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IBT and United, Outsourcing…

February 21, 2013

The Teamsters claim they can stop the outsourcing of aircraft maintenance. But, where were the Teamsters when United held the big party to celebrate its 100th aircraft to undergo a heavy maintenance check at the Ameco maintenance repair hanger in Beijing, China?

This celebration took place in May 2011, well over a year ago. How many more heavy checks has the Teamsters allowed outsourced since then?

The Teamsters held a press conference in Tulsa on February 16. During this event, their representatives were asked whether the IBT had permitted “C” Checks and other heavy overhaul functions to be outsourced in its contract with United Airlines. The Teamsters denied they had done so which was not an accurate statement. In order to correct the record on this matter, we will review the history of the foreign outsourcing provisions in the United Mechanic and Related Agreement.

In 2003, after United declared bankruptcy and facing the threat of abrogation of its contract, the IAM agreed to ease the restrictions on outsourcing in its Mechanic and Related Agreement with United. The concessional contract allowed unrestricted outsourcing of heavy maintenance visits while retaining a 20 percent cap on outsourcing of all remaining maintenance work as measured by the sum of the Maintenance Operations Division’s gross annual budget, excluding the cost of heavy maintenance visits.
The IAM also retained its existing prohibition against outsourcing of regularly scheduled heavy maintenance overseas. Shortly after reaching this agreement, the IAM was decertified as the representative of mechanic and related at United and replaced by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, which had strongly criticized the IAM’s concessions on outsourcing.

In 2005 United negotiated a second round of concessions for its mechanics, this time with AMFA. In addition to major wage and benefit concessions, AMFA also agreed to continue to allow outsourcing of heavy maintenance visits “without restriction” except that the three C check lines of work “currently performed by Company employees in house at the San Francisco Maintenance Center will not be outsourced.” However, AMFA also agreed to lift the IAM’s restriction against performance of regularly scheduled heavy maintenance in non U.S. locations and allowed the Company’s 777 and 747 fleets to be outsourced to foreign repair facilities.

Despite the severity of these concessions, AMFA stated that its members had no choice but to accept them. “It’s a sad situation that we have to bear the brunt of mismanagement,” said O.V. Delle Femine, the AMFA’s National Director. “We had to accept it or let the judge do it. This was the lesser of two evils.”
In 2008 AMFA was decertified at United and replaced by the Teamsters. In 2011 the Teamsters, after the Company had been out of bankruptcy for several years, negotiated a new agreement. The Teamsters agreed to allow the Company to continue to have the unrestricted right to outsource heavy maintenance visits. However, the Teamsters also agreed not only to continue to allow the 777 and 747 fleets to be maintained at non U.S. locations, but expanded that authorization to include “current and future aircraft operating exclusively “ on routes outside the U.S.

When American Airlines filed for relief from its Mechanic and Related contract with the TWU it made a major issue of the fact that it operated under far more restrictions with respect to outsourcing, particularly outsourcing of heavy maintenance, than its competitors. The Company exploited this point for all it’s worth in front of the court and in bargaining and, in the end secured relief on this issue. Our bankruptcy agreement permits outsourcing of heavy checks, including to foreign facilities, but even in bankruptcy allows for far less outsourcing than any of AA’s competitors. We have two organizations that are campaigning in Tulsa to replace the TWU and are arguing that they can deal with outsourcing and the threat of overseas maintenance more effectively than we can. The simple fact is that every mechanic contract either of these organizations have ever signed, in or out of bankruptcy, permits far more outsourcing than we permit, even operating under a bankruptcy contract. If you want to fight outsourcing you need to stick with the TWU.

In Solidarity,

CIO
 
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If you want to fight outsourcing you need to stick with the TWU.

I've said it before: If the AA mechanics and related don't evict the TWU, they deserve everything that happens to them from that point forward.

Fire the worthless union. Send its stooges back to the floor.
 
