Mechanics Dispatch - June 29, 2014

New Work in SFO

Normally we don’t report on United Daily articles but the article titled, “Base teams begin historic heavy maintenance on Airbus” found here is different. This a story about the first HMV visit in SFO in twelve years. As part of the company’s cost reduction efforts they determined that bringing this work in would save money. As reported in the article, “This is the first of what will be a nonstop parade of Airbus heavy checks and other services.” Kudos to Business Agents Rich Petrovsky of Local 986 and Javier Lectora of Local 856 for their efforts to help make this happen.For those viewing this on the Union board the address of the article is: https://united.intranet.ual.com/web/content.jspSID=News&path=UnitedDaily/2014/06_June/140626_7airbusSFMC.jsp

Arbitration Update

On Thursday June 26th the Resource Utilization Letter arbitration case continued in Newark. The Union rested its case subject to rebuttal. The company will begin its case when the panel is scheduled to reconvene on September 16th.

Sub UA Joint Board Held in SFO

On Tuesday June 24th a Joint Board session was held in SFO. One case was heard at this Board session as agreed by the parties. The case involved a discharge of an employee and an answer will be given to the parties shortly. There are several discharges currently on the system and the Board is in the process of scheduling these hearings.For those that have never been involved with the Board there are three different decisions that may make. The Board can sustain a grievance, in which case the grievant wins his or her case,
or the grievance can be denied, in which case the grievant loses his or her case, and finally the Board can deadlock a case. If the Board deadlocks the matter it can then be moved to a neutral third party arbitrator. The Board can also remand the grievance to the parties for resolution. A remand means that there is generally enough evidence on each side of an issue that it is apparent the parties should try to settle the issue prior to the grievance proceeding through the process.

No Dispatch Next Week

Friday is July 4th and so there will be no update next weekend. The next report will be after the negotiating session the week of July 7th. From all of us at the Airline Division we wish you a  happy and safe Independence Day!

Furloughed members urged to update their addresses

Members on furlough are advised to keep their addresses current with the company while on layoff. It is predicted that there will be many movements this year and there have been several members that have been removed from the seniority list because old addresses were on file when notices were sent.If you are in touch with a furloughed member, please forward this information to them. Updates may be emailed to: ESC@united.com . The ESC will provide a fax number and ask members to send the address change accompanied with a signature.

Useful links

If you would like to see a link added to this list please contact Bob Fisher at: rcfisher7@yahoo.com

The following Locals represent these respective cities:

Boston Local 25

New York & Washington Local 210

Charleston & Atlanta Local 528

Miami, Ft. Lauderdale Tampa & Orlando Local 769

Cleveland Local 964

Chicago Local 781

Houston, Dallas & New Orleans Local 19

Phoenix Local 104

Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Hawaii & Guam Local 986

San Francisco Local 856/986

Denver Local 455

Airline Division Week In Review - June 28, 2014

June 30, 2014

New Work in SFO for UAL Teamsters

On June 23rd, Aircraft 4238 arrived in Dock 6 at UAL’s SFO maintenance base. It is part of UAL’s cost reduction efforts that the company determined would save money by bringing work in house. As reported in an article on the company website this is the first of what will be a nonstop parade of Airbus heavy checks and other services to be performed by Airline Division Teamsters at the facility.

This will be the first heavy check to be done in twelve years at the facility; with the technicians planning on having the job done by late July. Current plans call for expanding the existing Airbus “C” check lines to perform HMVs, adding a third Airbus line and further development of aircraft modifications and special visits. In time, the operation will transition to a 24/7 operation in Airframe and many supporting shops and departments.

Kudos to Business Agents Rich Petrovsky of Local 986 and Javier Lectora of Local 856 for their efforts to help make this happen!

Piedmont Negotiations Update

Negotiations resumed on Monday, June 23rd, and concluded on Thursday June 26th.  Discussions had been scheduled to resume in May, however the Company asked for a pause in the talks.  With the rejection by the American Eagle (Envoy) pilots if their tentative agreement, the mainline carrier said that the new jet aircraft that had been ordered will be flown elsewhere,  prompting new talks with the Piedmont pilot group.  No conclusion has been reached in those talks. Twenty of the newly ordered aircraft have been committed to Compass, a Trans States company, outside of the AA USAir owned companies.

