Airline Division Week In Review - June 17, 2012

Despite Announcement of Job Losses in IAH, RUL will Protect UAL/IBT Members
Since United announcement of the loss of 1,300 jobs in Houston as a result of the UAL/CAL merger, many members have expressed concern over their future. Thanks to the foresight of the union and the adoption of  the Resource Utilization >Letter, (RUL) signed by management and the union, they can be assured of their positions because the letter provides all United Airlines Teamsters station protection, meaning no employee will be involuntary displaced under the RUL.
CAL employees also have furlough protection in their CBA.
“While we have had a few questions concerning what departments the 1,300 workers will come from, many have forgotten about the letters existence,” said Robert Rasch, Business Agent for Local 19. “It’s value may have been questioned by some before, however in this case we have a clear view of the correctness of the decision to negotiate the letter,” he concluded.
Negotiations for Atlas Air Flight Dispatchers Stall over Management Delaying Tactics
Despite a commitment from management to conclude negotiations in the June meeting, negotiators for Atlas Air flight dispatchers ended their latest round of meetings without concluding an agreement and a refusal by the company to proceed in a timely manner.
While there was some progress on many of the open areas of Article 3-Compensation, considerable disagreement remains over the major sections of the Article.
In a message to their members, the negotiators said:
“The company’s compensation proposals do not reflect the level of performance and dedication on the part of Atlas-Polar Dispatchers that the Company has acknowledged outside of the bargaining process. Their proposals appear to completely dismiss the challenges that we are faced with daily in keeping the fleet moving safely and efficiently, and how most of these issues never come up on anyone’s radar as it is has always been our practice to deal quietly with daily crises. What we are now seeing and hearing again from the company is that they aren’t willing to do more than the status-quo. This at a time that the executives of our company are presenting to the Board of Directors the reasons that their own compensation should be increased. They choose not recognize our contribution to the Company’s profitability by sharing the rewards of the Company’s success with us, but instead, want to keep us well below the industry standard.”
“The company’s pledge to work through this session until we reached agreement was apparently another move to divide our group,” the message went on to say. “To break our will, to a point where we might accept something less than we have worked so hard to attain, less than we deserve, at a time that the company that we helped succeed reports record profits. This impression is further reinforced by the company’s decision not to give us any time to negotiate in July.”
This was reinforced by the company’s refusal to work late on one day, despite their previous commitment to do so, and then leave early the following and refusal to work over the weekend as they had previously committed.
“We are deeply concerned by the Company’s intransigence and have asked the leadership of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for help. We will be discussing different strategies to deal with the company if they persist in their approach. The company continues to tell us that they would like to close this deal, but their actions prevent that from happening,” the message went on to say.
GE Caledonia Workers Vote to Unionize, Get Support from Teamsters
Despite management threats to cancel multi million dollar expansion plans if they were successful, the employees of GE in Ayrshire, Scotland have voted to join Unite the Union. The facility, which already had unionized members held a formal recognition vote when local managers refused to acknowledge the union, despite the fact that every other GE facility in the United Kingdom has recognized the union.
GE’s Scotland division builds, maintains and overhauls jet engines including the CF6 series, used on many commercial aircraft, including the Boeing 747-400 and 767, operated by many Teamster represented flight crews and the new GenX engine, on the new Boeing 747-8F, being flown by Teamster represented flight crews at Atlas Air (Local 1224).
Upon notification of the vote, Unite Scotland’s senior organiser Rozanne Foyer said: “This is a fantastic result achieved through the sheer hard work and perseverance of our members in GE Caledonian – it’s been a monumental effort to achieve this recognition.
In a time of great economic uncertainty, the workforce has moved to protect and advance their terms and conditions of employment in the most effective way possible; through a recognised trade union that bargains collectively. Unite has long-established and positive working relationships with many employers in the industry, including other GE Aviation sites in the UK. We welcome the further growth of Unite within GE Aviation and look forward to continuing our proud tradition of progressive employment relations across the aviation sector.”
Billy Donohoe, Team Leader of the Scottish Region Organizing for Unite sent his thanks to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the representatives and locals who helped them in their fight.
“We’re very proud to have been part of the IBT team that leant our support to the GE workers,” said Airline Division Director David Bourne. “When we learned that GE was trying to use UPS as intimidation against the employees, Package Division Director and International Vice President Ken Hall asked me to join him in a letter of support to the GE workers. Additionally, we conveyed to UPS management our clear support of the employees’ right to unionize. I know that Vice President Hall joins me and indeed all Teamsters, as we extend our congratulations to the workers of GE Caledonia, not only for their win, but also for the continued excellent work they do on the aircraft engines that are operated by Teamster represented flight crews,” he concluded.
Airline Industry News
Governmental and Regulatory
A Federal Aviation Administration official acknowledges that there likely will be a pilot shortage in the U.S. soon. "This is an interesting dilemma for the aviation community," said John Duncan of the FAA. A new rule requires first officers to have 1,500 flight hours to qualify for Part 121 operations…The acting FAA Administrator could be long shot for the job…Boeing is being joined by many others as opposing the FAA proposal for a fuel tank fix for its 757  cargo jets.
Industry and Labor
Jet-engine manufacturers are seeing demand dwindle as airlines aim to save cash rather than purchase new engines…US Airways held its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday in New York, and executives said a possible merger with American Airlines has strong support in financial markets.
A judge has issued an order temporarily stopping a union election drive for passenger service agents at American Airlines. The National Mediation Board had allowed the election, scheduled to start June 21, but the carrier says the board used outdated criteria to determine whether the election had enough worker support.
Psst…wanna buy an airplane? Boeing 747-400s are available at bargain prices, thanks to the higher cost of fuel. Ten-year-old models of the most popular wide-body plane sell for $36 million, Ascend Worldwide says.