United Negotiations Update

United Negotiations Update

Nov 25, 2024 | Featured News, Front Page, Perusals, Recent News, Recent News, Row 2, United

United Contract Negotiations Update

26 November 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Your IAM District 141 negotiating team and United Airlines management made significant progress in contract negotiations last week in Chicago, Illinois. We addressed seven separate contracts, including important discussions led by the Fleet Technical Instructors (FTI) subcommittee.

Here are the highlights of our recent efforts:

Fleet Technical Instructors (FTI) Agreement: Progress was made on Article One classification and vacancies, along with productive discussions about strengthening job security.

Fleet Service, Passenger Service, and Stores Agreements: We reached our most productive session to date, achieving a tentative agreement on temporary assignments—a key milestone in our negotiations.

Upcoming Sessions: Negotiations will resume the week of December 9th, with the addition of subcommittees representing Storekeeper and Security Officer contracts.

We are committed to ensuring that each step in these negotiations delivers meaningful improvements for our members. Your unwavering support remains crucial to our success, and we thank you for standing united with us.

In Solidarity

Your Negotiating Committee
Olu Ajetomobi
Joe Bartz
Jill Hazamy
Victor Hernandez
Barb Martin
Terry Stansbury
Faysal Silwany
Erik Stenberg
Sue Weisner

Michael G Klemm
President and Directing General Chair,
District 141,
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

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Spirit Airlines Announces Plan to Restructure, Files Bankruptcy

Spirit Airlines Announces Plan to Restructure, Files Bankruptcy

Nov 19, 2024 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, Perusals, Recent News, Recent News, Row 2, United

Spirit Airlines Announces Plan to Restructure, Files Bankruptcy

November 19, 2024

Sisters and Brothers,

Yesterday, Spirit Airlines announced that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as part of a comprehensive restructuring plan. While this news may cause concern among our members, I want to be clear: this development does not mean Spirit Airlines is ceasing operations or reducing wages for our front-line Union Members. Rather, it represents a strategic move to reorganize and address its financial challenges while maintaining business operations.

This filing begins a legal process that requires court approval to proceed with the proposed restructuring plan. As of now, there is no public information indicating that the bankruptcy court has approved Spirit’s filing. The airline has stated that it expects to continue normal operations during the proceedings and aims to emerge from bankruptcy sometime between January and March of 2025.

Spirit has made public assurances that Team Member wages and benefits will continue to be paid and honored.

Furthermore, existing labor contracts, including those between the Machinists Union and Spirit, remain intact unless otherwise modified by the bankruptcy court – a possibility we will monitor closely.

The Machinists Union has significant experience navigating airline bankruptcies. Although this situation is not new to us, we approach it with a steadfast commitment to ensuring fair treatment for all our members at Spirit Airlines. We trust that Spirit will honor its public pledge that this restructuring will not impact employee compensation and benefits.

We are prepared to stand by our members and provide the necessary support throughout this process. Rest assured, the Machinists Union will keep all Union Members informed and up to date with any developments related to Spirit’s bankruptcy proceedings.

Thank you for your continued trust and dedication. Together, we will navigate these challenging times with the strength and unity that define our Union.

The Press Release from Spirit Airlines can be found here, or at Spirit.com under the “Press Releases” tab.

In Solidarity,

Michael G Klemm
President and Directing General Chair,
District 141,
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers
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United Negotiations Update

United Airlines Negotiations Update for September 17, 2024

Sep 17, 2024 | Featured, Front Page, Perusals, Recent News, Recent News, Row 2, United

United Contract Negotiations Update

17 September 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Your IAM District 141 negotiating team and United Airlines management continued contract negotiations for seven different contracts last week in Chicago, Illinois. The District 141 sub- committees for the Storekeeper and Security Officer contracts were also present and engaged in negotiations that cover items specific to those two Collective Bargaining Agreements.

The Security Officers sub-committee presented proposals for Articles 1, 2, and 4, along with key language to be added under Article 10 as a new provision. 

We are waiting for written responses from the Company. 

