8-K for the 787’s

Here is a link to the 8-K filing regarding the 787 purchase. Among other things the filing states the financial obligation over the next five years.

Link update

A member in California found the Teamster Privilege link outdated today. The link was updated this evening. I appreciate the feedback, and as stated previously, if there is any information related to our profession that you would like to see added let me know.

Five myths about the labor movement

While reading posts at TeamstersOnline.com this evening I came upon an article entitled "Five myths about the labor movement". The article is written by Alec MacGillis and is an interesting quick read on the current state of labor in the country. Here is a link to the article.

Weekly report 2-21-10

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

 

 

 

 

How well is your 401k plan?

I haven't seen the data used to establish these following lists, but according to Business Week, as of December 23^rd 2009, our 401k plan was ranked as fifth from the bottom. Here is a link to a list of the bottom twenty five 401k plans in the country. Here is a link to the top twenty five 401k plans. According to the article, San Diego based BrightScope rates plans on a scale of 1-100 based on how well they do by their participants. Interestingly, while ground workers are the fifth from the bottom, pilots are ranked second from the top. Here is another glaring reason why we need to establish ourselves in a multi-employer pension plan. To say "I want control over my own retirement" is the acumen of a fool in light of the fact that we are provided substandard tools to achieve this goal.

EDIT: To further back up the previous statement, here is a link to a detailed analysis of Defined Benefit vs. Defined Contribution plans. For those that read the blog regularly, I'm sure you won't be shocked to read that DB plans have outperformed DC plans.

We’re all temps now?

The headline is a quote from this article on MSN Money Central. A good friend, and retired United Airlines employee, Dave Sulewski sent this to me a while back and I finally got a chance to read it. This article paints a very gloomy picture in regards to both job growth as well as job repatriation over the next five to ten years. Another quote from the article is "most of the jobs shipped to China will stay in China".

Today, this article was sent to me from New York, and it is in line with what the previous article described. In this second article from Aviation Week, Ameco Beijing announced a five year extension of the current agreement to perform 777 overhauls, as well as new 747 overhauls that will also last five years, for United Airlines.

In addition today, I received an alert from the Teamsters asking that we write our Senators requesting the FAA reauthorization bill be passed. There are elements of this bill that would help our craft greatly. If you haven't already done so please visit this link and take action. It is urgent that we work towards legislative reforms that will help protect our jobs. Now is not the time to sit back and let others determine our future.

EDIT: The above paragraph regarding the Teamster Action page is for people that are represented by Senators which are sitting on the Senate Finance Committee. Sorry for any confusion. To find out if your Senator is on this committee check here.

That's all for now,

Bob

Dulles Jet Center

The Dulles Jet Center hangar collapsed around 8am this morning. No one was injured. Here is a link to the story.

In a related story my shed has suffered the same fate. LOL!

Update 2-5-10

It's been a little bit of time since my last update due to traveling the last five weeks with spotty internet access.

There have been several things happening at once during that time including negotiations, sitting on an arbitration panel, as well as a Joint Board session towards the middle of January. As for negotiations the official updates can be found by following the link at the top of the page. The parties continued to work towards an agreement over the last five weeks and the updates have chronicled what articles we've discussed. The arbitration case involved the outsourcing of the maintenance of the Denver baggage system and was held during the last week of January. The Joint Board heard five grievances and the final report regarding resolution should be out shortly.

On a local front there have been many rumors regarding eleven people returning to Newark. As I reported previously this will depend on the answer of the station closing arbitration case, and as I write this there has been no final answer for that grievance.

The parties have decided to take a one week break in the negotiations schedule so I will be at Dulles for the full week and will be working on open grievances and issues. I would again like to thank the Stewards for stepping up and doing a great job in servicing the contract as well as keeping me informed about what has been happening locally.

That's all for now,

Bob