Busy couple of months for AMFA Organization's

[Kev3188]

A TOS of $13.25, a 14-page CBA, and language that still says AS can terminate the Ground Handling Service Contract anytime.

Just a huge W all around.

 

[CorvetteMan]

A TOS of $13.25, a 14-page CBA, and language that still says AS can terminate the Ground Handling Service Contract anytime.

Just a huge W all around.

Keep ignoring reality.

How many pages is your CBA at DL?

 

[WeAAsles]

 

[Kev3188]

Keep ignoring reality.

How many pages is your CBA at DL?

Dude, McGee exists because the IAM stepped on a rake. It’s not a badge of honor, no matter how many press releases they put out about it “touting the end to outsourcing.” Good union jobs were replaced by ones that top out at less than the starting wage at most carriers, but hey they have dues check off, so hurray!

That was such a colossal F-up that it hampers drives today… which is big part of why my current CBA is exactly 0 pages.

That is reality.

 

[WeAAsles]

Dude, McGee exists because the IAM stepped on a rake. It’s not a badge of honor, no matter how many press releases they put out about it “touting the end to outsourcing.” Good union jobs were replaced by ones that top out at less than the starting wage at most carriers, but hey they have dues check off, so hurray!

That was such a colossal F-up that it hampers drives today… which is big part of why my current CBA is exactly 0 pages.

That is reality.

Cyclic Hotline
16th May 2005, 00:15
Alaska Airlines outsources 472 baggage-handling jobs

By Melissa Allison
Seattle Times business reporter

Alaska Airlines baggage handlers arriving for work at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport just before 3 a.m. yesterday were met with a Friday the 13th surprise. Overnight, their jobs had been given to an outsourcing company.

All 472 of Alaska's baggage handlers at Sea-Tac got the same message by phone or as they showed up for their shifts. By replacing the unionized baggage handlers in Seattle with contract workers from Menzies Aviation, the airline estimates it will save more than $13 million a year.

The decision came a week after union workers in Seattle and Alaska overwhelmingly rejected a contract offer that included pay and benefit cuts but also a guarantee of four years without outsourcing. The airline had warned since January that it might outsource the jobs if no agreement could be reached with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 143.

An airline official said the transition from IAM workers to Menzies went smoothly. The carrier decided Thursday night to cancel four flights at Sea-Tac, but most of its 130 departures from Seattle took off within minutes of their scheduled times, said spokeswoman Caroline Boren.

The carrier is working to cut costs in an industry facing high fuel costs, low ticket prices and competition from other carriers, including some that are slashing expenses while in Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Late last year, Alaska announced the layoff of 900 managers, mechanics and aircraft cleaners, including almost 200 people in Seattle.

Union leaders said yesterday they will take unspecified legal action to try to save Seattle baggage handlers' jobs. The union believes that by outsourcing now, airline management has violated the IAM's collective-bargaining agreement with the carrier, as well as the Railway Labor Act, which covers transportation workers.

Severance for Alaska's baggage handlers


Alaska Airlines is required by law to provide nine weeks' pay and benefits to the 472 baggage handlers it let go in Seattle yesterday. It has proposed a severance package that would include:

• Two weeks of base pay for each year of service, up to 52 weeks' base pay

• Cash payment of $3,000 to $15,000 based on years of service

• One year of company-paid continuation of health care coverage

• One year of travel benefits for employees and dependents for every two years of service

Source: Alaska Airlines

"If Alaska is looking for a fight that may prove fatal to the airline, they have found one," Robert Roach Jr., general vice president of transportation for the IAM, said in a statement.

The airline filed a lawsuit against the union in March seeking to force the IAM into arbitration to determine whether its contract allows the jobs to be outsourced. Alaska officials believe the contract allows outsourcing in this case, and they went ahead without resolution of the lawsuit.

Alaska is required by law to pay full wages and benefits to workers for nine weeks, after which a severance package kicks in.

The carrier is discussing with union leaders the specifics of the severance offering. Employees also will be able to apply for jobs with Menzies Aviation.

One Seattle baggage handler with nearly nine years at Alaska said he would rather look for another job than work under the contract proposed by management.

"Given the pay and the level of respect we've been given by this company, to me personally, I'd rather go work somewhere else," said the 26-year-old worker, who asked not to be named to protect his severance package.

