TWU......"enough is Enough"?

[Chuck Schalk]

I hear that the TWU local 514 new battle cry is "enough is enough"
same as the tough talking "will strike if provoked" and "this is a crime scene"

I have heard enough of talk from the local 514 and the TWU ATD. It is time to take action and take them out of their misery.

Had enough yet? sign an AMFA card

AMFA coming to you 2013

 

[iluvaa]

Thanks for coming to Tulsa Chuck

 

[OldGuy@AA]

Evidently by their actions enough is never enough. There seems to always be something to give back.

 

[NewHampshire Black Bears]

I hear that the TWU local 514 new battle cry is "enough is enough"
same as the tough talking "will strike if provoked" and "this is a crime scene"

I have heard enough of talk from the local 514 and the TWU ATD. It is time to take action and take them out of their misery.

Had enough yet? sign an AMFA card

AMFA coming to you 2013

I'll NEVER understand the Phenomena of......." The More the PITCHERS Stick-it-in ", the MORE the CATCHERS " ask-for-More ".

One virtually NEVER hears of this Phenomena in the N E section of the country, BUT it's Rampent in the Southwest, and down South !

In all fairness,....there ARE spot sections of the "stick-it-in" neighborhood that have F I N A L L Y...had enough !

 

[Chuck Schalk]

Have we had enough yet American Airlines employees?

TWU leading concessions and scandal

Teamsters: Pension shortfalls, forging signatures, scandal and lying to sign cards


AMFA is not perfect but where is the scandal?

there is none and they elect the leaders by direct election of the membership!

Sign an amfa card and lets finish this!!

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

Belles of the ball: Unions woo American Airlines workers ahead of merger
By KYLE ARNOLD World Staff Writer

American Airlines mechanics may feel like the belles of the aerospace ball. After all, three labor unions have targeted mechanics at the Tulsa Maintenance & Engineering Center with barbecues, phone calls and even doorstep visits, reciting sonnets of better job security, improved benefits and courage to stand up to American Airlines executives. And a fourth suitor is waiting quietly and biding its time to make its own case.

As American Airlines emerges from a painful bankruptcy reorganization and prepares to merge with US Airways later this year, three unions are lining up their support to be the new bargaining unit for more than 5,000 mechanics at the Tulsa base, out of 11,000 in the company. After 16 months of bankruptcy negotiations and steep concessions, the unions are using animosity from contentious contract talks as a platform for their own candidacy.

"This is the time for another union to come in and make their case, and these things can get competitive," said Robert Bruno, an organized labor expert and professor at the University of Illinois in Chicago. "There is a lot at stake for everyone involved."

One union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Organization, said it plans to submit signatures at the end of May that would force a vote to make mechanics choose between the Transport Workers Union of America and a new labor group.

A second group, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said it has nearly enough signatures to force a vote. The International Association of Machinists, which represents US Airways mechanics, said it plans to make its case to be the group's bargaining unit when American Airlines merges with US Airways later this year.
All the while, American Airlines mechanics are dealing with big changes of their own at work due to a bankruptcy that forced billions in cuts and a merger that will give employees a new boss and a new hope for a profitable airline.

Union jewel​

With nearly 11,000 maintenance workers nationwide, American Airlines is one of the jewels of the aerospace industry for labor unions. About 5,000 of those mechanics are at the Tulsa base, which conducts heavy maintenance for American's entire fleet since the company closed its 1,200-employee Alliance base in Fort Worth in 2012.
The Transport Workers Union negotiated the August contract with American Airlines that gave a 15 percent raise over six years and improved health benefits. The TWU also struck the deal with American Airlines and US Airways that promises another 4.5 percent raise when the merger closes in the third quarter of this year and gives a 4.8 percent equity stake in the new company to union mechanics.

The mechanics union is critical, not only as the employees' bargaining representative with American Airlines management, but because unions also dictate seniority. That seniority was crucial when American Airlines laid off nearly 400 workers in Tulsa last year.

"Unions decide if seniority is based on how long you work at the company or how long you worked at a location or maybe something else," said Chuck Schalk, an American Airlines mechanic at JFK Airport in New York and co-chairman for AMFA. 'Everybody is mad'

As expected, hopeful unions are blaming the current bargaining group, the Transport Workers Union, for giving up too much over its five recent contracts. And meanwhile two other unions are slinging mud at each other over organizing tactics and past performance at other airlines. Officially, American Airlines stays neutral in labor representation issues, said Paul Flannigan, a spokesman for the company. As part of the bankruptcy reorganization, American Airlines cut thousands of employees and more than $1 billion in annual costs. Some of those cuts came to mechanics in the form of a frozen pension.

Heated bankruptcy cases tend to make the company and the unions look bad to employees, said Tom Higginbotham, president for the IAM District 142, which represents US Airways maintenance workers. "Everybody is mad, and rightfully so - they are mad at everyone," Higginbotham said. "The problem from a labor representation point of view is that you have no real authority in bankruptcy court. You can make an argument, but the judge still makes the ruling."
In the case of American Airlines mechanics, they settled for frozen pensions where benefits stopped accumulating. New mechanics won't receive any pension benefits. The judge in the case still hasn't ruled on retiree medical benefits.

"No one is happy with TWU," said Schalk, a former TWU local leader who now travels to Tulsa frequently to help organize for AMFA. "They are done. I will never forgive them for taking my pension. I gave up everything to keep those things during contract negotiations in 2003, and now they are gone." For their part, TWU leaders said they saved nearly all of the jobs at the American Airlines base in Tulsa, cutting an initial number of layoffs from more than 2,000 to about 400.
"It's unprecedented to get the kind of results that we got out of bankruptcy," said John Hewitt, chairman of maintenance for TWU Local 514. "We got raises and job security. That's more than anyone has received in any other bankruptcy."

