Safety Initiative Update

By Louie Key, National Director
 

Louie Key

In continuation of the last Special Edition of The Grapevine which introduced our Safety Initiative, I want to give you an update on how things are progressing. The Safety Initiative and AMFA's concerns were an important topic discussed at AMFA's Joint Advisory Council (JAC) Meeting held in San Diego, CA on September 30, 2014. Following the JAC meeting, the National Executive Council metwith the Vice Presidents of Maintenance and Safety from both Alaska and Southwest Airlines to express our concerns with the evolution of both carriers' maintenance programs.

It has become clear that the new maintenance programs, Extended Through Flights (ETF) at Alaska and EPIC at Southwest, have put a genuine strain on the aircraft maintenance technicians who are working hard to complete the assigned work packages and meet the dual-expectations of schedule and compliance. The meetings with both carriers were quite productive and we are working on developing a joint “Safety Working Group” for each airline comprised of current AMFA Safety Representatives and the appropriate Company representatives. We will keep you updated as that process evolves.

In this issue of the Grapevine it is certainly worth mentioning the Association’s recent run of arbitration successes at Southwest Airlines (SWA). Below is a brief summary of some of the highlights:

• March 19, 2013--Arbitrator Franckiewicz awarded AMFA’s Fourth Line Grievance holding that the fourth line of heavy maintenance was contractually required to be implemented on March 1, 2012--the date a single operating certificate was issued following Southwest’s acquisition of AirTran.
• March 31, 2014--Arbitrator Gaba awarded AMFA’s Inspector Backfill Grievance finding that "a better reading of the term “vacancy” results in the Union prevailing on the issue of backfilling for vacations and floating holidays.” This decision resulted in one of the largest monetary grievance settlements in AMFA’s history at Southwest.
• June 16, 2014--Arbitrator Luella Nelson issued a “declaratory” award interpreting an important restrictions on out-sourcing AMFA-represented appearance technician work that validated the Union’s position and saved AMFA-protected jobs.
• July 14, 2014--Arbitrator Dianne Massey presided over and ruled on the first ever discharge grievance filed on behalf of a terminated AMFA-represented Facilities Maintenance Technician at Southwest. Arbitrator Massey found that “the Company did not have just cause to terminated the Grievant,” and ordered resumption of all seniority and benefits “as if he had never been terminated.”
• September 18, 2014--Arbitrator Sylvia Skratek ruled that the discharge of a Southwest Appearance Technician, accused of violating the Attendance Policy, be overturned because we were able to show the Arbitrator that the Company lacked just cause resulting in an award of reinstatement with back pay.

These arbitration decisions clearly demonstrate how vital exact contract language is in enforcing your rights under the Agreement. This turns our attention to the ongoing contract negotiations at SWA for the Aircraft and Facility Maintenance Technicians. Your Negotiation Committee continues to advocate for you in these negotiations, but are facing a Company Committee that has been directed to drive down the costs of their contracts; as Gary Kelly put it in a recent interview, "The nice thing is, we have opportunities in our contract negotiations to address waste, to address inefficiencies, to improve productivity." Be assured that it is not only our contract that is under fire; it is all of the contracts in negotiations at SWA.

Your Committee is keenly aware that we are just over two years past the amendable date of August 16, 2012, and they are working hard to reach a tentative agreement (TA) to present to you for consideration. It is clear to us that the greatest obstacle in reaching a TA is the Company’s attitude toward their employees as they attack all the contracts on the property during a time of record profits. These record profits are being made under the terms of the current contracts so something must be working right!  Obviously the contracts do not need a major overhaul, but unfortunately the Company’s proposals thus far have proved to be far too reaching.

At Alaska Airlines, last month we conducted the Article 23, Annual Wage Review.  This year’s analysis resulted in the one and one-half percent “Schedule A” wage rate increase outlined in the contract. We held discussions with the Company outlining our concerns with certain parameters of the wage review process, and let them know that our Committee would entertain continuing the annual review process into the next contract only if we were able to correct those concerns. The chief concern being that the minimum annual increase would have to be increased to something greater than one and one-half percent. The current contract does not become amendable until October 17, 2016.