Our Storekeeper sub-committee initiated conversations on Article 1 topics which included Storekeeper and Lead Storekeeper job descriptions as well as Designated Station Trainers (DST’s). These conversations included adding new cities in Article 2.A regarding job security. We also discussed issues regarding tooling, deliveries, inventory recovery trips and international travel.

Conversations resumed for the Passenger Service and Fleet Service Agreements and we exchanged proposals regarding specific provisions of Article 1. These included Temporary Assignments and Interpreters.

While we did not finalize any tentative agreements on these subjects, we had our best dialogue to date on several matters that you have identified as critical.

IAM District 141 is committed to reaching agreements for all seven new contracts in the shortest amount of time possible. To accomplish this, we need the Company to be willing to understand how important these contracts are to our members.

We will return to the negotiating table the week of September 30th, when we will be joined by the sub-committees from the Central Load Planner and Maintenance Instructor contracts.

Remember IAM WORKERS LEAD THE WAY.

In solidarity,



Your Negotiating Committee
Olu Ajetomobi
Joe Bartz
Jill Hazamy
Victor Hernandez
Barb Martin
Terry Stansbury
Faysal Silwany
Erik Stenberg
Sue Weisner

Michael G Klemm
President and Directing General Chair, 
District 141,
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

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United Negotiations Update

United Airlines Negotiations Update

Aug 20, 2024 | Front Page, Perusals, Recent News, Recent News, Row 2, United

United Contract Negotiations Update

20 August 2024

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Last week, your IAM District 141 negotiating team and United Airlines management continued contract negotiations for seven different contracts last week in Chicago, Illinois.

The District 141 Maintenance Instructors sub-committee was also present and engaged in negotiations that cover items specific to the Maintenance Instructor Collective Bargaining Agreement.

While we are frustrated regarding the pace of negotiations and the Company’s reluctance to memorialize and clearly define the Agent on Demand (AOD) work area in the Passenger Service Employee Agreement, we did make some progress in those areas. We exchanged and discussed proposals regarding specific provisions of Article 1. These include Temporary Assignments, Interpreters, Location and Point and Contact Center vacancies. Robust discussions took place on these elements of our contracts, and we expect to resolve and finalize these issues in the coming rounds of negotiations.

The Maintenance Instructor sub-committee had discussions on Article 1 and 10. These include locations, report time for vacancies and International Travel.

We made clear to the Company that we did not appreciate their unpreparedness to begin work at the start of the week. They were expected to respond to specific proposals that had been passed to the Company during our last week of negotiations held in July.

IAM District 141 is committed to reaching agreements for seven new contracts in the shortest amount of time possible. However, to accomplish this, we need the Company to work in a timely, professional manner.

It must be emphasized that all of our proposals are reasonable and are modeled according to modern airline industry norms. It is crucial to note that all Union proposals come directly from our front-line membership.

We will continue negotiations the week of September 9th, when we will be joined by the sub-committees from the Security Officer and Storekeeper contracts.

Remember IAM WORKERS LEAD THE WAY.

In solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee
Olu Ajetomobi
Joe Bartz
Jill Hazamy
Victor Hernandez
Barb Martin
Terry Stansbury
Faysal Silwany
Erik Stenberg
Sue Weisner

Michael G Klemm
President and Directing General Chair, 
District 141,
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

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Union Members at O’Hare Walk Out on Kirby; Sick and Tired of the Same Old Lip Service

Union Members at O’Hare Walk Out on Kirby; Sick and Tired of the Same Old Lip Service

May 6, 2024 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, Other News, Perusals, Recent News, Row 2, United

Union Members at O’Hare Walk Out on Kirby; Sick and Tired of the Same Old Lip Service

7 May 2024

United Airlines is no longer the airline it was under Oscar Muñoz. From 2015 to 2020, this company respected its employees, and, in return, those workers gave the airline the best years in its history.

Recently, United management has been eliminating Customer Service Centers and developing metrics that force our members to meet unreasonable demands. This practice has resulted in poor customer service for our passengers, including mis-boards, as well as increases in damages and on-the-job injuries.

