Jan 29, 2019 | Airlines, American, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Spirit, United
The brutal Arctic blast striking the United States this week is making life a living hell for airport workers around the nation, including thousands working in Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway.
Here are a few fast facts about the approaching Atomic Arctic Blast.
Fact Check: Is Chicago Colder than Antarctica?
The Polar Vortex has dropped temperatures in the Chicago area to Arctic levels. Low temps at ORD Airport are falling below the high temps in Antarctica on Wednesday, causing massive flight disruptions and travel advisories.
The windchill in Chicago, an important factor for airline workers, could reach -50 F.
CBS NEWS: Other places that are warmer than Chicago this week >
There may be snowplace like Chicago this week, but everyone else is getting hit, too.
United Airlines and American both have important hubs in Chicago, and Southwest has an additional hub at Midway. The storm is grounding an estimated 1,300 flights in and out of the city this week, meaning headaches for many travelers passing through the entire region.
In addition to the cascading effect that the storm is causing from Chicago, there are also direct impacts predicted in airports like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Detroit. So far, about 100 flights have been canceled or are expected to be canceled at airports within the storm radius.
Airlines are Granting Waivers so people can avoid the storm.
Travelers that want to change their flights because of the Polar Vortex should contact their airline to find out if they are eligible for refunds, and when they will need to rebook to have fees waived, as well as other terms.
Check with your airline for specific details:
United Airlines – Waivers and travel advisories in place.
American Airlines – Waivers and travel advisories in place.
Spirit Airlines – Waivers and travel advisories in place.
Philippine Airlines – No travel disruptions as of Jan/29/19 0900 (EST)
Hawaiian Airlines – No travel disruptions as of Jan/29/19 0900 (EST)
Unionized airline workers may be eligible for attendance waivers if they can’t get to work.
Chicago is home to one of the largest collection of unionized airline workers (Machinists District 141 is home to about 42 thousand active and retired airline workers).
Thanks to Union contracts, many of these workers can apply for special attendance considerations whenever a station encounters storms of this magnitude, and can’t safely get to work.
IAM141 Airline workers can review their specific agreements from the “Contracts” banner on IAM141.org, and follow-up by making a call to their Human Resources Deptartment.
Jan 18, 2019 | Airlines, American, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Spirit, United
The Four Most Important Things to Know About the TSA Sick Calls.
Hundreds of TSA screeners are calling out sick during the government shutdown, now entering its fourth week. Here are four fast facts that people need to know about TSA while we all watch them get jerked around with their paychecks.
The Blue Flu got its Name From the Color of TSA Uniforms.
With their bright blue uniform tops and the fact that “flu” rhymes with “blue,” we all really should have figured that this name would catch on. TSA agents themselves coined the term, and it started going viral about 15 days into the government shutdown.
TSA Sick Calls are Forcing Airports Like IAH and MIA to Cut Back Hours.
MIA’s Concourse G was once the gateway to Miami for the rich and famous, lured in by warm Atlantic beaches, proximity to Cuba and the Bahamas. This past weekend, it was closed down. Really, Miami?
With hundreds of TSA screeners calling out sick, airports are scrambling to mitigate the impact on the flying public. At Miami International Airport, authorities decided to move a handful of late afternoon and evening flights at Concourse G (which usually isn’t very busy) to other parts of the airport. At Houston’s IAH, Terminal B was closed early over the weekend, and officials couldn’t say when regular hours of operation would be resumed.
The closings mean that airports will need fewer TSA screeners, but the decision will also shut down food courts and gift shops, hurting the people that work in those businesses.
Yes, The Shutdown is Causing A Problem for Airport Security. It’s Just A Problem that TSA is Handling Right Now.
TSA is working harder to keep you safe at our nation’s airports because of the shutdown.
When you hear people on TV saying that the shutdown isn’t a problem for airport security, what they mean is that it isn’t a problem – for air travelers. That doesn’t mean that it’s no big deal. TSA screeners are missing out on payday this week, but most of them are still coming to work. The guys that are showing up are also taking on extra responsibilities, and doing more jobs with fewer people. Meaning, the situation for the women and men who do airport security for a living is just going to get harder (and be more of a problem) the longer the shutdown drags on.
Calling Out Sick? Yes. Missing Work? No.
Most of the TSA screeners that are calling out sick aren’t getting the day off. They’re still at work; they’re just working at jobs that pay them.
