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Air Transport Division
TWU.ORG
INSIDER
Vol. 9, No. 1 Official Publication of the Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO
April, 2013
Knives Again - Are They Serious?
Transportation Security Administration To Allow Knives Onboard Aircraft
Beginning April 25 - tell them No! Story and link on page 6
In This Issue:
2 - Director's Update
2 - New Local 591 Officers
3 - AA, US Airways Merger
Local 555 TWU members and thousands of others protested Southwest Airlines across the country on March 28th.
Full story in the Director's Update - page 2
AA, US Airways Merger Receives Approval, Judge Delays
Horton's Severance Package
T
he new American Airlines cleared a
major step in its bid to become the
worlds largest airline, gaining bankruptcy court approval on March 27.
The 11B dollar merger faces
other obstacles, needing regulatory
approval from the Government and US
Airways shareholders. AMR asked for
another extension to file their reorganization plan. The court granted the extension until May 29. (Con. on page 3)
3 - Quill Scholarship
4 - Battle For Fairness
5 - Heard of the TPP Yet ?
6 - Knives On A Plane?
7 - State Conferences' Band Together
8 - The OSHA 300 Log
9 - MSDS System Change
9 - Steward Tip
10 - 11 - AMR Bankruptcy Timeline
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
Director's Update
Outsourcing is a Heartbreaker
T
WU Local 555 represents
9,500 Southwest Airlines
ramp, operations, provisioning
and freight agents that have been in
negotiations since July 2011 with
almost no progress. In September
2012, Local 555 and Southwest
Airlines entered into federal mediation.
The situation has not changed.
On March 28, thousands of
Local 555 members united nationwide
to tell the former “LUV” airline,
Southwest - “No!” to outsourcing
and other concessions. Southwest
wants implementation of a “B” scale
wage, an Absence Management
Program which would rob members
of benefits earned through previous
negotiations, unattainable bonuses and
no structural pay increases. Picketing
and leafleting took place in Baltimore,
Buffalo, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Fort
Lauderdale, Houston, Kansas City,
Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nashville,
Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle,
and Tampa. Members in nearly 60
additional cities held j-line meetings to
display unity.
The March 28th action
received support from Local 556,
representing Southwest Airlines
flight attendants; TWU Local 550,
representing Southwest Airlines
dispatchers; along with TWU Locals
512, and 513, representing American
Airlines fleet service. Central Labor
Councils from around the country
joined demonstrations in a strong
display of solidarity, and I join the
members of Local 555 in thanking all
of those who participated.
Southwest Airlines posted a
profit of 421 million dollars last year
and is forecast by Wall Street analyst
to achieve record profit levels in 2013
and 2014. Local 555 members sent
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ATD INSIDER
a strong message that they intend to
protect their future and that outsourcing
would compromise customer service at
Southwest Airlines.
Our next mediation session
is scheduled to begin April 30, 2013.
If the company chooses not to listen
to our March 28 message, these
demonstrations will only be the first
step. After walking the picket line
in Dallas, and seeing the enthusiasm
across the country, there is not a
doubt in my mind that the members
are committed to making their voices
heard. Local 555 President Charles
Cerf said it best, “We simply can’t
understand why management would
compromise our tradition of excellence
by making demands at the bargaining
table to outsource our work, cut into
our sick days, and make it harder for
our members to be on the job. If we’re
not there, who is going to provide
our passengers with the quality of
service they have come to expect at
Southwest?”
TWU members are committed
to negotiating for as long as it takes
to achieve a contract that rewards
their hard work and keeps Southwest
profitable, but not at their expense.
Members are staying strong, staying
united and it makes me proud to be a
part of that.
April, 2013
Garry Drummond
International Vice President
Air Transport Division Director
Local 591 Elects Officers
T
he ATD congratulates all the
recently elected officers of new
Local 591 and look forward to
working with them in the future.
President – Gary Peterson
Vice President – Gary Schaible
Recording Secretary – Jorge Rojas
Financial Secretary Treasurer –
Robert Owens
Central Region VP – Brian Friedman
Northeast Region VP – Stephen Gukelberger
Western Region VP – John “JR” Ruiz
Southeast Region VP – James Knapp
Southwest Region VP – Gerald Mishak
Protest at Dallas' Love Field
Title I Executive Board – Jim (Flip) Fillipelli
Title II E. Board – Eddie Suarez
Title V E. Board – Mike Bush
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
American, US Airways Merger (Cont.)
