I have asked the TWU Local 514 via email why we have not gone to the court system against the company and their bought and paid for Mediator. I feel that the company, by refusing to consider back pay from the end of the last contract, has proven that they have and continue to bargan in bad faith. Any agreement reached should provide for full back pay. I posed that question several months ago and to date have got no response. Now that said, the arguing between line and over haul must end. I, as an overhaul AMt, understand that many of the line guys live in high cost areas, but you must understand that the offer that was shot down provided an hourly increase in line mechanic pay but a lump payment and a "promise" to come up with a plan for "variable compensation" for O/H. In the first place, the CEO of this company has not kept a promise yet. Neither have the BOD. In the second place, we in O/H need a raise too. We took the pay and benefit cuts also and we need a raise in our hourly pay. We do not need a phantom variable compensation package that will, most likely, pay very little and we will get our money quarterly. This being said, I would like to know how many AMTs O/H or line think that a lump sum and a "promise" for a variable compensation package that hasn't even been discussed yet is fair compensation. It has been over 3 years since the last contract ended. If we reach an agreement and this is part of it. The company will surley drag their feet in negotiations again. Line guys will still get their $2.55 an hour while O/H gets absolutely nothing. My point is, we need a raise too. If AA doesn't want to give us the same as line per hour, then give us something but make it per hour, no lump sum, no promise for a package that won't pay any money. I would also like to know if the AMP guys think O/H AMTs are worth less than line. Also tell me why rigging flight controls systems, doing landing gear work, etc. is less worthy of a raise than line work. Please give your thoughts and do not be-little other work groups.
Why aren't we using the court system?
- Thread starter OldGuy@AA
- Start date
TIME FOR CHANGE
Veteran
If they called that 2.55 an hour a COLA increase would that be OK ??
Or is it OK that OH makes about 20% more than I do because of the cost of living in NY ??
OH and Line will allways agree to disagree.
bargainning in bad faith is determined by the mediator, who works for (ahem) the federal government. He would have to put the company on notice about their bargainning position, before we could file a charge of bad faith bargainning. We might not like what the company has put forth at this point, but as long as the Company puts forth viable proposals, then we have little to argue. Back pay is something that is near and dear, the company knows it very well. The know it by what is said in the work place and by what is posted on email boards.
- Thread Starter
- #5
Thanks for the explanation. Now for the second question..... Why doesn't the TWU put pressure on all the Politicians that have taken the COPE money and get the mediator either on board or replaced?
Unfortunately, the TWU international uses that money to fund company cars for Jim and Don and the rest of the crew. They never miss an opportunity to support some left wing victim group either. However, when it comes to supporting dues paying members, we get lip service, and window dressing. Yeah, you're wasting your money if you continue to support cope, or the TWU for that matter. I signed another AMP card.
- Thread Starter
- #7
I signed a card as well. One reason was the only time in my 25 plus year career at aa that I ever saw the twu do anything for the membership was when there was a real threat from AMFA taking over. The officers were available all the time and couldn't do enough for us. The other reason I signed one is that I don't like the hypocrisy of Jim Little where he feels AMTs don't deserve paid sick time or hollidays but his secretary deserves $140K per year with who knows what kind of benefit package. I also feel that if we were able to vote him out we would have done it in 2003 after he stabbed us in the back. But alas, we don't have that right to vote him or any other international officer out of office. Am I a huge supporter of AMP? No, but the first step is getting rid of the TWU so they can't hurt us anymore. There have been many things done by them to dilute our profession including handing career cleaners, fleet service and stores members A&P licenses with their junior mechanic upgrade program and alowing unlicensed people with no acft maint experience to come to work as SRPs to further weaken our barganing power. But don't get me wrong. If a member of another work group wants to put in the time and go to the expense to get their A&P I am all for it. But I think anyone who was around during the upgrade program saw it was a complete joke. But I am getting off the subject.