Under the old contract, his pay would have reached more than $20 an hour within a few years. The proposed contract cut that top wage to about $15 an hour.

"That's a big deal," he said. "We can find work elsewhere for $15."

The IAM represents 1,072 Alaska Airlines workers, most of them baggage handlers in Seattle and at 14 airports in Alaska. It also represents workers who provide supplies and spare parts at airports in various cities, including some outside the Northwest.

Alaska is keeping about 135 IAM workers in Seattle, including cargo handlers and people who provide supplies and spare parts.

The carrier already outsources baggage handling services at 41 of the 56 airports it serves. Menzies Aviation does the work for Alaska in several cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Portland.

Menzies Aviation, which is based south of London, does baggage handling and other work for 500 aviation customers in 21 countries. U.S. clients include Continental Airlines, US Airways, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines.

Boren said baggage handlers from Menzies are subject to the same background checks and receive the same training as unionized workers.

"We're committed to making sure we have the same high level of safety and security we always have," she said.


Alaska pilots union files suit against airline

The union for Alaska Airlines' pilots sued the airline yesterday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, seeking to vacate an arbitrator's decision that, among other things, cut pilot pay by an average of 26 percent.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents Alaska's nearly 1,500 pilots, alleges that the arbitration board, with Richard Kasher as arbitrator, failed to follow rules agreed upon by the carrier and the union regarding hourly wages, profit-sharing and provisions to protect the pilots' jobs.

ALPA asked the court to vacate the April 30 decision.

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Caroline Boren declined to comment, saying the company is reviewing the lawsuit.

Kasher, a full-time professional arbitrator based in Philadelphia, said it would not be appropriate for him to comment.

The union called the arbitration board's decision "unconscionable" when it was released. For some pilots, it meant pay cuts of up to 34 percent. Under the new contract, most Alaska captains earn at least $133,000 a year based on a guaranteed minimum of 75 flying hours a month, according to an analysis by John Steinbech, who runs an informational Web site for pilots.

Alaska said this week it expects to save $80 million to $90 million as a result of the arbitrator's decision.

---

Rollingthunder
16th May 2005, 00:31

 

[WeAAsles]

Ok Kev yea nah. It took me awhile to be able to find a link to that story from that time but you are DEAD WRONG to blame the IAM wholly for what happened at Alaska back in 2005.

Those members were given (unfortunately) a concessionary vote and they chose to vote no. The IAM did the only thing they could when they outsourced (Locked out) their members in Sea Tac (Same situation you defend for AMFA at NWA)

Anyway you took concessions at NWA and Delta filed Bankruptcy in 2005. We at AA agreed to concessions in 2003. Terrible times for all of us and those people in Seattle were no different. Not saying they should or shouldn’t have voted yes either.

No I’m not crazy about the settlement being voluntary recognition for those McGee workers though “UNLESS” they are paying a lot less in dues than the weighted average for that local.

They did get wage raises recently but from where they were honestly 5% does suck. But they did ratify that agreement (Their choice)

 

[Kev3188]

Ok Kev yea nah. It took me awhile to be able to find a link to that story from that time but you are DEAD WRONG to blame the IAM wholly for what happened at Alaska back in 2005.

That might be a fair point if you had kept digging instead of stopping as soon as you found the answer you wanted. That's something unserious people do.

Keep going.

Spitting the word Aeroman as a pejorative while touting Mcgee as a victory is also a hallmark of unserious people. Intellectual honesty would require acknowledging the damage both are doing to our industry.

To be fair, I don't believe for a second that Rich actually believes what he's typing. He's either angling to get back in the game or likes a good pile-on. Probably both, really.

 

[WeAAsles]

That might be a fair point if you had kept digging instead of stopping as soon as you found the answer you wanted. That's something unserious people do.

Keep going.

Spitting the word Aeroman as a pejorative while touting Mcgee as a victory is also a hallmark of unserious people. Intellectual honesty would require acknowledging the damage both are doing to our industry.

To be fair, I don't believe for a second that Rich actually believes what he's typing. He's either angling to get back in the game or likes a good pile-on. Probably both, really.

Here you are getting emotional again. What more do you want? The rest of the story is that McGee still represents the ramp at Sea Tac and the IAM still represents Rampers at multiple airlines with very good contracts including Alaska.