The Teamsters union said they started organizing in Tulsa in June after being approached by disgruntled AA mechanics. "Well, obviously the workforce is frustrated - they have taken a lot of concessionary agreements," said Greg Chockley, an organizer for the Teamsters in Tulsa. "The door to outsourcing is wide open now. A lot of their old co-workers don't have jobs now."

Telling period​

AMFA leaders say the end of May will be a telling period in the battle for union representation. A competing union needs to collect a majority of signatures from a work group to force a vote on union representation. At the end of May, about 600 former TWU employees in Kansas City will come off the employee rolls and shrink the number of signatures needed to force a vote. A signature card doesn't guarantee an employee's support, but it does say that they support a representation vote. As expected, many employees have likely signed cards for both AMFA and the Teamsters union.

After a competing union submits their signature cards, other unions have two weeks to submit their own cards. The unions need to be certain that they have enough valid signatures to gain a majority, or they won't be able to submit for a vote again for a year. After signatures are verified, it will probably be about 60 days before a representation election is held.
Members are asked their preference over the telephone or at an in-person "interview."

For American Airlines mechanics, there could be three groups on the ballot: the incumbent TWU, AMFA and the Teamsters. Any union needs a majority of votes at the election, or else a run-off would pit the top two vote getters against each other.

AMFA and Teamsters leaders say the merger doesn't affect the timing of their organization efforts. American Airlines and US Airways say they expect the merger to go through by the end of September, after bankruptcy court and antitrust approval clears. At that point, American employees will have to pick their bargaining representative and submit that to the National Mediation Board. American Airlines maintenance workers outnumber US Airways workers by 11,000 to 4,000, which gives TWU or whatever group represents American workers a numerical advantage.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, representing US Airways mechanics, said they don't plan to just give up and will challenge for representation. Higginbotham said US Airways mechanics have been frustrated with US Airways as they have been fighting for their own contract for more than a year. But he said his group has a strong record with US Airways management that could give them an advantage among the combined workforces. "Our preference is to represent the mechanics at this company," Higginbotham said.

What’s at stake​

Some 5,000 mechanics at the American Airlines base in Tulsa are being wooed by as many as four unions. A new union will dictate rules on seniority and be the representative when their current contract expires as early as 2015.

What a union vote would look like​

Collecting signatures: A competing union needs to collect a majority of signatures from a work group to force a representation vote. American has about 11,000 maintenance & related workers now.

Verifying signatures: American Airlines could challenge signatures on authenticity or whether they come from a valid employee in the work group. The challenging union could dispute any challenges.

Third-party challenge: Within two weeks of a group submitting a representation challenge, any other groups have a chance to submit their own signatures to be eligible for the representation vote.

The vote: Any eligible unions would set a time for a vote, either in person or over the phone.
A run-off: If a union doesn't get a majority of votes in the representation election, the top two vote candidates would face one another in another election.

The merger: After American Airlines merges with US Airways later this year, the union for US Airways mechanics would get a chance to lobby for their own vote over labor representation.

 

[1AA]

Teamsters do not have enough cards to get on the ballot. Lets keep it that way.

 

[swamt]

Teamsters do not have enough cards to get on the ballot. Lets keep it that way.

100% agree. Don't need the flood of more lies, fabrications, and false rumors flying around in the middle of an election. But we all know the teamsters will do anything to be put on the ballot.

 

[mike33]

The Teamster Pension in trouble


http://www.marketwat...5?siteid=yhoof2


" A spokeswoman for the Teamsters, which participated in the coalition, declined to comment on the plan or whether the union endorses it.

 

[Chuck Schalk]

The Teamster Pension in trouble


http://www.marketwat...5?siteid=yhoof2


" A spokeswoman for the Teamsters, which participated in the coalition, declined to comment on the plan or whether the union endorses it.

Teamster Power?

"Greg Smith, a 64-year-old Norton, Ohio, truck driver who retired in 2011 after working 31 years, agrees. He now receives a monthly check for $3,019 from a Teamsters pension plan that is projected to become insolvent in 2024. If that happens, the PBGC would take over and his benefit could be cut to as low as $1,100 a month.

Under the new proposal, his benefits could be trimmed before funds run out, giving the plan’s investments a chance to recover in the market. His benefits would be guaranteed not to fall below $1,210 a month, 110% of the PBGC level"

 

[Topcat187]

Enough is enough???? Are you kidding me? Its a little late for that!

 

[swamt]

You just gotta love the teamsters propaganda...

 

[AMFAinMIAMI]

Teamsters do not have enough cards to get on the ballot. Lets keep it that way.

1AA

Although we have reached the minimum number plus in cards it is crutial that over the next 5 weeks we, that means every one that wants the TWU gone to get with our fellow workers and have them sign a card.

We all know AA and the TWU inflated the number of voters last time and we missed the vote by 27 cards.

If that happens again it will be last time there will be an AMFA drive here at AA.

The reason is when the merger happens we will have all the USAir guys and every one who has recall rights to USAir. Because the IAM has life time recall rights.

No way any union will be able to find and get any of those guys to sign cards.

This a very important fact every one needs to understand..

Pass this info along and help if your not already, getting guys whom you know involved.

This is the last chance we have to rid AA of the TWU.

AMFA at AA in 2013