Jan 15, 2019 | Airlines, American, Community Service, Departments, EAP, Education, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
Houston’s Terminal B Security Checkpoint was closed indefinitely as of Monday.
Houston’s largest airport, Bush Intercontinental (IAH), is closing a primary security checkpoint as they deal with staffing shortages caused by increasing numbers of TSA agents who can no longer afford to come to work without pay. The announcement follows a similar decision by officials at Miami International Airport (MIA) to reduce hours at TSA checkpoints at its Concourse G, and record-shattering security lines at other airports, such as Atlanta’s ATL, which had wait times in excess of two hours.
About 4,000 IAM members work at IAH. The station is home to both Locals 811 and 2198.
Although flights will still be leaving from Terminal B, where the closure is taking place, passengers will need to check in at other terminals. Businesses at Terminal B will remain open, but can expect less customer traffic as passengers will be arriving in the concourse closer to flight departure times.
11:00 AM, and some businesses at IAH Terminal B had yet to make a single sale.
Airport administrators have not said how long the closures will last. IAM141 AGC Victor Hernandez (IAH Ramp, DFW, SJU) issued a statement to Machinists Union members at the airport, reassuring the membership that the expected impact to operations at United Airlines was minimal. “As of right now we are not losing any days of work,” he said in the statement, adding that some people may be expected to move from some work areas to others. He promised more updates if any changes happen that could impact union members at IAH.
Houston’s Mayor Sylvester Turner blamed the closure on a lack of TSA agents available to work.
IAH is already one of the busiest airports in the world.
More than 100,000 people travel daily through IAH, making it one of the busiest airports in the world. Airport parking can range as high as $30 per day, and there are limited public transportation options to the airport, making it an expensive place for TSA agents to commute to every day. Once additional costs such as daycare, lunches, and tolls are also factored in, a typical TSA agent in Houston will spend a sizable chunk of their income each month just getting to work.
A TSA Agent looks on as passengers line up at Terminal C, which was fully staffed.
TSA Agents have not received a paycheck since before Christmas, amid the most extended government shutdown in US history. Since the average TSA agent earns about $35k a year, going without pay means going without rent. “Thankfully, I have two jobs because I’m not getting paid at TSA,” said one agent on Twitter (#ShutDownStories). “But I still have to show up. Which means I have to work both jobs every day, sleeping two to three hours at night, just to not even break even on bills.”
The government shutdown began on December 22, after President Trump and lawmakers failed to agree on a spending bill. There are few indications that the shutdown will end any time soon, which means that more disruptions are certain.
Get involved! Contact IAM141 MNPL Legislative Director Dave Roderick for information about what you can do to help end the shutdown, and get 800,000 Federal Employees back to work.
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Dec 1, 2018 | Airlines, Airmail, American, Community Service, Departments, EAP, Education, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
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Nov 1, 2018 | Airlines, Airmail, American, Departments, EAP, Education, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Organizing, Philippine, Safety, Spirit, United
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Sep 28, 2018 | Airlines, American, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, MNPL, Philippine
UPDATE: The FAA Re-Authorization Bill of 2018 was approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president on October 5.
The US House of Representatives approved the FAA Reauthorization Bill, which includes strong “Union Made” language. The bill is now headed to the Senate.
“Machinists should be very proud of the work that we’ve done together on this bill,” said District 141 MNPL Director Dave Roderick. The IAM141 MNPL, or Machinists Non-Partisan League, is the legislative department of District 141. The IAM141 MNPL works to make sure that airline workers have a seat at the table as laws that impact their industry get made.
“Laws shouldn’t be written entirely by Wall Street investors and CEOs,” Roderick
explained of the work his department does. “Congress should hear from just as many break rooms as they do from boardrooms.”
“And, while we didn’t get everything we wanted, airport break rooms were heard loud and clear in the new FAA Reauthorization Bill.”
IAM141 in DC: (From left: IAM141 Legislative Director, Dave Roderick, IAM141 Communications Coordinator and New Jersey State Council of Machinists President Ines Garcia-Keim, Ross DelConte (Local 914 EWR), Darlene Williams (Local 1487 ORD), and Local 914 EWR President, Bill Gula.
