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 27, 2018 | Departments, Education, Home
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 24, 2018 | Departments, Education, Featured, Home
The 2019 IAM Scholarship Competition is now accepting applications. The competition is open to members of the IAM and their children throughout the United States and Canada under procedures and rules of eligibility explained in this announcement. The IAM Scholarship Fund, which is used exclusively to make possible these awards, was established by the delegates of the 1960 IAM Grand Lodge Convention.
SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION OVERVIEW
This scholarship competition is open each year to members of the IAM and their children throughout the United States and Canada under procedures and rules of eligibility explained in this Announcement. The IAM Scholarship Fund, which is used exclusively to make possible these awards, was established by the delegates of the 1960 IAM Grand Lodge Convention.
The Scholarship Competition
Scholarships to make possible the attainment of a Bachelor’s degree or a two-year vocational/technical certification are determined in a competition among eligible applicants that is judged by a special Selection Committee.
Amount of the Awards
Awards to members are $2,000 per academic year. They are granted for a specific period from one to four years to enable the member to earn a Bachelor’s degree or a two-year vocational/technical certification.
Awards to Children of Members are: College — $1,000 per academic year. All awards are renewed each year until a Bachelor’s degree is obtained up to a maximum of four years. Vocational/Technical School — $2,000 per year until certification is reached up to a maximum of two years.
ELIGIBILITY FOR COMPETITION
An Eligible Applicant Must Be Either —
- an IAM member; or
- the son, daughter, stepchild or legally adopted child of an IAM member.
A Member Applicant –
- must have two years of continuous good-standing membership through the closing date of the competition which is February 22, 2019;
- may apply either when entering college or vocational/technical school as a freshman or at a higher level with some college credits already completed;
- may apply as a full-time or part-time student; and
- if not a winner, may apply again the following year.
Child of a Member Applicant –
- must have one living parent with two years of continuous good-standing membership through the closing date of February 22, 2019;
- will be eligible if the parent member died after the son or daughter entered high school, and the parent had two years of “continuous good-standing membership” at the time of death;
- a “continuous good-standing membership” is understood to be a period of membership during which the member continuously paid monthly dues uninterrupted by withdrawal cards;
- must be planning to graduate high school during the winter or by the end of the spring 2019 school year
- must plan to take a regular college or vocational/technical program on a full-time basis, maintaining qualifying grades.
Ineligible Applicants Include –
- applicants who do not intend to work without interruption for a bachelor’s degree or completion of a vocational/technical school certification;
- members’ children who are attending or have already attended college or vocational/technical school;
- children of members on the payroll of the Grand Lodge,
- graduate students; and
- applicants who do not plan to enroll in an accredited college or vocational/technical school.
- retired members
HOW TO APPLY FOR A 2019 IAM SCHOLARSHIP
There are three different Application Packets. Please choose the appropriate link below to apply for an IAM Scholarship. The Application Packet must be completed and postmarked by February 22, 2019.
- Children of members (college) ENGLISH | FRENCH
- Children of members (vocational/technical school) ENGLISH | FRENCH
- Members (college or vocational/technical school) ENGLISH | FRENCH
To be valid, an application must be submitted on the appropriate form. If you do not qualify under the above requirements, please do not send an application. No exceptions can be made to the rules. Application Packets for the 2019 competition may also be obtained by calling our scholarship department at 301-967-4708 or by emailing scholarship@iamaw.org.
Application packets postmarked later than February 22, 2019, will NOT be acknowledged or considered. No exceptions will be permitted even if a third party is responsible for the delay.
IMPORTANT: Complete the application and MAIL TO:
IAM Scholarship Program
9000 Machinists Place, Room 204
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772-2687
All Scholarship Applicants are advised –
- to obtain guidance from their high school teachers and counselors in pursuing a college education or for attending vocational/technical school;
- not to wait until awards are announced before making other plans for financing a college education;
- to apply early for scholarships or awards from several other sources; and
- to make early application for admission to at least three colleges.
The Selection Committee
Award recipients will be chosen by an independent Selection Committee composed of three qualified educators from the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area.
The Selection Procedure
The Committee attempts to select from each IAM territory applicants who have demonstrated learning ability and all-around suitability for college work or for attending vocational/technical school. In reaching this determination, many factors are taken into consideration, including: grades, attitude toward study, personal references, available test scores, the opinion of counselors and teachers and activities outside of school. For member applicants, weight is given to participation in local lodge responsibilities. Canadian students are judged according to Canadian scholastic standards. The IAM scholarship winners and honorable mentions will be announced in the summer of 2019 on the IAM website.
