3 Maintenance Bases - Not enough capacity

TWU informer

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Special Edition Fast Facts - Tulsa Base Communications

October 21, 2009



Allegiant Airlines-AA M&E Update



The current maintenance agreement that American Airlines has with Allegiant Airlines will be fulfilled in mid November, 2009. Allegiant recently entered into a competitive bidding process, open to all Maintenance and Repair Organizations (MROs), including AA.



Allegiant’s fleet of 30 MD80 aircraft requires maintenance checks that have varying Bills of Work (BOW). The man-hours in these different checks range from ‘light’ (2,000 – 3,000 man/hours) to ‘heavy’ (about 10,000 man/hours). Tulsa M&E capacity planners have the challenge of integrating Allegiant maintenance checks into a dock plan for the legacy fleet. Based on a seamless integration into the dock plan, AA submitted a bid to the Las Vegas-based carrier to perform maintenance on 11 heavy check aircraft, to be included in the Pulse Line, and five light check aircraft, to be included into our Light C Check lines. Subsequent to submitting the bid, AA determined that it would continue to fly eight MD80 aircraft that were originally scheduled to be retired in 2010. Of these eight, six would require heavy checks. Tulsa capacity planners determined two options. First, keep the Allegiant proposal as is and outsource one MD80 check. Second, modify the Allegiant proposal and perform all of the MD80 heavy checks on the Pulse Line. The decision was made to modify the Allegiant proposal.



Following a frank, but cordial discussion with Allegiant, American modified its bid to include only the five light check aircraft. AA’s bid for maintenance on five Allegiant light checks remains active, and the negotiating team is awaiting a response to this latest offer. Additionally, American and Allegiant discussed the capacity available to American beginning in 2011. American indicated its interest in handling additional heavy checks at that time.



American offers Allegiant Airlines industry-leading advantages including, quicker turntimes than industry average, accommodations in dock scheduling to complement Allegiant’s flight schedule, and AA offers outstanding support for engineering, parts, back shop, and line maintenance through ‘field trip’ coverage of line operations. A source within the American Airlines team close to the negotiations said, “We believe the bid AA submitted to Allegiant is competitive based on the scope and quality of work we have demonstrated to the customer over the past several years.â€


Does AA not consider capacity beyond the Tulsa Maintenance Base?


Then today the admission that the decision regarding the continuation of the eight MD-80s has "Not been Finalized". Now this is some superior management and they deserve another big bonus.

10-22-2009 Fast Facts - Tulsa Base Communication

Clarification to Yesterday’s Special Fast Facts. In yesterday’s Special Fast Facts regarding Allegiant maintenance, Base Communications needs to clarify two points. Allegiant has 30 MD80 aircraft, which require some type of maintenance check for 2010. This constituted the work that was available for bid. The total Allegiant fleet is significantly larger than that. Second, the decision to continue flying eight additional MD80 aircraft has not been finalized. However, that possibility had to be taken into account as we approached the bid process. (Tulsa Base Communications)
 
AA is not serious about 3P work. Sure they will use it as filler work but they are not going to retain heads or hire people to satisfy 3P work.

What AA is serious about, with the help from some in the TWU, is getting mechanics to price themselves at 3P rates instead of airline rates.

I also read in the fast facts that if they dont get enough 3p work to fill the "white spaces" that they would lose 600 to 800, maybe as high as even 900 jobs, this year we lost 400 jobs through attrition plus they tried to recall a lot of mechanics. So you can figure that between now and 2011 we would lose at least another 800 jobs through attrition, which means they could be anywhere from 200 heads understaffed to 100 heads overstaffed(I feel that our rates of attrition will increase dramatically as the economy rebounds and the middle-aged exodus increases). With the fleet two years older and the possible decision to hold onto 8 MD-80s, six of which need heavy checks that should easily eat up the extra 100 heads if they really ever exist.

My guess is that if demand returns or Boeing cant deliver their aircraft on time we will see more MD-80s stick around, that means more heads that they cant afford to lose. The Boeings in the Northeast that replaced the A-300 are becoming just as much work as the A-300s were. While stations like JFK remain overstaffed the shortage is coming. NY1 had a huge pool of recalls due to the aquisition of TWA which had major maintenance operations at JFK. I think the company was suprised when they had to go through nearly 300 names to get 18 recalls back on the job. Several mechanics are retiring, we will continue to see an exodus of middle aged workers(an unexpected source of attrition) and a huge percentage are awaiting transfers to lower cost areas. My estimate is that somewhere between 30 to 40% have their transfers in. NY1 handles some of AAs most lucrative routes.

3p work? They are going to have enough of a challenge getting their own aircraft done. They just want 3p labor rates. They are telling Tulsa that they have to compete with 3p providers like Timco in order to keep their jobs. They are trying to get it into their heads that they are no longer airline mechanics and should not expect to be paid like airline mechanics, they have "a new reality", face "new challenges" and must "adjust to the marketplace".

