Nice way to make friends his opinion is just as relevant as yours.
American Airlines and Labor Negotiations
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WeAAsles
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Politicians and agenda peddlers lie. Math is math.
TWU 2 times the hourly wage rate for dues.
$15 x 2 = $30 x 12 = $360
$30 x 2 = $60 x 12 = $720
MATH.
They knew those jobs were going to a envoy or a third party got more dues with envoy but would have been just as happy getying the dues from "prime flight"
WeAAsles
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I’m sorry Al but can you clear up what it is you’re trying to convey here?
But just to at least somewhat head you off at the pass. Don’t ever forget that absent the years of concessions or a BIG BK GUN any jobs lost say to outfits such as American Eagle and the like were given up by the votes of Members who wanted MORE $$$$$$$$!!!!!
That also includes of course the little greedy snivelers who were elected into Leadership positions (Locally) to represent us.
Now this is the TWU AA story because you guys there in Fleet at your old Airline didn’t chose to bring in a Union until 1995 right at the absolute HEIGHT of when your cuts were coming.
Of course again since you keep ignoring it you lost your Defined Benefit Pension back in 1992 because you had no Union and no Contract to fight against that loss. Management chose what to do to you. Management screwed you Al. That little hatchet job to your retirement obviously the straw that broke your coworkers backs to bring in the IAM.
On the other hand my Union argued and fought against having ours thrown on the PBGC like yours and even though you can’t stand it this Company we have today has to continue to fund those Pensions now don’t they. Life bites.
BTW Al you also do complain an awful lot about how many people work there in LGA on the TWU side? Do your TWU counterparts there laugh at you guys having to work so hard?
I dont complain at all just an observation.If idid complain it is that their inflated numbers will have an effect on the rotation vote. Perhaps that is why you only have 17 stations,your work rules are cost prohibitive
WeAAsles
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We have 17 Cities because the TWU is a more Democratic Union than the IAM is. And that’s not necessarily saying that’s a good thing. The TWU let Local President’s decide how to structure Contracts and in many cases the “Roll Call” vote meant that Hub President’s could push around they’re smaller counterparts and thus close their Cities.
The TWU HUB President “excuse” being that he represents HIS Members.
On another note Al. Here’s the IAM’s philosophy on representing UGE and McGee. I do agree with the comment that you can’t just ignore a problem and expect it to go away. (Smarter to be creative)
OUR MISSION
Our mission at UGE, as it is at every other employer in which the IAM has representation rights, is to build worker power. This power demands that workers be treated with dignity and respect and have a strong voice in their workplace and collective future. We also aim to better the communities in which we live. Our power and strength as an organization not only betters the lives of those in our Union but also must to exercised to help those in need in our communities.
At UGE, and other ground handling/vendor companies, we also aim to bridge the gap in wages, benefits and working conditions between mainline and "express" workers. Achieving this will improve the lives of both sets of workers and significantly raise standards in the entire airline industry. To accomplish these goals, we will need to understand a bit of the past and that our goal will not happen overnight.
How we arrived to where we are today:
In the mid 2000s, as part of the financial restructuring of the airline industry, the utilization of regional airlines to fly short haul routes to and from mainline hubs exploded. In fact, by 2013 approximately two-thirds of United Airlines' flight schedule was operated by United Express (a hodgepodge of different regional airlines such as ExpreesJet, Mesa, Air Wisconsin, etc.). American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Continental, Northwest and US Airways did much the same, and entirely changed the structure of the airline industry.
Prior to this financial/operational restructuring, the mainline carriers serviced cities with less flight frequency and demand and, for the most part, mainline employees worked in those locations and earned the same wages and benefits as mainline workers.
When the mainline carriers restructured in the mid 2000s, inside and outside bankruptcy court, they shifted mainline aircraft to larger markets and began using regional carriers to service location with less flight frequency. Coupled with this structural shift in operations, also came large scale outsourcing of ground operations in those cities to ground handling vendors such as Menzies and Delta Global Services, among others, who offered very low pay and no real benefits to speak of. Over time, and especially since the recent IAM contracts negotiated for ground workers at United, American, Southwest, Alaska, Hawaiian, the wage and benefit gap between "mainline" and "express" workers reached an all time high.
The IAM believes that the disparity in pay and benefits of a United Ground Express worker and that of an IAM-represented mainline worker is fundamentally unfair. That is the reason why the IAM sought to represent the workers at United Ground Express: We must face this reality head on and bridge the gap.