If you had to leave NY et al, what would the company do? In other words if the line started taking bids in TUL, AFW and DWH, at what point would the Team AA (Company and TWU) wake and see that a small incentive as geographical pay would go along way to a T/A.
good question. What do you mean by "get the mediator on board or replaced. Getting him or her "on board" a certain side would be violating his neutral position, he mediates the dispute, tries to find ways for the parties to keep talking on the issues on the table. Replacing him is something I would say would require both parties to complain that the mediator is acting in a non-professional manner.
Buck,
Better yet, what if the Union sponsored true Union seniority in that any senior member, from any station or base, could bump a junior member within the same calssification from any station or base, by simply filing a transfer request?
The Line v. Overhaul divide could be easily breached by simply making the most junior members of maintenance stations and bases live under the contracts that are approved by the majority.
Let the company live and suffer with the economic dislocation they visit on the Union Membership by suffering through the churn: the economics of divide and conquer will have to be rationalised against the reality that people will flow to areas that provide a better standard of living based on the wage rate earned.
In the short run: we will all suffer.
In the long run: we would all learn to live below our means and look beyond ourselves before we ratify CBA's ratified in the past; and, the Company would be forced to equalize their contractual proffer against that dislocation and churn.
Net, Net: the Union gets stronger and more cohesive while the Company no longer seeks wedge economic-demographics as a means to further erode our standard of living.
i have no problem with a cost of living raise for guys in high cost cities. i work oh at afw i have also worked line, and in my opinion i dont feel that a amt working 20 min down the road deserves 2.55 more a hour than i do. my a&p says aircraft mech not aircraft line or overhaul and so does everyone elses.
Yep, the only title groups Little takes care of are the climate controlled work environment types like: Dispatchers and Sim Techs. Somehow, in the last 10 years Sim Techs passed AMTs in pay and left us in the dust. As it turns out, the company doesn't have a problem paying almost $36ph for a sim tech or about $45ph for a dispatcher - not bad for for a 12 week course! Not only that, they get cockpit jumpseat privileges as well. The justification always comes down to the fact those groups are so small, who cares. Well, along with many others and myself - we couldn't help but notice the double standard. Anyone notice on the aa negotiation website how on the pay comparison charts of all the work groups, they leave SWA AMTs off the AMT compensation chart? Even leaving SWA off the chart, AA AMTs are middle of the pack or worse. By contrast, the other title groups pay comparison charts include SWA, and in most cases our bretheren are a close second to SWA. One has to wonder, why isn't that the case with the AA AMTs? This smacks of TWU income redistribution, at the expense of the AMTs.
Hopeful
Veteran
- Dec 21, 2002
- 5,998
- 347
That is why GEO pay is the preffered differential...NOT amt line vs. oh pay.
AMT pay should be the same with GEO pay as the only diference.
i agree with you 100% i think the guys in nyc, and ca and ord and other high cost citys should probly get more than 2.55 a hour. i dont think its right to give guys at the overhaul bases that dont have a license, license pay. and thats what they want to do and thats not right. they want to give machinist and welders license pay. im sorry but i worked my but off to get my a&p, and for someone to get license pay and not have a license is a slap in the face.
Brother, I agree with geo pay for all Union Members in high cost of living areas.
But with all due respect: trade certifications other than the airframe and powerplant certification should be paid license pay for the tickets they carry and are required for the performance of their duties.
We have highly experienced people in aircraft maintenance, facilities maintenance and automotive maintenance that have also studied for designations and certificates such as a welder, machinist, journeyman and master electricians and ASE certified automotive and diesel mechanics.
Unlike the A&P certification, the exercise of the priviledge for six out of every twenty four months; journeymen and master electricians are required to attend CEU, Continuing Education Units, training and NEC Code Update courses as a condition of retaining their tickets. Most of these union members get their required training on their own time and their own dime.
I do not know if the welders, machinists and automotive union members are required to maintain their tickets through the CEU process but I do know that without having that level of proficiency on board: most of that type of work would be outsourced to outside vendors and we then go through the whole nutroll of calling the OSV back to fix what they failed to fix the first time.
The biggest problem that I have seen in the line environment is the failure of AA to properly fund and equip the automotive and facilities mechanics with the tools and resources required to perform their jobs: and then claim the failure as justification for the subsequent outsourcing.
Just my opinion.
