the great power grab

[Overspeed]

The TWU Intl. again and still has not given Local 564 any answer as to why the X
Treasurer is still on Union/company payroll and has NOT returned to his duties as a crew chief. Thus blocking the ability of another to get to LAX or upgrade to a crew chief at that station.

The closing of the locals was to conserve MONEY correct so why the special DEAL?

Oh I had a brain fart there for just a moment that is all the TWU Intl. does is make deals and keep the membership and the officers of the locals in the dark.

Explain to us where all the dues went that was in control of this X treasurer, specially since local 564 needed to get a loan from the Intl.????????

I called a rep at 564 and they never got a loan from the Int'l. Where are you getting your info from? Call the local and ask yourself.

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

I called a rep at 564 and they never got a loan from the Int'l. Where are you getting your info from? Call the local and ask yourself.

Overspeed

If you had to call the local and ask then your not an AA employee or part of the TWU intl.

So tell me why would the TWU rep tell you anything about the locals financials?

I am Not going to tell you where I got my info or from who.

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

I read through the bylaws again.

Each region will still be in charge of grievances through their VPs, there will still be board members, and the only issue is that there will be three locals left. There will be more money available for next contract negotiations. The only thing I can see is that merging in to one local for all M&R would allow us, the members, to directly elect our chief negotiator.

And I love all my union brothers and sisters including Dave, Jerry, and Ken.

Overspeed

I don't know who dave Jerry and ken are?

Since you don't work for AA or the TWU Intl. since you had to call a rep of the LAX local, When they do away with the local the board gets dissolved as well.
There will be a Vp and section chair and shop stewards, Exec board gone, recording sec. gone, treasurer gone.

I am NOT Talking about the IBT Local its the TWU LOCAL...

 

[Overspeed]

Overspeed

If you had to call the local and ask then your not an AA employee or part of the TWU intl.

So tell me why would the TWU rep tell you anything about the locals financials?

I am Not going to tell you where I got my info or from who.

First thing the local's LM2 is on the DOL website. Second, I asked a question. Did the local get a loan from the Int'l and he said no. I don't understand what this has to with this thread and the locals merging?

 

[TWU informer]

I read through the bylaws again.

Each region will still be in charge of grievances through their VPs, there will still be board members, and the only issue is that there will be three locals left. There will be more money available for next contract negotiations. The only thing I can see is that merging in to one local for all M&R would allow us, the members, to directly elect our chief negotiator.

And I love all my union brothers and sisters including Dave, Jerry, and Ken.

I never knew "money" for negotiations has been the issue? Are you saying lack of "money" is why the TWU has taken concessions at every negotiations for 30+ years now? And who gives a rats ass who the chief negotiator is now that James C. Little has twice said the Constitution gives himself and the IAC all the power?

 

[Bob Owens]

First thing the local's LM2 is on the DOL website. Second, I asked a question. Did the local get a loan from the Int'l and he said no. I don't understand what this has to with this thread and the locals merging?

Spin, spin spin. Local 564 did request a loan from the International as four years of negotiations had helped drain their treasury. So what MIA said was correct.

The International, the group thats supposed to be supporting the Locals, said NO.

Local 564 survived without the help of the International. But the message was clear-do not expect help from the International, just fork over 30% and see you later. This and their plan for 591 just proved what I've said all along, in the AATD system we are not autonomous, but we are on our own.

Now the International has decided to liquidate all the Line Locals and implement its plan which would remove 4 out of five Line maintenance reps from both the Presidents council meetings and negotiations but leave all the Fleet service reps in place. Mechanic Presidents could be outnumbered by Fleet Service Presidents by three to one in their own negotiations.

This is the plan the Don and gang is putting in place for the 3500 line mechanics. Its not bad enough that they made them the lowest paid mechanics in the industry with the worst work rules and worst benefits, inferior to even non-union, now they are looking to silence them by making them an extreme minority not only in the Presidents council but in negotiations as well. OH mechanics will have two voices, Title II will have 11 voices and Line maintenance just one on all issues related to the union and our profession.