Remember this? "Dont compare us to SWA rates, they dont do all their overhaul in house ". Well neither does CAL, UAL, USAIR,Delta, JetBlue or AirTran, so soon they will be telling us shouldnt expect to get paid what they get either. It seems to me that many bought into "we cant compare ourselves to SWA", I've even heard that said by several of the negotiators, one in particular is now, no suprise, part of the International, well if thats the case then why wouldnt they take the next step and say "we cant compare ourselves to any airline because none of them do all their OH in house so we now consider ourselves an MRO and not an airline". This is their "New Reality", and the "New marketplace" that they want us to compete in.

The TWU has always ensured that AA has favorable labor costs in maintenance. Back in the 80s they gave AA B-scale with a 12 year progression, the other carriers followed but with higher starting rates, more vaction and five year progressions. AA couldnt hold on to mechanics on the line, they would hire people, send them through GENFAM on the fleet then watch the new hires quit and go to another carrier. So then the TWU gave AA "Flexible Starting rates. At the companys' total discretion they could start people at any rate up to top pay in order to compete with other airlines and retain workers. This gave management the flexibility to hire people at higher rates where there was competition for mechanics but retain the lower rates even if costs in another city was as high as the city where the competition existed, similar to what companies without a union can do.(In New York Title II mechanics start at top pay because the company could not get anybody) They also gave AA SRPs which gave AA a huge cost advantage over other carriers in OH. Now that other airlines did away with most of their heavy OH AA may no longer enjoy this cost advantage and the TWU is looking to rectify that by not only driving down OH rates to MRO rates but throwing in Line Maintenance at those same rates which would once again give AA a major cost advantage over their competitors. AA would enjoy the shorter turn around times along with higher quality and lower costs. We will be the lowest paid mechanics of all the major airlines, not by a small margin either.

In the end the TWU will probably get AA their MRO rates,(the difference between what we are asking for and what CAL is asking for and SWA already has is around $10/hr), but AA probably wont do any more MRO work than they are doing now. They are just using it to get the lower payrates in place but have no intentions on becoming primarily an MRO provider. Why would they share the competaitve advantage they have with competitors? Instead they will use it to gain a cost advantage that competitors would never be able to challenge. The main glitch in their plan is that on the line they wont be able to get and retain motivated mechanics. Why would they? As mechanics look across the Ramp and see all the guys they went to A&P school with making $40/hr or more, collecting double time and a half on the holidays and getting more vacation do you really think that they are going to care about AA? If AA pulled out of the high cost cities somebody would pick up those slots and they would need mechanics. Our rollaways have wheels on them and most of us have used them before. I'm an airline mechanic, I never had any desire to work for an MRO at MRO rates, I still dont.
 
Bob;

All of your points are correct, and well taken. Our problem is that the majority of Title I and related mechanics are from overhaul. Their interests and job security have priority over the Line AMT. Strength in numbers? AA does a better job at influencing negotiations and promoting their point of view better than we (the Union) does. Those in OH can't roll their tools across the street and get a new job. And the Company knows that. Tulsa is isolated. It is a captive workforce. The Company plays it to their advantage VERY well.

Our strength needs to be at the negotiating table. I agree that the CAL contract is a good place to start. Work with Tulsa so that they in turn work with us.....Wishfull thinking.............Maybe.
 
Bob, I agree with you on all your points except one. It is no longer that easy to roll your tool box over to the next employer and make the wage that you are currently making. If it were, I most likely would still be the industry. The company knows this and is using it as a hammer against the workforce.
 
My point was that we have MCI and AFW in addition to TUL but when you read these "Fast Facts" it is obvious the subject of 3rd Party work is nothing more than a smoke screen. The capacity of the other bases is never considered. It is more Tulsa manipulation 101 by AA management. That tells me a T/A is coming soon.... like within the next 60 days.

I figure that very soon the Overhaul Maintenance Manual will be on-line in both English and Espanol and through attrition AA aircraft wont be taken to Mexico but Mexico will be brought to the aircraft.

I have been keeping an Excel Spread Sheet that reflects attrition in Title 1 dating back to 2006. If I had those numbers here I would post them for you. I will get them next week and give you some detailed information. I have been viewing the on-line seniority and keeping track of the seniority list numbers since '06 and documenting those in the spreadsheet file.
 
How hard would it be to do what we suggested to the TWU International prior to the 2003 DEBACLE?

Put all of overhaul in a One-Station agreement, respecting the provisions of the TWA-TWU Arbitration: consolidate where and when required with the affected employees exercising their seniority.

Bottom line is that we can double overhaul capacity by running 24/7, 365: at each and every overhaul base.

No other 121 Air Carrier has the ABILITY TO DO WHAT WE CAN DO AT THE PRICE WE DO IT.

3P Work is profitable if you get the right management team in place: we currently have a lot of 2's that do not want to hire 10's until their packages financially work.