According to a recent Harris Poll, more than 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. TSA screeners are no different, and the last time they got paid was before the Christmas holidays. At some point, they have to be expected to work for a paycheck again.
TSA screeners work to keep the flying public safe and to protect the United States from another catastrophic terror attack like the ones that we experienced on Sept. 11, 2001. Most people might think that’s an important job, one worth paying people to do.
Does your city have the “Blue Flu”? Let us know what’s happening at Contact@iam141.org
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Jan 16, 2019 | Airlines, American, Community Service, Departments, EAP, Education, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
Updated: 1/17/2019
The Federal Government shutdown began back in December, screwing over about 2 million workers and everyone who depends on them. This includes 51 thousand TSA Agents that keep our airlines moving. Here’s a running list of how the shutdown is impacting airports and airlines.
The Machinists Non-Partisan Political League has a plan to end the shutdown – find out more at GoIAM.org. Speak Out Here >>
1. Food courts and gift shops are losing business.
IAM141 Media
When TSA security checkpoints close, they dramatically rearrange the flow of foot traffic around them. Airport restaurants and shops that depend on passengers with plenty of wait times walking past and patronizing their establishments are struggling to attract customers who now have little time or are not even in that part of the airport.
2. TSA agents are starting to depend on food pantries.
AMY MATTHEWS/ST. MARY’S FOOD BANK via AZCentral.com
A Phoenix-based charity recently attracted some 300 TSA agents to their food distribution operation. Jerry Brown, a spokesman with St. Mary’s Mobile Food Pantry, helped deliver about 10,000 pounds of staples such as canned goods, bread, and eggs to the women and men that work to keep our airports safe.
The sheer number of needy TSA families left him stunned. “I didn’t expect that from missing just one paycheck,” Brown said, adding that he saw “everything from smiles and thank you’s to tears” from thankful TSA agents.
More details from AZ Central:
Read More >>
3. Dulles is closing security checkpoints.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images. Via Fox5 DC
The airport is also blaming recent snowstorms, but TSA related staffing shortages are the leading cause for reduced security checkpoints. Story from Fox5 DC.
Read More >>
4. Houston’s Bush Intercontinental is closing security checkpoints.
IAM141 Media
The massive United Airlines hub is also a key station for Spirit Airlines and an estimated 4,000 IAM members. Closures have caused work area disruptions for airline workers.
Read More >>
5. MIA has had to cut back on hours of operation.
Pedro Portal, via MiamiHerald.com
From the Miami Herald: Concourse G closes at Miami International Airport as federal government shutdown drags on.
Read More >>
6. TSA agents need money to come to work, because gas, toll roads, and work lunches aren’t free.
Win McNamee/Getty via Vox
But, since they haven’t been paid a dime since before Christmas, hundreds of them can simply no longer afford to report for duty. This won’t change simply because the government re-opens. They need a paycheck.
7. Air Traffic Controllers are federal employees mandated to work and not getting paid.
Chalabala via IAM141 Media
Although better able to sustain a missing paycheck in the short term than other federal employees, Air Traffic Controllers have an incredibly stressful and critical job.
Read More >>
8. Many FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) Officers are furloughed.
Acc.af.mil
This makes it impossible for airlines to get new routes approved and accomplish other critical housekeeping tasks, such as creating new pilot licenses and approving plans to expand and improve airport facilities.
Without FAA inspectors, an aircraft training facility in Oklahoma City has been forced to suspend operations.
Read More >>
9. Delta’s CEO Says that the airline has lost $25 million because of the shutdown so far.
Flickr
Delta CEO Ed Bastian says that the shutdown is holding up new aircraft certifications and preventing federal employees and contractors from flying. All the slowdowns have cost the nation’s largest airline $25 million in the first month of the shutdown, according to Bastian.
Read More >>
10. Security Lines at Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport stretched for more than THREE HOURS as a result of staffing shortages.
Photos: Twitter/Omar Jimenez via Business Insider
What does it take for long lines and unendurable waits at airports to become newsworthy? At the busiest airport in America, travelers now also have the longest lines. Business Insider has all the details.
Read More >>
11. At least three unions representing federal workers are suing the Trump administration to end the shutdown.
Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP via Washington Post
On Tuesday, a federal judge denied a request from the unions to force the government to pay workers during the shutdown, but the legal fight is far from over. More hearings are scheduled for next week, if the federal courts have not run out of money and are still operating.
