I'm ready to go AMFA

[proAMT]

It’s about using our skills and intellect to protect our craft.

It’s about establishing industry standards for the good of everyone involved.

It’s about protecting our futures as well as looking out for one another.

When aircraft maintenance technicians decide to act together and form one single entity unpredictable variables will become predictable. No longer will one carrier gain an unfair advantage on the backs of its skilled professionals and the rest of the industry’s skilled professionals. No longer will other carriers be forced into cutting wages and benefits of its skilled professionals in order to compete with the current airline which owns the labor cost advantage over the rest of the industry. Until we aviation maintenance professionals unite we will find ourselves in a never-ending race to the bottom.

Our strength is not in numbers our strength is in our knowledge, skills and experience.

Work together as a single entity or continue to be picked apart…your decision.


Let’s defend our future

Let’s defend our industry

Let’s establish industry standards in labor costs, benefits and practices in order to control unpredictable variables for the good of the industry and craft

Let’s use our strength…our knowledge of hydraulics, our knowledge of pneumatics, our knowledge of aviation electronics, our knowledge of sheet metal and composites, our knowledge of aerodynamics, our knowledge of aviation as a whole to make our airline, industry and our craft safe and secure for the future.

People with these kinds of skill sets are not a dime a dozen. Let’s work to improve ourselves with purpose. Our skills make us worth the cost-we are better and in the long run less expensive than the alternative.

We’ve tried the other approach I am ready to align myself with the skilled technicians at Alaska and Southwest and the others to follow. Join me

Dennis Hayes
SEA

 

[Realityck]

When aircraft maintenance technicians decide to act together and form one single entity unpredictable variables will become predictable. No longer will one carrier gain an unfair advantage on the backs of its skilled professionals and the rest of the industry’s skilled professionals. No longer will other carriers be forced into cutting wages and benefits of its skilled professionals in order to compete with the current airline which owns the labor cost advantage over the rest of the industry. Until we aviation maintenance professionals unite we will find ourselves in a never-ending race to the bottom.

Our strength is not in numbers our strength is in our knowledge, skills and experience.


You mean like the Pilots?

 

[TWU informer]

What happened or is still happening with AMFA at every one of those carriers is different so why do the industrial unionist try to use those stories as a tool against AMFA?

What happened at Northwest is not what happened and United.
What happened at United is not what happened at Alaska.
Ect, ect, ect,

WE THE MEMBERS will write our own story with AMFA at American Airlines and it will be a different story than each of those other stories.

And if the AMT's of this industry ever pull their heads out and get everyone into ONE union, the airline management will stop using one industrial union concessions against the others. The AMFA idea has not failed because it has not been tried. And as long as fools fail to grasp that concept then the industrial unions will keep us divided into different unions, as in IBT,TWU,IAM, AMFA and airline management will continue to use that divide as a mean to decimate this profession. Meanwhile we all fight amongst ourselves, blame each other, or one of the unions and we never try the simple idea of everyone getting into ONE UNION!

Before deregulation of the Airline Industry, AMT's being in seperate industrial unions was successful because the Government regulated pricing and landing slots. Each of the Industrial Unions would leap frog over the other unions in negotiations, constantly making pay and benefit gains and increasing the size of the work force. Since the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act, the Airline Management has reveresed that history and now we are in a race to the bottom in every aspect of those past gains, with management using the concessions of each industrial union as a tool to reduce the cost a their Airline.

Because we are idiots and remain divided and continously fighting with each other and blaming each others union, the Airline Management sits back and enjoys stomping our asses in the ground. This is why card drives for change keeping popping up at every carrier in the industry over and over and over.

Maybe someday, before it is too late, we will be smart enough to understand the AMFA idea of ALL MECHANICS in a single CRAFT UNION where every dollar,dime, and penny along with every thought of every second of everyday is SPENT advancing and protecting this profession.

AMT's like yourself are against the idea, yet it has never been tried.

AMT's like yourself claim the idea has already failed, yet is has never been tried.

AMT's like yourself advocate the status quo of representation which has represented the MAJORITY of this profession for over 60 years....and that has been tried and has FAILED.

Think about that and get back with me....