IAM Activists aggressively fought for two years to have Congress include pro-airline worker language in H.R.-4, the proposed $17 billion, five-year Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2018.
The result of all the MNPL work is a final bill that contains many of the top priorities of IAM Members within the commercial aviation industry, as well as important improvements for the flying public.
Among the highlights:
Longer Rest Periods for Flight Crews.
This is what it looks like to be “off duty” if you’re a flight attendant.
Exhaustion in the skies is much more than a workplace annoyance for flight attendants; it can also be a serious safety issue. Flight crews are responsible for the security of the aircraft cabin, while they also perform functions that create the primary customer experience for most passengers.
The FAA Bill will help make flights safer, and help Flight Attendants enhance customer service by increasing rest periods to at least ten uninterrupted hours between shifts.
Abuse Protections for Customer Service Agents.
Now passengers are legally required to chill.
Airline CSAs have critical security responsibilities at our nation’s airports, and yet are often the victims of severe abuse by passengers. Hundreds of attacks against gate and ticket counter agents occur every year, and many go unreported.
IAM Members have lobbied to require airlines to implement an assault prevention plan that protects CSAs from abuse while they are on the job. The new FAA Bill will require the immediate reporting of any verbal or physical assault on gate and ticket counter agents and establishes protocols for law enforcement to assess and take action before a passenger involved in a violent assault is allowed to proceed through security or board an aircraft.
Airlines must implement the new protections and training within 90 days of the reauthorization, and the Secretary of Transportation will also oversee a study that will gather data and make recommendations for future training and best practices.
Additional Improvements
Feel Free to Remain Seated.
The new FAA Bill will make getting bumped less of a drag.
Bumping Protections are included in the new FAA Bill. The new rules specifically address a well-publicized incident that took place last year, as the bill prohibits the “involuntary bumping of passengers once they have boarded the plane.” It looks like once the gate crew has cleared you to board the plane, you’re good to go.
Less Painful Seats?
Soon airplane seats may become less horrible.
For passengers that are big or tall or anyone with a bad back, air travel is more than just a pain. It can literally be torture. Air travelers that dread long hours in cramped seats may have some welcome relief on the way. The bill requires the FAA to set minimum standards for passenger legroom and seat width.
The bill also requires all newly manufactured commercial passenger aircraft to be equipped with secondary cockpit barriers, bans in-flight voice cell phone calls, requires the regulation of service and emotional support animals on aircraft, and improves the safe transport of lithium batteries.
Support the Legislative Work.
The bill now moves to the US Senate for approval. Please contact your Senator and urge them to keep the pro-airline worker language in the FAA Reauthorization Bill of 2018.
“This bill has provisions that help protect IAM members and the traveling public,” said Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “It will also ensure continued investment into the aviation infrastructure which will provide a stronger workforce for our members. I encourage all our members to call their senators to urge them to pass this legislation.”
Tell your Senator that you support airline workers and the new FAA Reauthorization Bill Now.
The IAM141 Machinists Non-Partisan League is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members like you. To become a supporting member of the IAM141 MNPL, please complete an MNPL Automatic Payroll Deduction Card for any amount today. Cards can be found by visiting the MNPL page at IAM141.org.
Sep 26, 2018 | Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL
Machinists Union members in New Jersey are fighting to stop legislation that will make travel even more expensive for the millions of passengers that travel through Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) each year.
Sponsored by New Jersey Senate President Steve Sweeney and Newark Senator Teresa Ruiz, the proposed bill would add $20 million annually in jet fuel taxes to airlines already facing rising fuel costs. There are serious doubts as to whether such a large cost increase could be fully absorbed by the airlines, which would prompt them to pass on costs to passengers, consider route changes or even job cuts in response. Airlines hit by the tax could be forced to scale back planned improvements to their facilities, especially those that are funded voluntarily and without subsidies.
In other words, higher travel costs, fewer route options, and deteriorating airport facilities: Things that no flyer wants to hear.
The bill would also endanger the careers of tens of thousands of airline workers at the airport, and may not even be legal.
