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.
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/HH-August-2019.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Helping Hands August: CBD” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
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
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Dont-Be-Greedy-Buddy-Passes-are-Not-a-Side-Hustle-1.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Don’t Be Greedy: Buddy Passes are Not a Side Hustle” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
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.
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Local-Activists-Called-to-Action-1.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”Local Activists Called To Action at Machinists Union Communications Conference” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
This is the Exact Second that Changed the way that Ten Thousand People Go to Work
Starting April 1st, Machinists and other employees at United will start being able to conduct day trades all the way up to four hours before they are supposed to clock in.
We were able to capture images of the exact moment that process got started.
Machinists and other airport services employees at United will be able to conduct day trades all the way up to four hours before their clock in time.
That means that sudden emergencies will not force as many people to call out on the company sick line, burning priceless attendance points.
It’s a significant improvement. So big, in fact, that it’s hard to calculate precisely how many people will be included. “It’s system-wide, the changes will cover the whole company,” said AGC Victor Hernandez (IAH, DFW, SJU). “I can’t really say how many people qualify for day trades and will see the improvements, but it’s at least ten thousand.”
Usually, few employees get to see the exact moment that leads to policy changes like this one. But this time, a series of photos captured the specific conversation that led to this sweeping, company-wide change. The results provide a fascinating glimpse into what workplace activism looks like in real life.
We got the whole thing on camera. You can see how it started in this photo essay. Check it out.
November 2018, at IAH airport in Houston, Texas. Mike Klemm, President of Machinists District 141, makes regular visits to the largest airports in America at least once a year. Brother Klemm is responsible for advancing the interests of more than 40 thousand current and retired airline workers in the United States.
Meeting airline employees in their own work areas and break rooms helps overcome barriers that sometimes develop between leadership and the front lines.
Mike Klemm is a former ramp lead from JFK, and he hasn’t strayed far from the ramp culture that he was a part of for more than 20 years. “It’s a matter of basic respect,” he told several airline union leaders at a round table meeting. “These guys are asked to do a tough job, and they do that job with a level of precision and professionalism that makes our US-based carriers the safest and most reliable in the world. I’m not going to stay in a nice, cushy office while these guys are out busting their humps making billions of dollars for our airlines. I want to meet them and hear what they have to say, and that means staying true to my roots, on the front lines.”
On Klemm’s November station visit to Houston, Texas (IAH), the strategy of staying grounded paid off. One of the United employees he met had some valuable insights from the gates.
Mike Klemm (back to camera), Kirk Griffiths (center) and Regional Employee Assistance Coordinator Bahiyyah Wright at IAH airport in Houston, Texas.
Here it is – The conversation that led to sweeping work rule changes that will impact more than ten thousand employees at United Airlines. This is the exact moment that led to new day and shift trade rules across the system.
Kirk Griffiths, a Houston-based IAM member, and Ramp Service Agent, stopped DL141 President Klemm during a station visit and explained how the day and shift trade rules at United could be improved. It can take years to recover from a serious attendance issue, which is the number one cause of job terminations at the carrier. More day and shift trade flexibility could help.
His fix was simple: just shorten the cutoff time for turning in a day trade. For years, United had insisted on having all trades submitted 24 hours or more prior to the start of the shift. Reduce that deadline, and life would suddenly get a lot easier for thousands of United employees.
President Klemm agreed – and promised to take the matter up with United Airlines leadership.
After meeting with President Klemm, Kirk Griffiths (right) continues to press his position with Local 811 Grievance Committee Member Greg Hall. Hall represents IAM members when dealing with attendance issues at United/IAH. Thanks to the work of union activists like him, IAH has seen fewer job terminations than anywhere else in the United fleet services system. Of more than 350 attendance hearings in 2018, only 4 Machinists members actually lost their job.
… And now, the company has also agreed with Kirk Griffiths.
Here’s how United explains the new policy:
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/This-is-the-Exact-Second-that-Changed-the-Way-that-Ten-Thousand-People-Go-to-Work.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”This is the Exact Second that Changed the way that Ten Thousand People Go to Work” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]
National Pension Fund Update
Dear United team member,
We are pleased to share some good news about steps United has taken to strengthen the IAM National Pension Fund and protect your retirement benefits.
Over the last several weeks, United has met with the IAM to discuss the issues facing the IAM National Pension Fund. As a result of our collaborative discussions, United and the IAM have jointly agreed to the NPF’s Preferred Schedule of the Rehabilitation Plan. This means that United chose to increase the Company’s financial contribution to ensure your future monthly benefit at age 65 will not be reduced because of the Rehabilitation Plan.
United does not make this commitment lightly, but it reflects the loyalty of the company and its leaders to the men and women who have worked so hard to ensure the success of the airline we love.
IAM District 141 Union Representatives have been briefed by representatives of the IAM National Pension Plan and will be in the field meeting with employees and answering questions over the coming weeks. Contact your IAM District 141 office for more details.
In addition, the IAM NPF has created a video to help explain the Rehabilitation Plan in more detail. If you have additional questions please contact the IAM NPF directly at 866-262-1296.
Mike Klemm Zachery Jones
[gdlr_video url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bIsO0J_0vI&feature=youtu.be” ]
[gdlr_stunning_text background_color=”#f3f3f3″ button=”Download PDF” button_link=”https://iam141.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/National-Pension-Fund-Update.pdf” button_background=”#184ab9″ button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_border_color=”#0d2a6b” title=”National Pension Fund Update” title_color=”#184ab9″ caption_color=”#a0a0a0″]Please Post on Bulletin Boards[/gdlr_stunning_text]