We must realize, however, that this effort will take time, focus and unity. For example, before UGE workers joined the IAM and became covered by the first IAM-UGE contract, the difference in the top of scale base wage rate of ground worker at UGE and United Airlines was approximately $17.06 per hour, or 133%. When the IAM-UGE contract became effective this year, the gap was reduced to $16.13, or 117%. While we are very, very far from bridging the gap in total, we are going in the right direction.
A LONG TERM STRATEGY:
Over time, this gap will be reduced because the IAM and UGE agreed that every year of the first contract, 8 years, the top of scale wage rate will increase in the same amount as a increase in inflation. And, being that it takes nine years to get to top of scale, the IAM and UGE will likely have a second agreement negotiated with higher wage rates. By 2026, it is likely--even using conservative estimates--that the top of scale base wage rate at UGE will likely be somewhere between $21-$23 per hour, slashing the gap from 117% to somewhere well below that level.
WeAAsles
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The largest airline union is expanding its reach, organizing the ground service workers who have largely been left out of the airline industry's remarkable post-recession recovery.
The International Association of Machinists said that in the past 10 months it has organized more than 2,000 ground service workers at two leading providers: McGee Air Services, a newly formed subsidiary of Alaska (ALK) , and at United Ground Services, a United (UAL) subsidiary.
In general, workers in the ground services industry provide baggage and cargo handling and gate service at airports where individual airlines have too few flights to hire full-time staff. Airlines employ their own ground service workers at their hubs.
"What happened in the airline industry is that back in the 1970s and 1980s, all this work was performed by airline employees," said Sito Pantoja, general vice president of the IAM Transportation Department. "But when the bankruptcies accelerated, the companies said 'we will weaken your scope clause {so} we can farm out the work.'
"Then these companies were able to hire workers at $7 an hour with no benefits."
More recently, Pantoja said, "The companies found out that with thousands of employees with very low pay, they had operations that were not as efficient. They had workers who don't care and they suffered as a result."
Union contracts are better for everyone, Pantoja said. The benefits even include a bridge to a job with the airline itself, Pantoja added.
IAM signed a contract with McGee Air Services in summer 2016. Since 2005, Alaska had outsourced its baggage handling to Menzies Aviation, a non-union firm.
Tim Klima, the IAM's airline coordinator, said the union and Alaska initially agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that covered about two dozen airport workers in Phoenix. Then workers got a chance to vote simultaneously on the CBA as well as union authorization.
"Usually companies resist the union and we have to go through the process of fighting their anti-union behavior," Klima said. "In {both of} these cases, we got the companies to agree they would treat the union without animus."
"There are dozens of ground service companies throughout the U.S.," he said. "Now McGee is one of the best contracts we have." Under the Railway Labor Act, IAM can negotiate national contracts; it does not have to negotiate on an airport-by-airport basis.The largest airline union is expanding its reach, organizing the ground service workers who have largely been left out of the airline industry's remarkable post-recession recovery.
The International Association of Machinists said that in the past 10 months it has organized more than 2,000 ground service workers at two leading providers: McGee Air Services, a newly formed subsidiary of Alaska (ALK) , and at United Ground Services, a United (UAL) subsidiary.
In general, workers in the ground services industry provide baggage and cargo handling and gate service at airports where individual airlines have too few flights to hire full-time staff. Airlines employ their own ground service workers at their hubs.
"What happened in the airline industry is that back in the 1970s and 1980s, all this work was performed by airline employees," said Sito Pantoja, general vice president of the IAM Transportation Department. "But when the bankruptcies accelerated, the companies said 'we will weaken your scope clause {so} we can farm out the work.'
"Then these companies were able to hire workers at $7 an hour with no benefits."
More recently, Pantoja said, "The companies found out that with thousands of employees with very low pay, they had operations that were not as efficient. They had workers who don't care and they suffered as a result."
Union contracts are better for everyone, Pantoja said. The benefits even include a bridge to a job with the airline itself, Pantoja added.
IAM signed a contract with McGee Air Services in summer 2016. Since 2005, Alaska had outsourced its baggage handling to Menzies Aviation, a non-union firm.
Tim Klima, the IAM's airline coordinator, said the union and Alaska initially agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that covered about two dozen airport workers in Phoenix. Then workers got a chance to vote simultaneously on the CBA as well as union authorization.