The Company advised the union that regardless the outcome of the talks with the pilots they wanted to resume and hopefully reach an agreement with the technicians.

The talks at the recent session centered on wages and the costs associated with the different proposals.  The Union spent a great deal of time looking at cost figures.  The committee was joined by an economist provided by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who was very helpful and will be of great assistance going forward.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume on August 18th.   

Airline Industry News

Governmental and Regulatory

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed lowering the maximum building height of buildings located near 388 airports across the U.S. "We're trying to create a balance of the aviation needs and the development needs in the local community," said John Speckin, deputy regional administrator for the agency.

During a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, lawmakers said the Federal Aviation Administration needs to move more quickly with its NextGen initiative. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said it is "unacceptable for us to continue to spend resources and not make more progress."

The Federal Aviation Administration set a deadline of December 31 for Boeing related to the ram air turbine on its 787-9s. Boeing is still scheduled to deliver the 787-9 to launch customer Air New Zealand by the end of June.

Airlines, Industry and Labor

United Airlines is taking steps to cut non-fuel costs per available seat mile, as well as reduce fuel costs by using more fuel-efficient aircraft.

Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson is calling for significant reforms to the U.S. Export-Import Bank to ensure the bank's assistance in financing sales of widebody aircraft is not tilting the playing field in favor of global competitors.

United's Board of Directors Change Severance Packages of Exectutives

Taken from http://biz.yahoo.com/e/140620/ual8-k.html

20-Jun-2014

Change in Directors or Principal Officers, Financial Statements

Item 5.02. Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers.On June 19, 2014, United Continental Holdings, Inc. ("UAL") provided officers (other than the Chief Executive Officer (the "CEO")) notice of non-renewal of the officers' employment agreements at the end of the current term, each of which expires on September 30, 2014. Upon expiration of the employment agreements, the officers (other than the CEO) will be participants in severance plans which become effective October 1, 2014.
UAL previously entered into employment agreements with each of the named executive officers, including James E. Compton, UAL's Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer; Jeffrey T. Foland, UAL's Executive Vice President - Marketing, Technology and Strategy; and John D. Rainey, UAL's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Messrs. Compton, Foland and Rainey are referred to herein as the "Participating Officers". Notice of non-renewal was provided at the direction of the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of UAL.
The severance plan in which the Participating Officers will participate is designed to be consistent with current market practices and to maintain the separation benefits that are provided under the employment agreements. The severance plan provides the Participating Officers certain payments and benefits upon termination of employment. In the event the employment of any of the Participating Officers is terminated by UAL without "cause" or by the Participating Officer for "good reason" (as defined in the severance plan), such Participating Officer will receive a cash severance payment equal to two times the sum of his annual base salary and target annual incentive compensation opportunity as in effect immediately prior to termination (or, for officers subject to Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), the target annual incentive compensation opportunity for the preceding year). The severance plan further provides that the Participating Officers will be entitled to continued coverage pursuant to UAL's or an affiliate's welfare benefit plans for 24 months. With respect to the Participating Officers, "good reason" is defined in the severance plan, and also includes, for Mr. Foland, his assignment to report to a person other than the CEO of UAL, which is a provision that survives the expiration of his employment agreement.
Consistent with UAL's prior decision to eliminate gross-up payments for the excise taxes that may be levied on "excess parachute payments" (within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code) made to the Participating Officers and certain other individuals upon a change in control, the severance plan provides that in the event a Participating Officer receives any excess parachute payments, he or she will have to either pay the excise tax without any assistance from UAL or its affiliates or have the payments reduced, if it would be more favorable to the executive on an after-tax basis.
Upon termination of employment other than by UAL for "cause," the Participating Officers will continue to receive travel privileges under the UAL Officer Travel Policy. The implementation of the severance plan will not result in any modifications to the existing travel privileges currently provided under the UAL Officer Travel Policy. The travel privileges allow the executives and their family members and significant others travel on UAL flights and certain airline partners (subject to an annual cap). Consistent with the retired officer flight policies of United and Continental as in effect prior to the 2010 merger, the Participating Officers (other than Mr. Rainey, who did not have a grandfathered right) will continue to receive a tax reimbursement (subject to an annual cap) on these privileges after termination of employment.
The severance plan provides that all termination payments and obligations of UAL or its affiliates are subject to receipt of a signed and irrevocable release agreement relating to certain legal claims and liabilities against UAL or its affiliates.
The foregoing description of the severance plan is qualified in its entirety by the full text of the severance plan, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 10.1 hereto and incorporated by reference herein.

