Nov 15, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Philippine, Spirit, United, Video
A snowstorm that caused hundreds of flight cancellations at O’Hare did not deter thirty-one District 141 activists from attending the first MNPL Seminar held for two days at the District offices this week. District 141 MNPL and Legislative Director Dave Roderick organized the event to educate and motivate members to get more involved in lobbying and political advocacy on behalf of Machinists Union members and all working people. US Representative Dan Lipinski from Illinois stopped by and addressed the participants.
Nov 10, 2019 | Airlines, Departments, Featured, Home, United
A Ramp Services Employee at United received $21,993 in back pay after managers refused to accept repeated notes from doctors allowing him to return to work.
United Supervisors ordered Reno-based Ramp Agent Rich Elliott to get his hearing checked after he didn’t immediately answer his radio. A series of missteps by managers kept him out of work for five months. In October, Rich got a check from United for almost $22,000 in back pay. Rich says that he gets a lot of calls for shop steward work now.
Working with his union, Rich Elliott was able to get back to work, and collected back pay, something that lawyers did not think would be possible in Nevada, a “Right-to-Work” state.
Elliott, a United Airlines employee and IAM Local 1781 Shop Steward, was working a flight in mid-March when he missed a radio call from his supervisor.
The combination of loud jet engines and heavy equipment, and the requirement to always wear hearing protection, makes it difficult to hear well while working on an airport ramp. Missing a radio call is not uncommon. However, in this case, a missed radio call cost United thousands of dollars and sent Rich Elliot home for nearly half a year.
Elliott explained to his supervisor that he did not hear the radio call because his radio was not at top volume and he was wearing earplugs and earmuffs for hearing protection. Rather than accept that explanation, the supervisor met with United Station Managers and, as a group, they demanded that he go to an on-site medical clinic to have his hearing checked.
Elliott had his hearing checked the next day. The clinic found no serious injury or impairment, and authorized him to return to work immediately.
For reasons not entirely clear, United managers in Reno refused to accept the clinic’s recommendation and removed him from his work schedule until more medical tests could be performed. United managers turned in paperwork for workers’ compensation that was filled out incorrectly or was incomplete, delaying the process further.
For the next five months, managers at United refused to allow Elliott to go back to his job on the RNO ramp, despite one doctor after another certifying his return to work. Repeatedly, medical professionals declared that he was fine to return to his job, and each time United management either over-ruled the doctors and demanded more tests or claimed to have lost his paperwork. Elliot spent weeks waiting for someone from the airline to return his phone calls to tell him how he could return to active duty.
As the weeks dragged on, Elliott lost his company-offered health insurance, which made it much more difficult to meet the increasingly elaborate hurdles the company was imposing on him before he could get back to his job. Busy medical specialists scheduled expensive MRIs and other tests for dates that were weeks into the future, long after paychecks stopped coming in. Rich was denied a home loan because he didn’t have a consistent income. When payments began stacking up, he asked about back pay. A lawyer told him that Nevada’s Right to Work laws would make it nearly impossible to win much of anything in court.
Elliott, a longtime union activist with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, filed a grievance against United as soon as he missed his first paycheck. His case was picked up by his IAM Committeeman, Yusuf Wyatt, who very quickly advanced it to Olu Ajetomobi, a District 141 Representative.
“This was a very stressful time. I was getting no contact from the company. I never knew where I stood,” Elliot said.
Making matters worse, managers stripped him of the security badges he needed to access the secure areas of the airport where he worked. The badges need to be updated regularly and are automatically deactivated if they are not used. Elliott’s badges had gone unused for so long that they were due to be both updated and deactivated. The badging issue presented another complication that could extend his outage by six more weeks.
“I was so fortunate to have my union behind me,” Elliott said. “Yusaf helped me fill out the legal forms and the union grievances. I was calling Olu just about every day. I would go weeks without any news from Human Resources, but Olu would always call me back, talk me through the process, and he just helped. I really appreciated that.”