"Usually companies resist the union and we have to go through the process of fighting their anti-union behavior," Klima said. "In {both of} these cases, we got the companies to agree they would treat the union without animus."
"There are dozens of ground service companies throughout the U.S.," he said. "Now McGee is one of the best contracts we have." Under the Railway Labor Act, IAM can negotiate national contracts; it does not have to negotiate on an airport-by-airport basis.The McGee contract covers about 1,200 workers, including about 900 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport workers who signed up in March 2017. The workers, who had been employed by Menzies, were offered union jobs at McGee.
Benefits include travel privileges, improved health care benefits, a grievance procedure and increasing wages over time. The SeaTac workers were already earning $15.34 hourly after the city of Seattle passed a law increasing the minimum wage to $15 hourly.
At United Ground Express, the IAM gained about 930 workers at 31 airport locations.
United launched the subsidiary in August 2015 as a non-union company. But it signed an IAM contract this spring.
"The company was already operating when we started a campaign," Klima said. "United was satisfied with what they had negotiated with the IAM already. They thought that it was valuable to have peace with their unions, and that their employees would become more satisfied."
IAM is the largest airline union with about 65,000 active members, including 30,000 at United and 15,000 at American. Counting retirees, IAM has about 150,000 airline members.
IAM is not the only union with an interest in ground service employees. The Service Employees International Union said last week that about 500 workers at Philadelphia International Airport have voted to organize. The vote was 406-58, SEIU said.
The workers, employed by contractors Prime Flight and Prospect at Philadelphia International Airport, include baggage handlers, wheelchair agents, skycaps, line queues and other passenger service workers. The next step is to negotiate a contract.
Asked whether there is conflict with IAM, SEIU spokeswoman Leslie Kamstra said, "The airport workers' movement, like all SEIU efforts, is about improving jobs for all workers so they can provide for their families.
"Airport jobs used to be good jobs that allowed workers to support their families, but over the past 15 years, most contracted airport workers saw their wages stagnate or decline," Kamstra added. "Airport workers are joining together to change that."
The International Association of Machinists said that in the past 10 months it has organized more than 2,000 ground service workers at two leading providers: McGee Air Services, a newly formed subsidiary of Alaska (ALK) , and at United Ground Services, a United (UAL) subsidiary.
In general, workers in the ground services industry provide baggage and cargo handling and gate service at airports where individual airlines have too few flights to hire full-time staff. Airlines employ their own ground service workers at their hubs.
"What happened in the airline industry is that back in the 1970s and 1980s, all this work was performed by airline employees," said Sito Pantoja, general vice president of the IAM Transportation Department. "But when the bankruptcies accelerated, the companies said 'we will weaken your scope clause {so} we can farm out the work.'
"Then these companies were able to hire workers at $7 an hour with no benefits."
More recently, Pantoja said, "The companies found out that with thousands of employees with very low pay, they had operations that were not as efficient. They had workers who don't care and they suffered as a result."
Union contracts are better for everyone, Pantoja said. The benefits even include a bridge to a job with the airline itself, Pantoja added.
IAM signed a contract with McGee Air Services in summer 2016. Since 2005, Alaska had outsourced its baggage handling to Menzies Aviation, a non-union firm.
Tim Klima, the IAM's airline coordinator, said the union and Alaska initially agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that covered about two dozen airport workers in Phoenix. Then workers got a chance to vote simultaneously on the CBA as well as union authorization.
"Usually companies resist the union and we have to go through the process of fighting their anti-union behavior," Klima said. "In {both of} these cases, we got the companies to agree they would treat the union without animus."
"There are dozens of ground service companies throughout the U.S.," he said. "Now McGee is one of the best contracts we have." Under the Railway Labor Act, IAM can negotiate national contracts; it does not have to negotiate on an airport-by-airport basis.The largest airline union is expanding its reach, organizing the ground service workers who have largely been left out of the airline industry's remarkable post-recession recovery.
The International Association of Machinists said that in the past 10 months it has organized more than 2,000 ground service workers at two leading providers: McGee Air Services, a newly formed subsidiary of Alaska (ALK) , and at United Ground Services, a United (UAL) subsidiary.
In general, workers in the ground services industry provide baggage and cargo handling and gate service at airports where individual airlines have too few flights to hire full-time staff. Airlines employ their own ground service workers at their hubs.
