Jul 3, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Row 2, Safety |
This weekend Americans proudly celebrate our independence and ability to self-govern. We must also acknowledge that not every American is able to enjoy our freedoms equally. Our country has come a long way since 1776, but there is clearly much work to be done before everyone in this country truly has the same protections and freedom regardless of how they look, what they believe, or who they love.
We cannot forget that with our freedom comes great responsibility, both collectively and individually. While we have tremendous freedoms, there are limits. For example, we do not have the freedom to hurt innocent people. More specifically, we do not have the right to infect others with a deadly disease. When something as simple as wearing a mask over our mouth and nose and respecting social distancing guidelines becomes a political statement, we are not acting responsibly. We are acting selfishly.
Science shows that if everyone wears masks in public and adheres to social distance guidelines the spread of this disease will be dramatically reduced. It will save lives. Failure to act responsibly, however, has allowed this virus to explode to record numbers in the United States. Though much of the world is containing the COVID virus and is gradually returning to normal, we are the global example of how NOT to handle a pandemic.
The United States still does not have a uniform nationwide response to the COVID crisis, and the world has noticed. The European Union is reopening its borders, but not to Americans because we are not properly defending ourselves against the COVID virus. We are considered a threat, and Europe does not want our failure to spread to their continent. We are also not permitted to travel to Canada, and within our own borders some states require people travelling from other states to quarantine. The lack of an effective pandemic response is hampering the industry’s recovery and will lead directly to the loss of air and rail industry jobs.
The COVID-19 virus has already cost millions of jobs around the country, but if we cannot contain it we will lose countless more. We are all responsible for our own safety and the safety of those we work with.
Never before has how we behave in our personal lives affected our job security so much.
We know how to restart the economy and resurrect the transportation industry. If we choose to ignore science and politicize safe, responsible actions, we are hurting our chances for a quick economic recovery. While we wait for a vaccine, the immediate
response is simple:
- Wear a mask, or shut down the economy again;
- Wear a mask, or ground the airlines and suspend rail service;
- Wear a mask, or keep local businesses closed;
- Wear a mask, or continue spreading the virus and killing others;
Those who refuse to wear a mask are stating publicly that they do not care if they infect others with a deadly disease. That type of self-serving action undermines the free, responsible society that we celebrate this weekend. That level of selfishness is killing people.
As we commemorate our independence we must always honor the brave women and men in our armed forces who fought, and continue to fight, to keep us safe. Considering all the heroes lives that have been sacrificed over the last 244 years so that we can enjoy our freedom today, it really isn’t too much of a personal sacrifice to wear a piece of cloth on our face when we are out in public for the next few months.
I hope you and your families enjoy your Independence Day celebration, stay safe and, just as important, keep others safe.
General Vice President IAMAW Transportation Department
Jun 22, 2020 | COVID, Front Page, Row 2, Safety, Safety |
The IAM joined other labor organizations representing millions of workers across North America calling on Congress to protect every citizen’s right to vote during these unstable times. The coalition is encouraging expanded online voter registration, extended early voting periods with safe and sanitized polling places, and increased vote-by-mail opportunities.
In a letter addressed to U.S. Senate and House leaders and sent to every member of Congress, the unions urged lawmakers to pass legislation ensuring every eligible voter is able to participate in the 2020 election amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The challenges of COVID-19 and the calls to make bold changes to the institutions of our society must start with ensuring that no voter should have to choose between their health or participating in our democracy,” the union wrote.
The unions also demand Congress address the issue of racial injustices throughout the country, including in the form of voter suppression.
“During this time of recurring social and economic disparities laid bare as a result of this pandemic, the urgency for legislation to protect and expand voting rights is also coupled with the moment of national mourning of racial injustices and the widespread mobilization against it,” the union wrote. “Voting rights and the fight for racial justice are deeply interconnected.”
Read the full letter here.
May 26, 2020 | Featured, Featured News, Front Page, Hawaiian, Home, Home, Row 2, Safety, Uncategorized |
With deep sadness, I share the news that our Brother Kaulana Pakele, who served as Safety Director for District 141 at Hawaiian Airlines, passed away last night. Kaulana was surfing on Memorial Day near Makaha Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, when he went into distress and was rescued from the water.
Kaulana embodied the spirit of Aloha in everything he did: He proudly honored his Hawaiian and Polynesian culture in his work as an award-winning musician, and also fiercely defended the safety of his Brothers and Sisters in the Machinists Union.
He was born and raised in Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii, and was initiated into IAM Local 1979 in Honolulu in 2006 when he began working at Hawaiian Airlines. Kaulana was already an accomplished musician, and he took the job at the airline in part so he could enjoy traveling, as so many of us do. He became a Shop Steward and quickly took on positions of more responsibility, which led to his appointment as District 141 Safety Director for Hawaiian Airlines in 2016. He was a member of the contract negotiating committee for Hawaiian Airlines and also served on the IAMAW Joint Airline Transportation Safety Committee.
We will miss Kaulana’s bright smile that would light up any room and his eagerness to liven up any gathering with his beautiful singing, but most of all we will miss our Brother whose dedication to the well-being and security of his brothers and sisters in our union is an inspiration to us all.
We join Lisa, his wife for 23 years, his children, grandchildren, and his parents in their grief and ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers. We also share our loss with his friends and colleagues in the artistic community in Hawaii where he was beloved and admired.