Rich Elliott is no pushover when it comes to facing managers. He served as a union Grievance Committeeman for six years, plus a few more as Shop Steward. He has gone toe-to-toe with managers on many occasions, and won many grievances of his own over the years. But, in this case, he followed the maxim “A man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.” The company was stonewalling him, and he needed reinforcements. “I can’t thank these people enough,” Elliott said of his co-workers and union reps that stood up for him. “Chris Lusk, our Local Committee Chairman, Yusuf Wyatt our Committeeman, and Olu… it was just too much for one person to try to do alone.”
In early August, the company began taking steps to resolve the situation. “I don’t know what Olu and my Union Reps were saying to them, but the company all of a sudden started being real nice to me. Human Resources was telling me that they would advocate for me, and things like that. I got back to work, but I never thought that I would get paid for all that time I was out,” Elliott said. “Luckily, Olu was working on that, too.”
Olu Ajetomobi, a Machinists Union District 141 Assistant General Chairman, explained that there are good reasons for ramp workers to find a civil solution instead of rushing into a courtroom.
“In a case like this, we work with trial attorneys and legal experts, but Nevada law is not always worker friendly. We weren’t finding legal guidance telling us we were going to be able to get back pay in a reasonable amount of time, if we were ever able to get any back pay at all,” Olu said. “Fortunately, the Human Resources Department at United agreed to grant us back pay without going to court. I think that can be considered a win for everyone involved.”
On October 17, two months after he returned to work, Elliott got a check for almost $22,000 in back pay. “I had written it off,” Elliot says. “Nevada is a Right to Work state, and even my lawyer was telling me I had no chance in court. This was a decision that had been made after going through the union grievance process. I probably never would have been paid for that five months if I had gone after it in court. As a union, we won!”
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Oct 28, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United, Video
Oct 7, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
Machinists Union members at IAH are rallying around a critically injured ramp agent who many know as a humble and hard-working friend.
Ulysses Cruz was severely injured by an Allied Aviation van, according to officers of the International Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union in Houston.
Cruz was struck as he was wing-walking an aircraft from the gate on the morning of September 7.
Witnesses say that Cruz’s actions may have prevented the van from crashing into the aircraft.
Surveillance video shows Cruz spotting the approaching van, raising his wands to alert the driver about the moving aircraft, and then bracing himself just before being hit. Safety experts who have reviewed the footage say that Cruz had only a split second to react after seeing the van. Had the van continued past Cruz, it may have collided with the departing aircraft, potentially resulting in a larger incident. The van’s impact knocked Cruz about 15 feet back onto the concrete, causing extensive injuries.
According to witnesses and security videos, Cruz was positioned correctly at the rear of the plane as it began to push away from the gate when he was struck. Witnesses and video of the event indicate that the vehicle may have been traveling above the posted speed limit, giving Cruz very little time to react.
Coworkers at IAH who know Cruz were not surprised that he would instinctively place the safety of others before his own. “I believe he thought that his first job was to protect the people on that plane,” said Local 811 Committeeman Bruno Pereira, who was working at the Control Center at the time of the accident. “That’s the person Uly is. He would have tried to protect his passengers and the driver of that van,” adding that Cruz might not have been able to avoid injury, even if he wanted to.
The driver of the van, whose identity has not been released, said the morning sunlight blinded him just before the accident. He is a lead agent with Allied, an aircraft fueling contractor for United Airlines. Sources at the company said that he is an experienced lead agent with over 40 years of service. Charges have not been filed against him.
Cruz, a native of Guam, transferred to Houston seeking more secure work at the IAH hub. The move was risky, but friends say Cruz was willing to “sleep in his van” to make it work. He eventually gained a full-time position and made his home in Houston. He also built a reputation as a hard-working and modest coworker. “His paycheck would all go to his family. I never see him wearing expensive clothes or jewelry or have the latest gadgets,” said Simi Edwards, a friend of Cruz’s for 22 years.