Airline Division Week In Review - June 22, 2014

TAMC visits XJT MX Base in Columbia, SC 

On June 19^th, TAMC Chairman Chris Moore, Local 528 Business Agent Robert Breaux and Local 528 XJT Chief Steward Geoff Maloney visited with members at the Columbia, SC maintenance base.  

An update on contract negotiations was presented along with a question and answer period. Due to the amount of uncertainty in the regional industry a good bit of time was spent discussing what the future may hold as the regional carriers work to reinvent themselves. In addition to the members questions about training requirements, an explanation of FMLA benefits and ASAP was provided.  

The meeting concluded with the Local BA and Chief Steward committing to working more closely with the 80 Mechanics and Stock Clerks at the Base.  

Negotiations for a Stand-alone Technician and Related and Subsidiary ASA Contracts resume 

This past week in Atlanta, the Union and the Company met in federal mediation negotiations. 

Talks continued with the union making passes on Article 7 – (Hours of Service) and Article 22 – (General and Miscellaneous) and the Company passing Article 7 – (Hours of Service) Article 22 – (General and Miscellaneous). The union and the company were able to reach a Tentative Agreement on Article 7 – (Hours of Service). 

With the Stand-Alone Sub-ASA contract, Tentative Agreements have been reached on the Articles 4 – (Seniority), 5 – (Filling of Vacancies), 6 – (Reduction in Force and Recall), 7 – (Hours of Service), 13 – (Training), 14 – (Health and Safety), 16 – (Moving Expenses), 20- (Grievance Procedure), 21 – (Board of Arbitration) and the Interim Agreement which gives the members a process to fight Discipline and Discharge up to and including Arbitration.  

The parties are working with the mediator to set dates for the next round of negotiations, meanwhile, talks will continue in mediation on the Sub-XJT side. 

UAL Arbitration Update 

On the 18^th, the arbitration case on the deicing equipment was held in Newark, NJ. The oral arguments were finished in one day and now both sides will submit briefs to the arbitrator. The resource utilization case will continue on June 26^th in Newark. As soon as decisions are rendered they will be reported to the membership. 

Norwegian Airlines Update 

Recently, Norwegian Airlines filed an application to start transatlantic flying with outsourced planes and crews. This proposed scheme is designed to allow the airline to circumvent the labor laws of its own country as well as those of the US. If approved, and if the airline’s scheme becomes successful, this application would also have the longer term effect of undermining safety and labor in the United States as more airlines attempt to copy this model. To that end, the Airline Division asked Albertine Enterprises to meet with members of Congress to fight the effort by Norwegian.  

To date, there have been 141 meetings with both Democratic and Republican Senators, Congressmen, staff and committees. One result of these meetings was the DeFazio amendment to the Transportation Subcommittee of Appropriations bill which suggested that DoT not use any funds to process an illegal application for a permit to allow Norwegian Airlines to achieve status as a US carrier.  

In continuing this battle Jack Albertine of Albertine Enterprises stated, “We intend to leave no public policy lever unused to defeat this outrageous attempt to circumvent our US labor agreements in the airline industry.” 

NetJets Dispatchers Update 

On Wednesday June 11^th, the union committee met with company officials and proposed Articles 4 – (Overtime), Article 6 – (Vacations and Holidays) and Article 7 – (Hours of Service).

A Tentative Agreement was concluded on Article 13 – (Training). With these Articles complete the only remaining new language to exchange is Compensation and Scope.