President and Directing General Chair,
District 141,
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Apr 23, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, MNPL, Safety, Safety, Uncategorized |
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today demanded that Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways, who received taxpayer-funded federal funds, reverse course and restore airline workers’ pay.
“The payroll support component for air carriers in the CARES Act requires that taxpayer-funded grant dollars be used to maintain the pay and benefits of the dedicated JetBlue and Delta workers who have made your airlines successful and who are risking their lives every day by providing essential services to the American public,” said IAM District 141 and 142 Presidents Mike Klemm and Dave Supplee in a letter to the two airlines’ CEOs. “It is our understanding that tens of thousands of Delta and JetBlue workers have taken unpaid voluntary leaves in order to aid the carriers in reducing labor costs, yet you have implemented unconscionable policies to reduce the pay of those workers that remain. At Delta, thousands of workers are being forced to work fewer hours per week without pay. At JetBlue, workers have been forced to take 24 days of unpaid leave from now until September 30, 2020. The grant money that you demanded and received was calculated using these workers’ compensation and is meant to maintain their salaries and benefits through this crisis.”
Both Delta Air Lines and JetBlue Airways applied for and received direct, taxpayer-funded federal grants under the CARES Act. As a condition of taking the direct grant federal funds, air carriers are prohibited from cutting airline workers’ pay and benefits and from laying off workers until September 30, 2020.
“Hundreds of thousands of IAM members in every sector of our union proudly called elected officials and demanded action to protect the industries in which we work,” continued Klemm and Supplee. “Now, opportunist corporate actors such as yourselves are using that good faith support of airline workers around the country and at every carrier to screw your own workforces and greedily undermine the intent of the federal stimulus funds that you demanded.”
READ THE ENTIRE LETTER HERE. The IAM is the world’s largest airline union and represents over 600,000 members. More information about the IAM and our campaigns to organize Delta and JetBlue workers is available at www.iamdelta.net, www.iamjetblue.com and IAMDeltaworkersunite.
Apr 21, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Safety |
Safety and Committee briefings are more important than ever during COVID
IAM District Lodge 141 Safety Representatives at American Airlines conducted live video conferences via Zoom this week. Director Tony D’Aloiso, Safety Coordinators Dennis Spencer (PHL) and Mike Moser (CLT), with safety chairs from the Central and Northeast regions led the 90-minute video sessions. Central Region Coordinators Frank Weisen (ORD), Ryan Boland (ORD), Mark Chavez (DEN), Asia McCIain (MCI), Ashely Schwenk (PHX), Randy Braithwaite (DFW), and William Zebley (PHL) also took part in the Monday meeting.
On Tuesday, Safety Representatives Rodney Walker (BDL), Fred Connor (BWI), Leo Tyler (PIT), Richard Villanueva (DCA) and David Nizwantowski (BOS) also met using virtual tools. The lead topic of discussion was the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the workplace, primarily mitigation efforts like electrostatic cleaning, temperature checks in Miami and Dallas-Fort Worth, safety concerns in Tampa and Jacksonville, and issues related to equipment in all stations. The meeting moved on to new items such as implementing a COVID-19 reporting process, cleaning after a positive COVID case, the availability of PPE such as masks and gloves, and the installation of plexiglass shields in passenger service areas. Safety committees are planning more safety conference calls for the foreseeable future since social distancing is a key element in fighting the pandemic. Representatives also discussed holding a larger safety meeting online. The District 141 Communications Team is working to join a safety meeting in the upcoming weeks to facilitate showing it to a larger audience online.
In Phoenix, Grievance Committee briefings are taking place using Zoom and Facebook Live. PHX Committeeman Brian Harrison is the newest member of the District 141 Education Team, and he is working to expand the use of online tools to keep members up to date during the height of the crisis and in the months ahead. In Newark and Houston, Shop Steward and Committee briefings are also being conducted virtually using tools that are available free of cost in most cases.
What is your station doing to keep members informed? Do you need help using online tools to conduct meetings remotely? Please share your success stories with us! If you need more information or help to learn how to use these free electronic resources, please reach out to the District 141 Communications Team at info@iam141.org
Unions are adapting to COVID-19 guidelines with technology. One of the new tools in the union arsenal: teleconferencing when in-person meetings are impossible or unsafe.
Apr 15, 2020 | COVID, Featured, Front Page, Home, Home, Organizing, Safety, Safety, United |
District 141 has just been informed that United Airlines, in an effort to reduce the risk of possible transmission of any virus to our agents who interact with customers, will be installing personal barriers made of Plexiglas in the areas where our agents are most vulnerable.
The following test locations have been chosen based on flight schedule: IAD, ORD, SFO, LAX, DFW, PDX, and MCO. Twenty (20) podium guards and two (2) gate reader guards will be overnighted to each location and installed tomorrow. DEN will have its guards in place today, as they don’t need to be shipped.
Once in place, the company will immediately look for feedback on the effectiveness of the guards. When a decision is reached the company will start ordering the guards for all remaining stations. They will advise us of the rollout schedule as the guards are being manufactured. The company said they would like a test phase that enables them to get good feedback while still being able to expedite the process of installation.
The company has begun temperature checks for employees prior to starting their shift. EWR, LGA, MSY, IAH and SFO Base have started. Other locations will be coming online as they get the procedures and staff in place to ensure everyone’s safety. You will be receiving information from your specific locations station leadership prior to it being implemented. When the District is informed of stations beginning more checks we will post it.