So when issues come before the council that affect line mechanics, such as removing the two year experience requirement, it wont be mechanics deciding what happens to mechanics or our profession, when we go to negotiations the same locals that control the Presidents council will control our negotiations. In other words the same conditions, only worse, would exist for the next round of negotiations as the last two.

It really seems as though the AATD hates line maintenance and is doing everything in their power to make things as miserable for us as they can.

 

[Bob Owens]

The only thing I can see is that merging in to one local for all M&R would allow us, the members, to directly elect our chief negotiator.

Thats a lie.

One thing the BK process has done is help remove the facade that the locals have any real say in the AATD.

In order to try and prevent me from dumping info on the WEB the company, in the presence of the International and their lawyers, admitted that there were two levels of negotiations, low level, which involved the Locals and High level, which excluded the Locals. This was also made clear in Dallas.

The International has also testified in court that they own the contract, not the locals.

Now if we all were to merge, along with Title II it might be different, but that is not what the International has decided to impose, all they are doing now is ensuring that if their is a quorum of the Presidents council that mechanics will be a minority. They removed four out of five line maint reps from the council.

As of now if mechanics want to be united in one local, without Fleet Service clerks having an input, or even have a majority voice and get control of their contract, the only option the AATD has left them is to leave the TWU.

The AATD plan makes things much worse for Line maintenance. Clearly our union has decided to punish us for whatever reasons they have.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

Bob in your opinion is this a concerted effort (TWU / AA) to reduce representation of the Line Mechanics with the intent of contracting out line maintenance when the contract becomes amendable?

 

[Bob Owens]

Bob in your opinion is this a concerted effort (TWU / AA) to reduce representation of the Line Mechanics with the intent of contracting out line maintenance when the contract becomes amendable?

No, its a concerted effort on the part of the ATD to effectively silence line maintenance so they can continue to give AA discounted labor in exchange for perks they personally recieve such as a pension from AA based upon what the Union pays them along with higher priority pass travel for them and their families.

Lets look at the Pension.

In the companys Summary Plan Description for the TWU it states that Union officials final average salary will include the rates of pay as reported by the Union. So lets look at Bobby Gless for example.
Lets say Bobby has 20 years in the plan as of the freeze date. and he is 45 as of the freeze date.
His earnings as reported by the LM-2 filed by the Union with the government are $180,000/year.
So lets say his final average salary under the AA plan comes out to $175,000/year.
$175,000 x 20 years of service x .01667 =$59,345 (if the pension had been terminated his pension would have been reduced by over $10,000, ours would not have been because we were way under the cap)
So now we have a DC pension, Bobby is likely also entitled to have a 5.5% match on his $180,000, so that means the company would contribute around $9900 a year to his pension, As a mechanic he would only see around $3900, so he gets more than double.

Keep in mind that he also gets his TWU pension which is even more generous. That pension has a 2.5% multiplier times his best ever year, no four year average to drag it down.
So if he retires at 55 with 15 years in the TWU plan his TWU pension would be an additional 15years x $200,000 x .025= $75000
($200k projected based upon past rates of pay raises)
(I beleieve they also get 5% annual cost of living increase on the pension)

So walking away from AA at 55 Bobby Gless, and most of the other ATD employees do pretty well

Gless at 55
At least $100k from AA in 401K
$75K annually from TWU
$50K annually from AA pension (includes 15% reduction)

So he is looking at $125k/year plus whatever he has in the 401k.
And on top of that the company will provide him with A-5 pass travel for life for him and his family.

AS a TWU represented mechanic working at AA at 55 he would have been looking at just a $19K/year pension plus around $30k in 401 contributions from the company. (Probably not enough to pay the property taxes on his waterfront home)

So the motivation? $100k extra a year or more for life.

Look at it this way, if Bobby retires at 55, by the time he is 65, the age at which you probably still wont be able to retire, what he has done will give him an extra $1million dollars.