 

[Jager]

I agree... It's time.... But we might have to wait till they shut T-town down and purge the unworthy..

 

[iluvaa]

Shut us down I'm a no voter but could careless anymore ready for mingo

 

[lineguy43]

When aircraft maintenance technicians decide to act together and form one single entity unpredictable variables will become predictable. No longer will one carrier gain an unfair advantage on the backs of its skilled professionals and the rest of the industry’s skilled professionals. No longer will other carriers be forced into cutting wages and benefits of its skilled professionals in order to compete with the current airline which owns the labor cost advantage over the rest of the industry. Until we aviation maintenance professionals unite we will find ourselves in a never-ending race to the bottom.

Our strength is not in numbers our strength is in our knowledge, skills and experience.


You mean like the Pilots?

Yeah RealDick like the pilots...Don't know how your boys at AA will fair but most times pilots get what they want. Guys like you are so pathetic. I hope for your sake you are a paid Twu stooge and not so stupid to see how the Twu has screwed you AMT's at AA for as long as I can remember. I remember in the early to mid 80's AA actually had a C scale not to mention that you guys at AA were the inventors of the B scale. I think at that time it was 12 years to top out. I had two friends who were at AA at that time they bailed and went to NWA and topped out in 18 months. You guys have the one of the most pitiful track records in regards to mechanic pay and benefits without benefit of bankruptcy. Like I said hope your on the Twu payroll because anyone defending their record has to be brain damaged.

 

[swamt]

Yeah RealDick like the pilots...Don't know how your boys at AA will fair but most times pilots get what they want. Guys like you are so pathetic. I hope for your sake you are a paid Twu stooge and not so stupid to see how the Twu has screwed you AMT's at AA for as long as I can remember. I remember in the early to mid 80's AA actually had a C scale not to mention that you guys at AA were the inventors of the B scale. I think at that time it was 12 years to top out. I had two friends who were at AA at that time they bailed and went to NWA and topped out in 18 months. You guys have the one of the most pitiful track records in regards to mechanic pay and benefits without benefit of bankruptcy. Like I said hope your on the Twu payroll because anyone defending their record has to be brain damaged.

Like I have said before. Realityck needs a reality check for himself. Yes, he is brain dead. It's very obvious...

 

[TWU informer]

Like I have said before. Realityck needs a reality check for himself. Yes, he is brain dead. It's very obvious...

He is protecting an appointed postition. Simple as that.
Blinded by the cult and fear of losing his position that he never earned to begin with.

 

[exs]

When aircraft maintenance technicians decide to act together and form one single entity unpredictable variables will become predictable. No longer will one carrier gain an unfair advantage on the backs of its skilled professionals and the rest of the industry’s skilled professionals. No longer will other carriers be forced into cutting wages and benefits of its skilled professionals in order to compete with the current airline which owns the labor cost advantage over the rest of the industry. Until we aviation maintenance professionals unite we will find ourselves in a never-ending race to the bottom.

Our strength is not in numbers our strength is in our knowledge, skills and experience.


You mean like the Pilots?

Yes and the TWU is our anchor to bottom!!

Notice how these TWU stooges always make comments knowing that it will never happen.

Its like saying the TWU will negotiate a Industry Leading Contract for its members and I know for sure that will never happen!

Go Amfa!!

 

[CactUSmx]

Go AMFA!!! I'm a TWU screwed victim and I will celebrate with you guys on the day AA AMT's rid the TWU...

 

[Realityck]

Lineguy43 - Yeah RealDick like the pilots...Don't know how your boys at AA will fair but most times pilots get what they want. I remember in the early to mid 80's AA actually had a C scale not to mention that you guys at AA were the inventors of the B scale. I think at that time it was 12 years to top out.

The B-Scale Plague

American Airlines adopted the benchmark B-scale in 1983, permanently reducing pay for newly hired pilots by 50 percent. In fact, under the AA system—negotiated while the Seham firm sat on the labor side of the table—pay rates and pensions for new employees would never merge with those of then-current employees.

Martin Seham wrote proudly of this accomplishment in Cleared for Takeoff: Airline Labor Relations Since Deregulation.

