Protecting Airline Workers: Lou Raymond and Patrick Elias of National Group Protection discuss some of the ways that airline workers can be better protected during the pandemic.
For more than 40 years, National Group Protection has offered insurance programs for the worksite environment.
As a national leader in developing and administering supplemental benefit programs, NGP is able to handle plan design, implementation, administration, and service. NGP is capable of offering a variety of supplemental benefit plans in all industries on a national level. With a team of licensed agents, NGP can enroll groups in all fifty states.
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February 23, 2021
Sisters and Brothers,
This communication is being shared to address the concerns that will arise from the fact that the Fleet Service “Allocator” Arbitration was not heard today. We are all well aware of the challenges we face while dealing with this pandemic, but at the same time we have developed proper and safe methods to conduct a hearing like this and we believe this should have happened today. The information we have received regarding the arbitrator, Steven Crable, was that he was unable to conduct the hearing in person since he has not yet received his second Covid-19 shot. The Association had agreed in advance to an in-person arbitration, but also that if presenting the case in-person wasn’t a viable option, that video conferencing would be administered. It appears that the company insisted on the in-person ideology, with the arbitrator present with them and the Association presenting our case remotely. The company’s flawed arbitration philosophy is both completely unacceptable and will never be tolerated, since it would only work to their advantage.
We fully recognize just how important this issue is for our members and that this grievance will be presented and heard in an arbitration. We believe this move by the company is a complete overreach to gain ownership of covered work, which we will argue was never relinquished or negotiated from the Association. It is truly troublesome that a ratified agreement that is nearing its one-year anniversary is continuing to be renegotiated by some individuals in management who have changed positions and were not present at the bargaining table throughout negotiations. This issue, along with a few others, have placed some serious questions around the company’s integrity and understanding of bargaining in good faith; including their ability to understand what they actually agreed to. We will not allow the language in the ratified agreement to be trampled on or dismissed, simply because the carrier can’t accept the true meaning and true intent reached in negotiations. There are mechanisms of protection for our members in the agreement that must be upheld, even if it comes with added cost to the company.
The Association remains committed to supporting the membership and we will take all required steps necessary to fully represent the contract and the members covered by the agreement. We have constantly recognized and appreciated you, the members, for your support and understanding as we are forced to fight through the growing pains of a new contract. Rest assured, we will never give up fighting for our members’ contractual rights. We will always take the fight where it needs to go and to whom it needs to be with. The rescheduled date for this case to be heard is now March 30 & 31, 2021. The new date was proposed by the arbitrator to the Association and American. As more information is further known, it will be communicated to the membership.
Honoring Black History Month: IAMAW Brother Ron Robinson reflects on his black role models and suggests that they might not change their strategies for dealing with Civil Rights much if they were active today. According to Robinson, “I think that those back leaders… would have blacks focused more, and working in one direction.”
We are proud to feature District 141 Regional Employee Assistance Program Representative, Ron Robinson as we celebrate Black History Month.
Ron Robinson is a 43 year veteran of United Airlines from Local 1932 in Los Angeles and has been active in the EAP since 2004. Asked how he thinks prominent black figures from the past would respond to the issues of today, he responded by saying that their mission probably wouldn’t change much. He spoke about Black History Month with Dave Lehive this week.
“I think the leaders of that time if they were alive today, Malcolm X, the James Chaneys, the Charles Moores… I think that those guys would be doing the same things now that they were doing then,” Robinson said. He pointed out that, while the passage of landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act, and the Voting Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965 were helpful, by the early 70’s they were already being scaled back. Today, persons of color are facing many of the same institutional inequities as those of earlier eras, and therefore, today’s generation can learn directly from those that came before them.
“So, I think that those leaders probably today would have blacks focused more, and moving in one direction. Right now, I think we tend to be a bit splintered.” Robinson held up Black Lives Matter as an example of a modern movement that he thinks is carrying forward the legacy of the Civil Rights Era. “It’s a good thing,” he said. “Not only have blacks rallied around it, but people all around the world are rallying behind Black Lives Matter.”
But, that’s what I think our leaders (of the past) would do; they would be organizing us again – to move in the same direction.”
But Robinson also recalled the contributions of white allies and supporters, some of which might be surprising, such as Mitt Romney’s father, former Michigan Governor, George Romney.
“George Romney went from being the American Motors president to government,” Robinson recounted. “By the time I was in school, he had become the governor of Michigan.” The elder Romney was a sincere civil rights activist who wasn’t afraid of taking a public stand in support of racial justice. “People don’t realize that Mitt Romney’s father, George Romney, marched with Martin Luther King. He marched with Abernathy. When they had the marches in Detroit, he marched right along with them. When the UAW marched, he marched right along with them.”
His work as an advocate for black people did not end with public displays of support. According to Robinson, “he was a man who visualized desegregation in living, in housing, and in education. He wanted equal education for all children in Michigan.” Romney went on to push for reforms at the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Nixon, where he quickly made enemies of the right-leaning administration. “He was a Republican in a heavily blue state,” Robinson said. “But, he was elected and re-elected as governor.”
