MESSAGE BOARD

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www.cwaforum.com/local6001

APA President Captain Lloyd Hill's Independence Day Message to the Pilot's Union summed up What is Happening to Labor in this Country.

"Independence Day is an opportunity to reflect on our great country. However, the land of opportunity is not what it used to be. In terms of our treatment of labor, the United States' position as world leader has been diminished. It's a tragedy when you consider that America was the birthplace for organized labor. Now it seems we have a government that caters more to business interests and helping the rich get richer than to labor rights and uplifting the working class. In our industry, the Department of Labor and the courts are partners with corporate managements' attempts to keep labor down and profits up. As reported by the media, the FAA seems more concerned about doing the bidding of their airline management “customers” than about looking out for the safety of the traveling public."

"It has not always been this way. Many great American leaders in the past have recognized the importance of labor. Here are a few noteworthy examples: President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “It is only through labor and painful effort, by grim energy and resolute courage, that we move on to better things.” President Abraham Lincoln said, “Labor is prior to, and independent of capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration.” President Dwight Eisenhower said, “It is one of the characteristics of a free and democratic nation to have free and independent labor unions.” Finally, President Jimmy Carter said, “Every advance in this half-century — Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another, came with the support and leadership of American labor.”

The sum of these philosophical beliefs by these past presidents reflect an acknowledgement that America’s rise to greatness and position as a world leader are a result of the labor force of this country. We may wear ties to work, but we are labor. We directly contribute to the economic engine that drives this country. The oppressive treatment by corporate managements and the current blind eye of government is weakening American labor and contributing to the deterioration of our country’s economic strength. This emphasizes how important our battle to restore our profession is, not just for us, but as a catalyst for resurgence in American labor. It is a matter of patriotism."

NOTE:  A link the APA Hotline is on our Links page.

Voluntary Bridge to Retirement

July 2, 2008

  The company today announced plans to offer a voluntary bridge to retirment for employees.  We've had questions how the program will differ from agents and other work groups. 

     TWU and Agents will receive 13 weeks of salary and 12,500.00 (if the employee is protected and only 13 weeks of pay if not protected), and the Flight Attendants will receive 15,000.00 severeance.  COBRA insurance and travel benefits will be the same for all employees. 

     The main difference in these programs is that the Agent work force's department will decide which job functions and locations will be offered the VBR option.  This means that the program will NOT be offered based on one seniority list for the entire system.  For example, if you are eligible for the VBR and work at DFW and DFW is not cutting headcount, it may not be offered to you, but could be offered at MSP to someone with less seniority because MSP has to cut headcount.

     Most bargaining agreements in the airline industry, such as the flight attendants', allow for one seniority list and the VBR would have to be offered to everyone, regardless of their base, and given to the most senior flight attendants.  Any readjustments in base seniority would be handled on a seniority basis.  This means base openings would be filled by the most senior flight attendants on a voluntary basis and holes in headcount would then be filled by the least senior flight attendants on an involuntary basis.

     Without a contract, the agents reduction-in-force plans can and have changed from RIF to RIF.  We've seen many instances where cutbacks for airports and reservations offices were not handled on a system seniority basis.  Location and job protections have been thrown out the window for hundreds of agents because protection doesnt matter in the case of outsourcing or station/office closure.

 EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

The right of workers to organize and bargain collectively is a longstanding American value. It has so helped build a strong middle class and a strong nation, that it is a now principle enshrined in international agreements. It is a core standard that the United States uses to measure adherence to democratic norms throughout the world.

Yet across America, workers are being stripped of this basic freedom.

Each year, more than 20,000 workers are illegally fired or discriminated against for exercising attempting to organize. Many employers make an art of it - hiring union busting "consultants" to help defeat organizing drives. And even if employees overcome all the odds, in one-third of all union election victories, workers still do not have a collective bargaining agreement two years after the election.

42 million workers who are not in a union have say they would like to be represented by one. 42 million workers - more than three times the number of workers presently represented by unions in the United States. 42 million workers who are unable to exercise their rights.