Read More >>
12. Several airport and airline unions are marching, protesting, and lobbying lawmakers to bring an end to the shutdown.
GoIAM.org/IAM141 Media
The largest airline and aerospace union in the world, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, is confronting federal decision makers over the shutdown. And they’re not alone. Thousands of union members from a range of industries are holding marches, rallies, and lobbying efforts… all aimed at ending the shutdown as soon as possible.
Read More >>
13. Several airlines are posting record profits, and really don’t need all this right now.
Chalabala via IAM141 Media
Airlines in the US have had a tough time since 9/11. The long, painful (but ultimately successful) recovery has largely been an inspiring tale for the US Commercial Aviation Industry. But, CEOs and market insiders are warning that the creeping impacts of a prolonged shutdown will be impossible to predict and prepare for, placing the current stairline prosperity in grave peril.
Read More >>
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Jan 15, 2019 | Airlines, American, Community Service, Departments, EAP, Education, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
Houston’s Terminal B Security Checkpoint was closed indefinitely as of Monday.
Houston’s largest airport, Bush Intercontinental (IAH), is closing a primary security checkpoint as they deal with staffing shortages caused by increasing numbers of TSA agents who can no longer afford to come to work without pay. The announcement follows a similar decision by officials at Miami International Airport (MIA) to reduce hours at TSA checkpoints at its Concourse G, and record-shattering security lines at other airports, such as Atlanta’s ATL, which had wait times in excess of two hours.
About 4,000 IAM members work at IAH. The station is home to both Locals 811 and 2198.
Although flights will still be leaving from Terminal B, where the closure is taking place, passengers will need to check in at other terminals. Businesses at Terminal B will remain open, but can expect less customer traffic as passengers will be arriving in the concourse closer to flight departure times.
11:00 AM, and some businesses at IAH Terminal B had yet to make a single sale.
Airport administrators have not said how long the closures will last. IAM141 AGC Victor Hernandez (IAH Ramp, DFW, SJU) issued a statement to Machinists Union members at the airport, reassuring the membership that the expected impact to operations at United Airlines was minimal. “As of right now we are not losing any days of work,” he said in the statement, adding that some people may be expected to move from some work areas to others. He promised more updates if any changes happen that could impact union members at IAH.
Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner blamed the closure on a lack of TSA agents available to work.
IAH is already one of the busiest airports in the world.
More than 100,000 people travel daily through IAH, making it one of the busiest airports in the world. Airport parking can range as high as $30 per day, and there are limited public transportation options to the airport, making it an expensive place for TSA agents to commute to every day. Once additional costs such as daycare, lunches, and tolls are also factored in, a typical TSA agent in Houston will spend a sizable chunk of their income each month just getting to work.
A TSA Agent looks on as passengers line up at Terminal C, which was fully staffed.
TSA Agents have not received a paycheck since before Christmas, amid the most extended government shutdown in US history. Since the average TSA agent earns about $35k a year, going without pay means going without rent. “Thankfully, I have two jobs because I’m not getting paid at TSA,” said one agent on Twitter (#ShutDownStories). “But I still have to show up. Which means I have to work both jobs every day, sleeping two to three hours at night, just to not even break even on bills.”
The government shutdown began on December 22, after President Trump and lawmakers failed to agree on a spending bill. There are few indications that the shutdown will end any time soon, which means that more disruptions are certain.
Get involved! Contact IAM141 MNPL Legislative Director Dave Roderick for information about what you can do to help end the shutdown, and get 800,000 Federal Employees back to work.
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Jan 11, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Spirit, United
On the 20th day of the partial federal government shutdown, workers, union leaders, members of Congress and allies gathered in front of the AFL-CIO headquarters in Washington, DC.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka kicked off the rally by denouncing the shutdown, which has become the longest and most painful in American history.
“That is not a record that anyone should be proud of. And let’s call this shutdown what it is: it’s a lockout. Hard working American patriots are being locked out of their jobs for no reason other than the politics of fear.”
Representatives of IAM141 joined in solidarity with union activists from the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), the IAMAW affiliate that was a lead organizer of the rally. Randy Erwin, NFFE National President, described union members who feel as if the “carpet (was) ripped out from under them” and asked, “How out of touch is this president?”
Erwin introduced NFFE member Jamie Rodney, who as a Federal Investigator for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) enforces fair housing and civil rights laws. She warned that HUD rental assistance payments that millions of people rely on would not be available during the shutdown.
