Fleet Service apathy

[robbedagain]

Freedom while I agree that this is apathy but remember this the apathy that the company has done and with little help from the union.

As for changing, for starters how about having AGCs who will ACTUALLY fight for you, stop allowing the company to outsource places such as BUF IND MSY etc. Secondly we need to regain a lot of what we lost...benefits, vacations, etc the sick need to be better grievances need to be completed faster instead of waiting for years and years to be heard! thos some of the examples I can think of

 

[ograc]

The first thing to bring us all together would be get PHX on the same page.

Solidarity,
Thank you for the input. Your response is exactly the dialouge that needs to take place to heighten involvement and to identify what needs to be fixed. With that being said, may I ask why, after 4 years the union has failed to get PHX on the same page? Your input is important and certainly welcomed.
ograc

 

[robbedagain]

How about LAS folks are they also on thesame page as us or phx or what?

 

[necigrad]

In my observation, LAS as a whole looks at the big picture. It's not about me, it's about us. That said, don't misunderstand. Things like the furlough have hit home bad, in ways some other stations cannot comprehend. I would opine that LAS is for overall betterment of the contract, with emphasis on things like change of control and furlough (things that directly and very dramatically affect us), but with great concern for all. LAS knows we're all in this together, and won't screw over anyone for a self centered better deal.

There are, however, several individuals there who could say "It's all about me" or "Hub XYZ only cares about themselves so screw 'em". But hey, you can't make everyone happy.

 

[ograc]

Freedom while I agree that this is apathy but remember this the apathy that the company has done and with little help from the union.

As for changing, for starters how about having AGCs who will ACTUALLY fight for you, stop allowing the company to outsource places such as BUF IND MSY etc. Secondly we need to regain a lot of what we lost...benefits, vacations, etc the sick need to be better grievances need to be completed faster instead of waiting for years and years to be heard! thos some of the examples I can think of

robbedagain,

AGSs who are not giving 100% back to the membership they serve, as in being vigilant to a timely resolve to grievances, should be replaced. In defense of the AGCs currently in office they are only as good as the support they receive from the District and the International. Additionally, the leadership is up against a company who resists the efforts, to reach a timely resolve through the grievance procedure, every step of the way. No union leadership team should be held accountable for this unfortunate posture of the company. Once again, the IAM is not the common enemy of the Fleet Service.
I agree, wholeheartedly, the union needs to address the company's ability to outsource outline stations under the current CBA. Unfortunatley, before we reach another CBA, many more outline stations and members will be eliminated under the existing terms of our CBA. This represents a loss of membership and subsequently a loss in leverage at the table. Members in hub cities should not feel immuned to this issue. It could eventually affect them too. My case in point is LAS and PIT. As we go forward, with AA in bankruptcy and the real possibility another takeover/merger being on the horizon, no one's job, even in the existing hubs is secure. What good is contract language securing wages, benefits, vacations and sick leave to any member if their employment is being eliminated in the station they work? I believe, going forward, the negotiated future agreement must stop this hemorrhaging of jobs. I agree much needs to be regained, but I believe, we must first stop the outsoursing of members' jobs, before we go forward.
Thank you for your input and thoughts concerning where we go from here. I seek only dialogue from the members. It can't be fixed until you know what is broke.
Please stayed engaged,
ograc

 

[ograc]

How about LAS folks are they also on thesame page as us or phx or what?

robbedagain,
I cannot speak for our members in LAS. I do know they have experienced the same "company wrath" of downsizing and job elimination as Pittsburgh. Both cities, once the center of operations of America West and US Airways respectively, have been flushed down the toilet of the combined carrier. These are the "synergies" the company speaks of when proposing a merger. Make no mistake about it, "synergies" translate into cost reduction, station closures and eventual job elimination. This leads to better corporate profitability, better return to the shareholders and bigger bonuses for the company executives. With the AA bankruptcy and US Airways' documented interest no one should feel secure. With this in mind, you would think the focus of negotiations going forward, would be about securing our work. Better language governing sub contracting and change in successorship.
orgac

 

[Solidarity]

Solidarity,
Thank you for the input. Your response is exactly the dialouge that needs to take place to heighten involvement and to identify what needs to be fixed. With that being said, may I ask why, after 4 years the union has failed to get PHX on the same page? Your input is important and certainly welcomed.
ograc

 

[Solidarity]

PHX has no leadership that is respected. Moving forward this has to be addressed.

 

[robbedagain]

i totally agree that the agcs who are producing results for the memberships should be elected out of office. i was glad to see canale and tony and group go sometime after my original station got axed along with some 35 other cities. back in 2005 and the first ch 11 as well. Now fast foward to today its sad to see places such as LAS and PIT get terminated if you will. but the bigger question is what will happen in the not to distant future and what will the iam due to protect the members after all we do pay them high dues!