Airline Industry News

Governmental and Regulatory 

U.K. investigators linked the fire on board a parked Boeing Co. (BA) 787 Dreamliner at London’s Heathrow Airport last year to faulty wiring in the plane’s emergency locator transmitter. 

Officials with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agencyhave certified Boeing's 787-9 Dreamliner for commercial use, clearing the way for delivery to its first customer, Air New Zealand.  

Airlines, Industry and Labor 

American Airlines Group announced plans to send 20 Embraer E175s to Compass Airlines, a new regional carrier for American. "We are looking forward to Compass operating these new aircraft to provide an exceptional travel experience to American's customers connecting to our extensive global network," said Kenji Hashimoto, senior vice president of regional carriers at American.  

Charles Leocha, the co-founder of Travel United, writes that the Transportation Security Administration is defying Congress by increasing security fees through a new definition of what constitutes a round trip. "Basically, TSA's interpretation of the new law and budget presented an opportunity for TSA to get into travelers' wallets as well as peering and feeling beneath their clothing," he writes.

The Envoy Air flight attendants union criticized American Airlines management for contracting with another carrier to fly new regional jets for the airline. 

Steve Dickson, senior vice president for flight operations for Delta Air Lines, said the AirbusA380 does not make sense for the carrier. "The reliability of the two-engine airplanes and the efficiency of them is just too compelling," he said. Delta ordered 15 Airbus A321s earlier this month.  

The iconic Boeing 747s, which can seat up to 500 passengers, are being replaced by more fuel-efficient aircraft. Michael Thomas, a Delta Air Lines spokesman, said the 747s are "coming up on an age where it makes sense to replace them."

Mechanics Dispatch - June 22, 2014

Steering Committee Set to Meet 
A notice to the steering committee was sent out for the body to reconvene July 24th and 25th
in Denver. The notice was sent to the seventy sitting members of the committee covering all
locations from Boston to Guam. The committee will be briefed on what has transpired since the
last meeting and then there will be a discussion on how the talks will proceed under mediation.

Arbitration Update 
On the 18th the arbitration case on the deicing equipment was held in Newark, NJ. The oral
arguments were finished in one day and now both sides will submit briefs to the arbitrator. The
resource utilization case will continue on June 26th in Newark. As soon as decisions are
rendered they will be reported in the Dispatch.

Norwegian Airlines Update 
Recently Norwegian Airlines filed an application to start transatlantic flying with outsourced
planes and crews. This proposed scheme is designed to allow the airline to circumvent the labor
laws of its own country as well as those of the US. If approved, and if the airline’s scheme
becomes successful, this application would also have the longer term effect of undermining
safety and labor in the United States as more airlines attempt to copy this model. To that end,
the Airline Division tasked Albertine Enterprises to meet with members of Congress to fight the
effort by Norwegian. To date there have been 141 meetings with both Democratic and
Republican Senators, Congressmen, staff and committees. One result of these meetings was
the DeFazio amendment to the Transportation Subcommittee of Appropriations bill which
suggested that DOT not use any funds to process an illegal application for a permit to allow
Norwegian Airlines to achieve status as a US carrier. In continuing this battle Jack Albertine of
Albertine Enterprises stated, “We intend to leave no public policy lever unused to defeat this
outrageous attempt to circumvent our US labor agreements in the airline industry.”

The Buzz - June 18, 2014

Click on the headlines below to read the article.

United Uses Dynamic Pricing To Shore Up Revenue

American Reaches T/A With Machinists

Delta Plans To Make SEA a Hub

Is The 747 Going Extinct?