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Wow, Do you really think this drive to get rid of TWU is about outsourcing? While all of these unions are guilty of allowing outsourcing. We are last in the industry in pay and benefits. Save your comments, the TWU days are numbered. We'll see you on the floor soon.

Can you answer a question for me? Why do the vast majority of the AA AMT's want to get rid of this union? Do you really think it's because they can't save jobs?

GO AMFA!!!!
 
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Wow, Do you really think this drive to get rid of TWU is about outsourcing? While all of these unions are guilty of allowing outsourcing. We are last in the industry in pay and benefits. Save your comments, the TWU days are numbered. We'll see you on the floor soon.

Can you answer a question for me? Why do the vast majority of the AA AMT's want to get rid of this union? Do you really think it's because they can't save jobs?

GO AMFA!!!!

Vast Majority, Give me a Break! Reality is much different!!!

In Solidarity,

CIO
 
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Vast Majority, Give me a Break! Reality is much different!!!

In Solidarity,

CIO

Kevin let me get this right. Jim Little brings one of the most corrupt unions there is on the property to stop the AMFA card drive started by its members due to the twus own corruption. Now that little jimmy informed tulsa that he is being double crossed by hoffa he is starting to attack the ibt out spite. Sounds to me that there is no honor among thieves.
 
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Yeah VAST majority if you look at all the cards signed by IBT and AMFA there is way more than a majority, dumb###. Cant wait till next week and you retire by by and good riddance
 
Yeah VAST majority if you look at all the cards signed by IBT and AMFA there is way more than a majority, dumb###. Cant wait till next week and you retire by by and good riddance
Him and Mary "got theirs, brother", and you paid for it.
 
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Comparing The TWU Bankruptcy M&R Agreement To Other Unions

February 22, 2013

Since November 2011, we have been forced to respond to AMR’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This is obviously not the first time that an airline used bankruptcy to abrogate labor agreements. Managements at United, America West, US Airways, Northwest Airlines, Continental, Frontier, and Delta have all taken labor unions to federal bankruptcy court to break promises on pensions, slash wages, cut benefits, and outsource work. Labor has been blamed for the industry’s woes for many years. We all know that management at airlines have a long history of using labor as a scapegoat to cover their own failures. As long as the bankruptcy laws exist in their present form, unions and their members will continue to get hammered and no work group has escaped this process without significant and unfair sacrifice. . With this in mind, the TWU-ATD leadership wanted to spend some time to review how the TWU 2012 M&R agreement compared to others negotiated under the 1113c bankruptcy process.

United and AMFA

United (UAL) was in particularly bad financial shape already before the tragic events of 9/11. All the unions on the property had participated in a heavily leveraged buyout and UAL had very little left to borrow against. When the bankruptcy (BK) process started, UAL’s M&R employees were represented by the IAM. The M&R membership voted down a proposed agreement negotiated by the IAM to avoid bankruptcy. After the Company filed for Chapter 11, the IAM continued to negotiate with UAL under bankruptcy law and was forced to sign on to a much worse M&R agreement than the rejected proposal. This proposal included cuts in pay and premiums, retiree medical, and substantial modification of outsourcing restrictions. AMFA decertified the IAM immediately after these concessions were approved. Two years later the Company filed for further relief in Bankruptcy Court and AMFA agreed to an additional 3.9% in pay cuts, further relaxation of restrictions against outsourcing (including the elimination of the IAM’s restrictions against foreign maintenance), termination of the defined benefit pension plan, as well as other benefit concessions. The contract provided for increases of a 7.5% after the pay cut over the term of the 6.7 year contract. In the end over 7,300 M&R members lost their jobs during the course of the UAL bankruptcy (60% headcount reduction) with no early out package.

US Airways and the IAM

The IAM represents the M&R employees at US Airways and the company went through two BK’s prior to September 2005 and its merger with America West. M&R suffered two pay cuts of 6.8% and 8.0%, off of rates that were near the bottom of the industry, as well as benefit cuts and termination of the pension plan. All 757, 767, and A330 heavy airframe overhaul was outsourced, all facilities work except for three stations was outsourced. After these cuts there was an 8% raise over the term of the 7.5-year contract. There with a loss of 1,500 M&R jobs (30% headcount reduction) with no early out.

