Apr 7, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home |
You can extend your paid sick leave during the COVID-19 Crisis.
April 6, 2020
While the CARES Act provides payroll security for airline employees for the next 6 months, the industry is facing a decrease of over 80% in demand for air travel. To reduce costs and limit physical contact, carriers are also trying to reduce the number of employees working at airports by offering paid and unpaid leaves of absence.
We all worry about how we will pay our bills if we are not working and the possibility we may need a prolonged period to recover from illness. IAM members working at United Airlines have an option in our contracts for additional paid sick leave. Our Collective Bargaining Agreements, Article 5, Vacation and Holidays, Paragraph 6, state:
Variable Use Option. Employees may convert up to 2 weeks of accrued vacation per year into their sick bank, up to the maximum sick bank accrual, for the purpose of funding sick pay for a planned upcoming significant medical event (e.g., maternity or major surgery or course of treatment, which will be documented).
This clause is part of IAM District 141 agreements with United for Fleet and Customer Service Agents, Storekeepers, Maintenance Instructors, Security Guards, and Central Load Planners.
Please contact your station’s management if you wish to use this option. You can also reach out to your Local Grievance Committee or AGC with questions or concerns, and to find out more about how your IAMAW Union contract can help protect your health and your job.
We do not yet see a clear end to this crisis. This contract clause provides flexibility and peace of mind to members with chronic health conditions or in high-risk situations where they must stay home for an extended period to protect themselves and their families.
Please continue to follow CDC guidelines and state and local mandates and take every precaution to safeguard your health and safety. This virus is highly contagious and can be transmitted by people showing no symptoms of the disease. If you feel sick, please take care of yourself and protect your co-workers by staying home and calling your healthcare provider for an evaluation of your symptoms.
All District 141 Representatives are working with United Airlines managers to ensure that sick calls during the coronavirus crisis will not trigger progressive disciplinary action. If you need help getting time off to deal with COVID-19, contact a member of your Grievance Committee as soon as possible.
Apr 6, 2020 | Community Service, Community Service Page, COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Safety, Uncategorized, United |
CDC recommendations updated to include face coverings.
The Centers for Disease Control continue to study the spread of coronavirus in the United States. Last week, they updated recommendations for people in situations where social distancing can be difficult, such as workplaces like airports or call centers. Wearing a face cover is now encouraged to help slow down the spread of the virus, which can happen even when people are showing no symptoms of the disease.
Medical grade and one-time-use masks are in short supply and they are urgently needed by healthcare workers. Maintaining a 6-foot distance is still the best way to protect yourself while interacting with others, and using a mask is not a substitute for that practice. The new CDC recommendation however, states that a simple cloth mask is an additional and effective measure.
Alice Martins from Local 914 in Newark, NJ is working in one of the epicenters of the outbreak of coronavirus. She shared her video showing how to make a face cover using a United Airlines uniform scarf. All you need is a scarf and two rubber bands – no sewing required! Thank you, Alice!
What measures are you taking in your city to protect workers from the spread of coronavirus? Let us know in the comments below!
Apr 4, 2020 | Education, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Uncategorized |
District 141 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers is offering six $1,000 scholarships and one $2,000 scholarship to the winners of its yearly Adolph Stutz Memorial essay contest. The contest is open to select union members and their families.
Children, spouses, and dependent grandchildren of members with one year or more of good standing in District Lodge 141 who are graduating high school seniors or who are currently enrolled full time and/or commencing college full time. The competition is also open to any members with one year or more of good standing in District Lodge 141 who are enrolled in college with a minimum of six units per semester.
Applications must be signed by a Local Lodge Recording Secretary to ensure that the sponsoring member qualifies for the scholarship program. District union officers, their families, and previous winners are not eligible.
This year’s topic is, “What I Look For in a Leader in This Election Year.” Applicants, including graduating high school seniors or college students, are asked to sumbit essays with at least 700 words and a maximum of 1,000 words.
Entries must be printed on standard-sized paper (8.5″ x 11″) and must also be submitted as a Microsoft Word Document. The entrant’s name or other identification should appear on each page, with the title of the essay at the top of the paper. All entries should include a recent image of the applicant.
Six essays will be selected to win $1,000 scholarships, and one will be selected for the $2,000 top prize. In addition to the money, the top essay will be featured in the District 141 quarterly Newsletter.
The competition ends at midnight on July 24, 2020, and winners will be announced by August 1, 2020.
Click Here for full contest rules and a printable application >>
Apr 3, 2020 | Education, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home |
District 141 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers has announced that applications are now being accepted for The Adolph Stutz Memorial Scholarship Essay Competition. This year, $8,000 worth of scholarship money will be awarded to help cover the costs of higher education. The writer of the top essay will be awarded a scholarship worth $2,000, and six additional students will get $1,000 each.
The essay competition is open to children, spouses and dependent grandchildren of union members in District Lodge 141 who are graduating high school seniors or who are currently enrolled or starting college full time. The competition is also open to any members with one year or more of good standing in District Lodge 141 who are enrolled in college with a minimum of six units per semester. District Lodge 141 officers and their families are not eligible.
The contest ends on July 15, 2020, at midnight.
See below for full contest rules and requirements.
Download Official Contest Rules and Application Form >>
Apr 3, 2020 | EAP, Featured, Front Page, Helping Hands, Home, Home |
EAP Peer Coordinators:
This month’s focus is on how to support yourself during social distancing, isolation, and quarantine. There are ideas about how to survive this extended period in which we find ourselves.