American's employees were
not pleased when they heard of CEO Tom
Horton receiving a 19.8 million dollar
severance package. And neither was
the U.S. bankruptcy trustee, who filed a
motion protesting the lucrative package,
stating that it did not conform with current bankruptcy law. Judge Lane agreed,
for now, but left the door open for Horton's severance package to be addressed
after the airline exits bankruptcy.
Once AMR files its reorganization plan, creditors will have 60 days to
make their objections. After objections
are heard and the judge rules, American
can officially exit the bankruptcy court,
ending a long and ugly process that began
in November 2011.
Both carriers have said they
expect the merger to be completed in
September of this year. The new American Airlines will be the largest airline in
the world.
S
ince 1969, TWU has been awarding 15 four-year college scholarships
annually to the dependents of TWU members. The awards are worth
$1,200 each annually, for a total of $4,800 over the four year college
period.
Winners of the scholarship are determined by a public drawing held
each May at TWU Headquarters. The benefits of the first 30 drawings have
been enjoyed by families throughout the Union. Sons and daughters of members in city passenger transit, railroad and air transportation, utilities, public
employment, space installations, and allied industries are among those who
began their college education with the help of funds paid to the universities.
Quill scholarship money is paid directly to the college or university
that the successful applicant actually attends. Applications can be secured
online and from the first issue of the TWU Express each year.
Official Publication
Transport
Workers
Union
of America
AFL-CIO
The Quill Scholarship Program is supervised by International Executive Vice President Harry Lombardo with the assistance of Executive Secretary Tinisha Thompson. Quill Scholarship applications are available online at:
http://www.twu.org/Portals/0/quill_app.pdf
Air Transport Division
1791 Hurstview Dr.
Hurst, Texas 76054
Phone: (817)-282-2544
Tim McAninley
Editor - ATD Insider
Communications Coordinator
Photographs: Angi Tucker
Published Quarterly Online:
March, June, September,
December
www.twu.org
Applications Must Be Received By May 1, 2013
Michael J. Quill Scholarship Fund
Transport Workers Union of America, AFL-CIO
501 3rd St. NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20001
April, 2013
ATD INSIDER
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AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
addressed by the FAA, and that was seven
years after the first report was issued.
The license freeze still stands, but there is
mounting pressure from the repair station
lobby called the Aeronautical Repair
Station Association (ARSA) to lift the
ban on issuing new repair station licenses.
Don Videtich
International Representative
Battle for Fairness
F
or decades airline maintenance
for most major U.S. carriers
was performed in-house. Only
the smaller airlines outsourced their
maintenance and that was usually to
larger carriers that had invested in their
own overhaul facilities here in the U.S.
That practice began to change
in 1983 when Continental Airlines filed
for its first bankruptcy under Chapter 11.
They chose to outsource the majority
of their overhaul work to third party
maintenance facilities. This was a
significant change in the way major
airlines overhauled their fleets and set a
devastating precedent for outsourcing.
The outsourcing of maintenance would
see explosive growth in the first decade
of the new millennium - a result of the
aftermath of 9/11, soaring oil prices and
a flailing economy. Airline bankruptcies
and outsourcing flourished.
For years the FAA had issued
repair station licenses to domestic and
foreign maintenance repair organizations
(MROs). In 2008 a freeze on new
licenses was put in place. The U.S.
Congress determined that significant
safety and security violations existed per
an Officer of Inspector General (OIG)
report (AV-2003-047) and that until their
recommendations were addressed, no
new licenses should be issued.
Since that time, several
subsequent reports have been issued
by the OIG and out of their 23
recommendations, only seven have been
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ATD INSIDER
In a recent letter to Senator
Claire McCaskill, TWU International
President James C. Little wrote the
Senator asking her to follow up on
the Federal Aviation Administration’s
progress on the OIG’s previous
recommendations, and alerting her to
ARSA’s push to lift the maintenance
licensing restrictions, an issue the TWU
strongly opposes. Senator McCaskill
serves on several important committees’
including the Committee on Commerce,
Science and Transportation, and the
Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs.
The TWU has worked for
many years with the Transportation
Trades Department (TTD) a lobbying
arm representing labor organizations in
the transportation sector. The TWU and
TTD have actively pressed Congress,
asking them to enact an improved
FAA Reauthorization Bill that is fair.
And, TWU members have lobbied in
Washington on numerous occasions in
favor of a fairer FAA Reauthorization
Bill that affects maintenance workers and
flight attendants.