Northwest and AMFA

What happened at Northwest (NWA) was an epic disaster for M&R. NWA prepared for a strike by training scabs at various private facilities and then sought a release from the NMB shortly after the amendable date of its agreement with AMFA. AMFA concurred in the request and struck at the end of the cooling off period. NWA filed for bankruptcy shortly afterwards. When the strike ended, AMFA signed on to a back to work agreement in which NWA M&R suffered 25.7% pay cut, outsourcing was unlimited with all overhaul and all but two line stations outsourced. All facilities, ground support, and cleaning functions were also outsourced. The pension plan was frozen and many other retiree benefits were eliminated. The AMFA represented workforce had been reduced from 10,000 at the time AMFA negotiated its first contract with NWA to approximately 4200 at the time of the strike. By the time of NWA’s merger with Delta there were less than 1,000 AMFA represented mechanics on NWA property,
.
Delta with no union for M&R

Delta (DAL) also filed BK at the same time NWA did, but since M&R employees had no representation management was free to do what they wanted. Wages were cut by at least 20% and all airframe overhaul was outsourced. There was no early out for the thousands who lost their jobs. DAL has since entered into a joint venture with Aeromexico to add heavy airframe maintenance capacity to cover all DAL wide-body aircraft in addition to all narrow-body work.

American and the TWU

In 2011 American (AAL) became the last legacy airline to enter BK. The TWU had already made significant concessions out of bankruptcy in 2003, but not with respect to outsourcing or pension. The TWU knew it was faced with a very difficult negotiations process in BK since almost all TWU labor groups, the APA, and the APFA had all been involved in normal negotiations for over five years with little progress. AMR demanded very severe changes to the TWU M&R labor agreement and argued to the court that its commitment to in house overhaul was a major competitive disadvantage. AAL wanted to outsource up to 45% of maintenance spend on top of that work which was already outsourced (approximately 10%), terminate the pension plan and turn it over to the PBGC as at UAL, and provide no buy out for the 4,500 that would lose their jobs.

The TWU negotiated for months and after two rejected contracts, reached an agreement. In contrast to other unions, the TWU succeeded, in:

1) Retaining significant limits on outsourcing, capping it at 35% of labor and material spend (the most accurate measure of jobs lost due to outsourcing);

2) Freezing rather than terminating the pension with all accrued benefits preserved with no reduction;

3) Job cuts were initially reduced below 2,300, and with the early out package of up to $39,500 for each employee leaving voluntarily, the final job losses were less than 400, and;

4) A 6 year contract with a provision to open two years early, and a union/industry first automatic wage adjustment requiring pay to snap up to industry standard by 2015. This wage adjustment will provide M&R members with significant pay raises on top of the 15% negotiated during the 6 year term of the contract. No union, not AMFA, the IBT, or the IAM has negotiated raises of 15% plus an industry standard wage adjustment on top in an agreement inside or outside BK except the TWU.

By any objective standard, these terms, however difficult, are better than any negotiated in bankruptcy for a mechanic and related group since 9/11. More jobs, preservation of existing pension benefits, the lowest outsourcing in the industry, and pay raises two times that secured by other unions dealing with bankruptcy. Our members deserve better than what the Company has offered, but our Union has clearly made the best of a bad situation.

In Solidarity,

CIO
 
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Let me list what else the TWU has succeeded in doing.

1) Gave up 2 weeks of my vacation since 2003.
2) Gave up my P.V.'s
3) Gave up job security
4) Gave up my right to bid any crew chief slot anywhere in the system. (seniority violation)
5) Gave up O.T. and F.T. rules, (we'll negotiate that later) what a joke!!
6) Gave up profit sharing
7) Gave up prefunding

I can keep listing them but I don't to be typing all night.

