Joint Letter from Bob Martinez and Richard Trumka to Donald Trump

Joint Letter from Bob Martinez and Richard Trumka to Donald Trump

May 8, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Organizing, United | 3 comments

May 5, 2020

President Donald J. Trump

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We hope you share our outrage that United Airlines, a few short days after accepting $5 billion of taxpayer dollars which it committed to use to allow it to continue to pay its employees their wages until the end of September, has quickly broken that promise. Having pocketed the money, United has turned around and told over 15,000 full-time employees that their wages will be drastically reduced as they will be allowed to work only on a part-time basis. In addition to drastically cutting the wages of these workers, United’s decision would also be a major cut in employees’ sick leave, vacation and retirement benefits. These actions are a direct violation of the obligations it undertook when it received federal relief through the CARES Act and reflect a stunning breach of trust. We urge you to use your full authority to intervene and order United to rescind its decision to take away full employment for its employees.

United’s action threatens to undermine the principal goal of the CARES Act, which was to protect employee wages in this crisis. If left standing, United’s attack on its employees will send a clear message to other carriers that they too can ignore their worker retention obligations with impunity. The tens of thousands of employees that the CARES Act was intended to protect will be left out in the cold while companies take the money and run.

We are not alone in our outrage over United’s handling of this matter. In a letter to United, Senator Josh Hawley stated:

During such a severe economic crisis, it is critical that our own corporations act as responsible stewards over their respective workforces. Decisions by major employers like United Airlines can reverberate widely across the labor market, affecting communities and working families alike. The taxpayers of this country have offered a generous bailout to your company and you should, in turn, honor this trust by keeping the promises you made to those you employ.

With over 30 million Americans out of work, now is not the time for unscrupulous companies to undermine the clear intent of the federal relief effort aimed at worker retention. Is it too much to ask corporations like United to honor their commitments under the CARES Act? We respectfully request that you intervene immediately and order United to honor its commitments to the United States and to its employees and continue to pay its employees the wages that federal funding has secured.

Sincerely

Robert G. Martinez Jr.
International President,
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

Richard L. Trumka 
President,
AFL-CIO IAMAW

cc: Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

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Letter from International Transport Workers Federation Supporting IAM Members at United

Letter from International Transport Workers Federation Supporting IAM Members at United

May 7, 2020 | COVID, Featured News, Front Page, Home, Home, Row 2, Safety, United | 0 comments

The International Transport Workers Federation sent a letter to United’s CEO in solidarity with the IAM. The full text of the letter is below. 

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To Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines

I write you today on behalf of the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which represents nearly 700 transport trade unions from 150 countries with a total membership of around 20,000,000 working men and women. Our affiliate the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) has informed us that United Airlines decided to initiate forced layoffs, which the IAM states is in breach of their contracts, while taking billions of US taxpayers funded airline bailout funds.

According to our information, the carrier will cut the pay and benefits of all full-time IAMAW members at United Airlines. Needless to say, these measures will severely hurt United Airlines’ employees and their families.

Like our affiliate IAMAW, the ITF also recognizes the need for airlines to save money in these extremely challenging times. From the very early days of the global pandemic, the ITF and its aviation affiliates have been fighting, together with airlines, for government aid to help support the global airline industry. On 21 April 2020, the ITF and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a joint statement calling for support from governments to the aviation industry, to protect jobs and ensure that air services can be maintained.

However, unfortunately, we understand that these recently announced cuts are not utterly about saving money. We can see this from the fact that United Airlines has categorically refused to engage with the IAMAW in cost-saving discussions. The IAMAW believes and explains in detail that engaging in social dialog would provide the carrier with the same amount of financial relief without feeling the need of cutting workers’ contracts or the CARES (the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act.

As you may know, against this backdrop, the IAMAW is considering all possible legal options, including filing a lawsuit against United Airlines to stop the unilateral action and protect its membership. If the IAMAW opts for this option, the ITF and its aviation affiliates all around the world will not hesitate to provide legal support and lawful solidarity to their brothers and sisters who work for United Airlines.

Quite contrary to the current path United Airlines is set on, a climate of trust, built through social dialog is essential to the effective implementation of measures to address the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Strengthened respect for, and reliance on, mechanisms of social dialog creates a strong basis for building resilience, and the commitment of employers and workers to painful but necessary policy measures. This is particularly key during times of heightened social tension. The International Labour Organization’s (ILO’s) Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience recommendation (No. 205) emphasize, in particular, the importance of social dialog in responding to crisis and the vital role of employers and workers organizations in crisis response.

