General items
There were several slip and falls resulting in injury due to the amount of snow we've received recently. Because of this, I feel there are a couple of things that bear repeating. The first is that our safety is tantamount to all other concerns. It is important that we become our own advocates towards this goal. For instance, if you've been assigned a job that you feel will result in serious injury or death; you have the right to refuse that work. (A caveat here, the only time you may disobey a direct order, is under those circumstances of potential serious injury or death. In all other situations the "do now grieve later" practice applies.) Even if we use our best judgment, and speak up for ourselves, there are times when injuries occur. For those of you that used to work in states that had decent Workers Comp laws, you are in for a rude awakening. The determination of whether or not an injury is compensable under Virginia law depends on a variety of things, with the most important being that you must be in the act of performing your job. This seems straightforward, but due to the many legal rulings regarding this principle, it's not. I highly recommend that if the unfortunate happens, you contact attorney Kathleen Walsh. Kathleen's contact information will remain number one on the useful links on the blog. The reason for this is that in Virginia, getting an attorney when these injuries occur is critical. Kathleen has done WC cases for us since about 1999, and has treated us very well. Additionally, if you see an item that needs addressed, there are a few things you can do. First inform management verbally, then follow it up with a safety report, and additionally contact your Steward, Tom Reid, or myself to help resolve the situation.
On the negotiations front, the latest update can be found by following the link at the top of the page. We made numerous information requests, and the Company is currently working towards providing that data.
There is still no answer on the station closing arbitration, although I believe it's reasonable to expect one soon.
For those that don't receive the IBT Airline Division's weekly report, it can be found here. Beyond what's happening at United, these reports generally include informative items such as this article on the FAA re-authorization bill in last week's report.
For those that served in the military, Larry Calhoun from JFK sent me this informative link regarding your Social Security benefits. The link is from the Social Security Administration, and describes enhanced benefits you may receive for your service.
Jim Prout from DEN and Ken Bater from IAD both sent links to this article regarding the outsourcing of engineering jobs by the Company to Atlanta and India. If you haven't read it you definitely should.
Our 401k plan has been rated by BrightScope as fifth from the bottom of all plans in the country. Here is a link to the previous posting on the blog in regards to BrightScope's rating.
There is a small backlog of issues which surfaced since I've been gone. Fortunately the Shop Stewards took care of business, and the backlog is much smaller than it could have been had these people not done such a great job. To these dedicated individuals, I say thank you.
MM
There were several grievances filed in regards to overtime after an off shift training assignment is complete. This particular issue is not clearly spelled out in the agreement and has been defined in the past by the local overtime rules. After talking to the IBT leadership at the line stations, I found there is consensus on how this issue should be interpreted, and the Company agreed to resolution on Friday afternoon. It was good that these grievances surfaced at this time, as we are talking about training during negotiations, and this is the time to ameliorate the grey areas of the agreement.
GQ
I would like to extend a special thanks to Shop Steward Jay Obst. Walking through the shop I observed the Union bulletin board, and was very impressed by the information displayed. Jay has done a tremendous job of keeping the Union bulletin board current, and the membership informed. It is this kind of dedication that makes the Union successful.
PV
For those that are not aware, Fred Brown was in a very serious automobile accident. I talked to Fred earlier in the week and he seemed to be in good spirits. Please keep Fred in your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
There were several unanswered first step grievances brought to the office this week. I am going to try and get answers to these this coming week, but if unsuccessful, they will be processed to the second step by the end of the week.
That's all for now,
Bob