"What happened in the airline industry is that back in the 1970s and 1980s, all this work was performed by airline employees," said Sito Pantoja, general vice president of the IAM Transportation Department. "But when the bankruptcies accelerated, the companies said 'we will weaken your scope clause {so} we can farm out the work.'
"Then these companies were able to hire workers at $7 an hour with no benefits."
More recently, Pantoja said, "The companies found out that with thousands of employees with very low pay, they had operations that were not as efficient. They had workers who don't care and they suffered as a result."
Union contracts are better for everyone, Pantoja said. The benefits even include a bridge to a job with the airline itself, Pantoja added.
IAM signed a contract with McGee Air Services in summer 2016. Since 2005, Alaska had outsourced its baggage handling to Menzies Aviation, a non-union firm.
Tim Klima, the IAM's airline coordinator, said the union and Alaska initially agreed to a collective bargaining agreement that covered about two dozen airport workers in Phoenix. Then workers got a chance to vote simultaneously on the CBA as well as union authorization.
"Usually companies resist the union and we have to go through the process of fighting their anti-union behavior," Klima said. "In {both of} these cases, we got the companies to agree they would treat the union without animus."
"There are dozens of ground service companies throughout the U.S.," he said. "Now McGee is one of the best contracts we have." Under the Railway Labor Act, IAM can negotiate national contracts; it does not have to negotiate on an airport-by-airport basis.The McGee contract covers about 1,200 workers, including about 900 Seattle-Tacoma International Airport workers who signed up in March 2017. The workers, who had been employed by Menzies, were offered union jobs at McGee.
Benefits include travel privileges, improved health care benefits, a grievance procedure and increasing wages over time. The SeaTac workers were already earning $15.34 hourly after the city of Seattle passed a law increasing the minimum wage to $15 hourly.
At United Ground Express, the IAM gained about 930 workers at 31 airport locations.
United launched the subsidiary in August 2015 as a non-union company. But it signed an IAM contract this spring.
"The company was already operating when we started a campaign," Klima said. "United was satisfied with what they had negotiated with the IAM already. They thought that it was valuable to have peace with their unions, and that their employees would become more satisfied."
IAM is the largest airline union with about 65,000 active members, including 30,000 at United and 15,000 at American. Counting retirees, IAM has about 150,000 airline members.
IAM is not the only union with an interest in ground service employees. The Service Employees International Union said last week that about 500 workers at Philadelphia International Airport have voted to organize. The vote was 406-58, SEIU said.
The workers, employed by contractors Prime Flight and Prospect at Philadelphia International Airport, include baggage handlers, wheelchair agents, skycaps, line queues and other passenger service workers. The next step is to negotiate a contract.
Asked whether there is conflict with IAM, SEIU spokeswoman Leslie Kamstra said, "The airport workers' movement, like all SEIU efforts, is about improving jobs for all workers so they can provide for their families.
"Airport jobs used to be good jobs that allowed workers to support their families, but over the past 15 years, most contracted airport workers saw their wages stagnate or decline," Kamstra added. "Airport workers are joining together to change that."
Tim?
Weez in a poll on facebook the vote is 10 to 1 in favor of dumping the association.Im assuming the ratio will only grow as the months and years go by
WeAAsles
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I’m sorry Al but no Tim doesn’t work for UGE, McGee, or the IAM. He also doesn’t work for DGS, Delta or SWA.
Wonderfully counterproductive. Just emboldens the Company to stretch this out longer and longer.
BTW did Tim kick off the one guy not in favor, lol.
WeAAsles
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AA has been doing massive layoffs this week with their airport leadership. They took out 12% of DFW operations frontline management [Thursday], and that number is only supposed to rise tomorrow as those that were off..come into work. The number floating around is 21 people from the operations leadership team at DFW alone.
Some smaller stations are rumored to be losing 35% of their customer service managers, which could leave the remaining employees extremely over taxed given the current workload.
This is being called a reduction in force, but I’ve already seen two positions that this happened with that were reposted to be back filled.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2018/09/29/layoffs-at-american-airlines-this-week/
Some smaller stations are rumored to be losing 35% of their customer service managers, which could leave the remaining employees extremely over taxed given the current workload.
This is being called a reduction in force, but I’ve already seen two positions that this happened with that were reposted to be back filled.
https://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2018/09/29/layoffs-at-american-airlines-this-week/
bob@las-AA
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Better them than us! FAT took two swings of the axe before finally out the door.
120 to 12
Wonder if they are getting good packages??
WeAAsles
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Rocket Scientists.
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