Dear Members:
The first week of May we held local officer training for the presidents, vice-presidents, secretaries and treasurers at the national office in Denver. I facilitated the training for the presidents and vice-presidents and Justin Madden, National Secretary/Treasurer facilitated the training for the secretaries and treasurers. In the class I conducted we covered an array of topics including parliamentary procedures, duty of fair representation, the local’s grievance committee’s structure and function then concluded with a review of the professional standards program. For the treasurers Mr. Madden covered the use of Excel and QuickBooks software and financial record keeping. For the secretaries he covered the UnionWare member database system, conducting local elections with an emphasis on electronic voting methods and highlighted record retention requirements. The Department of Labor (DOL) provided training to all participants giving thorough descriptions of the requirements that have been established by the DOL and mandated by Federal Law. The feedback we received is that the training was much appreciated and we need to conduct this training on a regular basis; we look forward to doing so. I’d like to thank and recognize the work of Aaron Hansen, Assistant National Director and staff members Ken Osgood and Ryanne Pelletier for their assistance in developing the training syllabus and helping ensure the training’s success and to the local officers who took their time to travel and attend.
On May 8, 2014, Region I Director Earl Clark, Local 14 ASA ALR Jason Munson, L32 ASA ALR Marc Sheldon, met with Alaska Airlines in efforts to formalize our intent regarding the Article 23, R Annual Wage Review process. Our goal was to capture, in greater detail, the intent of how the process works in writing so the annual review is simply a math calculation and there is no maneuvering, from year-to-year, on how to properly conduct the review as it relates to our annual pay increases. The Company representatives, who were not on the negotiating committee when the language was negotiated, failed to reach an agreement with us and proposed an alternative interpretation which we do not agree to. Consequently, we will have to continue to be prepared to argue the same arguments each year as we conduct our annual company-and-industry wage review.
The third week of May the SWA Aircraft Maintenance Technician negotiations resumed in Dallas, Texas. The Committee’s updates on items discussed at this session have been posted to the AMFA National Website. The next scheduled negotiations are June 18-19 in Dallas.
David Brooks, National Safety & Standards Director attended an SWA Go-Team training event on May 15th and also attended the SWA negotiations where he and the Committee discussed ASAP issues regarding a contemplated new position to help the members called an ASAP Liaison; more information to follow.
For more carrier specific updates and further information regarding AMFA and the airline industry, please visit the AMFA National Website at www.AMFANational.org. Our most determined efforts will only succeed with your continued support and participation – Please stay informed.