Furthermore, the recommendation emphasizes the key role of consultation and encouraging active participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in planning, implementing, and monitoring measures for recovery and resilience. It additionally underlines the necessity of recognizing the freedom of association and protection of the right to organize convention (No. 87), and the right to organize and collective bargaining convention (No. 98).

As highlighted in the ITF-IATA joint statement, there is no doubt that as employers and unions we can navigate our way through this crisis only by working side by side. On the other hand, unilateral and socially irresponsible responses to the crisis, will increase tensions, lower trust, and most probably lead to intensified conflict in the near future.

The ITF will closely monitor the situation.

I look forward to your positive response on these urgent and important matters.

Yours sincerely,

Stephen Cotton
General Secretary

cc:
Sito Pantoja, IAM General Vice President
Joseph Tiberi, ITF Civil Aviation Chair
Michael Klemm, President, IAM District 141
United Holdings, Inc. Board of Directors

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United Reconsiders Furloughs

United Reconsiders Furloughs

May 6, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Row 2, United | 8 comments

Greetings!

As you know yesterday, your union filed a lawsuit against United Airlines in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn. We sought an injunction against United Airlines on behalf of the 27,000 IAM represented Fleet Service and Passenger Service workers to halt United’s illegal scheme to reduce all of our full-time members to part-time in violation of the Railway Labor Act and United’s agreement under the Coronavirus Aid and Relief and Economic Security Act  (“CARES Act”) to maintain the wages and working conditions of its employees through September 30, 2020, as a condition for obtaining $5 Billion in taxpayer dollars.

Early this morning we received a message from Greg Hart, Executive Vice President, and Chief Operations Officer that at least for now, United has reconsidered its position. The latest from the company is that instead of unilaterally forcing our full-time members to become part-time, they will instead offer what they call a Company- Offered Leave of Absence Program (COLA) starting next week. Under their new plan, our full-time members can elect to become part-time and go from 40 hours per week to 30 hours without losing their full-time status. Those full-time employees who do not agree to reduce their hours will remain full time. However, we are not out of the woods yet. The company has said it will review the situation at the end of June and if there is not a “high level of participation” they will reconsider resuming their forced reduction to the part-time program. 

Sito Pantoja, IAM General Vice President Transportation stated: “It is deeply troubling that it took thousands of our members appealing to their elected Congressional representative and the filing of a lawsuit yesterday to get United, with whom we worked so hard to help get their billions in CARES Act funding, to finally reconsider its blatantly illegal course of conduct which was to be so damaging to our members. It is striking that the President of American Airlines publicly stated that United’s conduct in attempting to reduce our full-time employees to part-time was not permitted by the CARES Act. While today it appears that, thanks to your hard work and solidarity, we have won an important battle, we have not yet won the war. We will monitor United’s action closely to see what further legal and congressional action may become necessary.” 

Mike Klemm, President of IAM District Lodge 141 stated, “I am deeply grateful for the tireless help of Sito, his entire staff, our legal team and my executive board for helping the District hold off United’s attack on our members. Clearly, we would not have won this round of our struggle without the solidarity and support of our entire union and the thousands of IAM members we represent.”

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The IAMAW Has Filed for an Injunction to Stop Unlawful Furloughs at United Airlines

The IAMAW Has Filed for an Injunction to Stop Unlawful Furloughs at United Airlines

May 6, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Row 2, United | 1 comment

Today the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (“IAM”) filed a lawsuit against United Airlines in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.

Mike Klemm, President and Directing General Chair of IAM District Lodge 141 said, “The lawsuit we filed today in Federal court seeks an injunction against United Airlines on behalf of the 27,000 IAM represented Fleet Service and Passenger Service workers to halt United’s illegal implementation of drastic pay and benefit cuts in violation of the Railway Labor Act and their agreement under the Coronavirus Aid and Relief and Economic Security Act  (“CARES Act”) to maintain the wages and working conditions of its employees through September 30, 2020, as a condition to obtaining $5 Billion in taxpayer dollars.