CIO stop wasting your time the TWU Is done!!


GO AMFA!!!
 
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That's just the way this industry is and will continue to be. Whether it's pilot's or AME's etc. airlines will go to whoever will do it cheaper. If the unions don't like it, that's fine.......go Chapter 11 and start over with the contracts.
 
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Comparing The TWU Bankruptcy M&R Agreement To Other Unions

February 22, 2013

Since November 2011, we have been forced to respond to AMR’s decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. This is obviously not the first time that an airline used bankruptcy to abrogate labor agreements. Managements at United, America West, US Airways, Northwest Airlines, Continental, Frontier, and Delta have all taken labor unions to federal bankruptcy court to break promises on pensions, slash wages, cut benefits, and outsource work. Labor has been blamed for the industry’s woes for many years. We all know that management at airlines have a long history of using labor as a scapegoat to cover their own failures. As long as the bankruptcy laws exist in their present form, unions and their members will continue to get hammered and no work group has escaped this process without significant and unfair sacrifice. . With this in mind, the TWU-ATD leadership wanted to spend some time to review how the TWU 2012 M&R agreement compared to others negotiated under the 1113c bankruptcy process.

United and AMFA

United (UAL) was in particularly bad financial shape already before the tragic events of 9/11. All the unions on the property had participated in a heavily leveraged buyout and UAL had very little left to borrow against. When the bankruptcy (BK) process started, UAL’s M&R employees were represented by the IAM. The M&R membership voted down a proposed agreement negotiated by the IAM to avoid bankruptcy. After the Company filed for Chapter 11, the IAM continued to negotiate with UAL under bankruptcy law and was forced to sign on to a much worse M&R agreement than the rejected proposal. This proposal included cuts in pay and premiums, retiree medical, and substantial modification of outsourcing restrictions. AMFA decertified the IAM immediately after these concessions were approved. Two years later the Company filed for further relief in Bankruptcy Court and AMFA agreed to an additional 3.9% in pay cuts, further relaxation of restrictions against outsourcing (including the elimination of the IAM’s restrictions against foreign maintenance), termination of the defined benefit pension plan, as well as other benefit concessions. The contract provided for increases of a 7.5% after the pay cut over the term of the 6.7 year contract. In the end over 7,300 M&R members lost their jobs during the course of the UAL bankruptcy (60% headcount reduction) with no early out package.

US Airways and the IAM

The IAM represents the M&R employees at US Airways and the company went through two BK’s prior to September 2005 and its merger with America West. M&R suffered two pay cuts of 6.8% and 8.0%, off of rates that were near the bottom of the industry, as well as benefit cuts and termination of the pension plan. All 757, 767, and A330 heavy airframe overhaul was outsourced, all facilities work except for three stations was outsourced. After these cuts there was an 8% raise over the term of the 7.5-year contract. There with a loss of 1,500 M&R jobs (30% headcount reduction) with no early out.

Northwest and AMFA

What happened at Northwest (NWA) was an epic disaster for M&R. NWA prepared for a strike by training scabs at various private facilities and then sought a release from the NMB shortly after the amendable date of its agreement with AMFA. AMFA concurred in the request and struck at the end of the cooling off period. NWA filed for bankruptcy shortly afterwards. When the strike ended, AMFA signed on to a back to work agreement in which NWA M&R suffered 25.7% pay cut, outsourcing was unlimited with all overhaul and all but two line stations outsourced. All facilities, ground support, and cleaning functions were also outsourced. The pension plan was frozen and many other retiree benefits were eliminated. The AMFA represented workforce had been reduced from 10,000 at the time AMFA negotiated its first contract with NWA to approximately 4200 at the time of the strike. By the time of NWA’s merger with Delta there were less than 1,000 AMFA represented mechanics on NWA property,
.
Delta with no union for M&R

Delta (DAL) also filed BK at the same time NWA did, but since M&R employees had no representation management was free to do what they wanted. Wages were cut by at least 20% and all airframe overhaul was outsourced. There was no early out for the thousands who lost their jobs. DAL has since entered into a joint venture with Aeromexico to add heavy airframe maintenance capacity to cover all DAL wide-body aircraft in addition to all narrow-body work.

