January 29, 2016
Dear Members:
The first week of the month we continued our mediated contract negotiations for the Southwest Airlines (SWA) Aircraft Maintenance Technician’s contract in Washington, D.C. We successfully Tentatively Agreed (TA) on two articles: Article 21: Grievance Procedures and Article 22: Arbitration. It was good to see progress finally being made, and we have two sessions scheduled for the month of February in Dallas, Texas. The Committee’s full update has been posted on the AMFA National website.
The second week of January, the Rules Committee met to review and organize Constitutional amendment proposals submitted by the Locals for the upcoming National Convention. They anticipate that the proposals will be ready to present to the Convention Delegates well before the deadline. I have arranged for a Delegate training class to be conducted on March 8, 2016, near the National Office.
At Alaska Airlines our negotiations are underway, and we met with the Company January 19-21 in Seattle, Washington. We established protocols for our observers and continued with a joint prioritization of issues to be addressed first. We also scheduled meeting dates through May 2016 and set tentative locations of Seattle, Anchorage, Portland, and Phoenix; please be sure to check with your local representative for observer opportunities. The Negotiations Update has been posted to the AMFA National website.
On January 21, 2016, the Assistant National Director, National Secretary/Treasurer, Local 4 President, and Local 4 President Elect attended the SWA Labor Summit. Many topics were discussed including the recent TAs turned down by the pilots and flight attendants, as well as the current TA sent out to Ramp/Ops/Provo/Cargo for a vote. Also, and unfortunately, it is apparent that AMFA is not alone in the fight against the Company using arbitration as a tactic to re-negotiate contract language. In addition, another concerning piece of information was the Company’s recent attempts at firing employees due to “ethics” violations. Please be aware that they are using this tactic and reach out to your Local Professional Standards contact before a situation with another employee escalates.
For more carrier-specific updates and further information regarding AMFA and the airline industry, please visit the AMFA National Website at www.AMFANational.org and download the AMFA App to your smartphone or tablet. Our most determined efforts will only succeed with your continued support and participation – please stay informed.
Sincerely,
Louie Key
National Director