On May 1, 2020, United advised the IAM that “effective May 24, 2020… all full-time employees covered by the Passenger Service Employees Agreement and the Fleet Service Employees Agreement will be reduced to part-time status.”  While the effective date of this mass reduction is May 24, 2020, United has given affected employees only until May 13, 2020, to make an “irrevocable decision” whether to accept a reduction to part-time status; retire with no recall rights; separate from employment with no recall rights, or elect furlough with furlough pay and a right of recall.    United has directed that “Once you make your election… it is irrevocable, and you cannot change it.”  We are seeking to invalidate United’s unilateral demand that our members either agree to become Part-Time employees or hit the street.

United’s scheme to unilaterally “reduce” all employees to part-time status will substantially reduce their pay rates and benefits.  Pay rates will be reduced because employees who had been paid for a 40-hour week would now be paid at most for a 30-hour week which will reduce their benefits as well.

United’s decision to reduce every full-time IAM member to part-time is also a flagrant violation of the Railway Labor Act because it is being done without the agreement of the IAM.  United recognized it needed the IAM’s consent for this change. While the IAM has been willing to work with the Company through this difficult time, it refused this request which damages IAM members disproportionately compared to every other employee group at United.  In addition, United asked for and received billions of dollars in public funds based on its promise not to furlough employees or reduce wages and benefits. “For United to obtain federal funds under the false pretense that it would protect its workers through September and then turn around and do this to their most loyal workforce struggling to survive during this pandemic is unconscionable, “said Mike Klemm, President of IAM District Lodge 141.

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The Furloughs at United are Illegal

The Furloughs at United are Illegal

May 5, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Uncategorized, United | 8 comments

United management is violating the CARES Act and the RLA and purposely violating our contracts during this illegal, furlough from full-time to part-time.

I’ve been with United Airlines for nearly 30 years. I’ve unfortunately been involved with numerous furloughs, all of which were painful. However, this furlough is the most illegal, confusing and maddening.

My hope is this communication will help you understand, exactly, what your contractual rights are and how this furlough should be handled.

We Are Going to Court and Using the Grievance Process

First, as we previously advised you, we are in the process of filing a lawsuit against United in Federal Court to enjoin their illegal action in violation of the CARES Act and the Railway Labor Act by converting all IAM represented full time employees to part time. However, we do not know when or how the Court will rule. Accordingly, we must advise you to fill out the company’s form to protect yourself.

However, in addition to our position that the company’s conduct violates Federal law, it also is in clear violation of various provisions of our collective bargaining agreements. For instance, under Article 7 paragraph H of the Passenger Service Employee and the Fleet Service Agreements it outlines the furlough process. EVP of Human Resources Kate Gebo and the rest of United management is lying to you and attempting to frame this furlough from full-time to part-time as just a reduction in hours that you are accepting voluntarily. THAT IS BLATANTLY UNTRUE. THIS IS A FURLOUGH. If it wasn’t involuntary they wouldn’t have offered a voluntary COLA first, which forces people to perpetuate United’s fiction on their unemployment application.

In every state that we are aware of, this question is asked in some form: “Is your furlough voluntary or involuntary?” If you don’t say involuntary you run the risk of being denied unemployment. This is the jam United wants to put you in.

However, this will be less of a problem for many of us being forced to take an involuntary furlough later this month. Our contracts outline the process by which an involuntary furlough is conducted. When it becomes necessary to reduce the number of employees in any position and work status, the Company is required to give us 20 calendar days written notice. That sounds simple enough doesn’t it? Clearly, it’s not because United has not provided written notice to every employee affected by this furlough. This is a violation of our contracts.

The next step is all affected employees will receive an option form that they will have five days to complete. Employees requesting system options will receive an additional three days to complete the system option form and be placed on furlough status with applicable recall rights and furlough pay if they don’t return the form. Since United management has involuntarily furloughed every full-time fleet service and passenger service employee, there exists no system options to retain our full-time jobs. This is also a violation of our contracts. 

 

This leads us to our next step, which is filling out the form.

Option A states: Affected employees may fill a vacancy, or if no vacancy is available, may displace the most junior employee in your current classification in the alternate work status. So, if you’re full-time that allows you to fill a part time vacancy.

Option B states: Affected employees, who did not choose Option (A) above or chose Option (A) above but were not awarded a position, may choose to elect layoff with any applicable recall rights and furlough pay.

Option C states: Affected employees who are unable to maintain a position and were not laid off after exercising the above options may elect within the basic position within their classification to displace and/or fill, in order, up to the equivalent number of: (1) full-time vacancies; (2) probationary full-time employees; and (3) the most junior full-time employees on the system.