The airline industry needs
global regulations that hold all licensed
applicants and existing licensed MROs
to the same standards when it comes to
safety and security. In the U.S. aircraft
mechanics are required to undergo
random drug testing and background
checks. Not so outside the country. At ST
Aero in Singapore the OIG 2003 report
stated that a member of Al Qaeda was
working in the facility with access to U.S.
registered commercial airliners. Worse
yet, Oneworld partner Qantas sends their
747 aircraft to ST Aero, an MRO that
used prison labor to work on aircraft;
thanks to the Australians’ public outcries,
this practice has ceased. There are more
examples of MRO safety and security
lapses in the TWU researched report,
“Who’s Fixing My Plane?”For a copy,
click here.
The TWU report was recently
April, 2013
cited in the U.S. Congressional Research
Service as factual and relevant when it
comes to FAA oversight.
Recently, ARSA began pushing
(http://arsa.org/lift-the-ban/) to have
the ban on new repair station licenses
removed and the FAA is seriously
considering doing so. If the ban is lifted
without regulations in place to create a
level playing field for all in-house and
outside MROs then there is no way for
airline MROs to compete on cost. Nonairline MROs, foreign and domestic,
would be allowed to operate with no
background checks and no drug testing
of employees that work on aircraft
operated within U.S. airspace. This puts
all in-house maintenance at risk and
could begin another, and possibly final,
wave of airline maintenance jobs lost to
the unproven and unqualified low bid
maintenance operators.
As a union member or
passenger, what can you do to help fix
this? There is tremendous power when
we focus together collectively on these
issues. Let’s start with our elected
representatives. Barrage them with
constant communication explaining
why you think the regulatory playing
field is unsafe and must be fixed. We
can achieve results, once we get their
attention and persist.
ARSA wants the rules relaxed
for non-airline MROs and they even
want Congress to ease regulations on
MRO’s in other countries. The question
is simple; what is the acceptable standard
for the security and safety of the traveling
public? If they can define that standard
- then apply it equally. I urge everyone
to write to your representatives about the
problems spelled out here and tell your
neighbors. When they take their next
flight, ask them to think about, “Who’s
fixing my plane?”
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
Have You Heard
of the TPP Yet? An
Important Trade
Agreement You
Need to Know
About
From: AFL-CIO NOW 03/11/2013
By: Celeste Drake
T
he U.S. government is
currently working with 10
other countries to negotiate
the biggest trade and investment
agreement (also known as a “free
trade agreement” or FTA) in history.
It is called the TPP, or TransPacific Partnership. Not only will
it be bigger than NAFTA (the North
American Free Trade Agreement) ­—
it’s actually NAFTA plus eight other
countries.
But the mainstream press
doesn’t talk about the TPP much.
Have you read about in your local
paper? Heard it mentioned on the
evening news or on news talk radio?
Perhaps on the Sunday morning talk
shows?
I have a feeling that most
of you are shaking your heads,
shrugging your shoulders or making
faces—because the answer is most
likely “no.” Most people simply have
not heard of the TPP, nor do they
know that it might be the last trade
agreement the United States ever
negotiates (unlike past agreements,
this one will be open to new
countries, whenever they want to
join). So it is all the more important
to get this one right.
Why isn’t the press talking
about this trade agreement? It’s
certainly not because trade is boring
or irrelevant, and it is definitely not
because the debate is over.
Trade is relevant. The U.S.
trade deficit, which has grown from
a little more than $70 billion in 1993,
the year before NAFTA went into
effect, to nearly $540 billion today,
costs us jobs. Trade deficits represent
lost opportunities. The bigger the
trade deficit, the more jobs we could
have created in the United States but
didn’t. Moreover, trade agreements
affect our domestic laws. Once we
enter into a trade agreement, it’s
not so easy to raise tariffs on trading
partners that engage in egregious
human rights violations—nor is it
easy to exit the agreement once we
find out it is bad for our economy and
our job creation.
Trade also is interesting.
Trade rules affect your rights in the
workplace, the safety of the food
you eat and how clean your water
is. Trade rules can affect whether
tuna canneries are allowed to tell
you if your tuna is dolphin-safe or
whether local grocery stores have to
label the hamburger you buy with
its country of origin. Trade rules can
affect the price of the fancy imported
cheese you like or how much North
American content must be in an
automobile for it to qualify for the
tariff benefits of NAFTA. And trade
rules also can make it easier for an
employer to shut down a factory, call
center or legal support office and
move it overseas. Trade is anything
but boring.
