United Airlines’ Chicago Hub is Renewing Travel Restrictions

United Airlines’ Chicago Hub is Renewing Travel Restrictions

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United Airlines’ Chicago Hub is Renewing Travel Restrictions

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Exploding Delta Variant case numbers in several regions of the US has caused the City of Chicago to impose a new round of travel restrictions.

Starting last Friday, people traveling into the city from Missouri and Arkansas will have to provide a negative COVID-19 test or quarantine for ten days after arriving in Chicago. 

The restrictions are important to airline workers because Chicago’s O’Hare airport is a central hub for several airlines and the headquarters for United Airlines.

The restrictions began over the weekend. 

City officials said the restrictions will be imposed when a state has more than 15 daily infections per 100,000 people. Other states with climbing infection rates could also be added, including Nevada, Utah, Louisiana, and Florida. 

As of Friday, the city’s public health department began sending warning letters to violators, but no fines have been imposed so far. The department stated travelers who continue to ignore the restrictions will face significant penalties.

On Monday, airline stocks worldwide fell as fears that the Delta variant could trigger renewed travel restrictions. 

The airline industry was among the hardest-hit sectors of the economy in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic ravaged global markets. The Delta variant is proving that the sector remains uniquely vulnerable. 

Demand for air travel has exploded since spring, completely reversing the near shut-down of 2020. Staffing shortages and signing bonuses have largely replaced layoffs and retirement packages for most airline workers. However, it is dawning on a growing number of investors that the pandemic isn’t over – and could be about to take a very dark turn thanks to vaccine hostility and rising case counts.

Shares of United stock fell 5.5% on Monday, and American dropped by 4.1%. Boeing shares fell by nearly 5%. Together, these three aviation-sector companies employ the largest share of Machinists and Aerospace Union members. 

Meanwhile, concerns related to the Delta variant are delaying plans to release restrictions on international travel, a significant source of revenue for airlines. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that travelers avoid flights to the UK. Plans to remove similar restrictions for the European Union and India have stalled, worrying airlines further. 

Help Us Protect Critical Service Contract Jobs That Support Our Military

Help Us Protect Critical Service Contract Jobs That Support Our Military

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Help Us Protect Critical Service Contract Jobs That Support Our Military

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The IAM is continuing to urge the Biden administration to protect Service Contract Act (SCA) workers’ jobs by reinstating critical job security protections. 

Many thanks to the Machinists & Aerospace journalists at GOIAM.org who wrote and originally published this story. 

Service Contract workers are private-sector employees who work under federal contracts, primarily at military bases and other federal installations. The IAM represents nearly 40,000 Service Contract Workers in various industries, spread across more than 800 locations.

 

In 2019, former President Trump rescinded Executive Order 13495, which President Obama implemented to provide essential job security to service contract workers. The order, known as “Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts,” granted workers the right of first refusal for continued employment when an SCA government contractor or employer is replaced by a new successor contractor at the same location. This policy benefited both the government and the workers by ensuring workforce stability as government contracts change hands.

IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. wrote a letter to President Biden in February urging him to restore Service Contract Workers job protections. 

“Not only is President Trump’s petty rebuke of President Obama’s policy bad for government contracting efficiency, it is also disastrous for the workers who are displaced, along with their families and the communities where they reside,” wrote Martinez “We respectfully ask that you swiftly reinstitute EO 13495 for the sake of efficient government procurement and fairness to these workers and their families.”

 
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141 Report: DEN Local 1886 Committee for American Airlines

141 Report: DEN Local 1886 Committee for American Airlines

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Brothers Nic Haberman (Secretary), Mark Chavez (Chairman), and Ed Horvath (Assistant Committee Chair) show that while they represent a smaller group of members at DEN when compared with their counterparts at United, their commitment, activism, and dedication are strong.

141 Report: DEN Local 1886 Committee for American Airlines

Dave returns to Denver International Airport to speak via Zoom with Local 1886 Grievance Committee members from American Airlines.

Brothers Mark Chavez, Chairman, Nic Haberman, Secretary, and Ed Horvath, Assistant Committee Chair show that while they represent a smaller group of members at DEN when compared with their counterparts at United, their commitment, activism, and dedication are strong. One of the larger field stations in the American system, DEN has a very active group of union representatives.  

These three union brothers are veterans of airline mergers, and as a result, have worked in other cities during their careers. Their experiences have shown them the importance of having a sense of ownership of work and how this builds solidarity and pride amongst unionized workers.

Besides the essential work of identifying and resolving grievances, each one of these Committee members also takes part in other aspects of union work. Committee Chair Chavez also serves as a Safety Rep, Secretary Haberman is a local Trainer, and Horvath is an EAP Representative. They incorporate these skills into their leadership roles to solve problems at the lowest level. “If the problem never happens, that’s the lowest level,” says Haberman, stressing the value of a proactive approach. 

The conversation covers many areas of interest, including how the GSAP program is proving to be an effective tool to promote safety. Mark points out how the program provides for training and non-punitive solutions to problems and incidents that members report voluntarily. 

American Airlines is expanding operations in DEN, and Nic states that with transfers and new hires, the station has surpassed the pre-COVID number of employees. The station has a mixed IAM/TWU Association membership, with a majority as IAM and about 9% members of TWU. He proudly stated that out of a recent group of preferential hires who had the option, all chose to remain members of the IAM. 

Always a trainer, Nic never misses an opportunity to educate airport workers who approach him to ask questions about the IAM. He specifically calls out workers from jetBlue who claim they are too busy to learn about the union and sign an authorization card. He also engages in inside organizing and mentions the dangers of internal divisions that give company executives opportunities to take advantage of workers.   

