TWU/IAM Association Leads on Relief for Transportation Employees

TWU/IAM Association Leads on Relief for Transportation Employees

Dec 21, 2020 | COVID, MNPL, Organizing, Page Five, Page Three, Page Two, Perusals, Row 2, The Association, Uncategorized | 0 comments

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TWU/IAM Association Leads on Relief for Transportation Employees

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After months of delays and false promises, Congress has finally agreed to another round of much needed COVID economic relief. Although votes are still pending in the House and Senate, the stimulus package has benefits for TWU/IAM Association represented American Airlines employees, as well as important funding for distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, assistance to small businesses and additional stimulus checks for individuals who qualify.

“The Association leadership, TWU and IAM membership and our legislative teams have been working tirelessly with other AFL-CIO unions since last May to secure additional relief for our Association members as well as our respective other air and rail members,” said TWU International Executive Vice President Alex Garcia and IAM General Vice President Sito Pantoja. “Thousands of TWU and IAM
member emails, phone calls and other meetings with Senators and House members across the country made sure the transportation industry and our Association members were not forgotten in this round of economic relief.”

The new stimulus package includes extended and enhanced unemployment benefits for railroad employees, plus an extension of waiver of the 7-day waiting period. Amtrak is restricted from furloughing additional employees. The passenger rail carrier is also required to recall workers to their former position when rail service is restored and prevents Amtrak from contracting out the work of furloughed
employees.

Important for airline workers is securing an extension to the critical airline Payroll Support Program (PSP) until March 31, 2021. This extension prohibits any airline accepting additional PSP funds from involuntarily furloughing employees for the duration of the program.

The program extension also requires participating airlines to recall the tens of thousands of airline employees furloughed following the expiration of the original PSP program on September 30, 2020. The legislation mandates that any carrier receiving the additional payroll assistance send a recall notice to all involuntarily furloughed employees.

“This is particularly impactful, in a positive way, for our furloughed Association members. Included in the new relief is the requirement that furloughed employees be restored to on payroll status retroactive to December 1 st . We wish this could have been completed before any airline workers were furloughed, but the current dysfunctional Congress made that impossible,” said Garcia and Pantoja. “The Association, TWU and IAM will continue to lead the way among organized labor when the new Congress begins work, advocating that they continue taking steps to help working families and our entire country recover from COVID’s wake of destruction.”

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Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

Jul 16, 2020 | American, COVID, Front Page, The Association, Uncategorized

To: TWU/IAM Membership
From: TWU/IAM Staff
Date: 7.16.2020
RE: WARN Letter

 

This is an informational note to address the fact that American Airlines has issued WARN letters to members of the Association. Let’s start by talking about what a WARN letter is.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) offers: “protection to workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs. Advance notice provides workers and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain alternative jobs and, if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining that will allow these workers to successfully compete in the job market. WARN also provides for notice to State dislocated worker units so that dislocated worker assistance can be promptly provided.”

American is required by law to issue these letters if there is a possibility of a mass layoff. The issuance of WARN letters does not mean that there absolutely will be a layoff and a WARN letter issued to you does not mean that you absolutely will be laid off. Your TWU/IAM leadership believes that work conditions and contract language will minimize or eliminate layoffs for Association members.

We recognize that these are tough and stressful times. Life does not have many guarantees but we can guarantee that excessive drinking or drug use will NOT fix or solve any of life’s problems. If possible, concentrate on the good things in your life and take good care of yourself through healthy eating, exercise and sleep.

 

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Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

American Airlines to Offer Revised Leaves of Absence and Voluntary Early Outs

Jul 15, 2020 | American, Front Page, The Association

July 15, 2020

American Airlines will announce today that they are offering ‘enhanced’ Leaves of Absence and Early Outs to Association members. Association leadership discussed these revised offers and made several suggestions that would make them more attractive to our members. Most of the suggestions were not taken.

We advise all of our membership to consider these offers carefully. Each person must weigh the costs and benefits that accepting any of the offers would have on their unique situation. The Company will communicate the offers and provide information relative to them. Questions about the leaves and early-outs should be directed to management. Questions about the contracts should be directed to your union representatives.

In these unprecedented times, we urge all of our members to be safe. We also remind everyone that our solidarity is our greatest asset in both good and turbulent times.

The Association Leadership Team

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Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

Information for American Airlines Fleet re: 2020 Agreement

Apr 7, 2020 | American, The Association

Attention TWU and IAM members:

  1. Persons who are members of either the TWU or IAM shall remain members of their respective union and will pay dues to that union wherever they may work or whenever or wherever they may transfer within Association covered workgroups or CBAs.
  2. New hire employees into any Association covered position shall become members of the union assigned representation responsibility for the location in the Allocation charts and will remain members of that respective union whenever or wherever they may transfer within Association covered workgroups or CBAs.
  3. Preferential hires, meaning those who were hired under the preferential hiring agreement prior to ratification of the JCBAs and joined the union opposite from their original union, shall remain members and pay dues to the union they were represented by and belonged to on the date of ratification. Should any of those preferential hires desire to revert to membership in their original union, he or she shall advise the Local officers of the union they are currently a member of, in writing and within thirty (30) days, that they wish to revert their membership.

 

Adopted April 7, 2020.

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Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

Association Bulletin – Implementation Agreement Reached

Mar 27, 2020 | American, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, The Association

March 27, 2020

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.

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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.

 

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Association Responds to American Airlines’ WARN Act Notice

Vote Results: TWU-IAM Ratifies New Contracts at American Airlines!

Mar 27, 2020 | Airlines, American, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, The Association

The TWU-IAM Association today announced its American Airlines membership overwhelmingly ratified contracts covering more than 30,000 Mechanic & Related (including Maintenance Control Technicians & Maintenance Training Specialists), Fleet Service and Material Logistics Specialists/Stores members.

Percent Voting Yes:

  • Mechanic & Related: 90.94%
  • Fleet Service:        95.45%
  • MLS/Stores:   92.12%

“The resounding approval of these contracts yet again proves that by standing together and demonstrating our solidarity and determination, we are able to achieve contracts our members deserve,” said Association Chair Sito Pantoja and Vice Chair Alex Garcia. “It is that same resolve that will get us through this unprecedented crisis facing our airline, our industry and our country.”

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