And the debate is certainly
not over. The proposed TPP is not
yet finished—the rules are still being
written. Will those rules largely
mimic the rules that have helped kill
off nearly 6 million manufacturing
jobs in the United States in just over
a decade? On the other hand, will
the rules help make it easier for
our brothers and sisters overseas
to organize and act collectively to
improve their wages and working
conditions? Will the rules require
our trading partners to protect
endangered species? Or will they
make it easier for giant global
corporations to attack laws banning
toxic chemicals? We don’t know the
answer to these questions yet—
because the deal isn’t done. But if the
loudest voices the administration and
Congress hear belong to the global
corporations who have benefited
from past agreements, I can predict
what the answers will be. And they
won’t be answers we like. If you have
not yet spoken up to tell President
Obama that America can’t take
another NAFTA, now is the time.
The president wants to
finish negotiating the agreement by
October 2013. Tomorrow may be too
late.
About Celeste Drake
Drake is Trade & Globalization
Policy Specialist at the AFL-CIO,
which she tells friends at home
means, she does two main things:
1) try to improve U.S. trade policy
so it doesn’t send more jobs
overseas, and 2) try to improve
labor rights for workers overseas
so that workers globally can
race to the top instead of having
global corporations push them to
the bottom. Her first experience
with the labor movement was as
a UFCW member while bagging
groceries for six months during
college. Full health benefits for
everyone who worked at least
16 hours a week? Triple time
on holidays? She states that "I
was sold on unions and never
looked back!" Since then, Drake
has been a public school teacher
(and vice president of her local),
a law clerk for a federal judge,
and congressional aide on Capitol
Hill. While Legislative Director
for Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA),
she coordinated the Labor and
Working Families Caucus, one of
the largest caucuses in the U.S.
House of Representatives. Drake
holds a BA, a JD, and an MPP
degrees from UCLA.
April, 2013
ATD INSIDER
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AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
Knives On A Plane ?
Thom McDaniel,
TWU International Vice President
O
n March 5, TSA Administrator
John Pistole announced that
effective April 25, 2013 the
TSA would be relaxing their standards
on certain items allowed in the
aircraft cabin with the following
statement:
“Through TSA’s layered approach to
security, and to align more closely
with International Civil Aviation
Organization standards, effective
April 25, 2013 TSA will allow knives
that do not lock, and have blades
that are 2.36 inches or 6 centimeters
or less in length and are less than
1/2 inch in width, novelty-sized
and toy bats, billiard cues, ski poles,
hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and two
golf clubs as part of their carry-on
baggage. This is part of an overall
Risk-Based Security approach, which
allows Transportation Security
Officers to better focus their efforts
on finding higher threat items such as
explosives.”
6
The new changes do draw
the line at box cutters that were
believed to be the weapon of choice
for terrorists who attacked our
country on September 11, 2001.
After murdering flight attendants,
passengers, and pilots, that day, this
decision is clearly a slap in the face to
the 9-11 victims and their families.
The changes were
recommended by a committee that
did not include flight attendants,
ATD INSIDER
pilots, TSA agents, or their unions. In
fact, flight attendant unions including
those represented by TWU were
not given any chance to comment
and were not even informed of the
policy change until approximately 30
minutes before the information was
released publicly.
Administrator Pistole has
stated that relaxing restrictions is
part of a layered approach to “riskbased” security that will allow TSA
agents to focus more time, energy and
resources on explosives that could
take down an aircraft and not knives
that could pose a threat to flight
attendants and passengers and even
to reduce the “hassle factor” of TSA
screening. Administrator Pistole has
also cited bringing the USA in line
with international security standards
that implemented similar changes in
2010.
There has been a vehement
and unanimous public outcry against
Pistole’s decision from airline
employees, passengers, and even
Congressional leaders. The Coalition
of Flight Attendants(COFA) comprised
of TWU as well as the Association
of Flight Attendants (AFA), the
Association of Professional Flight
Attendants (APFA), the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT),
and International Association of
Machinists (IAM) have met with
Administrator Pistole to try and
persuade him to reconsider these
changes. In addition, unions
representing Pilots and TSA Agents,
Federal Air Marshals, and passenger
advocacy groups opposed the change.
Federal Air Marshals have joined with
Flight Attendants in public education
and legislative efforts to overturn the
TSA decision.
The COFA has organized
several public events to call attention
to and notify the public about the
proposed TSA changes including
airport leafleting, press conferences,
April, 2013
and television and radio interviews.
The public and flying passengers
have been urged to contact their
congressional representatives
to oppose the changes and sign
a White House Petition at: www.
noknivesonplanes.com
Coalition efforts have
also resulted in a bipartisan “Dear
Colleague” letter from 133 members
of the House of Representatives to
Administrator Pistole urging him
to rescind the proposed changes.
