POLL Mechanic and Related
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NMB
WASHINGTON--([background=transparent]BUSINESS WIRE[/background]
)-- The National Mediation Board (NMB) today announced the dates for the representation election to be conducted for the Mechanic & Related class and craft at US Airways. Mechanic & Related employees at the carrier are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The NMB will mail voting instructions to eligible voters on July 8, 2013.
"The Teamsters have a history of promising long and delivering short," said IAM General Vice President Sito Pantoja. "More than $3 million of Teamster [background=transparent]members'[/background]
dues money is spent on federal oversight due to corruption. US Airways Mechanic and Related employees deserve an industry-leading contract, which the IAM will secure. They don't deserve to be lied to by the Teamsters and have their pensions and job-security jeopardized."
The votes will be tabulated and the results announced at 2 pm on August 12, 2013 at NMB headquarters in Washington, DC.
"IAM Mechanic and Related workers at US Airways have a lot to defend and a lot to lose in this election, including their pensions and job-security. The Machinists Union has already guaranteed the seniority and protected the pensions of IAM members at US Airways and the merger with American Airlines hasn’t even been concluded," said IAM District 142 President Tom Higginbotham. "The Teamsters have done nothing for aircraft mechanics. No pension, no caps on outsourcing to China, much higher dues and no union democracy. IAM members deserve better."
The IAM represents approximately 5,000 Mechanic and Related workers at US Airways and is the largest airline union in North America.
Announces Dates for US Airways Mechanic Election
WASHINGTON--([background=transparent]BUSINESS WIRE[/background]
)-- The National Mediation Board (NMB) today announced the dates for the representation election to be conducted for the Mechanic & Related class and craft at US Airways. Mechanic & Related employees at the carrier are represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM). The NMB will mail voting instructions to eligible voters on July 8, 2013."The Teamsters have a history of promising long and delivering short," said IAM General Vice President Sito Pantoja. "More than $3 million of Teamster [background=transparent]members'[/background]
dues money is spent on federal oversight due to corruption. US Airways Mechanic and Related employees deserve an industry-leading contract, which the IAM will secure. They don't deserve to be lied to by the Teamsters and have their pensions and job-security jeopardized."The votes will be tabulated and the results announced at 2 pm on August 12, 2013 at NMB headquarters in Washington, DC.
"IAM Mechanic and Related workers at US Airways have a lot to defend and a lot to lose in this election, including their pensions and job-security. The Machinists Union has already guaranteed the seniority and protected the pensions of IAM members at US Airways and the merger with American Airlines hasn’t even been concluded," said IAM District 142 President Tom Higginbotham. "The Teamsters have done nothing for aircraft mechanics. No pension, no caps on outsourcing to China, much higher dues and no union democracy. IAM members deserve better."
The IAM represents approximately 5,000 Mechanic and Related workers at US Airways and is the largest airline union in North America.
Announces Dates for US Airways Mechanic Election
Real tired
Veteran
2 votes so far for "no representation".
It's got to be a joke. Who could be that dense?
Oh well. We're really going to be "confused" this time.
It's got to be a joke. Who could be that dense?
Oh well. We're really going to be "confused" this time.
Tim Nelson
Veteran
IMO, the IAM is in a real jam. Nobody knows what the "Association" means and how its constitution can change at a minutes notice since it only has two members. The association can be a good thing but a lot of trust will have to be put on the TWU and IAM president to do the 'right thing' since it alone will hold the NMB certification if the IAM and TWU join in marriage. A real mess indeed for the US AIRWAYS Mechanics. Without the association and unpredictabilities, the IAM may have been in the forefront. regards,
And we all know how much the mechanics trust those guys, or anybody else for the matter.
The IAM is Toast as far as Mechanics.
Tim Nelson
Veteran
IMO, the TWU might have been the frontrunner at AMR with its current position, but coming up with a 'association' that is nothing more than 2 members who can change their constitution at any given moment without a vote has really put a big question over who exactly is going to represent this group if the 'association' is birthed? I mean, the two page Q & A that the TWU/IAM put together was juvenile and avoided the very very big elephant in the room, i.e., THE CERTIFICATION! The Association is going to be the one certified, NOT the TWU, Not the IAM. Those certifications are like landing slots. They are worth millions. Unions have traded certifications with new affiliations all the time and the membership doesn't have a say. Not saying that is how it will play out but "The Juice" is in the certification. The Association will call all the shots. I just don't think it's smart to use a certification to barter with, and this certification will not have any membership imput since it will be held with a ghost union that, by constitution, only will have 2 members. Maybe after these representational elections, the IAM or the TWU member in the association strikes a deal and hands over the certification to the other union. The problem with that is it will have no mechanics consent. Yikes!
1AA
Veteran
I can not tell you how to vote but do your research on the Teamsters before you hit that knee jerk reaction by voting the Teamsters. From my experience the TWU really sucks but after I spent some time researching the Teamsters they really, really suck more than the TWU. The IAM is a better choice if you have a choice between the two.
