Now that the election is behind us the real work begins. Many Legislators are listening to the Teamsters about outsourcing, but the IBT needs our help in this fight for our jobs. They are going to need us to show up when called upon to speak to members of congress. If you are interested in lobbying on Capitol Hill please let me know and I will add your name to the list. Because of our proximity to DC I expect we will be called many times with requests for people to lobby. In addition and just as important we need to fill out the outsourcing reports found here. These reports are for any item you find where an outside vendor has performed substandard maintenance.
This week I attended the meeting in Chicago of BA's and Coordinators. One of the things discussed that was not touched on in the weekly flyer was that the IBT has hired a lobbying firm to lobby for us regarding outsourcing issue. I was impressed with the amount of money the IBT is spending and time the time they are devoting to secure and return our work.
It appears the membership desires and the leadership supports the early opening of negotiations. With that said it will still take some time to prepare including training the negotiating committee and collecting contract proposal forms. The forms should be out in approximately three weeks. I have e-mailed each steward a copy of the agreement in MS Word format to begin editing in the changes they would like to see. If you have an issue you would like addressed please see a Steward or myself so we can get your idea down. This is a good way to get ready prior to the proposal forms coming out and we will be ready when they get to the station.
For BAL this week I was informed the station will close. I have not heard whether they will be rotated out with the Jan 11th group or it will be earlier. Neither the station manager nor the area manager have called me to let me know when it will be. Since neither would engage in talks to save this shop their lack of professionalism in this matter is not shocking.
For MM this week it appears the company is very interested in the old Independence Air hangar and are moving quickly to acquire it. There are still some obstacles so it may not happen. For those of you have been here for a while we have heard this all before, but it does appear a little more serious this time.
For GQ/PV a testing committee was formed this week to determine ability to bump into or bid between these work areas. I am not on this committee, however I feel confident after meeting the members of this committee that it will be done fairly. The committee consists of one GQ one PV and one MM member from around the system. When I have more info I will pass it on.
There is a new BA update from SFO on their website. It talks about the 20% outsourcing grievance, and several other issues including their application for a DOL program that would provide for an extended period of unemployment and money for retraining. I have reported this to the members already laid off and when I hear more about this I will pass it on.
That's all for this week,
Bob
