June 28, 2022
Participants for AMFA:
Bret Oestreich – National President
Earl Clark – Region I Director
Will Abbott – Region II Director
Craig Hamlet – Local 11 ALR
Wayne Lampley – Local 18 ALR
Ken Patrick – Local 32 ALR
Louis Upchurch – Local 4 ALR
Danny York – Facilities Maintenance DAL
Lucas Middlebrook – Legal Counsel
Peter Manikowski – Economist
Participants for Southwest Airlines:
Anthony Wafer, Sr. – Director Labor Relations
Tamara Harrison – Labor Relations Business Consultant
Clint Auten – Sr. Director Corporate Facilities
Tim Hooyman – Sr. Manager Facilities Maintenance
Kris Townsend – Labor Administration Manager
Patrick Breit – Financial - Planning & Analysis
Meghan Kane – Sr. Labor Communication Specialist
Kevin O’Brien – Labor Communication Specialist
The AMFA-SWA FMT Negotiating Committee is providing this update to the Facilities Maintenance Technician (FMT) Membership at Southwest Airlines. This is the only official authorized source of negotiating communications by the Committee.
The Parties held a three-day bargaining session, June 21-23 at Company HQ, to commence Section 6 bargaining toward a successor collective bargaining agreement (CBA) for the FMT group. AMFA, at the outset of Day 1, passed a Section 6 opener document, which identified areas of the CBA AMFA intended to open for negotiation and which articles could carry forward to the new CBA without substantive changes. The Company did not deliver any similar document to AMFA. Following AMFA’s explanation of its openers, however, the Parties were able to tentatively agree that the following articles could remain “at book” during these negotiations and carry forward without substantive change to a new CBA:
Preamble
Article 1 – Purpose of Agreement
Article 3 – Status of Agreement
Article 8 – Field Service
Article 9 – Seniority
Article 10 – Filling of Vacancies
Article 12 – Leaves of Absence
Article 13 – Sick Leave and On-the-Job Injuries
Article 17 – Safety and Health
Article 18 – Severance Pay
Article 19 – Moving Expenses
Article 22 – Arbitration
Article 23 – No Strike – No Lockout
Article 25 – Union Representation
Article 26 – Union Security
Article 27 – Savings Clause
In addition, the Parties discussed the Letters of Agreement (LOAs) in the back of the book and were aligned on how those should be addressed in the context of the next CBA. The Parties tentatively agreed that LOAs 17-01 and 04 could be deleted as part of a new CBA, and that LOAs 17-03 and 05 required no changes. AMFA advised the Company that LOA 17-02 would need to be reviewed and discussed during these negotiations.
AMFA passed written proposals to amend Article 4, Classifications; Article 7, Training; Article 11, Vacations; and Article 21, Grievances. The Company did not pass any written proposals, instead choosing only to respond to AMFA’s passes. Despite the Company’s failure to provide an opener document or a single written article proposal, the Parties tentatively agreed on the following articles passed by AMFA:
Article 7 – Training
Article 11 – Vacations
Article 21 - Grievances
n Article 7, the Parties tentatively agreed to increase the annual minimum training provided by the Company from 20 hours to 40 hours. In Article 11, the Parties tentatively agreed to a vacation carry forward policy and updated me-too provisions that aligns with similar language in the AMT CBA (Gray Book). Finally, the Parties were able to reach a tentative agreement on Article 21, Grievances, by addressing the order with which grievances are appealed to arbitration as well as who is notified of a grievance response. The Company was unwilling to agree to AMFA’s proposed changes in Article 4 that dealt with when a Lead FMT is required, but the Parties agreed to continue discussion on that topic during future meeting dates.
This initial 3-day session was productive, in large part, due to AMFA’s advanced preparations, including the development of an opener document and written proposals to drive the discussion. Your Committee expects the Company to increase its preparation prior to the next session, which is scheduled for July 26-27 (with a potential half day on July 28) in Chicago.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to your ALR with any questions. And, as always, stay engaged and remain informed in order to support your Committee and its ability to bargain a CBA your hard work deserves.
Fraternally,
AMFA-SWA FMT Negotiating Committee