Ron Robinson is an Employee Assistance Rep for the Southwest Region. He assists United Airlines members in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, and Orange County. Ron helps provide confidential and professional support for those experiencing personal problems and can be reached at (310) 486-1225, or by email at lbronnie@aol.com.
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The IAM’s Veterans Services program is reporting a boost in recruitment. The program, which is under the union’s Retirees and Membership Assistance Department, was created in 2016 and continues its growth in popularity. Enrollment is up from 2,400 in July 2020 to 4,100 as of this February.
“Seeing an opportunity to increase interest and further expand the program, we wanted to ramp up our efforts by reaching out to everyone,” said IAM Retirees and Membership Assistance Director Ed Manhart, who manages the IAM’s military veteran outreach. “It’s the least we can do for their selfless acts of courage and sacrifices they made for our country.”
The program provides an extensive range of services such as the IAM Employee Assistance Program. It also offers help to veterans struggling with PTSD, mental health problems and/or substance abuse. Veterans can attend week-long seminars at the union-owned and operated Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, MD. One particular segment of the training helps military veterans navigate through the often-complicated and difficult tasks of filing benefit claims with the federal government. All IAM membership services are free of charge.
The IAM encourages military veterans to enroll in the program by visiting its website or submitting paper applications. In early January of this year, the Veterans Services program launched the latest veterans outreach effort by sending packets of application forms to all IAM districts and locals across the country. The project is proving successful through an increased awareness, interest and participation in this valuable IAM member service benefit.
If you’d like to register for the program, please visit the IAM Veterans Services page or sign up by way of tablet at your local or district.
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Honoring Black History Month: Brother Derrick Monk has provided a calm, guiding presence for members of IAMAW District 141 for over a decade.
We continue to celebrate Black History Month with a profile of Pastor Derrick S. Monk, Sr., Grievance Committee Chair, and Community Service Committee Chair of Local 1776.
In 2008, when he had been working at USAirways in Philadelphia International Airport for just over a year, Derrick had a “run-in” with a manager. He was so impressed with the work of Gil Simmons, Local 1776 Committee Chair at the time (now IAMAW Grand Lodge Representative), that he decided he would pay it forward. “The Union was there for me, and so I wanted to be sure to do my part to help my brothers and sisters in the union.”
His dedication to his Brothers and Sisters of the IAM and the larger Philadelphia community has earned him several awards and recognition.
Derrick grew up in a union household that took an active role in the struggle for civil rights and equal opportunities. A second-generation unionist, Monk follows in the footsteps of his father, who was a member of the United Auto Workers Union for more than 30 years. “He showed me the benefit of hard work, and how important it is to belong to a union and receive a union wage.”
As a young student, his parents enrolled him in a desegregation program where he was bussed to better-funded schools in northeast Philadelphia. He found his calling in the intersection of faith and activism and became an ordained minister. He currently serves as the Senior Pastor of the Divine Covenant Outreach Center in Philadelphia, in addition to many community service projects he leads.
In 2017, our Brother Derrick received the Irv Sannit Labor Volunteer Award from the United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania for his community service work with IAM Local 1776 and with the Solid Hearts Foundation, a non-profit he co-founded to expand the reach of his union community service work. The foundation provides emergency financial assistance and academic scholarships to families in need in the greater Philadelphia area.
Derrick Monk draws inspiration from the work of civil and labor rights leaders who came before him, and continues to pay it forward.
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In a big step toward relief for the tens of thousands of Machinists Union members working in the aerospace industry, a payroll support fund to protect aviation manufacturing jobs has been included in the House’s omnibus reconciliation package aimed at COVID relief.The IAM Legislative Department and members across the country have been pushing Congress to include these provisions in any relief package that is passed.
“Machinists Union members are the most skilled and dedicated aerospace and defense workers in the world,” said IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. “We must do everything we can to preserve such a critical workforce through this crisis and be ready for growth when it passes. As the largest aerospace and defense union in North America, we applaud Reps. Larsen and Estes, Sens. Cantwell and Moran, and others who are championing this bipartisan, worker-first and desperately needed legislation.”
The provision would provide a federal cost-share program to retain aerospace workers who are at risk of being furloughed and recall workers who were furloughed due to the drastic reduction in air travel since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Although this is move in the right direction, we must continue to apply pressure to Congress. Call your Representative at 202-224-3121to urge them to include the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2021, and save thousands of crucial aerospace jobs.
TAKE ACTION: Tell Your U.S. Senators and Representative to support the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Act of 2021.
The IAM partnered with Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) in the effort to secure financial relief for workers.
The Machinists Union has been fighting to secure funding to save IAM jobs in many different troubled industries included in the next round of COVID relief.
In a tragic incident late...
The past week saw a surge of...
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