United Airlines, in addition to violating the CARES Act and the “status quo” provisions of the Railway Labor Act, has also flagrantly violated multiple facets of your collective bargaining agreements. If you fail to select any of these options, contractually, you are supposed to be placed on involuntary furlough. However, United management is purposely violating our contracts in a cynical attempt to scare, confuse and intimidate all of us. They have told you falsely that if you don’t select anything you will be placed in part-time status. This is also a violation of our contracts.

Brothers and Sisters I’m truly sorry for the inexcusable, illegal and premature actions United Airlines has taken. There’s NOTHING voluntary about what United is forcing us to do. Please demand a correct option form, as is required by your contract, and fill it out in the way that best serves you and your family.

Without prejudice to our lawsuit or our motion for immediate injunctive relief, I’ve directed all of my Assistant General Chairpersons, assigned to the United Airlines properties to work with your local committees to file grievances to protect your contractual rights of these blatant violations of your collective bargaining agreement.

 

Fraternally and in Solidarity,

Michael G Klemm

President and Directing General Chair,
District 141,
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
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Senator to United: Put CARES Act Money in Paychecks, or Give it Back

Senator to United: Put CARES Act Money in Paychecks, or Give it Back

May 3, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, MNPL, Uncategorized, United | 6 comments

Senator Josh Hawley issued a warning to United Airlines: use the $5 Billion of CARES Act money to keep your workforce intact… or give the money back.

In a series of Tweets, the Republican Senator from Missouri explained how he was approached by several IAMAW members as he was traveling back to Washington, DC. 

“I’m at the airport, flying back to DC, and multiple @United employees have told me the company is cutting their hours, pay & benefits immediately. This is AFTER United took billions in bailout money that was earmarked for workers. This had better not be true.”

Sadly, it is. United Airlines announced plans to slash the pay and benefits of over 15,000 full-time ramp and customer service workers, only days after accepting a huge share of the $50 billion allocated to airlines in the CARES Act. With public demand for air travel decimated since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Congress approved several aid programs designed to preserve the American aviation network and its highly skilled workforce. They recognized how important it is to be ready to rebuild quickly once the pandemic has subsided. Congress and the president made a choice to provide funding to safeguard civil aviation in the US, rather than try to recreate it later. 

“Airline workers are highly skilled, and irreplaceable without significant training,” said Mike Klemm, President and Directing General Chair of District 141 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The IAMAW is the largest union of airline and aerospace workers in the world. “These women and men must pass rigorous training and safety requirements when hired, and must maintain and update their skills and clearances regularly. This process requires a significant investment from the air carriers and workers. You can’t just hire people who can operate on and around aircraft and passengers on a whim. Qualified candidates must be identified, trained, and cultivated over the years to build up expertise. The skill and dedication of airline workers are the reasons our aviation system is as safe and resilient as it is.” 

Congress agreed and set aside a huge chunk of the $2 Trillion CARES Act to safeguard the civil aviation infrastructure in the US and the women and men who operate it, throughout the COVID Pandemic. “The costs of rebuilding our transportation networks will be much higher than to simply unpause it,” Klemm said. 

Lawmakers who drafted and passed the CARES Act and its sister bill, the Paycheck Protection Act, have learned about United’s actions over the weekend. They are not happy. And, they are increasingly threatening to take action.

 

 

 

The outrage over United executives’ actions is bipartisan. Representatives from both major parties and both federal legislative bodies have sent statements of support for Machinists Union members who will be hurt by this decision.

Last week, US Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee wrote a letter to IAMAW District President Mike Klemm where she clearly stated the CARES Act money was not meant to buy new aircraft, buy back stocks, pay out bonuses or for any other purpose than to be distributed directly to United workers impacted by COVID-19. “ “It was not the intent of Congress for this program to be used as an economic bail-out, but to support the hard-working men and women who are the focus of United Airlines,” she said. 

IAMAW District 141 Legislative Director Dave Roderick credited the grassroots work of union members for getting the attention of lawmakers such as Jackson-Lee and Hawley. But, he stressed there is much more work to be done. “Our union is ramp and customer service agents – and a lot of other airline workers who love our jobs, and we want to keep them,” Roderick said. “Keeping our jobs right now means getting to work. It means calling our representatives, and making sure they understand just how shady United management is being. It means making sure that lawmakers know that we love our company, and the work we do. It means asking them to insist that company executives keep their word.”

Read the official letter from Senator Josh Hawley to United executives:

 

 

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