American and the TWU

In 2011 American (AAL) became the last legacy airline to enter BK. The TWU had already made significant concessions out of bankruptcy in 2003, but not with respect to outsourcing or pension. The TWU knew it was faced with a very difficult negotiations process in BK since almost all TWU labor groups, the APA, and the APFA had all been involved in normal negotiations for over five years with little progress. AMR demanded very severe changes to the TWU M&R labor agreement and argued to the court that its commitment to in house overhaul was a major competitive disadvantage. AAL wanted to outsource up to 45% of maintenance spend on top of that work which was already outsourced (approximately 10%), terminate the pension plan and turn it over to the PBGC as at UAL, and provide no buy out for the 4,500 that would lose their jobs.

The TWU negotiated for months and after two rejected contracts, reached an agreement. In contrast to other unions, the TWU succeeded, in:

1) Retaining significant limits on outsourcing, capping it at 35% of labor and material spend (the most accurate measure of jobs lost due to outsourcing);

2) Freezing rather than terminating the pension with all accrued benefits preserved with no reduction;

3) Job cuts were initially reduced below 2,300, and with the early out package of up to $39,500 for each employee leaving voluntarily, the final job losses were less than 400, and;

4) A 6 year contract with a provision to open two years early, and a union/industry first automatic wage adjustment requiring pay to snap up to industry standard by 2015. This wage adjustment will provide M&R members with significant pay raises on top of the 15% negotiated during the 6 year term of the contract. No union, not AMFA, the IBT, or the IAM has negotiated raises of 15% plus an industry standard wage adjustment on top in an agreement inside or outside BK except the TWU.

By any objective standard, these terms, however difficult, are better than any negotiated in bankruptcy for a mechanic and related group since 9/11. More jobs, preservation of existing pension benefits, the lowest outsourcing in the industry, and pay raises two times that secured by other unions dealing with bankruptcy. Our members deserve better than what the Company has offered, but our Union has clearly made the best of a bad situation.

In Solidarity,

CIO

Where in the hell do you get your information from??? The NWA info is way off. The UAL info is way off. The Delta and US Info, I am not sure of. CIO, the TWU is gone from AA soon. Stop the lies to try and save them, you are only helping the AMFA drive. Forget I said that, carry on with your ramblings...
 
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I cant wait for the TWU to be gone...i will celebrate all night every night for 30 days.....Bye Bye TWU I hate YOU.....Go AMFA
 
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Let me list what else the TWU has succeeded in doing.

1) Gave up 2 weeks of my vacation since 2003.
2) Gave up my P.V.'s
3) Gave up job security
4) Gave up my right to bid any crew chief slot anywhere in the system. (seniority violation)
5) Gave up O.T. and F.T. rules, (we'll negotiate that later) what a joke!!
6) Gave up profit sharing
7) Gave up prefunding

I can keep listing them but I don't to be typing all night.

CIO stop wasting your time the TWU Is done!!


GO AMFA!!!
Don't forget about giving away half of our holidays!
 
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Don't forget about giving away half of our holidays!

Please, allow me to continue with what the twu has accomplished for AAs AMTs:
SK time accrual - cut from 12 days per year earned to only 5.
SK pay - cut from full pay on first day to half pay on first day - down from two days at half pay only recently.
Longevity pay - gone completely
Shift differential - cut by 95%
Company uniforms - allotment cut in half, and no longer washed.

Even this raise we are supposed to get is shorting AA AMTs, since it's only based on base pay (no license pay included). Let's face it, license pay is a large component of our hourly wage. Over the years, there are so many examples of how these communist parasites that make up the TWU international have screwed the AMTs at AA - it boggles the mind to think that anybody at AA in the M&R group could support these TWU scumbags.
 
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