As general counsel to the Allied Pilots Association (APA), the independent certified representative of the American Airlines pilots, I was close to the negotiations that resulted, in 1983, in the earliest realization of the two-tier system. APA was not faced with an insolvent or failing carrier; it was, however, forced to deal with an economic environment that had changed dramatically because of the effects of deregulation and was, by virtue of its independence, mandated to reach an agreement consistent with the needs and objectives of its constituency. — Martin C. Seham

Although B-scales were not a new concept, their initial format was unique to the airline industry. Following American’s lead, other airlines began to demand similar packages—forcing the entire airline labor movement into a new era of concessions. Good for management; bad for pilots, flight attendants, mechanics, and all of the airline industry’s workers.

While ALPA pilots were forced to deal with this blight brought to the industry by APA and the Sehams, not one ALPA pilot group accepted a non-merging two-tier scale. The clearest example of this was the ALPA strike at United in June 1985, when the pilots refused to agree to a non-merging two-tier pay scale.

There was no AMT C scale and no AMT I recall ever spent more than 7.5 years in progression to top rate.



I had two friends who were at AA at that time they bailed and went to NWA and topped out in 18 months.

Are they still working for NWA. Oh I forgot, AMFA got baited into a management orchestrated strike and the AMT headcount dropped from nearly 8,000 to less than 800. After that victory, AMFA requested decertification as the NWA AMT representative.

 

[odie01]

All,

We have met with Bob Kirk to receive an update about yesterday’s meeting concerning the upcoming Reduction in Force at AFW. After the update there seems to be more questions than answers. It also appears that the company has planned to take even more than what has been given up already in the new “agreement” through their interpretation of the “new agreement”. We have called to meet with ATD Representative Don Videtich to clarify some of the information and what is going to be done to stop the company from trying to further violate our members. Here is what we have so far.

As far as the “One City Shuffle”, AFW is not a part of that process, this only applies to the stations that have a One Station Agreement, the company is using this term to more or less Red Circle the TAESL operation. As far as AFW is concerned, the plan is to let people move either into or out of TAESL voluntarily. If you move out of TAESL, you will be considered part of Aircraft Overhaul and will be part of the AFW RIF. Those that stay in TAESL will only be subject to the RIF if they are part of the system juniority pool and wind up being bumped. The plan is to make TAESL a completely separate station after the one time movement of people in or out of TAESL. TAESL would not be considered part of AFW and allow a hangar person to bump a less senior person and stay at AFW unless they are listed as part of the system juniority pool. The question that remains to be answered is how many people will be allowed to leave or go into TAESL and what if more want to stay in TAESL than TAESL plans to keep, what then? We are currently working as a board on the best way to try and stop this obvious violation of our contractual rights. This is all suppose to happen between September 17-24, but no one has said how this is supposed to happen, again more questions than answers.

It was also stated that anyone who bumps into Type 8 work (overhaul) will have to test if going into a different shop than you are currently qualified. The same is true for anyone who comes into TAESL, they would have to pass the qualifying test. This again is not nor has it been required. There is no language that states you must qualify in order to bump into Type 8 work. This is an attempt to limit the amount of people who either bump into TAESL, DWH or TUL, again there is no language to support the company’s position. The target date to have all the testing done is October 12th, good luck doing that. There are also plans to make the current A25 line test 100 questions to chose from instead of the current 25 questions. This again is another attempt to try and fail as many employees as possible during the test so that you will not be able to exercise your seniority to bump a less senior line mechanic.

All bid jobs that have not been filled (by filled that means the person has already reported) will be wiped clean as of October 8. After the RIF has been completed any bid positions that are still required will be reposted for bid.

As for the movement of work from AFW to DFW/DWH, the plan is not only to move the Coffee/Oven, Slide and Battery shops, the company plans on moving the OSMs in those shops with the work. Again this is another clear violation of the agreement by the company. Without a one station agreement with DWH, you cannot just move the employees with the work, all you can do is RIF those employees and make those vacancies available during the RIF at the new station.

There is another meeting scheduled to be held concerning all of this next Monday September 17. Our hope as a board is that we will receive the needed support from the International to stop this blatant disregard for our contractual rights, what’s left of them anyway. As we get better information, we will get it out as fast as possible. I apologize for not having more answers, but this is all we have for now.


