Dec 13, 2017 | Airlines, American, Departments, Featured, Hawaiian, Home, Safety, United
To reduce the number of workplace accidents at our nation’s airports, union activists promised to form stronger partnerships with airline and industry leaders at the IAM141 Safety Conference, which began on Tuesday.
Bill Salo is the IAM141 Safety Director (United Airlines.) His work has led to safety policy changes at airports around the nation.
The IAM141 Safety Conference is an annual event that brings together union leaders and activists, company representatives and workplace safety experts from around the nation to discuss the topic of workplace safety. Each year, attendees review ongoing safety issues and priorities and develop employee-level strategies for enforcing workplace safety.
Throughout the conference, speakers repeatedly underscored the importance of front-line workers actively partnering with company-based safety teams. “It’s crucial that we’re working with the company.” Said Bill Salo, who, along with Tony D’Aloiso and Kaulana Pakele is a Safety Director at IAM141. “As union members, we sometimes disagree with companies about a lot of things, but safety is not one of them.”
Tony D’Aloiso, IAM141 Safety Director (American Airlines) has helped employee-level safety programs take flight.
Union activists and leaders were quick to acknowledge the need for well-planned company-led safety programs and training but insisted that these programs are not enough by themselves. Worker-led programs and front-line safety reporting are also needed.
Erik Stenberg is the IAM141 Director of Safety. ““The workers have the information that companies need to make policy decisions regarding safety.”
“The workers have the information that companies need to make policy decisions regarding safety.” Said IAM141 Safety Director Erik Stenberg. “We know and understand the work and the challenges that front-line workers are facing on the job. If we can get this information to company managers, they can make better decisions about company policy.”
“We’re trying to work together. We’ve invited the company to attend this conference, and they have been very receptive to us so far.” United, Hawaiian, and American Airlines all sent representatives from management as well as front-line workers to participate in the Safety Conference.
From Houston, Texas: Safety Supervisor of Airport Operations for United Airlines Gary Snead (left) and IAM Local 811 President Leroy Taylor (right) at the 2017 IAM141 Safety Conference.
Airline managers are happy to welcome the help of front-line workers. “I think this partnership is great, and it’s here for one goal. And, that’s creating a safer and healthier work environment for everyone.” Said Gary Snead, the Safety Supervisor of Airport Operations at the United Airlines’ massive Houston hub, Gary Snead praised the efforts to team up with union members.
Echoing the sentiments of union-side safety advocates, Snead went on to say, “You know, the company and the union don’t agree on a lot of things, but we are united for safety.”
Kaulana Pakele is the IAM141 Safety Director for Hawaiian Airlines. Pakele has helped ensure that IAM Members have direct lines to management whenever they are reporting safety issues at work.
IAM141 President, Mike Klemm praised the partnerships as he delivered the opening remarks at the 2017 Safety Conference. Pointing out programs such as the GSAP reporting system and the IAM safety tracking system “UnionSafe,” he repeated the sincerity of the efforts of both sides to improve airline safety.
“Safety has improved, and will continue to improve.” President Mike Klemm said, “Obviously, our members coming home, and the company’s employees coming home, the same way they went to work is crucial to both the company and the union. Until we arrive at the day where nobody is getting hurt on the job, we will always strive to improve on safety.”
Oct 17, 2017 | Airlines, American, Departments, Home, Safety, United, Video
IAM District 141 Safety Reps from United Airlines and American Airlines met at Chicagos Willis Tower on Monday. The Safety Reps and company management went to discuss the GSAP Safety Program United Airlines uses in cooperation with the FAA and the IAM. American Airlines management went to see how the ERC board works to resolve Safety related issues…This video report from IAM Local 1776 Dennis Spencer gives more detail of the very productive meeting.
Oct 16, 2017 | MNPL
Airline workers may need to study up on “Right to Work” laws, which have been helping big business defund unions for years. Important politicians are trying to extend Right to Work rules into all unions and employee groups. This may soon include airline and railroad workers, who have largely been spared until now.