Remember that for all currently running lines: improvements in turn times create holes inot which we can insert scheduled 3P work. Since we were already paying for the manning and the dock, 3P work only needs to capture the ROI, Return On Investment, since your benefits and pay were already gauranteed.
 
Bob, I agree with you on all your points except one. It is no longer that easy to roll your tool box over to the next employer and make the wage that you are currently making. If it were, I most likely would still be the industry. The company knows this and is using it as a hammer against the workforce.

Well they dont have to roll into another hangar. As our pay continues to deteriorate other industries become even more enticing. We had a few guys with plenty of time and no chance of being laid off quit and go to Con Ed a short time back, they are earning a lot more already than they did in the airlines. Thats just one example, I've seen guys in the same situation go into other industries, many left the whole idea of working with tools as well.

Of the seven guys I served in office with the first time around only two are still with the company. Three of them quit the company, one is on a union leave and one passed away. None were over 50 years of age. Turnover like this is unprecedented for Aircraft mechanics. Normally they get hired and stay till either the company closes its doors or they retire.

You left the industry, how long did it take for you to get back to what you left?
 
Thanks. 2 years (or less) seems to be the norm from what I've heard.

I went for an interview with the local utility company regarding a job that starts at what I'm making after 23 years in the business :shock:

Now I'm not licensed (one of those scumbag TWA imports responsible for the demise of AA, I guess) but still after 23 years to find a job starting at what I'm making here shows the loss of prestige aircraft mechanics have endured. If things work out, you can bet your (text excised) I'll go running away from what's left of MCI as fast as I can -- "proud home of the 767 MAUI/Winglets" my (text excised). Yes, they were stupid enough to post a big sign with this (text excised) on it -- just like they did with the 737 docks :blink:

I won't be completely leaving aircraft behind -- I have come to prefer souped-up 707's with gray paint schemes....... :up:
 
Thanks. 2 years (or less) seems to be the norm from what I've heard.
From when I went on strike at NWA on 8-20-2005, it took me until 1-4-2007 to get back to where my wages were then.

(most ended up doing electrical/electronic work for utilities or public transportation)

It was only 1 year until I was making more than the scab wages imposed under the contract we refused...

The only ones that I know that are not now making more were the ones who were near retirement.

Most that could not land similar salaries were not flexible, or simply did not plan for the future by properly preparing a resume, getting education, etc...

Of course there are those that had some kind of legal trouble that they would have to put on a new application. Most of those chose to cross the picket line.
 
I went for an interview with the local utility company regarding a job that starts at what I'm making after 23 years in the business :shock:

Now I'm not licensed (one of those scumbag TWA imports responsible for the demise of AA, I guess) but still after 23 years to find a job starting at what I'm making here shows the loss of prestige aircraft mechanics have endured. If things work out, you can bet your (text excised) I'll go running away from what's left of MCI as fast as I can -- "proud home of the 767 MAUI/Winglets" my (text excised). Yes, they were stupid enough to post a big sign with this (text excised) on it -- just like they did with the 737 docks :blink:

I won't be completely leaving aircraft behind -- I have come to prefer souped-up 707's with gray paint schemes....... :up:
Congrats to you and thanks for making sure them grey 707s continue to keep us safe.
 
From when I went on strike at NWA on 8-20-2005, it took me until 1-4-2007 to get back to where my wages were then.

(most ended up doing electrical/electronic work for utilities or public transportation)

It was only 1 year until I was making more than the scab wages imposed under the contract we refused...

The only ones that I know that ware not now making more were the ones who were near retirement.

Most that could not land similar salaries were not flexible, or simply did not plan for the future by properly preparing a resume, getting education, etc...

Yes quite a few guys have used their down time at work learning new skills for their exodus.

Of course there are those that had some kind of legal trouble that they would have to put on a new application. Most of those chose to cross the picket line.

That would be reassuring to the passengers of NWA, or should I say Delta now?

The airlines used to be a desirable job. It always required a considerable amount of sacrifice, now they expect us to make those sacrifices for nothing and go above and beyond to get those planes out. So far they've been very very lucky. As more and more mechanics realize that there's life after the airlines, even in low cost places like Kansas City, maybe they will finally do whats long overdue.
 
What is the number of job codes versus the furlough versus the population of the job code by station? The question is more easily answered than asked.

If the employee numbers were integrated into one seniority list according to job code and the percentage of 100% employees were sorted by job code in accordance with the KASHER ARBITRATION ruling: say 100 machinists were furloughed from MCIE into a population of 1000 machinists between the three bases, that would be 10% of the overhaul machinists would be covered by the prospective of a one-station agreement between the overhaul stations; therefore, on creation of an singular overhaul seniority list, the population of MCIE would be transparently seen among al of those sharing the same job code.

Seniority is Seniority: consolidate when required, restaff when possible. If the line wants to transfer to overhaul it would be no different than the one station agreements that cover several stations. In the meantime: the TWU actually holds to the Union Ideal.