Mark speaks about the importance of communication between stations to ensure consistency in the way issues are handled. This is another way we can build strength in numbers and solidarity within our union. 

IAM members at Spirit beat the heat with lump sum payments

IAM members at Spirit beat the heat with lump sum payments

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IAM members at Spirit beat the heat with lump-sum payments

 

Brothers and Sisters, 

District 141 members at Spirit Airlines will receive a bonus paycheck after we signed a Letter of Agreement with the carrier this week. The lump-sum payment will go to 305 fleet service members working at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The payments will be based on members’ seniority to give the company temporary relief of Article 3.E and 3.I until September 8, 2021. 

District Lodge 141 takes the protection of scope language very seriously. However, Spirit, like many carriers, has had a tough time ratcheting up their manpower to meet flight demand as we come out of the pandemic. 

We believe workers deserve a fair balance between life and their jobs. Members expressed concerns about working too much overtime that could lead to fatigue and errors which often cause accidents and injuries. 

Congratulations and thanks go to Assistant General Chairman Tony Gibson for his efforts in getting this deal done. I’d also like to commend Spirit Airlines for recognizing the fleet service workers had reached maximum working limits. This Letter of Agreement brings relief to both sides.

Payments will be as follows, payable to eligible employees in September 2021. 

Years of Service / Payment

0 / $1,120
1 / $1,270
2 / $1,470
3 / $1,670
4 / $1,870
5 / $2,120
6 / $2,370
7 / $2,620
8 / $2,870
9 / $3,120
10+ / $3,370

In Unity, 

Mike Klemm
President and Directing General Chair,
IAMAW District 141

United Adds Nearly 150 New Flights to Winter Schedule

United Adds Nearly 150 New Flights to Winter Schedule

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United Adds Nearly 150 New Flights to Winter Schedule

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United Airlines, the largest employer of Machinists and Aerospace Union Members in District 141, is adding nearly 150 flights to its winter schedule. 

As demand for travel continues to build, United Airlines is expecting the resurgence to continue for winter holiday travel and is planning ahead by increasing service to cities in the U.S., Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central America. The airline will add nearly 150 flights to warm-weather destinations across the U.S and is increasing service to Latin beach and leisure markets by 30% compared to 2019. The airline will fly 137 more flights than it did in 2019 to places like Florida, California, Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada starting this November through next March.

Mike Klemm, the District President for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, praised the decision for its potential to increase job opportunities for union members, but cautioned that the airline needs to urgently address current staffing shortages. “We’re very happy to hear news about this new growth at United,” he said. “This means more jobs for our members, and that’s a good thing. At the same time, a lot of our members are worried that adding new flights might make staffing shortages worse,” he said. He pointed out that the new flights would begin operating in the winter, after the airline has had time to attract more new hires. Klemm also underscored the work that was going on to improve staffing, saying that union leadership had a solid commitment from United to hire additional workers faster.

“We’re working with United to develop incentive programs to attract more new hires to the airline right now,” he continued. Klemm was optimistic that more incentive programs would help to alleviate staffing shortages well before the new flights would begin.

In June, United announced plans to hire an additional 25,000 new employees over the next ten years. Additionally, the airline has committed to purchase nearly 500 new Boeing aircraft, built primarily by IAMAW Members in the Western Territory. After losing $7 million last year, CEO Scot Kirby announced separately that he expects the company to show a pre-tax earnings profit in July 2021.

“Celebrating the holidays with family and loved ones in 2020 was a challenge, and we know our customers are already eager to plan winter vacations and gatherings in person this year to make up for time that they lost,” said Ankit Gupta, vice president of network planning at United. “As pandemic restrictions ease, people are becoming more confident in planning travel further in advance, so we want to make sure to offer our customers as much choice as possible.”

The influx of returning customers, aircraft purchases, and new flights is good news for union members, who are preparing to update the historic agreement between United and the Machinists and Aerospace Union members employed at the airline.

Photo Credit: United Airlines

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Machinists Union Member Meets President Biden

Machinists Union Member Meets President Biden

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Machinists Union Member Meets President Biden

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IAM District Lodge 66 member Mike Davis recently got the chance of a lifetime to meet President Biden. After the president gave a speech pushing his $1 trillion infrastructure plan at the La Crosse Municipal Transit Utility in Wisconsin, Davis was one of a select few union leaders chosen to meet the president backstage.

“This is the first time I have ever met any president so the whole experience was very exciting to see and take in,” said Davis, a Local 1115 member who works at Crown Cork and Seal and is also President of the Western Wisconsin AFL-CIO. “I was able to be backstage and up close to the president so it made for an even more thrilling day. I couldn’t have been more proud to represent the IAM and our local unions.” 

“Mike was a very deserving member to be selected with the honor of representing the IAM at President Biden’s visit to La Crosse,” said IAM District 66 Directing Business Representative Jana Kirch. “He is not only a respected leader in our union, but also fights for the rights of all workers in Wisconsin.”

President Biden told Wisconsinites the proposed infrastructure plan will create millions of good paying jobs. The president was joined by U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Gov. Tony Evers (D) in talking about the ways the package would also improve Wisconsin infrastructure.

“It’s refreshing to see and experience a White House now focused on unions and working Americans,” said IAM Midwest Territory General Vice President Steve Galloway. “In just his first 150 days, President Biden and his administration have already spearheaded a number of legislative actions, appointments and bills the Machinists Union have been fighting for, for so many years.”

“President Biden thanked me for all our union has done and said he truly appreciated our support,” added Davis. “It’s a moment I will cherish, honor and never forget.”

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