The recent legislation supporting workers has been some welcome relief. It assures us of some security through the summer, if the coronavirus health situation continues. We must also anticipate the consequences of the situation lasting longer then we all hope it will.
Thank you for your service to your co-workers, and for taking good care of each other. this is the most difficult situation we have ever faced -and – we are making it through!
Bryan,
Bryan Hutchinson, M.S.
Mar 27, 2020 | American, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, The Association |
Implementation Agreement Reached
The Association and American Airlines have reached an agreement covering the implementation of certain elements of the JCBAs. The following items cover pay, retirement, and certain benefits that are most important to our membership:
1. All JCBA wage rates will be effective the first Monday following the date of ratification (“DOR”), inclusive of
- Chart Rate
- All Premiums
- Skill Pay
- Fuel Tank Entry (which will be paid as a temporary upgrade)
- MLS Driver Premium (which will be paid as a temporary upgrade unless a separate MLS Driver bid area is established)
- Taxi & Run-up Pay (which will be paid as a temporary upgrade unless a separate Taxi & Run-up bid area is established)
- Shift Differential (Shift differential for Legacy American TWU employees will be programmed at JCBA rates following ratification but will continue to be based on shift definitions under the 2012 AA/TWU CBAs until those employees are moved to the Work Brain system. JCBA shift definitions will apply to all covered employees thereafter.)
2. The Signing Bonus Payment agreed to by the parties shall be paid no later than 60-days after the DOR to all active employees as of DOR. Employees on an approved leave of absence or not working due to OJI shall receive the Signing Bonus within 45-days of returning to active status.
3. The Vacation Lump Sum Payment (to eligible employees) agreed to by the parties shall be paid no later than sixty (60) days after DOR.
4. All other pay elements not provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 or 3 above will be paid, retroactively to the first Monday following the DOR (in a lump sum equivalent), within one-hundred twenty (120) days after DOR, but in no event more than one-hundred (150) days, and thereafter will be paid on a continuing basis as described in the JCBAs.
5. The IAM National Pension Plan contribution rates provided for in Article 30 – Retirement shall be effective no later than May 1, 2020. The employer matching contributions and employer nonelective contributions provided for in Article 30 – Retirement shall be implemented no later than January 1, 2021. For the time period from May 1, 2020, until such time as the employer matching contributions and employer non-elective contributions provided for in Article 30 – Retirement can be made effective for employees covered by the JCBAs, but no later than January 1, 2021, the following will apply:a. TWU Designated Employees will receive contributions to the 401(k) Plan in the amount of 9%; no employee contribution will be required; and will not receive any employer matching contributions to the 401(k) Plan.
b. IAM Designated Employees will receive employer contributions to the 401(k) Plan in the amount of 4%; no employee contribution will be required; and will not receive any employer matching contributions to the 401(k) Plan.
c. The employer contributions provided for in paragraphs 5) a. and b. above will be made to employees on a monthly basis and will be made after the last pay period of each month.
For example, contributions for eligible compensation earned in May will be contributed in June. These contributions will be reflected in employees’ Fidelity 401(k) statements but will not appear in the employees’ Company payroll statements.
6. For 2020, profit-sharing for each participant covered by the JCBAs will be calculated on a prorated basis, using the profit-sharing calculation currently in effect for employees represented by the Association up to the DOR and using the profit-sharing calculation provided for under the JCBAs for the remainder of the year.
7. All grievance settlement monies owed to the TWU/IAM Association as a result of joint negotiations shall be paid to the Association within 30 days of receiving payment instructions from the Association, following the DOR.
8. The parties recognize the importance of the seniority provisions and applications of the JCBAs, such as rebids, realignments, shift bids and transfers, reductions in force and agree to preserve and utilize employees’ seniority during the implementation process. The parties also acknowledge the need to combine overtime and field trip call-out procedures into a single system and to allow shift swaps/trades between employees under their respective JCBAs; therefore:a) Local management and Association representatives will work together to implement the overtime process outlined in the respective JCBA as soon as practicable in each location.
b) Field trips will continue to be called out in the same manner as they have been prior to the ratification of the JCBAs until such time that the Company and Association agree to a single system Field Trip call list.
c) Local management and Association representatives will work together to implement the shift swaps/trades as soon as practicable in each location. The Association agrees to work collaboratively in order to assist the Company with the implementation of these JCBA provisions.
9. The M&R International outsourcing provisions shall become effective April 1, 2020, upon which the annual 12-month lookback will be based. The data used to determine the initial International Outsourcing hours measurement to be sent to the Association no later than June 1, 2020.
10. Legacy American TWU employees’ sick bank shall be credited with up to ten (10) days no later than December 31, 2020, based on any ten (10) months in 2020 where at least 80 hours were worked by the respective employee.
11. The payback period for employees who elect to take a ‘loan’ due to the change to pay-in-arrears or bi-weekly pay shall begin no earlier than February 1, 2021. The Company may change employees to pay-in arrears and bi-weekly pay, where applicable, as soon as is practicable.
The impact of the serious COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of the Company has created uncertainty in the ability to predict exact implementation dates for some contractual items the Company is obligated to institute. Therefore, the parties have agreed to meet within 60 days after ratification and on an ongoing basis to reach agreement on any implementation issues that are outstanding after the date of ratification and are not addressed in the Implementation Agreement reached today.
While we expect to reach mutually agreeable terms that would cover any outstanding implementation issues after the date of ratification, the Association has not waived any of its rights to resolve disputes that may arise, including the grievance procedure.
Please print and post on all IAMAW Bulletin Boards.
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