Helping Hands August: CBD
Because there is a lot of confusion around legalization of marijuanna and THC (the active ingredient in marijuanna that gives people a “high”) and now – CBD oils, we cover information about CBD this month. CBD oil has been touted as a treatment for pain. The information about CBD oil is mixed. The federal government, through the FDA, has not vetted most of the CBD products that are showing up in mainstream stores around the country. The effectiveness of CBD oil is not clear.
The issue is that most CBD products also have THC. While CBD is not a substance that is tested on DOT drug tests, THC is. Anyone who is subject to random testing runs the risk of testing positive for THC if they are using any product that contains even a tiny amount of THC. THC accumulates in fat. Use of a CBD product that contains even a small amount of THC over a long period of time may result in enough THC accumulating in the body to result in a positive drug screen for THC.
This is a confusing issue. We are currently recommending that anyone who COULD be randomly tested needs to be extremely cautious about using any product that could contain THC. Read the label carefully and be aware that even though the label does not show THC, there may still be low levels of THC that could compromise them should they get tested.
Thank you for being agents of information. This will be an on-going issue as the FDA, individual states and academic institutes study the results of using CBD.
Bryan,
Bryan Hutchinson, M.S.
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Don’t Be Greedy: Buddy Passes are Not a Side Hustle
As airline employees, one of the best perks of our jobs is the ability to fly everywhere for free or cheap. If we mention the type of work we do in a casual conversation, it will surely prompt an enthusiastic response, even from complete strangers. A popular t-shirt for sale online proclaims: “Marry me and fly free.”
There’s no doubt that for most airline employees, the freedom and flexibility that our travel benefits provide is a key reason why we chose this line of work. In recent years, as airlines enjoy record load factors (and profits), traveling space-available has become more of a challenge, but with a little bit of planning and luck, it is something we all enjoy. We appreciate the freedom and flexibility to stay in touch with family and friends while we explore the world. Pass travel is priceless and priceless it should stay.
Pass travel programs allow employees to enjoy the products that we create, but they are still the company’s property. When an employee brokers the passes or treats them as personal assets, those actions can get them fired, or even arrested. IAM Committees are very good at preventing unjust terminations, and hundreds of members have been successfully defended against being unfairly fired. These good outcomes, however, do not come to members involved in theft or fraud.
Repeated violations of pass travel programs by employees can prompt the airline to restrict or limit them for everyone.
In summary, messing with your pass privileges is a bad move, so don’t be greedy. As tempting as it may seem to try to monetize this perk, don’t do it. The enhanced travel privileges we enjoy that allow us to choose our traveling companions can be changed at the airlines’ discretion, with notification to the union being the only requirement. You do not have to marry your traveling companion anymore, like the t-shirt says, but be cautious. And know who your buddies are.
Contact an EAP Representative if you have problems handling finances or family life. IAM District 141 EAP Staff and Volunteer EAP Coordinators can help you with resources in the community to address your situation and develop a plan of action to meet your needs. Find more information at https://iam141.org/eap/
Fraternally,
Michael G. Klemm
President & Directing General Chairman
IAMAW District Lodge 141
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Local Activists Called To Action at Machinists Union Communications Conference
Who are the best people to advocate for worker’s rights? According to the Machinists Union, the answer is simple: Workers.
At the biannual Machinists Union Communications Conference, a consistent message was repeated over and over: workers rights cannot exist without strong unions. And, strong unions cannot exist in the modern workforce without a strong commitment to effective communications by front line activists.
IAM Director of Communications, Bob Wood
“The most important part of our communications… is our local and district communicator,” Machinists Union Communications Director, Bob Wood told the record-sized crowd. “Getting our local membership interested, getting them excited, that is so important.”
“Your local lodge newsletter, your local lodge website, your local lodge Facebook, and letting people know what’s going on with their union… those are some of the first and last things that most members are going to experience.”
The Conference was kicked off by Las Vegas Local 845 President, Patrick Hamilton, who underscored the message.
“Without communication, there is no action.”
Speaking before the crowd of union communicators and advocates, Hamilton said, “if the rank and file members don’t know what’s going on at the negotiating table, at the local lodge, there’s going to be no action.”
“Communications is the lifeblood that makes everything else possible.”
Patrick Hamilton, President of Las Vegas Local 845
The IAM Communications Conference brings together the Union’s top activist artists, writers, and photographers from around the United States and Canada. The 2019 Conference is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Helping Hands May: Drug Addiction
We focus on drug addiction this month. Drug Addiction is defined and explored on page 1. Page 2 addresses whether drug addiction can be cured or prevented.
Much of the information is from the www.drugabuse.gov web site. This is a very good resource and I encourage you to browse the site so you are familiar with all of the information there is.
Thank you for taking good care of your fellow co-workers. It is important work.
Bryan,
Bryan Hutchinson, M.S.
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Presidential Candidate Amy Klobuchar Talks Mega Mergers Praises Union Activism
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AMY KLOBUCHAR TALKS MEGA-MERGERS, PRAISES UNION ACTIVISM
Presidential Candidate Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Mn) spoke before hundreds of Machinists Union members at its conference of railroad and airline workers.
For Senator Klobuchar, the event was the highlight of her first campaign stop in Las Vegas, where she also visited the Blind Center of Nevada and the Harold Brinley Middle School. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt), also addressed delegates at the Machinists Union Transportation Conference. The Machinists Union is the largest union of aerospace and rail workers in the world.
In her speech, Senator Klobuchar emphasized her close ties with unions, which Owen E. Herrnstadt, Chief of Staff for the IAM International President, praised in his introduction of the senior senator from Minnesota.
“Since taking office in 2007, Amy Klobuchar has been a fearless fighter on behalf of working Americans,” Herrnstadt told the assembled group of over 800 union members from the nation’s railroads and airlines. “Amy knows how to get things done.”
“She has supported efforts to protect our pensions, to protect voting rights, to make drug prices affordable, raise the minimum wage … and shine a bright light on corporations that want to merge.”
Mergers were a particular area of focus of Klobuchar’s speech to the Machinists, whose members have been rocked by two recent mega-mergers. Notably, the mergers between United Airlines and Continental, and US Airways and American.
But air transport is not the only industry that has endured huge and difficult mergers.
“We are now in a new Gilded Age,” said Klobuchar of the railroad industry. “We’re down to four Class One Carriers that are carrying 90% of the traffic.”
“This means that wages go down because there’s not enough competition,” she said. Unions are the leverage that we have. Unions can take on corporations and win better wages for workers.”
The first female senator from Minnesota spoke highly of the community spirit and activism of Machinists.
“The 600 thousand members of the Machinists Union… helped rebuild communities affected by the raging wildfires in the West and the floods in the Midwest.”
“You sent your Critical Incident Support Team to support survivors when a gunman opened fire in Aurora, Illinois, killing five people, two of whom were IAM Members.”
“And, after the devastation of Maria, you partnered with airlines to fly goods and disaster relief to Puerto Rico,” she said.
“That’s a community. That’s a shared story. That’s ordinary people doing extraordinary things.”
After her speech, Senator Klobuchar spent time speaking with delegates and posed for pictures.
The IAM Transportation Conference assembles the top union activists within the railroad and airline industries. The event is being held this week in Las Vegas, Nevada, and will run through April 11.
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