TWU informer

With the assent of the American Airlines lawyers, U.S. District Judge Sean Lane will get an extra two weeks to decide whether American can reject its collective bargaining agreements.

The judge had set June 6 as his deadline to stay within the 30 days laid out in the federal bankruptcy code. But he worried aloud Friday afternoon about being able to render a decision in such a complex case.

American counsel Jack Gallagher said American was "eager to accommodate the court" and suggested June 22 as a new deadline, which the judge quickly embraced.

Now, June 6 will be the deadline for American, the Allied Pilots Association, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants and the Transport Workers Union to file briefs that sum up their positions.
In the interest of relative brevity, the judge also asked each union to limit its brief to 30 pages and for American to limit its brief to 75 pages.

American is attempting under Section 1113 of the bankruptcy code to reject its contracts with the three unions and impose new terms of employment on them. However, five of the seven TWU bargaining units voted this week to accept American's proposed contracts, so those are no longer part of the 1113 proceedings.
American presented its case April 23-27. The APA presented its case Monday through Wednesday, the APFA put on its case Wednesday through Friday morning, and TWU began its case around noon Friday.
With the TWU to finish presenting its case Monday or Tuesday of next week, the judge said he presumes the testimony including rebuttals should conclude by the end of that week.

The judge took note that the parties will have spent three weeks presenting their sides, an unusually long trial on Section 1113 motions. Lane said other cases have wrapped up in three days.

My Shop Steward tells me that Sam Cirri and Mike McDonald have nominated John Hewitt for an open International Executive Board position/appointment.

Don't expect anyone will be seeing a ballot to the membership on this matter.

Congratulations Hewitt, being an International Puppet always pay off for those that conform.

You will be well taken care for life now, at the expense of the profession and your Union Brothers and Sisters.

http://aviationblog....s/2012/05/union
-members-march-on-america.html


Members of American Airlines's pilot and flight attendant unions gathered this morning for a march on American's Fort Worth headquarters to deliver a "no-confidence" statement from their members.
Staff Writer Terry Maxon is there and phoned in this quick report. He'll update with more photos and a longer account later.
Leaders of the two unions said more than 19,000 pilots and flight attendants signed petitions calling for new management at American.
Both Dave Bates, president of the Allied Pilots Association, and Marcus Gluth, vice president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said American would not return to its preeminent position among airlines until US Airways management replaced those currently in the top spots at American.

AMT is my work area got a call from a retiree last night. This guy retired about 8-9 years ago and he had a ballot for this LBO voting. He had questions about the call in instructions and what he was supposed to do with it? I was asked NOT to use the retirees name but I do have it available.

Everyone needs to start calling the retirees that you, ask if they have received a ballot and let's see what is happening here.

Surely the TWU wouldn't include the retirees in the current voting process.

Say it aint so.

Your only Union leverage left as this point is that NO plan of Reorganization has ever been approved by a Bankruptcy Court without consensual agreements from Unions on the property. You must force negotiations to move closer to the emergence plan deadline to succeed.

Voting NO will require negotiations to continue with a deadline for AA to get a plan together.

AS the deadline nears AA will have to move closer to the Unions demand or no plan to emerge will be approved because consensual agreements with the Unions must be in place before judge will approve a plan of reorganization.

Removing this leverage now is the worst thing a Union person could do.

The TWU is attempting to use unfounded fear to get you to vote to remove the only leverage we have left.

The reason the TWU is doing this is to attempt to save jobs and dues payers.

If you are willing to sellout the future of the profession, then vote YES.

If you are willing to take a stand and stop the bleeding this profession has suffered then vote NO.

AA is not even asking to cancel your contract, they are asking to modify your contract to reduce cost.

If the contract were to be cancelled then job actions could take place and the company could not obtain injunctions to stop job actions.

If the contract were to be cancelled then there would be NO closed shop and the TWU would suffer loss of dues income.

Your contract will NOT be cancelled, it will be modified and negotiations must resume.

Neither AA or the TWU will seek complete cancellation of your contract.

TWU is the only Union "tapping" out before the fight even begins.

AA Pilots and F/A's are not in any hurry to sellout their members like the TWU is.

AA Pilots and F/S's are basically sitting and whittling sticks while the TWU is running around like a chicken without a head.

The TWU is only doing this to save some jobs and cannot even give you an exact number being saved.

The Outsource Language will allow AA to reduce headcount anyway over the six agreement period. No jobs are really being saved at all.

In 1995 we gave them 25% SRP's and 6 1/2% over 6 years in pay raises to save jobs and turn this company around.

In 2003 we gave 17.5% paycut, Holidays, Vacation, and Sick time to turn this company around.

2012....17 years later, you are being asked to give again.

We cannot save AA from itself with concessions. This has been proven over 17 years.

Now is the time to take a stand and stop the concessions for jobs that does nothing to secure your overall future.

How many times must you allow the TWU to use FEAR to destroy your own future and job to save an imaginary headcount that turns out to be untrue?


VOTE NO, TAKE A STAND, DO NOT BEND TO TWU FEAR!!!