All Award Recipients –
- are responsible for obtaining admission to the college or vocational/technical school of the student’s choice;
- must take a course of study leading to a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent if attending college or the required courses for vocational/technical school; and
- may attend a two-year accredited college and transfer for the last two years.**
The Sponsoring Member and Member Applicants –
- must maintain continuous good-standing membership throughout the life of the award or have been issued an honorary withdrawal card due to a lay-off, plant closing or retirement after the scholarship has been awarded.
** For college scholarship recipients only.
GENERAL INFORMATION
When proper notification is submitted to the Scholarship Committee, the following may be approved: If the recipient enlists in the military, the award will be held in reserve for a period no longer than three years.
If the recipient enters the Peace Corps, the award will be held in reserve for a period no longer than two years.
The recipient must apply for reinstatement of the scholarship within three months after discharge from the military service or Peace Corps and must enroll in college.
A request for temporary suspension for academic reasons may be granted for a period not exceeding one year.
In the case of illness or accident, the award may be held in reserve for a period not to exceed two years. The student would be expected to resume college or vocational/technical work as soon as possible.
The IAM will set aside the total amount in the Scholarship Fund necessary to finance the student through the period of the award. The Program was established in the confident expectation that it will remain indefinitely, as long as donations continue. If unforeseen circumstances should cause the Program to be discontinued, scholarships in effect would be continued for their duration, and all money remaining in the Fund would be used solely for educational purposes.
ALTERNATE RESOURCES
Union Plus Credit Card Scholarships.
Send a postcard with your name, return address, telephone number and union to: Union Plus Scholarship Program, P.O. Box 34800, Wash., DC 20043-4800 or download the application from the Union Privilege website in early September: www.unionplus.org/scholarships.
Federal Student Aid Information Center.
Call 1-800-433-3243 for a free copy of “The Student Guide.” The website is www.StudentAid.ed.gov then link to publications or www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Vocational-Technical Information.
The website is: http://www.trade-schools.net for information
on Vo-tech schools in the U.S. and Canada or www.accsct.org
for an alternate U.S. site.
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.
Sep 13, 2018 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Home, Organizing, The Association
Many of you have read the Special Jetwire issued by American Airlines regarding our negotiations. If you don’t read anything else in this bulletin, read this:
Beware of any negotiations propaganda issued by the Company. It contains partial examples, misleading statements and outright wrong information.
It is true that your negotiating team has reached tentative agreements on many good improvements for our joint collective bargaining agreements. However, American has not just given those out of the kindness of their heart – they were hard won by the tenacity of your negotiators and, most importantly, you deserve them!
American paints the picture that all you will ever need is right there in their proposal just for the taking. What they don’t tell you is that you would have to agree to concede vast amounts of work you are doing today. You would give up the better and less costly healthcare options ALREADY WON AND PAID FOR through bankruptcy. You would suffer less in retirement value that already exists in our Association and you would have to take less than other American Airlines employee groups. And, you would have to agree to wages that can fall below industry standards during the life of the agreement.
Things American will not tell you is that they demand to allow unlimited fleet work performed today to shift to vendors. They want you to concede scheduled line maintenance work by almost doubling the amount of that work performed outside of the United States from what is done today. They want overhaul maintenance to concede over 2,200 jobs during the life of the agreement. And, they want to shrink the facilities maintenance work to a mere skeleton of what the Association performs today.
Sisters and Brothers, these are CONCESSIONS!
Our members invested in our airlines through our bankruptcy contributions. We are the reason these carriers and this management were able to merge American Airlines and US Airways into the biggest airline in the world. It is now a carrier that is more profitable than it has been in its entire combined past history. It is an airline predicted to never lose money again. We deserve to keep what we bring to the table today in the form of the work we do, the benefits we have and the security we need.
Our proposals seek to allow our membership to grow as the Company grows. We deserve to share in the prosperity we make. We deserve to be rewarded for our sacrifices. Our proposals are reasonable and don’t overreach.
To the contrary, American has chosen this time to be greedy and demand that we continue to give back. They believe they can bribe us into concessions we would have to live with for the rest of our careers.
To that we say, hell no!
One more thing – American can begin the early out today. There is no need to wait.
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Michael G. Klemm
President/Directing General Chair
District Lodge 141
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Dave Supplee
President/Directing General Chair
District Lodge 142
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