Bipartisan legislation has been
presented in the House and the
Senate that could lead to overturning
the TSA’s decision before being
implemented. This decision by the TSA is
shortsighted, unnecessary and leaves
too many questions unanswered. If
the TSA is to have a layered approach
to security, why have they chosen
to remove a layer? Why does it take
less time to find a 2.5 inch blade than
a 2.36 inch blade? Why was this
decision made without input from
the people who are most at risk?
When did the TSA focus change from
keeping passengers and crews safe to
keeping aircraft safe?
The TSA should focus on
explosives that can bring down an
aircraft, but that does not mean that
flight crews and passengers should be
put at greater risk. While our cockpits
have been fortified with hardened
steel doors and our pilots have been
armed, flight attendants have become
the last line of defense and deserve to
be protected. The TSA decision looms
as a slippery slope that makes air
travel less safe, and should remind us
all of that dark day of September 11,
2001. But we will continue fighting
this proposal and never forget those
who perished that tragic day.
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
TWU State Conferences' Band Together - Fight Against Legislative Attacks on Unions
Illinois and Indiana
T
WU Local 512 in Chicago hosted the
TWU Illinois-Indiana State Conference
meeting March 25. Member activists and
union leaders from the Railroad Division and
Air-Transport Division attended. Donald Knight
attended his first State Conference meeting as the
new President of Local 2014, which is also Chicago
based. Members learned of upcoming bills that target
labor organizations and how to mobilize to stop them.
Illinois Congressman (IL-10) Brad Schneider had a representative attend the
meeting; he reaffirmed that Congressman Schneider would continue to keep
his door open to TWU representatives because of their early endorsement
From left: Ted Berkshire, Local 2053; Juan Cordova,
Local 555; Donna Keith, Local 556; Gwen York, TWU
of the Congressman. Local 512 is already engaged in the 2014 re-election
COPE-Political Field Staff; Ram Villivallum, Office of
campaign for Congressman Schneider.
Congressman Brad Schneider (IL-10); Sean Doyle,
Local 512; Council Creech, Local 572; Donald Knight,
Local 2014. (Photo by Mike Brennan Local 512)
The TWU State Conferences were the brainchild of COPE-Political
Field Director, Alex Garcia, and with his departments help, has developed
and grown the program over the last four years. The TWU State Conferences’
elect their own officers and hold meetings at least quarterly, sometimes monthly. They invite local, state and federal
candidates to the meetings so members can ask questions before deciding whether or not to endorse. All politics begins at the
neighborhood level and it’s important that union members meet and support those candidates that support labors interests –
your interests.
There are currently Ten State Conferences involving fourteen states that help elect your local “labor friendly” city,
state, and federal representatives. The TWU GOTV program for national elections is also now coordinated through the State
Conferences.
Today’s focus is on various state representatives that will help us fight to preserve our rights in the workplace. We
want to earn a living wage and keep secure our benefits and jobs from outsourcing and leave something of value for the next
generation of American workers.
Texas
The Texas State Conference met at the ATD office on March 21 in Hurst, Texas. The
guest speaker was John Patrick, Secretary-Treasurer of the Texas State AFL-CIO. “Texas is at
a crossroad,” Patrick said, as he gave an alarming report on a number of bills introduced by
Tea Party backed Republicans, who have overwhelming control of the Texas legislature. “This
legislative session in Austin has an agenda and it’s going to get ugly for us," Patrick warned.
State Representative Tan Parker (R TX - 63) introduced a bill that would make it illegal
for employers to fail to track employee contributions to political action committees, by forcing employers to keep separate,
segregated lists of employee contributions. Parker also proposed repealing all state wage laws, while another Texas legislator
wants to eliminate card check off for union represented police and firemen. And yet another Republican legislator wants to
drug test all Texans receiving unemployment. There is no end in sight to these ridiculous attacks on hard working Texans.
Battleground Texas is focused on the “Lone Star” state as a grassroots initiative that hopes to turn Texas into a swing
state by the next presidential election. Battleground meetings have begun in earnest with new voter registration drives,
educating and training activists, recruiting precinct chairs and reaching out to the disenfranchised voters. Another dilemma is
finding good candidates to run for office in Texas. The demographics have changed and the Battleground Texas project is just
the beginning of a bigger fight for fairness.
The State Conferences’ encourages interested members to attend. If you are a TWU member in good standing and
would like to participate, contact your Local president for upcoming State Conference meetings planned in your state.
April, 2013
ATD INSIDER
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AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
logging, commercial fishing, oil and
natural gas production, and heavy
manufacturing and even farming.
The OSHA 300 Log
By: Shae Christakis, Local 513
M
ost of you have heard of
OSHA, the Occupational
Safety and Health
Administration. OSHA was
created in 1970 during the Nixon
administration and falls under the
jurisdiction of the US Department of
Labor.