Respectfully,

KP

Kenneth E. Powell
Section Vice President Aircraft Maintenance
Air Transport Local 567

 

[unionguy1]

Enjoyed my time in Tulsa this past weekend. Great speakers,good people. Thanks to all who attended the AMFA informational meetings.

 

[odie01]

All,

We have met with Bob Kirk to receive an update about yesterday’s meeting concerning the upcoming Reduction in Force at AFW. After the update there seems to be more questions than answers. It also appears that the company has planned to take even more than what has been given up already in the new “agreement” through their interpretation of the “new agreement”. We have called to meet with ATD Representative Don Videtich to clarify some of the information and what is going to be done to stop the company from trying to further violate our members. Here is what we have so far.

As far as the “One City Shuffle”, AFW is not a part of that process, this only applies to the stations that have a One Station Agreement, the company is using this term to more or less Red Circle the TAESL operation. As far as AFW is concerned, the plan is to let people move either into or out of TAESL voluntarily. If you move out of TAESL, you will be considered part of Aircraft Overhaul and will be part of the AFW RIF. Those that stay in TAESL will only be subject to the RIF if they are part of the system juniority pool and wind up being bumped. The plan is to make TAESL a completely separate station after the one time movement of people in or out of TAESL. TAESL would not be considered part of AFW and allow a hangar person to bump a less senior person and stay at AFW unless they are listed as part of the system juniority pool. The question that remains to be answered is how many people will be allowed to leave or go into TAESL and what if more want to stay in TAESL than TAESL plans to keep, what then? We are currently working as a board on the best way to try and stop this obvious violation of our contractual rights. This is all suppose to happen between September 17-24, but no one has said how this is supposed to happen, again more questions than answers.

It was also stated that anyone who bumps into Type 8 work (overhaul) will have to test if going into a different shop than you are currently qualified. The same is true for anyone who comes into TAESL, they would have to pass the qualifying test. This again is not nor has it been required. There is no language that states you must qualify in order to bump into Type 8 work. This is an attempt to limit the amount of people who either bump into TAESL, DWH or TUL, again there is no language to support the company’s position. The target date to have all the testing done is October 12th, good luck doing that. There are also plans to make the current A25 line test 100 questions to chose from instead of the current 25 questions. This again is another attempt to try and fail as many employees as possible during the test so that you will not be able to exercise your seniority to bump a less senior line mechanic.

All bid jobs that have not been filled (by filled that means the person has already reported) will be wiped clean as of October 8. After the RIF has been completed any bid positions that are still required will be reposted for bid.

As for the movement of work from AFW to DFW/DWH, the plan is not only to move the Coffee/Oven, Slide and Battery shops, the company plans on moving the OSMs in those shops with the work. Again this is another clear violation of the agreement by the company. Without a one station agreement with DWH, you cannot just move the employees with the work, all you can do is RIF those employees and make those vacancies available during the RIF at the new station.

There is another meeting scheduled to be held concerning all of this next Monday September 17. Our hope as a board is that we will receive the needed support from the International to stop this blatant disregard for our contractual rights, what’s left of them anyway. As we get better information, we will get it out as fast as possible. I apologize for not having more answers, but this is all we have for now.


Respectfully,

KP

Kenneth E. Powell
Section Vice President Aircraft Maintenance
Air Transport Local 567

All,



It seems this email has perked up a few ears at the International. We are waiting to have a conference call with Don V who claims that what Bob conveyed to us is 90% wrong, problem is the documents from the meeting say otherwise. Stay tuned, I will let you know the “spin”, I mine the clarification. Hold on kiddies, this maybe a bumpy ride!



KP




Kenneth E. Powell
Section Vice President Aircraft Maintenance
Air Transport Local 567
Transport Workers Union of America AFL-CIO

 

[JetMech321]

I am a AMFA supporter here in the west at "Sand Castle Central". The comment gets made to me is people like AMFA but they feel they have no "Teeth" as far as it comes to bargaining and lobby power with goverment. Can anyone help provide a rebutle to this statement.

My hope is in the event of the merger. That AA has secured AMFA for there representation and have to vote on which union represents the new AA. You now dam well that the IAM is puching US Airways to get a new contract before the merger