Cruz has been unable to return to work and faces urgent and possibly long-term medical needs because of the accident. His coworkers are collecting donations to help cover expenses that his family is incurring while he recovers.
The Cruz family has asked for privacy throughout the ordeal. Those wishing to make donations or send their good wishes to the family may do so on the IAM Houston BTW Facebook Page.
This summer has been particularly dangerous for airline ramp workers. In August, an agent in Charlotte, North Carolina, died when the tug he was driving flipped over, pinning him underneath. The same week, another ramp agent was killed at JFK airport while working short-handed at Delta. In that incident, the tug he was operating shifted into gear as he was connecting carts, crushing him.
The District 141 Ground and Flight Safety Committee works to promote a safety culture within our members at every airline. More information and links to educational and reporting tools are available at https://iam141.org/safety/ and UnionSafe141.org.
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Sep 30, 2019 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Philippine, Spirit, United
District 141 Legislative and MNPL Director Dave Roderick introduced the first MNPL 141 Club Awards to union activists who support legislation and public advocacy that improves workplaces in the airline industry.
The awards were presented on the second day of the 2019 International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 141 Committee Conference, held this week in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Among those honored were airline workers from Charlotte, North Carolina, who raised more than $9,000 in voluntary donations for the Machinists Union’s legislative and political work. Victory Lodge 1725 was also recognized earlier this month by the North Carolina AFL-CIO with the PR Latta Award for its outstanding advocacy on behalf of American Airlines workers.
Representatives of Charlotte Local 1725 and 141 MNPL
President Craig Vanderhoof accepted the award alongside representatives from Victory Lodge 1725 and Assistant General Chairs Mike Baskett and Mike Fairbanks.
The awards ceremony was one of the highlights of the conference, which assembles unionized airline workers from 5 airlines. Delegates at the conference represent more than 40 thousand current and retired airline workers affiliated with the Machinists Union.
The annual Committee Conference is an opportunity for elected union representatives to share ideas, network, and debate the priorities of airline workers in the United States.
Also honored at the conference was Denver Local 1886, which raised nearly $16 thousand for the political fund. Local 1886 MNPL Chairman Jim Stellini, Instructor Mark Chavez, District 141 Special Rep Terri Crandall and AGC Richie Robinson accepted the award on behalf of the members.
Representatives from Denver Local 1487
Top honors went to Chicago’s Local 1487, which raised $26,600 last year. Among those present to receive the award were Chicago Committee Chairman Craig Krzewina and Recording Secretary Greg Klewjewski, and District 141 Assistant General Chairs Mike Quartuccio and Laura Stone.
Overall, members of District 141 contributed $133,000 to the Machinists Non-Partisan Political League in 2018.
Representatives of Chicago Local 1487
The Machinists Union was instrumental in pushing lawmakers to adopt stronger protections for airline customer service agents, longer rest periods for flight attendants, better in-flight security, and critical pension protections for airline workers. MNPL donations also support legislative work that succeeded in preventing air carriers from considering household credit scores when making employment decisions. Other public policy concerns included stopping proposed policies to force airport workers to stand in TSA Security lines instead of using employee entrances as they go to work each day.
The Machinists Non-Partisan Political League is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members of the IAM and their families. No union dues are used for campaign contributions or political lobbying work. To become a contributing member of the IAM141 MNPL, visit IAM141.org/MNPL and sign up to make a recurring donation of any amount.
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Sep 30, 2019 | Airlines, American, Hawaiian, Home, Philippine, Spirit, United
Airline workers with IAMAW District 141 are gathered in Las Vegas for the 2019 Committee Conference. Each year, the conference brings together elected union leadership from airports around the nation to network, share information, and celebrate the successes of the Machinists Union in commercial aviation.
This year the focus is on growing the union, both in terms of membership and industry impact. District 141 organizers and activists are leading two of the largest union organizing campaigns in the United States, at Delta and JetBlue Airlines.
Persistent advocacy and organizing from Machinists Union members have improved wages, working conditions and safety at all airlines – including non-union carriers like Delta and JetBlue.
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