OSHA’s primary role,
through legislated regulations, is
to aid in the prevention of work
related fatalities and injuries. They
require employers to maintain
safe, healthy work environments
for their employees and not harm
surrounding communities. OSHA has
the power to enforce strict financial
penalties on those who violate these
federal regulations and can even
close down their operation if need
be.
8
OSHA regulations can
require companies to fix faulty
equipment, provide employees with
specific training and encourage them
to follow industry established work
safety guidelines. There are some
industries that have gotten away
with indiscriminate murder because
they choose to ignore the law rather
than fix the problem. They have
done so by regularly skirting OSHA
regulations and often benefited
financially, because the levied fine
can be cheaper than the corrective
action. Companies gamble with their
money against employees’ lives.
Some of the most egregious industry
violators are: mining operations,
ATD INSIDER
As an American Airlines
employee for over 26 years, I have
seen my share of accidents and heard
of a few fatalities. Most accidents
could have been avoided if unsafe
working conditions were flagged
as dangerous and reported to
management. And yes, at times, even
our own members were not working
safely when they were hurt. As
coworkers we have an obligation to
each other to work safely, follow the
rules and report unsafe conditions or
equipment to management.
Employer’s having 10 or
more employees are required by
law to keep records of all work place
injuries and fatalities; it’s called the
OSHA 300 Log, have you heard of it?
The 300 Log classifies each incident
and records work place fatalities, any
injuries requiring more than three
days off of work, work restrictions
attributed to injuries, and loss of
consciousness or medical treatment
that require more than first aid.
The Log must be maintained in five
year increments and made available
to employees’ and OSHA Inspectors.
From February 1st thru April 30th
each year, OSHA regulations require
companies to post their OSHA 300
Log in the workplace.
As a shop steward I
wondered if American Airlines
posted these statistics, and where
might I find them. After some
research on the company’s internal
portal –Jetnet; I found it listed under
Policies/Procedures and Safety links.
They also list contact information
and guidelines for reporting
incidents to OSHA.
I did find the 300 Log posted
in a glass case near the company
Administration office and across
from our TWU Field Safety office
near gate C-4. Amazing - I had
walked this way many times before
and never noticed it until now.
April, 2013
As union members, I feel
it’s important for us to monitor our
workplace and the OSHA 300 Logs
regularly. We should validate that the
company is reporting these incidents
properly and accurately, not just
assume that they do.
I’m more aware now and
will hold myself and the company
accountable for reporting accurate
information. I hope each of you will
take the time to investigate the OSHA
300 Log in your workplace and do
the same.
Shae Christakis urges coworkers to
work safe and report unsafe conditions or ground service equipment to
managers immediately. Christakis
works as a fleet service clerk on the
ramp at DFW International Airport
and she's also Co-chair of the ATD
Working Women's Committee
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
OSHA Changing
MSDS System
Employers have
until Dec. 1, 2015 to train
employees on how to read
the new sheets
W
ASHINGTON -- This year
the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration
(OSHA) begins the transition of the
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
system to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
system. This transition will align the
MSDS system now used in the United
States with the Globally Harmonized
System of Classification and Labeling
of Chemicals (GHS), which is a worldwide system.
The MSDS system is a
method of outlining a chemical’s
characteristics, its dangers and
how it can be handled, stored and
disposed of safely.
Companies are required by
Federal law to maintain a written
inventory of all chemicals used in
the company’s facilities to which
employees are exposed, a library of
the MSDS for each chemical, proper
labeling and warnings for each
chemical and training employees
on the hazards and necessary
precautions in handling those
chemicals.
The new SDS system will
be implemented over the next
four years, but there are several
important dates to keep in mind:
•
•
December 1, 2013 – Employers
must train their employees on
how to read the new SDS sheets
by this date. Your library of
MSDS will begin to slowly turn
over to the new SDS format as
manufacturers move to the new
format.
June 1, 2015 – Chemical
manufacturers will have
•
•
completed their transition to the
new SDS format and system.
December 1, 2015 – Distributors
must complete their transition to
the new SDS format. After this
date, all labels in the United State
should be in the new format.
June 1, 2016 – All employers
should be compliant with the
new system, have their SDS
libraries updated with new
SDS, updated their hazard
communications plan to comply
with the new system and
any new hazards identified,
and completed training of
employees on any new hazards
or precautions identified by the
SDS system.
Employers now should
be reviewing their existing MSDS
internal systems for handling the
integration of the new sheets in their
libraries and planning for employee
training on the new sheets.
