Airline Division Week in Review April 1, 2012

United Airlines IBT Flight Safety Committee Meet
Last week, the Flight Safety Committee (FSC) met to discuss LOA 21 and Article 14 (J) and (K).
The FSC put together recommendations for its involvement with Line Safety Operations Audits; or LOSA, and reviewed it relationship with the company and what the membership should and can expect from the FSC in the future.
The FSC continues to support a robust and aggressive safety program in the interest of the flying public and Teamster represented technicians by continuing to bring forth the membership’s concerns. They will continue to advise the company on hazard identification and risk mitigation using the hierarchy of controls as put in place by Safety Management Systems or SMS and will admonish the company when it falls short of the expectations of the membership and a strong SMS.
Members attending were: John Fischbach, Chair; PT Thomas (ORD), Tom Reid (IAD), John Gensinger (JFK), Jock Creach (SEA), Robert Gubran (LAX) and Vic Austin (DEN). Observing the meeting was Fred Lewelling (CAL- IAH). Advising the FSC were Local 986 Business Agent Rich Petrovsky and Airline Division Safety Coordinator Chris Moore.

CMI Tentative Agreement Announced
Last week a tentative agreement was reached for the subsidiary Continental Micronesia Mechanics and Related at United Airlines. The agreement provides significant wage increases, a ten thousand dollar signing bonus, and enhanced job protection provisions.
The agreement becomes amendable at the end of the year at the same time as the subsidiary Continental agreement; however negotiations will begin almost immediately for the new amalgamated agreement. This is the final agreement of the three subsidiary groups, and is an important step towards achieving the joint collective bargaining agreement for the twelve thousand Mechanics and Related at the new combined United Airlines.

Airline Industry News

Governmental and Regulatory
The Federal Aviation Administration has changed its break-even point for NextGen to 2020, from 2018 in a previous forecast…President Barack Obama has nominated Michael Huerta, interim chief of the Federal Aviation Administration, to a full five-year term. Huerta stepped in as interim administrator of the agency after former Administrator Randy Babbitt resigned. Huerta's nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.

Airline and Labor
American Airlines plans to end service to Puerto Rico in 2013, according to El Vocero, a Puerto Rican newspaper. American Eagle employs around 150 employees on the island…
Tom Horton, the CEO of AMR Corp., wants to quickly move the company through bankruptcy proceedings…United Airlines has added 600 call center workers to handle the volume of calls after its switch to Continental Airlines' reservations system…Former union leaders are urging Air Canada pilots to embrace the "new realities" of the airline industry and return to the negotiating table. "Nobody likes change, but change is coming," said a memo signed by 27 former leaders of the Air Canada Pilots Association...according to the CEO of Southwest, there will be no furloughs when the 717’s depart.
Van Rex Gallard, Boeing's vice president of sales for Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean, forecasts carriers in Latin America will need 2,500 jets in the next two decades…Rafael Alonso, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for Airbus, predicts the airline industry will need 28,000 new passenger airplanes over the next two decades.
Boeing may buy rights to more land in North Charleston, S.C., to expand its facilities.