It is in the name of those workers that CWA is fighting for the Employee Free Choice Act. EFCA provides for the certification of a union as the bargaining representative if the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finds that a majority of employees in an appropriate bargaining unit have signed written forms designating the union as its collective bargaining agent

EFCA also speeds along the process of bargaining between employer and employees for their first contract by obligating both parties to reach an agreement, through escalating procedures of mediation and arbitration, if necessary.

EFCA requires stronger penalties against employers for engaging in unfair labor practices while employees are attempting to organize or obtain a first contract. The bill mandates that the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer whenever there is reasonable cause to believe that the employer has discharged employees or discriminated against them or engaged in conduct that interferes significantly with employee rights during an organizing campaign or bargaining for a first contract.

The Act also mandates an award of three times the amount of back pay for illegal discrimination that occurs during efforts to organize or when workers are seeking a first contract. The legislation provides for penalties up to $20,000 per violation against employers found to have willfully or repeatedly violated workers' rights during an organizing campaign or pursuit of a first contract.

At the very minimum, American workers should be free to decide whether they want union representation without experiencing intimidation, indoctrination or misinformation.

Enactment of EFCA would help ensure that workers can exercise the basic human right to organize freely and bargain collectively.

Please sign the petition that will be sent to our new President and Congress by clicking the link below.  (Where it says Local number, click on 6001.)

http://www.freechoiceact.org/cwa

TIRED OF GAS PRICES AND WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO OUR INDUSTRY?

     The Air Transport Association of America has released a website where people can go to send a message to your state reps and congress to do something about gasoline prices.  The airline industry, along with many others, is in a horrible situation making it tougher and tougher for the middle class to survive.

     Visit their website to send a message to your elected officials by visiting:

 http://www.stopoilspeculationnow.com/

 Reservations Agents Will Not be Offered Early Outs.

July 3, 2008

 Reservations agents reported today that they received the following letter from management.  It looks as if the airports will be heaviest hit if they are to be cutting 8% of agents.  The union groups will be offered Bridge to Retirment and voluntary leaves on a seniority basis.  Not the case for airports and reservations.

"As you know, our business is dealing with unprecedented fuel prices and a weakening U.S. economy.  The reality of our situation is such that our company has had to make a number of difficult but necessary changes, including significant capacity reductions this fall.

Company-wide, management and support staff positions will be reduced in line with the capacity reduction of approximately 8 percent from the original 2008 Plan.  These reductions will affect all departments, including Reservations, and should be completed within the next couple of months.  We are currently evaluating our management and support staff resources within Reservations and Interactive Marketing, and we will share additional information as it becomes available.

As for reservations representative resource requirements, given the circumstances of losing our leased facility in Cincinnati and the number of people who chose not to remain with the company, we don't anticipate additional rep reductions.  Therefore, we will not be offering early-out programs."

     INTERESTING FACTS

Number of agents (2008)   11,000

Approx agents (2001)         20,000

Number of U.S. Res Offices 2001      11

Number of U.S. Res Offices 2008        5

(CRO will close August 2008)              

Total res offices by end of 2008.         4

Full Time vs. Part Time

Airports               43 % Full Time

                             57 % Part Time

Reservations     73 % Full Time

                             27 % Part Time

Agent group:      57 % Full Time

                             43%  Part Time

    19% of reservations agents are under the new Home Based and Reduced Work week programs.  Pay and benefits are greatly reduced under these programs.  Pay max is 15.00 for one group 16.00 for the other, with not set years to maximum pay.  Even though agents at maximum pay maybe making more than other carriers, union represented carriers still move through their progression pay scales, which means that American Airlines agents make less money over the years while working toward max pay. 

     At USAirways agents with 5 years seniority are closer to maximum pay than American Airlines agents with 8 or more years.  Therefore agents who move through a pay progression scale quicker than American Airlines agents make more money in the 5th-11th years.

Location and Job Protection

 Agents with:

                Location Protection            8%

                Employment protection  44%

Location Protection does not apply in cases of Station and Office closures or in the case of outsourcing.

14 stations/offices with location protected employees have already closed forcing employees into layoff or relocation.

Employement Protection does not apply to layoffs due to "unique situations."  Could the current fuel prices count as a "unique situation?" 

Location and Job protections without a legally binding contract creates a false sense of security for those who fall under these plans.

Example of how Having a Union Helped in Bankruptcy Court.