For more information on
this transition, click here. To access
OSHA’s web site on this MSDS/GHS/
SDS transition, go to: http://www.
osha.gov/dsg/hazcom/ghs.html
Steward Tip -
Use the Refund Technique
N
ext time some
loudmouth
starts
spouting off about
dues, especially
in a break room
or other place where there are
a lot of workers around, just say
something like: “Gee, I’m so sorry
to hear you’re unhappy with the
union. Here: I’ll give you back your
dues money, right out of my own
pocket.” Reach into your pocket and
count out a few bills. You’ll have
everybody’s attention. As you’re
holding the money, say something
like, “Of course, I’ll need something
in return. Since you’re so displeased
with the union and want nothing
to do with it, I will need you to sign
a form saying that in exchange for
getting your dues money back from
me, you will give me in return any
benefits the union has negotiated for
you.”
The member will probably
be a little surprised at this point
and say something like, “What do
you mean?” Your response should
be along the lines of: “Nothing
really. Just things like when you get
a paid vacation or holiday that’s in
the contract, you don’t get the pay,
I do. And next month, when our
employer has to pay for your health
insurance, the money will go to me
instead. And of course you’ll have to
give me the difference between the
minimum wage and what the union
has negotiated.” And so forth.
At this point the member is
usually willing to look a little more
reasonably at the question of dues—
and the discussion has been an
education for all the other members
in the room.
- Excerpted from The Union Steward’s
Complete Guide (2nd Edition)
April, 2013
ATD INSIDER
9
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
Are You
Living Beyond
Your Means?
and
credit
problems
Nov. 29, 2011 - AMR files for
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
•
•
Dec. 5, 2011 - TWU earns seat on
the Unsecured Creditors Committee
May 7, 2012 - AMR presents its
case for rejection of all CBA's at
American
•
Feb. 1, 2012 - AMR presents 1113
"ask" eliminating over 9,000 TWU
positions by outsourcing jobs
May 10 - TWU members begin
voting on company's "Last Best Offer" covering seven work groups
•
May 14 - APA begins presenting
their case to keep labor contracts
•
May 15 - Vote results are announced. Five of seven TWU
work groups accept AA's last offer.
Maintenance and Related, Stores
reject
•
May 16 - APFA begins their case
before the court
•
May 18 - TWU attorneys begin presenting union's before the court
•
May 24 - TWU attorney's conclude
unions case against abrogating
contracts for Maintenance and
Related and Stores members
•
May 25 - Judge Lane refers APA,
APFA and TWU to short mediated
sessions in attempt to reach a deal
•
June 11-12 - TWU negotiators for
M & R and Stores begin expedited
mediated sessions in New York
•
June 12 - Mediated talks end without an agreement
•
June 18 - Labor leaders representing APA, APFA and TWU, meet
with Dallas based editorial boards
in support of merger between U.S.
Air and American Airlines as an
alternative business plan
•
Feb. 13, 2012 - TWU hosts telephone town hall Q and A about
AMR bankruptcy process
•
Feb. 15, 2012 - TWU negotiators
propose Early Out/Separation to
AMR
•
Feb. 27, 2012 - American Airlines’ workers stage nationwide
protests at airports across the
country over job cuts and pension
termination
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WEB
10
ATD INSIDER
April 23, 2012 - 1113(c) trial begins in New York to reject unions
CBA's, TWU and APFA members
protest outside U.S. Bankruptcy
Court
•
•
Debt
•
•
March 7, 2012 - TWU negotiators
Win Freeze on AA Pension Plans
•
March 8, 2012 - Letter from James
C. Little to the National Mediation
Board proposing binding arbitration for the parties. APA and
APFA also proffer arbitration via
NMB
•
March 8, 2012 - AMR asks the
bankruptcy judge for six month
extension to file its restructuring plan, giving AMR to Sept. 28,
2012
•
March 19, 2012 - AMR declines
binding arbitration offers from
TWU, APA, and APFA
•
March 21, 2012 - AMR presents
its 1113 "ask" for reorganization
of American Eagle
•
March 27, 2012 - AMR files
1113(c) motion to reject all CBA's
at AA
June 21 - Judge Lane delays contract abrogation decision, extends
date by one week to June 29
•
June 27 - APFA and company agree
to resume talks again, July 3-5
•
•
April 2, 2012 - Follow up hearing
in New York court to establish
trial schedule
•
June 27 - APA Board recommends
sending out the company's enhanced offer
•
April 10, 2012 - Union's responsive pleadings to rejection of
CBA's
•
June 28 - The five TWU bargaining groups with ratified contracts,
enforced their me too clauses
April, 2013
AIR TRANSPORT DIVISION - TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION OF AMERICA, AFL-CIO
June 28 - TWU announces that
Maintenance and Related and
Stores negotiators will resume
talks with AA July 2 -3 at FSU
•
•
July 3 - M&R and Stores negotiators agree to extend talks to July 9
•
•
July 10 - M&R and Stores meet
with AA again - T/A reached that
afternoon for both groups
•
•
•
•
•
July 13 - Voting dates on T/A's for
M&R and Stores are posted online. Voting begins July 23, 2012
and polls close at 11:59 PM CT,
August 07, 2012
July 20 - Maintenance and Related and Fleet Service members
at American Eagle reach T/A
July 20 - APFA Executive Committee votes to send AA's Last Best
and Final Offer to the membership for a vote.
