Today Airline Division Director David Bourne and IBT Counsel Ed Gleason visited with the Auto Shop and Facilities members in IAD. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the recent negotiated relief between the IBT and United Services to eliminate all dependability related discipline. Several members had pointed questions surrounding this decision, and both David and Ed explained what led to the decision by United Services as well as the current state of this issue for the members in Airport Operations.According to David this started as a negotiation that included every Teamster on the property; however four days prior to the announcement VP Scott Dolan said there was no problem with dependability in his Teamster covered shops. Mr. Dolan then informed everyone that he decided not join the rest of the Company in this agreement.
Both Ed and David informed the members today that this is not the end of this process. We were told that it is the position of the IBT that they will not stop working on this issue until all members are treated equally.
There was also some discussion surrounding negotiations with regard to scope, pension and work rules. Unfortunately time didn't permit every question to be answered, but both David and Ed will return Friday for further discussions.
I would like to thank these men for their time today. As many of you know, this visit was initiated because of the concerns of members on the floor. Calls were made to relay these concerns to the IBT, and David and Ed responded by scheduling this visit as soon as possible. I can't remember the last time any high ranking union official of any of the previous unions responded to our concerns in this fashion, this fast.
That's all for now,
Bob
