Keep Up the Pressure! Airline Worker Relief on Hold, But Momentum Growing

Keep Up the Pressure! Airline Worker Relief on Hold, But Momentum Growing

Oct 8, 2020 | Airlines, American, COVID, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, Hawaiian, MNPL, Organizing, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Perusals, Philippine, Row 2, Spirit, Uncategorized, United | 0 comments

///This post originally appeared on GOIAM.ORG

We are closer than ever to save the jobs of tens of thousands of airline workers. Thanks to U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR), the IAM and our airline union coalition are making huge strides toward securing airline worker relief.

Unfortunately, House Republicans blocked a vote on the DeFazio-Larsen airline Payroll Support Program extension (H.R. 8504) Friday. Despite this setback, we expect further movement on this urgent issue.

“We are done being patient for Congress to act,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “Our members need relief and they need it now. We will keep the heat on our elected officials until the Payroll Support Program is passed and our members are back on the job. I am sick and tired of these politicians taking vacations while working people are on the street.”

“IAM members are fully aware of what is happening here and they will not to be used as bargaining chips,” wrote IAM Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja in a letter to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. “They expect you to support them not with words, but with action. It is disgraceful to stand in the way of preserving airline workers’ jobs and watch their livelihoods become upended, their healthcare revoked and state unemployment programs become bloated beyond calculation.?”

Critically, H.R. 8504 requires airlines seeking aid to recall employees who were furloughed after September 30.

“Tens of thousands of airline workers stand on the brink of being fired, losing their certification requirements and seeing their livelihoods and financial security ripped away,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). “Today, Democrats provided a path forward to avert catastrophe for these workers. Chairman DeFazio requested unanimous consent for his stand-alone bipartisan bill to extend the Payroll Support Program. Disappointingly, Republicans objected to the legislation.”

We must keep up the pressure!

Call your Representative at 202-224-3121 to urge them to support H.R. 8504, a standalone extension of the airline Payroll Support Program through March 31, 2021, and to save hundreds of thousands of frontline airline workers’ jobs.

Read the IAM and airline coalition letter to every member of the U.S. House urging passage of H.R. 8504.

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U.S. Transportation Department Rules Masks Aren’t Mandatory on Airlines, Public Transportation

U.S. Transportation Department Rules Masks Aren’t Mandatory on Airlines, Public Transportation

Oct 7, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, MNPL, Page Five, Page Four, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Friday turned down a request by the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), and its 33 member unions, including the IAM, for an emergency order requiring masks on airplanes, trains, and other forms of transportation.

“While this decision by the DOT is just a continuation of the Trump administration’s blatant disregard for the health and safety of our country’s frontline workers, the IAM will not stop fighting until this petition becomes federally mandated,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “We value the lives of all working people and will always champion any legislation that provides vital, life-saving measures.”

Many airlines in the U.S. and around the world are taking it upon themselves to ensuring passenger safety by permanently banning passengers who refuse to wear masks on flights.

“We applaud the airlines that are taking it upon themselves to ensure the health and safety of their workers, but their action alone is not enough,” said IAM Transportation General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “Since the COVID-19 outbreak began, the government has failed in its most basic duty, which is to protect the American people. The federal government’s absence of leadership is staggering and a global embarrassment.”

“It is unfathomable that in the midst of a global pandemic which has killed more than 209,000 Americans, and left millions sicker and potentially facing lifelong side effects – including the president of the United States – that the U.S. Department of Transportation would outright reject such a simple, science-backed, lifesaving measure,” said TTD President Larry Willis. “It is beyond clear that COVID-19, and the public health crisis it has created, is not going away anytime soon. In the absence of real, federal leadership from the Trump Administration, transportation labor will continue fighting for the health and safety of our members.”

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Announcing the New IAM Group Medicare Plan

Announcing the New IAM Group Medicare Plan

Oct 6, 2020 | Featured, Front Page, GOIAM Stories, Page Five, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, retirement, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

///This post originally appeared on GOIAM.ORG

The IAM has worked for months to negotiate a new Group Medicare plan for Medicare-eligible retirees, spouses, surviving spouses and Medicare-eligible dependents. 

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Employee Benefit Systems and TLC Insurance Group. This plan can help serve the Medicare needs for our Medicare-eligible retirees, their spouses, and surviving spouses. This new best-in-class IAM Group Medicare Advantage plan, offered through Humana, is rich in benefits.