July 21 - APFA members begin
voting, polls close Sunday August
19 at 10:00am CT
•
July 25 - APA begins voting on
T/A. Polls close Aug. 8
•
July 30 - Special TWU/AA Presidents Council meeting. Senior
U.S. Airways management team
present their alternative business
plan for AA/U.S. Airways merger
•
August 8 - TWU M&R and Stores
members ratify their T/A's. APA
members reject theirs
•
August 15 - Judge Lane rules
against AMR's motion seeking abrogation of APA contracts, citing
two counts he did not agree with
•
August 17 - AMR refiles amended
motions with the court to rectify
the two counts cited by Judge
Lane
September 10 - APA Board of
Directors initiate strike balloting,
and member survey. Ballots due
back October 3rd
approves all American Eagle
consensual agreements
September 12 - Court approves
all contracts ratified by TWU and
APFA. This is the new DOS for
ratified agreements with AA
•
Sept. 25 - American invites APA
back to the bargaining table
•
Oct. 2 - APA Board agrees to resume talks with American Airlines
•
Oct. 3 - APA witholds strike vote
results as new round of negotiations begin next week
•
Oct. 3 - TWU negotiators representing American Eagle AMT
and Related and Ground School
Instructors reach a T/A
•
Oct. 7 - TWU negotiators representing American Eagle Dispatchers reach a T/A
•
Oct. 15 - Voting begins at 12:01
am for Eagle T/A's - Maintenance
and Related and Dispatchers.
Polls close October 26 at 2:00pm
Central Time
•
Oct. 19 - American Eagle Ground
School Instructors ratify agreement
•
Oct. 26 - American Eagle AMT
and Related member's ratify their
agreement; Dispatchers reject
•
Nov. 16 - APA Board backs Agreement In Principle, endorses sending out to membership as T/A
•
Nov. 30 - AMR files another
"exclusivity extension", asking for
more time until March 11, 2013 to
submit reorganization plan
•
Dec. 5 - TWU Dispatchers at
American Eagle reach new T/A
•
August 19 - APFA members ratify
company's LBFO by 60 percent
•
Dec. 7 - APA members ratify T/A
by over 73 percent
•
August 24 - American Eagle TWU
members in Fleet ratified their
T/A, while Maintenance and
Related rejected theirs
•
Dec. 8 - Ballots mailed to TWU
Dispatchers at American Eagle.
*Results announced Dec. 17
•
September 4 - Judge Lane agrees
with AMR's request to reject APA
contract
•
Dec. 17 - TWU Dispatchers at
American Eagle ratify their agreement
•
Dec. 21 - Judge Sean H. Lane
•
Jan. 11, 2013 - AMR requests 20
day extension to file restructuring plan, if approved - April 1,
2013
•
Jan. 24 - AMR requests another
extension to file reorganization
plan as merger talks intensify. If
court approves, new deadline
would be April 15th
•
Jan. 28 - TWU announces MOU
with US Air and American, providing TWU members an immediate 4.3 percent wage increase if
merger occurs
•
Feb. 14 - AMR and U.S. Airways
announce merger agreement at
press conference in Terminal D at
DFW International Airport
•
March 12 - AMR's motion to
enter into a 12-year capacity purchase agreement with Republic
Airline Inc. is approved by the
court
•
March 13 - AMR requests another extension to file a reorganization plan with the court. If
granted, new deadline would be
May 29
•
March 19 - AMR's Tom Horton
and US Airways CEO Doug Parker
testify before the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
regarding merger of carriers
•
March 27 - Judge Lane approves
merger of US Airways and
American; also approved AA's
extension request to file reorganization plan - deadline now
May 29. CEO's (Horton) severance package challenged - judge
defers ruling pending exit from
bankruptcy
April, 2013
ATD INSIDER
11
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