SWA's Employee Morale Sinking - Want New Contracts

United Flying 787 To Australia

FAA OK's 787-9 Certificate

Mechanics Dispatch For June 15, 2014

                                                                              June 15, 2014
President Hoffa Visits SFO
On June 13th President Hoffa visited with members at the Maintenance Base in OV and Engine Shop.
Mr. Hoffa walked the floor and spoke with several members during the tour of these two areas. A short meeting was held afterwards with stewards, and Business Agents in the Union Office at the Base.
Pictured to the left are: Engine Shop Chief Steward Steve Anderson, Local 856 Business Agent Javier Lectora, General President James Hoffa, Airline Division Representative Clacy Griswold, and Local 986 Business Agent Rich Petrovsky. (sorry, I couldn't get the picture to upload)

Rumors
Recently an individual with no facts decided to put out a “newsletter”. The term “newsletter” can only be used to describe the format as the content is nothing but speculation and innuendo.
The report outlines a new pension plan that would prohibit a surviving spouse from receiving benefits. This would be a violation of Federal law. Nothing more needs to be said about that.
Another point in the factually incorrect letter was that the APU grievance was withdrawn as some sort of a deal. The reasons for the withdrawal were relayed to the Business Agents. As the last Mechanics Dispatch reported, the grievance was withdrawn “without prejudice” meaning it can be refiled.
The reasons for the withdrawal are not being put in print for one very important reason. Past grievances have been lost as a result of previous unions on the property that tended to write down every detail of a case or meeting. These written responses were then used against this membership, whether at face value or by twisting those written words, in several arbitration cases. Since as stated this grievance was withdrawn without prejudice and may be refiled, it is
not in anyone’s interest but the company for the Division to write down the reasons for withdrawal.
There is more in the “newsletter” but devoting more resources to someone who is clearly not interested in facts is a waste of everyone’s time. Please do not succumb to rumors as a divided membership only benefits the company.

Steward and Craft Meeting at IAD
Last week Business Agent Ralph Salzano conducted a Steward meeting and a craft meeting for mechanics at Dulles. Also in attendance were Chief Stewards Jay Koreny from IAD and Vincent Graziano from Newark. The two day meeting covered contract interpretation as well as other local issues.


Happy Father’s Day
From all of us at the Airline Division, a Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there!

Airline Division Week In Review - June 8, 2014

SWA Material Specialist Contract Negotiations Update 

Contract Negotiations for SWA Materials Specialists continued in Dallas this week with the Negotiating Committee, along with Local Union Business Agents and Airline Division Representatives meeting outside of negotiations on June 2^nd to work on Article 4 (Classifications). The Committee also discussed the Letters of Agreement, Letters of Intent and Notes of Negotiation attached to the CBA.  

Direct negotiations with the Company continued on June 3^rd and 4^th. The Union made a counter proposal on Article 4 – (Classifications). The Company agreed to the union proposal on Article 9 – (Seniority) resulting in another T/A, bringing the total number of Articles T/A’d to date to ten. 

Dates for the next round of talks are currently under discussion.  

Airline Industry News 

Governmental and Regulatory 

Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration launched 50 new air traffic control procedures at the Houston Metroplex, bringing the area one step closer to the planned NextGen satellite control system.

Airlines, Industry and Labor 

Jeff Smisek, the CEO of United Continental Holdings, said the carrier plans to reduce debt and boost earnings before issuing dividends to shareholders. Smisek spoke at a Deutsche Bank conference, and also commented on pilot rest rules and air service to smaller markets.  

Boeing is considering building a Dreamlifter Operations Center at the airport in Wichita, Kan., which is home to supplier Spirit AeroSystems. The center would modify 747s with 787 forward fuselages built by Spirit. 

Delta Air Lines plans to streamline the process for Endeavor pilots to be hired at Delta. Under a new program, Endeavor pilots can be hired by Delta without an additional interview process.

Airline Industry News - June 4, 2014

Click on the headlines below to read the articles.

United Continental's Credit Rating Remains a "B"

Airlines Make Less Than $6.00 Per Passenger

Fuel Remains Largest Cost Center For Airlines

Airlines Plan Luggage Tags With GPS

The Mechanics Dispatch - May 31, 2014

Meeting in Chicago

On May 28th and 29th the parties met in Chicago for the purpose of further understanding the economics of the respective proposals. However due to concerns brought up on the Chief Steward's call the week prior, there were broad issues that needed to be addressed. The Chiefs expressed concern that on the sub UA side there were still major implementation items that were causing frustration. Similarly on the sub CO side there appeared to be a reinterpretation of old and settled language. The 28th was dedicated to discussing these issues along with proposed solutions by the IBT. The morning of the 29th the company addressed several of the concerns that were brought up the day before. While there was no single agreed upon solution, it was agreed these issues are serious and they will be addressed in a parallel track with the ongoing negotiations.