The money for their TWU pension comes from our dues. So all they care about is making sure there are enough people paying dues to support what the TWU is paying them, so its not about protecting YOU or your job, its about making sure that AA continues to hire more and more dues payers in the future to support their salaries and pensions.

Don Videtich, Tim Gillespie and all the other employees of the International system who came out of the AA system are looking at similar arrangements.

All they have to do is make sure that AA continues to get the best deal in the industry, even better than Non-union Delta, Jet Blue or Fed Ex. Tulsa has already proven to be more than willing to go along with this, now, if they can just silence and marginalize the line they are set.

 

[La Li Lu Le Lo]

Thank you Bob. That was very informative.

 

[FWAAA]

All they have to do is make sure that AA continues to get the best deal in the industry, even better than Non-union Delta, Jet Blue or Fed Ex. Tulsa has already proven to be more than willing to go along with this, now, if they can just silence and marginalize the line they are set.

I'm a union member, but I'd be unhappy if it looked to me like decades of dues-paying didn't improve my situation. Yours are about $60/mo, right? $60/mo invested at 10% for the last 25 years (easily attainable with the S&P 500 funds) would be worth $80k today. Has the TWU made you $80k better off than a DL mechanic?

 

[Bob Owens]

I'm a union member, but I'd be unhappy if it looked to me like decades of dues-paying didn't improve my situation. Yours are about $60/mo, right? $60/mo invested at 10% for the last 25 years (easily attainable with the S&P 500 funds) would be worth $80k today. Has the TWU made you $80k better off than a DL mechanic?

No, it has cost us around $200k since 2003.

 

[Bob Owens]

First thing the local's LM2 is on the DOL website. Second, I asked a question. Did the local get a loan from the Int'l and he said no. I don't understand what this has to with this thread and the locals merging?

Hmm, speaking of LM-2's have you looked at the Internationals lately? In 2001 they had $60 million, in 2011 they were down to $25 million. How much does Tulsa have? $8 million, figure 567 and the line Locals brings that close to $10 million.
If the TWU were to cut a deal with the IAM where if we merged the IAM took the mechanics without contest the TWU would be entitled to all the assetts of Local 514 and all the other maintenance Locals.

Maybe you guys are making things bad on purpose to insure that the mechanics leave. Even if AMFA got in the TWU International would see a short turn windfall. The added cash would by them a few more years of six figure salaries.

At its current rate of decline the TWU may run out of money before our contract becomes amendable.

 

[Ken MacTiernan]

Hmm, speaking of LM-2's have you looked at the Internationals lately? In 2001 they had $60 million, in 2011 they were down to $25 million. How much does Tulsa have? If the TWU were to cut a deal with the IAM where if we merged the IAM took the mechanics without contest the TWU would be entitled to all the assetts of Local 514 and all the other maintenance Locals.

Maybe you guys are making things bad on purpose to insure that the mechanics leave. Even if AMFA got in the TWU International would see a short turn windfall.

This is very true Bob. Perhaps each Local should spend their money before we remove the twu. Spend the money on the membership like it is suppose to be spent and not adding to the sellout's pockets.

GO AMFA!

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

I have a few questions?

1. What are the pres. of the line locals going to do? Support the new scam local or decide that the TWU Intl needs to go?

2. Are the Board members of the locals that are merged into 591 with No job going to continue to draw $$ from the TWU although thier positions have been eliminated?

3. Do the shop stewards have to re run for the positions they hold at the stations of the closed locals?

4. What about the section chairs at those stations as well will they have to run for offic or will they be grandfathered in?

5. Are the safety and lic. protection and what ever other posions each local has going to be re-elected and are they
going to draw a larger $$ share along with new regional VP's and local 591 newly elected officers since the size of the local and its membership IF I am not incorrect determines the $$ of the officers?

6. When Board meeting are required by the new local how is that going to happen if officers are NOT in Dallas?

7. How is information going to be sent to members and what input are we going to have if we are NOT able to go to any meeting since NO local in city being worked?

Just a few question I can Assume that many of YOU also have questions? Add them and lets see what answers we get.