In seeking to use the new tax to fund a proposed PATH Railway extension from downtown Manhattan, Senate Bill 2892 would illegally divert airport taxes for non-airport use. This practice violates Federal Law and will place the Port Authority of New Jersey and New York at risk of incurring tens of millions worth of legal penalties. It would also put millions of dollars of critical federal grants in jeopardy.
All of which has left airline workers at Newark Liberty more than a little concerned.
The Machinists Union, which represents more than 3,000 airline workers at EWR, immediately mobilized its membership in opposition to the scheme.
Rich Creighton, Assistant General Chair for District 141 was among the first IAM leaders to organize union members for the effort. “IAM members believe in fair and just laws and were outraged by this proposal that threatened our jobs. District 141 AGC Mike Cyscon, Local 914 President Bill Gula and our Legislative Director and NJ State Council President Ines Garcia-Keim all did incredible work contacting and informing our members about this issue. We were able to get members from all over the state to defend our interests in Trenton. I am convinced that our pride and solidarity moved the politicians this week.”
Bowing to the targeted pressure from the Machinists and other activists, legislators retreated from an earlier plan to direct the entire tax increase against United Airlines and its passengers, a move which would have certainly placed Machinists jobs in jeopardy.
While the amended bill distributes the tax increase among all carriers at EWR, it is still calculated based on consumption. Since United is the largest carrier at Newark, some estimates suggest that it will still be stuck with the tab for about 70% of the total $20 million annual cost.
“While there’s still a lot of work ahead, this was a great show of solidarity,” said AGC Mike Cyscon, who represents Newark along with AGC Rich Creighton. “When IAM Members come together as we did here today, we can have a huge impact.”
“The IAM Members that stood up to defend our work, our company and our union are absolutely making history. We don’t go down without a fight.”
IAM141 Members can help ensure that the interests of airline workers are represented in public policy – thanks to the IAM141 MNPL Program. The Machinists Non-Partisan League is funded entirely through voluntary donations from members like you. To become a supporting member of the IAM141 MNPL, please complete a MNPL Automatic Payroll Deduction Card for any amount today. Cards can be found by visiting the MNPL page at IAM141.org.
Sep 14, 2018 | Airlines, Departments, Featured, Home, MNPL, United
New Jersey Machinists Fight Proposed $20 Million Tax Hike.
Members of Local 914 based at Newark Liberty Airport (EWR) descended on New Jersey’s State House in Trenton to express their opposition to a proposed bill that targets their employer, United Airlines, for an increase in jet fuel taxes. The legislation, S-2892, sponsored by NJ State Senate President Stephen Sweeney, seeks to finance the expansion of rail service into the airport. The proposal could increase the tax burden on the airline by $20 million dollars. According to company spokespersons, the costs could prompt the company to take emergency measures to mitigate costs.
United spokesman Sean Williams warned of a “substantial risk of causing costs to go up on passengers” and that the new tax burden could possibly mean changes to routes. “I mean, something has to give here.”
While the bill does not explicitly mention United, it is drafted to only apply to any airline that carries over 8 million passengers a year. As United is the only airline operating at EWR that matches that description, the tax increase would only impact the carrier. This drastic increase in costs to United threatens the jobs of almost 3,000 IAM District 141 members who work in Customer Service, Fleet Service, and Stores.
Ines Garcia-Keim, Local 914 Legislative Director and President of the NJ State Council of Machinists, testified at the Senate Transportation Committee hearing: “Simply stated, higher taxes on jet fuel would significantly drive up costs and will have a negative impact on our customers and our jobs. This proposed legislation unfairly targets our company.”
IAM Members and Officers from District 15, Local 447 and from the NJ State Council of Machinists were also present in solidarity in the hearing room.
The Senate committee voted 3-2 to move the bill, but 3 senators voiced concerns that they said would be addressed in the general session.
Bill Gula, President of Local 914, said: “The Fighting Machinists were in full force in Trenton today. We will stay in this fight until the New Jersey Legislature recognizes that any threat to the security of our jobs will not stand.”
All union-directed political action defending the interests of airline employees and IAM members is funded entirely through voluntary contributions to the Machinists Non-Partisan League. To learn more about how you can get involved, contact IAM141 Legislative Director, David Roderick, or visit the MNPL page to contribute today.