The afternoon of the 29th was spent discussing open proposals. It was clear that the full committee would be needed to advance these discussions. The parties agreed that the full committee would meet for the full week of July 7th.
Sometime after the meeting in July, and before the August mediated session, the steering committee will meet to discuss what has transpired.

Arbitration Update

The Resource Utilization letter arbitration case is scheduled to continue on June 26th in Newark. The ORD Data Center case was postponed and will be heard on November 6th. The APU grievance was withdrawn without prejudice meaning it can be refiled. The ORD Tool Room arbitration scheduled for June 4th was moved and a discharge case has taken its place. When the new date is agreed upon it will be reported in the Dispatch. The sub CO Medical grievance will continue on August 5th and 6th. The sub UA Medical grievance will be heard on September 8th. If any of these dates change it will be reported in the Dispatch.

Furloughed members urged to update their addresses

Members on furlough are advised to keep their addresses current with the company while on layoff. It is predicted that there will be many movements this year and there have been several members that have been removed from the seniority list because old addresses were on file when notices were sent.
If you are in touch with a furloughed member, please forward this information to them. Updates may be emailed to: ESC@united.com . The ESC will provide a fax number and ask members to send the address change accompanied with a signature.

Useful links

If you would like to see a link added to this list please contact Bob Fisher at: rcfisher7@yahoo.com

The following Locals represent these respective cities:

Boston Local 25

New York & Washington Local 210

Charleston & Atlanta Local 528

Miami, Ft. Lauderdale Tampa & Orlando Local 769

Cleveland Local 964

Chicago Local 781

Houston, Dallas & New Orleans Local 19

Phoenix Local 104

Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, Hawaii & Guam Local 986

San Francisco Local 856/986

Denver Local 455

Airline Industry News - June 2, 2014

Click on the links below to read articles.

US Airlines Experiencing a Renaissance

American Airlines President Sees Strong Growth

Southwest On Track For Strong 2nd Quarter

Delta, Virgin Atlantic Swap LAX & ATL Services

Delta Acquires Systems Data from Travelport

Airline Division Week In Review - May 31, 2014

Airline Industry News 

Governmental and Regulatory

The House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation heard from airport officials and law enforcement on ways to bolster security measures.  

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Boeing's 787 Dreamliner to fly up to 5 1/2 hours away from the nearest airport, enabling airlines to put 787s on more-direct routes, cutting fuel consumption.  

Whether the pilots who died in a UPS crash last August Alabama were too tired or overloaded by automated cockpit information is at the heart of differing accounts filed this week with the National Transportation Safety Board. 

In the 23 years Rep. James P. Moran has been in Congress, he’s seen his Northern Virginia district morph into a megalopolis of broad boulevards, bustling developments and skyscrapers. Now he’s fearful that a federal agency wants to put a cap on this burgeoning skyline to help airlines and airports make more money.

Airlines, Industry and Labor

United Continental plans to restructure its Pacific network of flights, as well as tweaking flight schedules at airports in Denver and Houston, to improve revenue.  

United Parcel Service (UPS) has opened a much larger processing facility at its Taipei air cargo hub located at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).  

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane has issued his formal order that rejected most of American Airlines’ request to be allowed to quit paying for health and life insurance benefits to its retirees. 

Despite a wider loss than expected in the first quarter by United Airlines due to extreme winter weather, analysts say the carrier's fundamentals are solid. Aviation consultant Mike Boyd said the carrier's "market planning seems sound and their fleet plan is solid." Meanwhile, analyst Hunter Keay said he is "increasingly optimistic that the current management team can turn things around."           

United Continental has reached a tentative agreement with two unions that represent flight dispatchers. The tentative agreement covers 330 flight dispatchers from United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The two carriers merged in 2010.