Visit iam4.me/iamhumana for more information. Here are some of the benefits that IAM retirees are so excited about:

  1. Available in all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia;
  2. National Passive Group Medicare PPO Plan that allows members to use the doctor and hospital of their choice nationally;
  3. In network and out of network benefits are identical;
  4. Robust Prescription Group Plan included;
  5. Low out of pocket maximum;
  6. No deductibles on the IAMAW Group plan;
  7. Low copays! Primary Care Physician – $0 copay    Specialist – $30 copay 

For current IAMAW Medicare-eligible retirees/spouses/surviving spouses, look for marketing and communications from the IAM this week. The IAM announcement letter will be followed by a group enrollment packet with details on the new group plan. Inside, there will be an exclusive toll free phone number (1-800-833-2411 – Humana Enrollment Department) to call in for questions and enrollment assistance.

Retiree participation is not mandatory. Enrollment into the plan is by self-choice.  However, we highly suggest that all retirees compare the benefits of this new IAM Group Medicare plan, with their current coverage, prior to making any decision on their 2021 Medicare healthcare options. Visit iam4.me/iamhumana for more information.

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October EAP Helping Hands Newsletter: Isolation

October EAP Helping Hands Newsletter: Isolation

Oct 5, 2020 | COVID, EAP, Featured News, Front Page, Helping Hands, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Row 2, Uncategorized | 0 comments

EAP Peer Coordinators,

As the covid virus continues to affect all of us, we are starting to see the effects of isolation. Mental Health and substance abuse issues are beginning to surface in numbers we have not seen before. There are resources to help – and we can guide people to these resources! 

Anxiety and depression are also increasing. Not knowing how or when we will have an effective way to deal with the crisis as it continues is very difficult on many people. Again, the isolation is causing many people to experience mental health and substance use issues. As you notice people whose behavior has changed, work with your upline EAP to address each individual. This can make the difference of each individual dealing with a problem effectively or the problem becoming larger. 

Thank you for the work you are doing – I am very grateful for each of you! 

Bryan,

Bryan Hutchinson, M.S.

Helping Hands October Edition

The Employee Assistance Program is a compassionate, confidential, and free service that has helped hundreds of people cope with personal crises.

Download Helping Hands for October

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Watch This: Rep. DeFazio Calls Out Lawmakers Killing Airline Payroll Support

Watch This: Rep. DeFazio Calls Out Lawmakers Killing Airline Payroll Support

Oct 3, 2020 | Airlines, COVID, Featured, Featured News, Front Page, MNPL, Organizing, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized, Video | 0 comments

Watch as Rep. Peter DeFazio gets visibly angry when efforts to help reverse mass airline furloughs are killed.

After Republican leadership in the House of Representatives blocked a motion to pass legislation to provide emergency relief for airline workers, a clearly frustrated Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) took to the floor to call them out.

Congressman DeFazio, the Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has been a leading voice in efforts to advance payroll support for airline workers. In July, he wrote a letter calling for a clean extension of the Payroll Support Program that gathered the support of a bipartisan majority of Congress members. The letter was promoted by Machinists and Aerospace Union members nationwide.

Despite over 90,000 messages being sent to the House and Senate from airline workers over several months, lawmakers did not approve an extension of the PSP before it expired on September 30, and tens of thousands of airline workers are out of jobs as a result.

Additional Resources /// DeFazio Statement on Updated HEROES Act /// DeFazio Calls for Payroll Support for Airline Workers /// Contact Rep. Peter DeFazio 

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Video Report: Obie and Rich, the Spirit of 1776

Video Report: Obie and Rich, the Spirit of 1776

Oct 2, 2020 | Featured News, Front Page, Page Five, Page Four, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, Uncategorized, Video | 0 comments

This week’s 141 Video Report features C.A. “Obie” O’Brien, President of the Pennsylvania State Council of Machinists, and VP Rich Howell

Brother O’Brien is a legendary figure in the Machinists Union, whose activism during his 56-year career has inspired countless others, including Howell. They are the driving force behind the Pennsylvania State Council, representing 9,000 active Machinists Union members in 52 locals and 5 districts in the state. 

Obie also serves as Vice President of the Pennsylvania State AFL-CIO and is a member of the New Jersey State Council of Machinists. He has received numerous awards, including the Frank Darcy Award from the NJ State Council. His home Local 1776 in Philadelphia, where he has served in several capacities, bears his name.

Rich is a tireless organizer who served as Local 1776 President for 19 years and continues to advocate for Pennsylvania’s working men and women. The coronavirus pandemic has not stopped him from finding ways to contact members to organize and direct phone banks and other activities to get out the vote during this important election year.

“This is not a drill,” says Rich when asked about what is at stake during this election. Pennsylvania is a key battleground state in which both presidential candidates are spending a lot of time and resources and is considered a “must win” in order to win the presidency. In the interview, Rich mentions the labor-friendly candidates on this year’s ballot who have earned the endorsement of the PASCM and the productive relationships the council has cultivated with them. 

Together, these Machinists Union leaders have 97 years of experience representing the interests of union members and working families in the Keystone State and we are proud to recognize the work they do.  

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