlines
11 April 2022

The Machinists Union and United Airlines met last week to discuss issues related to the airline’s warehousing operation, known as “Storekeeping,” or “Stores.”

The meeting is a quarterly event that both sides have participated in for the past ten years. At this quarters’ meeting were company managers and executives with oversight over the airline’s Stores workplaces and union representatives, including Assistant General Chairs and Stores Grievance Committee members.

“These meetings are essential because they allow us to have face-to-face discussions with key company decision-makers,” said Joe Bartz. Bartz is an Assistant General Chairman for District 141 of the Machinists Union and helped host the meeting with fellow AGC Troy Rivera. “We can get together and resolve workplace issues on the spot,” he said. “It’s extremely helpful for us to maintain these points of contact, so that we have the situational awareness we need to represent our membership on the front lines,” he continued. 

This Stores meeting focused on various issues, including new hire and transfer integration and seniority concerns. The safety of Stores workers was also a key topic, emphasizing possible risks associated with landing gears and the enormous aircraft tires that Stores workers have to handle. 

This quarters’ meeting was hosted by the unions’ District 141 Assistant General Chairs Joe Bartz and Troy Rivera. It included a delegation of Stores union representatives from major United Airlines operations across the country. 

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8,000 Amazon Workers Vote to Unionize – JetBlue Ground Ops is Next

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Message from JetBlue Ground Ops:
8,000 Amazon Workers Vote to Unionize – We’re Next!

Justice at JetBlue
7 April 2022

Over 8,000 Amazon workers voted to unionize last week. These brave Amazon workers cited sub-standard working conditions and the ability to have a VOICE AND A VOTE on the job as reasons to unionize.

The workers prevailed even though Amazon spent millions of dollars to an anti-union consulting firm. The firm, GSG, directed Amazon supervisors, managers, and executives, to distribute anti-union materials via emails and flyers and hold meetings to discourage workers from unionizing by touting their “direct relationship” with the Amazon workers.

Sound familiar?

Why? Why do companies such as Amazon and JetBlue try and discourage workers from unionizing? Why do they want to block workers from gaining the legal right to have a real VOICE AND A VOTE ON HOW THEIR WORKPLACE IS RUN?

It’s all about control, power, and the bottom line. The more control and power that JetBlue has, the better it can control its bottom line. Without union representation, JetBlue can do whatever it wants when it wants without our consent, and that’s very valuable to them.

Our time is now.

Please sign your a-card today, so we can call for a vote ASAP! You have the right to sign a card under federal law. JetBlue is prohibited by federal law from knowing who signed a card. Signing a card is not a vote for the union, it only means you want a vote.

 

 

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JetBlue Bids $3.6 Billion for Spirit; Union Representation Critical for At-Risk Work

JetBlue Bids $3.6 Billion for Spirit; Union Representation Critical for At-Risk Work

Message from JetBlue Ground Ops:
JetBlue Bids $3.6 Billion for Spirit; Union Representation Never More Critical

Justice at JetBlue
6 April 2022

JetBlue management yesterday announced it offered $3.6 billion to purchase Spirit Airlines. Airline mergers create many uncertainties, especially when workers do not have a contract with legally enforceable language to protect their rights. 

JetBlue management will likely make many promises about what will happen if this merger with Spirit occurs. Many of these promises will center around how the merger of JetBlue and Spirit will create more competition and how workers will benefit. As history tells us, these promises, made by every airline executive after a merger, often turn out to be false.

JetBlue management will likely make many promises regarding what will happen if this merger with Spirit occurs. Many of these promises will center around how the merger of JetBlue and Spirit will create more competition and how workers will benefit. As history tells us, these promises, made by every airline executive

What’s at risk for JetBlue Crewmembers? Short answer, everything. Our jobs, wages, benefits, and working conditions can be changed at any time for any reason now and also throughout the merger/acquisition process. And, during a merger/acquisition, management teams often change, and promises made are routinely broken.

The only real way to make sure our interests are protected is by unionizing and gaining representation through this process. Once we gain IAM representation, we would enter into legally recognized negotiations to protect what we currently have and then negotiate for more.

In every IAM contract, there is strong language to protect the rights of IAM members. Such language mandates that IAM members’ contracts are recognized and respected during a merger. Wages, benefits, job protections, seniority, and working conditions are completely protected. And, when we are unionized, we would then enter into negotiations to combine workgroups and seek further gains and protections. This has occurred in every merger in which the IAM was the union.

Remember that a-cards are only valid for one year, so if you haven’t signed within the last year, renew today. We are making strong progress toward filing for a union election, so don’t delay, sign today!

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