Now you say if I kept digging as if you know a story I’ve yet to discover but yet you I guess can’t tell me what that story is?

Anyway facts are facts whether they suit your needs or not. And the facts are that you were/are DEAD WRONG with your criticism regarding the story in 2005.

Now to join you somewhat however yes companies like Aeroman, McGee and so so so many others do undercut us. But the facts again too are you and I would highly unlikely be earning what we earn without standing on those low wage shoulders.

Be honest with me Kev. Do you talk to the guy who scrubs your toilets at work? Oh I’m sure he gets a customary and polite hello from you but I doubt you’ve ever broken bread with him. Do you think they’re going to pay him what you make?

Let’s try not to be hypocrites with these stories.

 

[WeAAsles]

Kev do you blame the IAM for the givebacks you’ve had to take in your career? Do you hold a grudge on them that they couldn’t win the Delta/NWA representational?

You know even Tim Nelson finally made his peace with the IAM. Are you a good swimmer Kev?





And BTW Kev I’m not really that concerned with those subcontractors at the moment. At AA we started the merger at around 14,000 Ramp Agents and now we’re just under 20,000. Sure I’d like to get Fueling and Cabin Service back but I need to finally be a realist about it. It’s the Market that’s the only thing that will ever bring it back to me. Yes I said it, the “Market” As long as there are people that will take those jobs on the cheap I just have to hold on to what I got now just a little while longer. (Retirement ain’t too far off now)

Cest La Vie.

 

[Kev3188]

And BTW Kev I’m not really that concerned with those subcontractors at the moment.

Of course, you aren't. But no one was asking, either.

A recap:

Rich: Weak AMFA CBA at AS led to OAK base closing.
Me: The same thing happened to the AS ramp at SEA for the same reason.
Rich: That's different.

You don't get to call it both ways. Weak CBAs are still just that, regardless of which logo is on the front cover.

C'est la vie indeed.

 

[WeAAsles]

Of course, you aren't. But no one was asking, either.

A recap:

Rich: Weak AMFA CBA at AS led to OAK base closing.
Me: The same thing happened to the AS ramp at SEA for the same reason.
Rich: That's different.

You don't get to call it both ways. Weak CBAs are still just that, regardless of which logo is on the front cover.

C'est la vie indeed.

Ok I’d need 3 things that I can’t find to defend the Ramp story. Their Contract at the time, the Story that led to that Contract language and the actual Arbitrators decision in writing. I did read that Alaska Management was willing to take the issue to Court though which is probably the reason why the IAM made the settlement that they did.

But “CorvetteMan” is right that the IAM did fight and win that issue. Maybe their Lawyers told them it wouldn’t be a good idea to press their luck and try to get back the old status quo taking it to court?

It appears the language was that the IAM Contract for staffing SeaTac had to stay under the price of a vendors agreement to perform the work. With language like that for that Station it sounds to me like it was always an at risk job. Probably also why their McGee members are paid so chitty.

I don’t know the AMFA story at AK regarding an OAK Base. But in the decade of 2000 to 2010 there were lots of base and station closings and people losing their jobs.

Every Contract I’ve ever seen no matter who negotiated it has trap doors here and there. The trick in this industry is to transfer to a location or position where you’re not standing over one of those trap doors.

Small Stations have always been Trap Doors and honestly I wouldn’t have transferred to where I am if that Hub wasn’t right down the road within an acceptable driving distance.

https://investor.alaskaair.com/news-releases/news-release-details/arbitrator-issues-ruling-seattle-ramp-case

 

[WeAAsles]