You can also use your WRITE IN choice on your ballot and write in "AMFA".
Avoid the Teamsters, you will be better off in the long run.
TRAVIS
Veteran
TIM / BOB My station is 90% IBT... TOO LITTLE TOO LATE FOR THE IAM/TWU COALITION..
HAVE A NICE IBT DAY.... B)
pjirish317
Veteran
- Sep 21, 2007
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You guys do realize that the Association does not even exist yet. The vote will be between the IAM and the IBT ONLY. The Association only comes to fruition if/when the merger happens.
I know that no one is happy with it. Not M&R not Fleet. At AA the numbers are fairly even as far as the size of the two groups, they would have been better off saying "ok you take M&R and we will take Fleet. The Presidents I know in Fleet read the agreement, basically everyone is still appointed and they even took more say away from the elected people. Both Unions screwed up, they should have at least worked with the people the members elected and sought their input, but as usual they did not, they cooked up a deal that was best for them and their positions. They should be happy that the IBT didnt go after everyone. A union can be heavy handed and do whatever they want if they are delivering top of the industry contracts, few will care thats its not democratic or transparent if they are doing a good job at getting good wages and benefits, but when you bring back the worst deals in the industry then totally disregard the members you are setting yourself up to be decertified.
If the IBT wins at US, which I believe will happen, the Association is moot. Any mention of the association will only help the IBT get more votes, who wants their work group to be split between two unions? Isnt that the opposite of what Unionism is all about?
To me the IBT simply has much better selling points than the IAM at this point.
a) They are not the union that lowered the bar across the industry
b.) They are not the Union that made them vote on the same deal until it was passed, a deal that brought them to the bottom of the industry where they remain to this day.
c) The IBT contracts at other carriers are better than what the IAM has achieved or is even asking for. The IBT contracts provide wages that are more livable, not hollow language that says you have job security but at the lowest wages in the industry, job security is desirable if it provides Financial security, the IAM contract does not, the wages suck.
d) The IBT can make the claim that if USAIR joins them, and then AA that all the mechanics at legacy carriers will be in one union so there will be no incentive to engage in a race to the bottom in the hopes that the concessions given will allow the company where one union has members to grow faster than at a competitor. They will be able to claim that by joining the IBT they will be Uniting the profession under one union, what does the IAM have left as far as M&R in this industry? Uniting the profession under one Union has alaways been appealing to mechanics. What points other than a DB Pension that nobody trusts anymore does the IAM have?
We all knew when we entered this industry that layoffs were part of the deal, thats why once we landed a job at a major we didnt bounce around, we wanted the Seniority so we would not get laid off every year, somewhere along the way the IAM and TWU lost their way and bought into the age old company lie that if you give concessions you can save jobs. The concessions havent stopped but the job losses continue. Job losses are temporary, people eventually get recalled, because there is always an exodus of workers as people retire, die and nowadays more than ever before-quit. Yes some jobs went away permanently, but still most mechanics eventually were offered recall, and that would have happened even if the unions never gave concessions but the wages and benefits which brought us into this industry were gone and havent been seen since. So the company ended up getting everything they wanted, just as if there was no union, they got the lowest wages and cut all the jobs they wanted to. Now there is a shortage of mechanics and the only thing theses unions are left with is "We have more mechanics working per airplane than anyone else" Yes but at the lowest wages in the industry. Well when we went looking for a job was "more mechanics oper airplane" anywhere on our list of what we wanted out of a job? Do they really think that it will be on any mechanics list of what they want from their Union? Like I siad if our goal was to work for the employer with the most employees then we would be looking to work for Walmart, and not be paying $700 a year for a Union to negotiate deals that added heads at the cost of wages and benefits.
The IAM has eight weeks to convince their guys that they realize that they screwed up, they gave away too much and they are going to do whatever it takes to get their guys industry leading wages and benefits like they used to. I think its too late. They should have demanded to be released when management left them sitting at the table to go talk to the unions at AA. They still collected their dues while their guys waited, waited and waited for them to make a move, they waited too long. They lost their guys, now they are going to lose their dues.
Tim Nelson
Veteran
The problem is that even if someone likes the IAM, the IAM will NOT have the certification. "The Association" will. Let's say the Association wins representation rights later this year for the combined carrier. After it gets certified, there is rumor that the association will then ask the NMB to assign the mechanics to the TWU and the FSC to the IAM, and dissolve itself. Although the rumor is strong, it definitely could happen and would be a brilliant move by the TWU and IAM to protect their interest and have weathered the IBT/AMFA storm at each airline. Doing such would also place another bar on any raid. I don't necessarily agree with that path, imo, the path that the association would take would be to enhance the affiliation possibly bringing in even another union under its canopy. Bottom line is who can stop it? Again, if you love the IAM, fine, but the IAM will not be certified. regards,
TRAVIS
Veteran
Real tired
Veteran
Actually, a very good point.
Something to think about from now until August as more information comes out about the "association."
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