Moreover, company management is demanding that Reservations Agents maintain scorecards of 97% or higher or face unfair discipline. Now, top management has launched an outright assault on Protected Work related to the movement of jet bridges by Passenger Service Employees.

Our Union Membership has had enough. 

Last week, United CEO Scott Kirby walked into a Customer Service Breakroom in Chicago to meet with front-line union members. He had hoped to pose for selfies and chat about how much United values its workers. Instead, all but two employees walked out on him.

Under Article 2 A 1 of the Passenger Service contract, the movement of jet bridges is protected as core work. Despite the clarity of the contractual language, United is insisting that it has the right to move that work to other groups.

In response,  last week, we also concluded a two-day arbitration case to let United management know we are protecting the work of IAM-represented Customer Service Representatives.

The company claims it can assign anyone to do any work covered under the airline’s seven different contracts. Management’s flawed logic would mean that a Customer Service Representative could be told to walk down the jet bridge, position a belt loader to an aircraft, and offload the aircraft. If that sounds like nonsense, that’s because it IS nonsense.

It’s also a sign of absolute disrespect to every IAM member covered under any IAM collective bargaining agreement at United Airlines. Even more maddening, Article 2 A 1 of the Fleet Service contract explicitly states that the movement of a jet bridge is NOT Fleet Service work.

This grievance is in no way an attempt to take work away from our Move Team sisters and brothers. In fact, it’s just the opposite: the goal is to help the Move Team do their job more efficiently by holding the Company accountable for assigning a Customer Service Representative to each aircraft brought to the terminal from another area.

A final decision from this arbitration hearing will take some time to arrive. Both sides are allotted around 30 days to write their post-hearing briefs. Once his process is complete, the Arbitrator will render a decision based on all the evidence and witness testimony.

We expect the decision to be handed down in July.  When we do, we will immediately report back to the membership.

Mike Klemm,
PDGC, District 141,
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
LGR

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United Negotiations Update

United Negotiations Update

Apr 25, 2024 | Featured, Front Page, Row 2, United

United Contract Negotiations Update

23 April 2024

Dear Machinists Union Sisters and Brothers at United Airlines,

As President and Directing General Chair of IAM District Lodge 141, I want to thank you for your participation in our recent pre-negotiation surveys. Your insights are crucial as we begin preparations for the upcoming contract talks with the airline. These negotiations will impact  29,000 union members across Fleet Service, Passenger Service, Storekeepers, Maintenance Instructors, Security Officers, Central Load Planners, and Fleet Technical Instructors roles.

In fact, this was the highest level of contract survey participation in the history of IAM District Lodge 141.

Some of the top priorities are reducing the steps of pay progressions, real, enforceable job preferencing, improved pension and 401k contributions, general work scheduling, quality of life improvements, and for-profit sharing to be in line with other work groups at United Airlines.

While these are some of the top member priorities, your negotiating committee plans to work on all areas of our contracts so that IAM members’ value to United Airlines is recognized and realized. 

In our last communication, we expressed that we believe we can reach the industry-best contracts we deserve by the end of the calendar year. However, that will only be possible IF United Airlines management is serious about treating us with the respect we deserve. United management talks a good game about having the best employees in the airline industry and United being the premier global airline. Now, the time has arrived for United management to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.

Unfortunately, United management has informed us that they will not be available to meet with your negotiating committee until May 21st. That meeting will discuss protocol, scheduling, and the logistics of negotiations. Though this delay is not ideal, we will use this extra time to refine our strategy and strengthen our position.

Thank you again for your engagement. Remember, our strength is our unity.

In Solidarity,

 

Your Negotiating Committee
Olu Ajetomobi
Joe Bartz
Jill Hazamy
Victor Hernandez
Barb Martin
Terry Stansbury
Faysal Silwany
Erik Stenberg
Sue Weisner

Michael G Klemm
President and Directing General Chair, 
District 141,
International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

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