Alaska Airlines Closing Oakland Maintenance Base​

SEATTLE, Sep 9, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- As part of an ongoing effort to improve its competitive standing in the post-9/11 airline industry, Alaska Airlines announced today that it will contract out all heavy maintenance work.
Up to now Alaska has contracted with vendors for about 60 percent of its heavy maintenance, while the other 40 percent has been done by its staff at its Oakland hangar. Effective today, the Oakland facility will be closed and the work transferred to two vendors.
Alaska employs 340 people at the base -- some 80 percent of them licensed aircraft technicians. The remainder serve in various administrative and support functions. Depending on seniority, bargaining unit employees will be laid off or given the opportunity to bid into other maintenance locations in the Alaska system.
The move is part of a wide-ranging series of streamlining initiatives the airline is announcing today, and comes on the heels of a management reorganization that started last month. All told, Alaska is trimming nearly 900 of its more than 11,000 employees and either contracting out work or, with regard to management, reorganizing to achieve the same results with fewer people. The collective savings is projected at between $30 million and $35 million per year.
"Our commitment to secure the future of Alaska Airlines -- to first ensure our survival and then return us to a position of strength in this permanently changed industry -- has forced us to make some very tough decisions that impact good people," said Alaska CEO Bill Ayer.
"Our Oakland technicians are highly talented and have made great strides over the past years by implementing new systems and processes," added Ayer. "They did their work well, but the reality is that large-scale maintenance providers can give us the same excellent quality at a lower cost."
Alaska's heavy maintenance work now will be done entirely by two contractors: Goodrich Aviation Technical Services in Everett, Wash. and AAR Aircraft Services in Oklahoma City, Okla. Goodrich has performed heavy maintenance for Alaska for nearly three decades and AAR has been the exclusive heavy maintenance provider for the carrier's MD-80 fleet for more than a year.
For employees impacted, Alaska has talked with union leadership about the possibility of offering one of the most generous severance packages since 9/11 triggered 100,000 layoffs at other carriers. That package would include two weeks of pay for every year of service, a lump sum bonus based on years of service, company-paid health insurance coverage for one year and extended travel benefits.
To help minimize the number of involuntary departures, the airline has proposed to offer the same voluntary severance package to other maintenance and engineering employees at other locations, based on seniority and on a one-for-one basis, in the hopes of creating openings for those displaced in Oakland or via seniority bumping.
Closing the maintenance base will have no impact on Alaska's staffing or flight schedules at Oakland International Airport.
The employees of the Oakland maintenance base, which Alaska acquired in 1988, worked almost exclusively on the airline's fleet of 74 Boeing 737 aircraft.
Alaska Airlines has provided air service at Oakland International Airport since 1983. Alaska, and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, serve more than 80 cities in Alaska, the Lower 48, Canada and Mexico. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines Newsroom on the Internet at http://newsroom.alaskaair.com .

 

[WeAAsles]

Of course, you aren't. But no one was asking, either.

A recap:

Rich: Weak AMFA CBA at AS led to OAK base closing.
Me: The same thing happened to the AS ramp at SEA for the same reason.
Rich: That's different.

You don't get to call it both ways. Weak CBAs are still just that, regardless of which logo is on the front cover.

C'est la vie indeed.

I guess even Pilots have weak CBA’s. FYI Kev there are and never have been any 100% concrete solid iron clad CBA’s in any industry. If a Company fails its employees take the fall with it.

Alaska Airlines is planning to close its New York pilot base

Alaska Airlines plans to close its New York pilot base in September, asking more than 100 pilots to relocate to California in a matter of months.

www.cnbc.com

 

[CorvetteMan]

IAM/AS CBA was violated and the IAM won in arbitration

AMFA/AS CBA permitted the closing of OAK, thereby AMFA had zero recourse.

Not that hard to comprehend what transpired.

 

[WeAAsles]

IAM/AS CBA was violated and the IAM won in arbitration

AMFA/AS CBA permitted the closing of OAK, thereby AMFA had zero recourse.

Not that hard to comprehend what transpired.

This is from the AMFA website

“AMFA was certified at Alaska Airlines (ASA) on March 30, 1998, and the Association currently represents over 600 ASA members who maintain the airline’s fleet of Boeing 737s. The current contract is the fourth AMFA – ASA negotiated contract, and the amendable date is October 17, 2016”

I always try to be fair to the story as I dig through it.

At the time of the Base closing AMFA had been representing AK AMT’s for 6 1/2 years. AMFA has a History of continuing to blame the IBT for language they inherited at SWA for having weak Scope. But the facts are with that story that AMFA has had 20 years to fix that issue and has failed.

Question 🙋‍♂️ Should AMFA be blamed for the obviously weak language at AK after 6 1/2 years of representation or should the prior collective bargaining agent have a finger pointed at them?

20 years NO. That’s ALL on AMFA now. 6 1/2 though? 🤷‍♂️

But the facts are also according to that OAK Base closing information AMFA represents zero Heavy Maintenance at Alaska Airlines.