IAM General Vice-President Bryan Bryant stressed the real-life consequences of the shutdown politics:
“Not once did (the president) mention the impact on federal workers, federal contractors, their communities and their families. Not once did he mention that one-third of federal workers are veterans. Not once did he mention the damage that is being done to the American people and our economy.”
Economists at Standard & Poor estimate that the shutdown has dropped the nation’s economic output by over $6.5 billion per week. The US Travel Association, a non-profit advocacy group, estimates a loss of $152 million per day in the industry, based in part on expected reductions in business travel for federal employees and government contractors.
GVP Bryant invited IAMAW member Steve Ching to the podium. Ching is an Industrial High Voltage Technician whose responsibilities include monitoring the power grid at the Kennedy Space Center. He spoke about the dilemma federal workers face: “How long will our families be able to hold out? What about medical insurance? We love our jobs but hate this uncertainty. Many have questioned if they should move on to another job. If these workers go on to other jobs, the space program will suffer. These are highly trained, skilled professionals with security clearances and certifications that will be hard to replace. Working America wants to go back to work. Hard working Americans like myself are being used as pawns in this great political divide. Congress and the President must put aside political differences, reopen the government and work together to solve America’s problems just like they always have in this great country.”
Elected officials, including several members of Congress, called for fairness for the furloughed workers, demanding that a “clean” bill be put for a vote on the Senate floor to get workers back to their jobs, leaving negotiations on immigration and border security for a later discussion. Sen. Mazie Hirono (HI) called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (KY) demanding that “the man missing in action come out of hiding and do his job so we can all do our jobs.” Several senators echoed her call, pointing out that the US Senate, as an independent branch of government, has the power to override a president’s veto with a 2/3 majority vote.
Union leaders pledged steadfast and unified action in support of working women and men at similar rallies across the country. Hundreds of union leaders from a range of industries promised to continue to speak out, march and take any additional necessary actions in support of their members.
So far, two unions are suing the federal government arguing it is against the law to mandate employees to work without pay. GVP Bryan Bryant agreed, and called it “unconscionable.”
Dec 19, 2018 | Airlines, American, Departments, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
Newly Released Research by UnionSafe141 has info for airline workers looking to avoid the OJI Pain Train.
Try to think of something that will ruin your day at work, and airline workers are probably dealing with that exact thing right now, while you are reading this.
Extreme weather, exhaustion, heavy machinery… the world of commercial aviation is home to every kind of workplace hazard known to man.
Chemicals? Explosives? Tight spaces? Airline workers wouldn’t even flinch. Airline workers are trained to deal with all that by their first day. Heavy lifting? Heights? Complicated math? Please. Some ramper somewhere is probably loading a lion or a bear into a plane at this very moment.
However hard you try, occasionally coming home feeling a little beat up is normal. For airline workers, it’s SOP. In fact, according to data compiled by OSHA, working at one of our nation’s airports is about even with construction work when it comes to how likely it is to get banged up on the job.
Airline work is dangerous. And, the longer a person does it, the more likely a severe injury becomes.
It’s hard to know just how dangerous airline work is, however. Surprisingly, there are no federal regulators or agencies that maintain a detailed and comprehensive record of injuries. What information exists can be nearly impossible to find, scattered over a confusing tangle of bureaucratic firewalls.
The most extensive database of airline incident tracking available is kept by Machinists Union members in Philadelphia. The small team of Safety Advocates there maintains careful records of injuries, equipment repairs, and other safety-related information of interest to airline workers. The detailed information provides what is perhaps the clearest view of the safety landscape of Airlines in North America.
According to the research conducted by the Machinists Union, the leading cause of injuries sustained by airline workers is… drumroll please… back injuries.
Hundreds and hundreds of airline workers report serious back injuries each year. Many of them are crippling.
They are also hard to avoid. Airline workers deal with several thousand pounds of bags a day, often while squeezed into the underbellies of planes. Other work areas require near-constant lifting from unavoidable awkward positions and heights. Moreover, back injuries seldom result from a single incident. Repetitive stress trauma can sneak up on you, waiting for that one special bag to become the straw that finally, well, breaks the camel’s back.
All of which makes back injuries an unwanted trademark of airline work.
To read the full story and many more like it. Check out District Lodge 141’s New Airmail Magazine. This Issue focuses on the 2018 IAM141 Safety Conference and highlights safety in the airline industry.