Simply put, if you are paid an hourly rate, “Right to Work” laws will hurt you, and leave you with fewer rights at work.
How will “Right to Work” laws affect Employees and Employee Groups?
When it comes to unions, “Right to Work” laws unfairly (and severely) discriminate against employees that try to negotiate as a group with their employers by reducing their funding through dues. Employee groups do not have access to billions of dollars in corporate profits, and must pool their money together in order to compete. This is what “dues” are; contributions from everyone, collected for the common good.
When unions begin to evaporate, wages collapse throughout the economy, and all workers suffer.
Unions help support wage growth, even for nonunion workers, by raising prevailing pay standards and creating upwards competition between businesses trying to attract talent. Without unions, the power balance tips to the employers and away from employees, allowing bosses to lower wages, benefits and standards.
How do “Right to Work” Laws Defund Unions?
“Right to Work” laws harm workers by forcing labor unions and employee groups to provide services to nonmembers without compensation. Over time, this will eventually starve unions of the money they need to operate at all. Supporters claim that “Right to Work” is needed in order to give people that do not want to work in a unionized workplace the option to work there anyway, but without having to be a part of the union or pay dues. However, the laws still require unions to provide all the services that they perform for dues-paying members to the non-members, as well.
Non-members will still collect the pay raises and benefits that the union negotiates, and they will still receive the job protections and workplace rules that are enforced though union grievance procedures… all of which is funded by dues payments. “Right to Work” makes paying for these services voluntary.
No business or organization would survive for long if it were forced to deliver products to nonpaying consumers. By forcing labor unions to perform work without compensation, “Right to Work” Laws obviously exist to drive unions out of business. The goal isn’t to protect the right of employees to work (that’s what unions do – if they can fund themselves), they exist in order to prevent employees from working together when they negotiate with their boss.
Do Other Organizations Have Similar Rules?
It’s hard to imagine how other organizations would respond to equivalent laws. Country Clubs, Homeowner Associations or private Health Care facilities that were forced to provide services without being paid would quickly go out of business. “Right to Work” backers understand this, which is why they are spending so much to fund their anti-union efforts at the Federal level. Since “Right to Work” laws are specifically designed to destroy unions, they are only applied to employee groups. Other organizations that require membership fees or dues, such as cable companies or country clubs, are not affected.
But, shouldn’t people have a right to work in a unionized workplace without joining the union that represents those workers?
Job applicants that do not want to work in a unionized workplace will find an abundance of non-union jobs to choose from. Fewer and fewer employees in the United States belong to a union; it is very easy to find a nonunion workplace in America.
The goal of “Right to Work” is to force unions out of business, and force employees to negotiate on an “individual employee vs the Company” basis, which favors the company and places employees at a disadvantage.
Does “Right to Work” help create more jobs? Are “Right to Work” employees paid more?
There is no evidence that “Right to Work” increases hiring rates. Hiring new workers is not something that businesses do except as a last resort. And, if “Right to Work” laws actually contributed to higher wages, the only businesses that supported them would be the companies that already want to pay their employees more. And, these companies can give their workers a raise without “Right to Work.”
If “Right to Work” laws really created higher wages, companies would not support them. The fact is that work is better protected with a more equal power balance between workers and Company Bosses.
Will “Right to Work” Last?
“Right to Work” is likely to spread into the airline and railroad industries, but there are some indications that Right to Work will not hold up well if it is forced to withstand court challenges, or if it is applied to other organizations outside of organized labor. Can hospitals be forced to provide health care to non-paying consumers? Can private institutions, such as universities and country clubs be forced to accommodate non-members that do not provide financial support in return? “Right to Work” requirements that private organization should be forced to provide services to nonpaying consumers may be found unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, the current make-up of the US Supreme Court is also very likely to make “Right to Work” discrimination a constitutionally-protected practice. It will take generations to unravel the damage to employees that will result from anti-worker decisions at the high court.
But, in the meantime, airline and railroad employees need to study up on “Right to Work,” and the harmful effects that it is likely to have on their paychecks and job security.