 

[ograc]

i totally agree that the agcs who are producing results for the memberships should be elected out of office. i was glad to see canale and tony and group go sometime after my original station got axed along with some 35 other cities. back in 2005 and the first ch 11 as well. Now fast foward to today its sad to see places such as LAS and PIT get terminated if you will. but the bigger question is what will happen in the not to distant future and what will the iam due to protect the members after all we do pay them high dues!

I'm afraid without a new contract and improved language to protect the jobs we have there won't be much that can be done. With our current contract under "status quo" the hemorrhaging of jobs and closing of stations could continue in the not too distant future. Unfortunately, at the current pace of negotiations, a new contract seems a ways off. With the lack of communication on contract negotiations it's hard to guage if our Negotiating Committee is putting the emphasis on this issue that it deserves.
ograc

 

[Jester]

i totally agree that the agcs who are producing results for the memberships should be elected out of office. i was glad to see canale and tony and group go sometime after my original station got axed along with some 35 other cities. back in 2005 and the first ch 11 as well. Now fast foward to today its sad to see places such as LAS and PIT get terminated if you will. but the bigger question is what will happen in the not to distant future and what will the iam due to protect the members after all we do pay them high dues!

But let's keep it real... no one was going to prevent furloughs after the massive downsizing of both PIT and LAS. That is the one thing, I did like about the CBA was the 4 years of recall rights maintaining seniority and keeping the same hourly pay versus the 90 days previously where those things were lost.

However, you are right... the contracting of stations needs to stop and I think we need to remove the restriction of mainline only flights as being counted, especially to smaller stations. I look at some of these smaller stations and they are only two mainline flights a day from being contracted out, and that could be done with either RJs or larger aircraft or fewer flights. The minimum number of average weekly departures needs to be dropped, and the inclusion of RJs needs to be counted within non-hub stations. Even one flight a day could be handled with a part-time crew, as passenger bags will arrive hours before departure, loading the flight, and potential delays... 4 hour shift would cover it adequately.

We need to stop surrendering our smaller stations less we become an organization huddled in the large hubs with numerous non-hub stations sitting on a bubble... oh wait, we already are that.

So Proposes Jester.

 

[ograc]

But let's keep it real... no one was going to prevent furloughs after the massive downsizing of both PIT and LAS. That is the one thing, I did like about the CBA was the 4 years of recall rights maintaining seniority and keeping the same hourly pay versus the 90 days previously where those things were lost.

However, you are right... the contracting of stations needs to stop and I think we need to remove the restriction of mainline only flights as being counted, especially to smaller stations. I look at some of these smaller stations and they are only two mainline flights a day from being contracted out, and that could be done with either RJs or larger aircraft or fewer flights. The minimum number of average weekly departures needs to be dropped, and the inclusion of RJs needs to be counted within non-hub stations. Even one flight a day could be handled with a part-time crew, as passenger bags will arrive hours before departure, loading the flight, and potential delays... 4 hour shift would cover it adequately.

We need to stop surrendering our smaller stations less we become an organization huddled in the large hubs with numerous non-hub stations sitting on a bubble... oh wait, we already are that.

So Proposes Jester.

Jester,
You are absolutely right! The surrendering of fellow members' livelihoods and jobs needs to be stopped, or at the very least, drastically curtailed. The language in the current contract is a "sell out' of the job security of respective members in outline stations. It is, by it's very nature, a divisive issue among the membership. It puts the interests of members in large stations against the interests of members in outline stations. It needs to be addressed and rectified in current contract negotiations. Unfortunately, as I stated earlier, it may be too late for many. I'm not convinced the current Negotiating Committee sees the importance of this issue.
ograc

 

[ChockJockey]

Does anyone have a list of all of the stations that have been or are being farmed out since the TA was ratified? Or what the fleet staffing reductions have been at stations that are still mainline?

 

[wings396]

Does anyone have a list of all of the stations that have been or are being farmed out since the TA was ratified? Or what the fleet staffing reductions have been at stations that are still mainline?

Don't forget the 20+ that went away in 2005. The list from that is too long for me to remember anymore. As far as putting a stop to the outsourcing, it's pretty much too late for that. Now IF we can get some stations back, that would be an accomplishment. FWIW, does everyone here know that in order to get an outsourced station back, they need to reach 90 Mainline flts per week....Lose the station at 56, and need 90 to get it back... Anyone see something wrong with this picture? But then again, OUR IAM boys put their approval on it...

 

[ograc]

Don't forget the 20+ that went away in 2005. The list from that is too long for me to remember anymore. As far as putting a stop to the outsourcing, it's pretty much too late for that. Now IF we can get some stations back, that would be an accomplishment. FWIW, does everyone here know that in order to get an outsourced station back, they need to reach 90 Mainline flts per week....Lose the station at 56, and need 90 to get it back... Anyone see something wrong with this picture? But then again, OUR IAM boys put their approval on it...

wings396,
That they did. However, we as a membership ratified it, not seeing the potential threat to the membership. It's time to stop placing blame and focus on the true issues in our contract that need to be addressed and rectified. We need to learn from the history of our previous mistakes or we, our leadership and members, are destined to repeat them.
ograc