Amfa Organizers - Tulsa Distribution

[Buck]

Look at the history of the airlines that AMFA has secured as bargaining agent. AMFA has shown a direct approach to outsourcing. AMFA, in their allowing outsourcing to be so high, is attempting to do away with the overhaul bases as we know it and going to a line only mechanic status, thus raising the pay of the few mechanics left. So you counter with but then there would be less dues...do the math in the $$$

You decry AMFA for outsourcing, when in reality they gain administration of industrial union contracts and reduce the percentage of outsourcing. The reality is that the TWU "Scope" allows the company to farm out a predominant amount of work. However the company and the TWU have exercised the option to "farm out in house".


(e) Contracting Out of Work.

In the interest of providing stable employment*1

, but nevertheless to permit the Company to maintain and continue the development of air transportation under applicable laws, the Company will perform aircraft and aircraft component maintenance and overhaul, and other related work, as its present employees have the normal time and the skills to perform, and for which the Company can reasonably make available the necessary facilities.

(1) Additionally, it is agreed that the Company may continue to contract out work
not exceeding the scope of its present contracting out practices. The Company will provide to the Union, in January and July of each year, a report, which indicates the extent of the aircraft maintenance work, which has been contracted out as a percentage of the total aircraft maintenance expense in the preceding six (6) months for purposes ofensuring consistency with this obligation.

(2) It is understood that nothing in this Article requires the maintenance of the present volume of work.*2


(3) At the request of the Director of the Air Transport Division, discussions may be
initiated with the Vice President – Employee Relations, quarterly or on reasonable request, to ascertain by type of aircraft, engine, or component part the amount and type of work which has been contracted out during the previous calendar quarter.


(4) The parties agree, that in response to an expressed Union concern over the practices of the Company in the matter of subcontracting aircraft and aircraft
component maintenance and overhaul work and consistent with the provisions of
Article 1(e), Contracting Out of Work, of the Agreement, it is agreed that the
Company will advise the Director of the Air Transport Division, Transport Workers
Union, in a quarterly listing of the total volume of work sub-contracted under Repair
Outside (RO) practices, Cross Servicing, Base Maintenance, and Line Maintenance
Service Agreements.

(a) It is the intention of the Company to insure that the predominant volume of work under Cross Service, Base Maintenance and Line Maintenance Service Agreements be performed by the Company employees.*3

It is further understood, in no event, that the volume of work be less than equal to the work performed by other carriers for American Airlines under Cross Service, Base Maintenance and Line Maintenance Service Agreements. The ratio of mechanic work performed in terms of man-hours will be reflected quarterly, in writing, to the Union.

*1 No matter the cost in compensation to the craft and class of the mechanic.

*2 So the company can farm out as much as they want?

*3 If I were the company, I would want the company employees to be allowed to do union work also.

You have already witnessed the wantings of the line mechs to split from the OH mechs..and why?

When the TWU pulls roll call votes and totally ignores the interest of the line station members and allows again for the intervention of the TWU International who are not even related to our profession, to run the interests from the top down.

If I were a line mechanic I would so interest in seeking protection from these non-unionists, as a form of self protection.

The company is so proud of the performance of Southwest, yet they will not pay their mechanics equally. The TWU allows for this difference to maintain more jobs.

So you can cry outsource all you want. But the facts are that AA has the ability to farm out the predominant volume of work, and compensatres their mechanics more than 16% less than the competition and farms the work inhouse through the OSM program who do not even receive compensation for their A&P tickets.

Did you know that Base Overhaul is being rated on "Cost per Flight Hour"?

 

[Thomas Paine]

"(a) It is the intention of the Company to insure that the predominant volume of work under Cross Service, Base Maintenance and Line Maintenance Service Agreements be performed by the Company employees.*3"


AA has employees in several other countries that are not under our contract. It has never been made clear whether this work is considered "in house" or contracted out.

A few years back JFK lost their A-300 interior check to England, where the company was taking people that had no maintenance backround and having them do the checks. Under JAR66 all they had to do was "train" them and then issue them certificates. So they sat them through a 40 hr Gen Fam class. One "student" admitted that he had no idea what the instructor was talking about. "What the heck is an empenage or an aileron?" he asked.

Under our contract, since the work is done by "company" employees how can the union argue, under language that they agreed to, that its considered contracted out? They dont.

On another note we can also look at how the company replaced union instructors with management instructors across the system.

Once again our weak, pro-company, "flexible" language bites us in the behind. Under this language what is to stop the company from opening up an overhaul base in South America -where they already do work cards, SICs and other maint functions- and moving work over there?

The TWU has outsourced jobs from mechanics for years. They have "outsourced" within, moving work from higher paid mechanics to lower paid Fleet service clerks-SRPs and OSMs. For workers the main arguement against outsourcing is that it usually means less opportunity, for the union it means lost dues. Our union has found a way to keep the dues while satisfying the company, however the workers who would have otherwise had the opportunity to move into higher paid classifications lose out. So much for the members first. When looked at from an A&P mechanics perspective the TWU has been the leader in "outsorcing" A&P work for over 20 years. From an A&Ps perspective this union is hostile to our profession. Could you imagine ALPA or the APA agreeing to having an unliscenced pilot sitting in the right seat? That essentially is what our union has agreed to over the years. A steady process of moving as much work as possible away from A&P mechanics.

While they have moved the work away, in that the company does not have to recognize the liscenses, those that are unfortunate enough to have to bump in to the OSM work, that was formally A&P work, have the unique situation where they still bear the responsibility of a liscense holder without recognition. If they screw up in the shop, they come under the same scrutiny as if they were working as an A&P.

The TWU has done what no other union in history has done. They gave up everything to maintain the companys ability to produce. They gave the company outsource prices in house. They claim that they made this sacrifice in leiu of layoffs yet they moved system protection back and took one weeks vacation away from every member-two moves that allowed the company to layoff more workers instead of less. Clearly these moves display the Unions focus on the profitability of the company over the welfare of its members. If we made these sacrifices in order to prevent layoffs then why did they include things to facilitate even more layoffs without losing productivity? It does not make sense unless the object was to give AA the ability to cut costs even deeper than their competitors. This could be tied to the opportunity to profit off a stock price increase.

Their behavior of putting the interests of the company ahead of the long term interests of the members is consistant with that of a "company union". The fact that Local Presidents are paid by the company, something that Labor law prohibits, should be one tipoff that this is indeed a "company" union. The question is, should we continue to pay a company union to take away our pay, benifits and working conditions as they throw our brothers in the street. in effect working in the company's interests or should we get a new union that will truly represent our interests?

 

[Steve Connell]

....and if this language was in your contracts..was it voted in by your company-union members? This of course will miraculously change at the presence of AMFA, all members will vote in total unity and never accept less than standard language regardless of circumstance or state of the company. Tell me you believe this please, it will verify my assumptions of AMFA supporters.

 

[Bob Owens]

....and if this language was in your contracts..was it voted in by your company-union members? This of course will miraculously change at the presence of AMFA, all members will vote in total unity and never accept less than standard language regardless of circumstance or state of the company. Tell me you believe this please, it will verify my assumptions of AMFA supporters.

Steve;
While I agree with some of the content of your posts, urging membership participation etc I think that you need to look a little deeper.

You said that you are not an officer. Well why dont you become one? I did. I did so with every intention of trying to fix what I saw as wrong. Unlike the Jim Littles, Bobby Gless's and Mike Bakalas who barely hide their contempt for the people they represent I've always considered it a great honor that my peers chose me to represent them. Blaming the members will not fix the problems we face. While there is no doubt that the job can be agravating as long as you keep in mind that you have been given an honor then you will not stray and your members will support you. When I hear from those people (Jim Little) etc about "what a thankless job this is" I cringe. How dare them! If you feel that way "give it up"!

The fact is that leadership can make all the difference. Its not uncommon in war for the superior numbered army to be defeated by a better lead but numerically inferior army. When the troops have no confidence in their leaders then the whole army is weak, and thats the problem we have. Its normal for inept leaders to blame the troops just as a bad manager blames the team. Who is right? The safest bet is not to replace the team or the Army but replace the leaders. Thats our biggest problem, we cant replace the leaders who contol the union or even our contract.

So now we are stuck with no leadership, no accountability and no way to change it. Going to Local meetings will not change this. You are right that going to another union will not provide any guarantees, it may however provide opportunities.

PS, by the way most of the language cited goes back many many years prior to the current debacle.