Airlines` Tangled World For-Profit Health Care This

Airlines’ Tangled World
Delaney discusses unholy alliances and issues facing 141 Members
For-Profit Health Care
Atkinson diagnoses business, government, and media
This Season’s Rock Stars of Labor
A look at superstars in the history of the labor movement
Official Publication of District 141, International Association
of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Editor-in-Chief – Rich Delaney
Executive Editor – Dave Atkinson
Managing Editor – Mike Mancini
District 141 Communicator – Mike Mancini
District 141 Communicator, US Airways – Dave Lehive
Layout & Design – Mike Mancini
Send Address Changes To: District Lodge 141, P.O. Box 1149,
Redwood City, CA 94064-1149 Main Phone: (847) 640-2222
Member-friendly businesses
Fairview Manor: Guest house in redwood tree-studded
Santa Cruz mountains, minutes from the beach. Gael Abayon,
141 Retiree, Innkeeper. (831) 336-3355 fairviewmanor.com
Interline Cruise Connections: A true interline agency; no
fees, unheard of low rates, airline savvy, and knowledgeable
staff. (800) 654-3827 (303) 730-2225 www.airlinecruise.com
CONTENTS
Pg 4. Treasurer
5. President
Delaney on the tangled world of
airline issues
The FSC’s principles describe how forests should be managed. They include:
6. Review
Author, columnist Michael
Pollan on The Politics of Food
• Respect for international workers rights
• Prohibition of the use of hazardous chemicals
• Respect for human rights, with particular attention to
indigenous peoples
• No corruption
• Identification and appropriate management of areas
that need special protection, including cultural or sacred sites; habitats of endangered animals or plants
7. Member Spot
Saint Francis, United CSR, rapper, humanitarian
8. Education
9. Safety
10.Organizing
AirTran: “60 Days to D.C.” may lead to first organizing
So how much more is all this green costing?
victory in a decade; Cards already filed
More than 179 years ago, to the chagrin of business
leaders everywhere, “the most dangerous woman in
America” was born. The season also commemorates the
passing of John L. Lewis, whose legacy includes founding the CIO, now part of the AFL CIO
Listing of retired Members; Obituaries
IAM141.ORG Established in 1993 as a response to concerns over
global deforestation, the FSC now has offices in more than
45 countries.
Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are
managed to meet the social, economic, and ecological needs
of present and future generations.
Atkinson on health care
14.Remember
Every issue of the new Messenger is printed under certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), an independent, nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization that
promotes responsible management of the world’s forests.
“FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance,
and accreditation services for companies and organizations
interested in responsible forestry,” District 141 President Rich
Delaney says. “We’re proud to be one of those organizations.”
Summer 2009
12.History
Went green, stayed union, saved
money
“We’ve reduced production cost by about one-half,” says
Dave Atkinson, Secretary Treasurer. “We produce the new
Messenger 90 percent in house. It’s quarterly now, and it’s
about education. Before this, it was 90 percent outsourced; it
was about news, and it had a shorter shelf life. Bottom line is
we’re spending less dues money for the new Messenger with
a longer life, at a unionized printer.”
That’s a little green we can all appreciate.
Messenger 2
MEMBER TALK
RDU — Likewise, better communication, thanks to safety
meetings. When vendors show up, that helps.
WHAT IS DISTRICT 141 DOING FOR YOU?
Safety, everyday
The worst-kept secret among airline executives is their
obsession with everything cheap. That preoccupation, and
the executive salary benefits derived from it, also extends to
safety, and safety-on-the-cheap is something from which we
need to protect ourselves daily.
We may not be able immediately to change the greeddriven executive culture, but nothing is stopping us from
voicing our own concerns about safety. Safety issues are, after
all, what we face each time we go to work.
District 141 Members Kevin Ash­–RDU, Mark Stevens–PBI,
Dennis Spence–PHL, and Eli Concepcion–PHX, join District
141 Communicator–US Airways, Dave Lehive.
WHAT’S YOUR SENIORITY IN THE AIRLINES, AND HOW
LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A STEWARD FOR SAFETY?
PHL — 21 years seniority;5 years Steward for Safety
PHX— 10 years seniority; 6 months Steward for Safety
PBI — 24 years seniority;2 years Steward for Safety
RDU— 25 years seniority;6 months Steward for Safety
WHAT IS YOUR STATION’S CURRENT, NO.1
SAFETY ISSUE?
PHX — Having the District 141 Director of Safety coordinate time off for Members to address legitimate safety issues
is a huge benefit.
PBI — We appreciate follow-up, which 141 is providing,
when Members bring forth safety concerns.
RDU — We’re just getting this whole thing underway, and
district support is driving it.
WHAT ARE STEWARDS OF SAFETY DOING FOR YOU?
PHL — Regular briefings on Thursday mornings and
swing shifts. We update the safety bulletin boards and we do
random recurrent training, like how to tag broken equipment.
PHX — Every Tuesday, we do walk-arounds to tag busted
equipment. Maintenance audits are big.
PBI — We discuss safety and environmental concerns during the walk-around.
We would like to have a joint safety conference for customer service and fleet service (ramp).
RDU­— We’re trying to make the best of a situation with
the contract vendors by working as a group to correct safety
problems. We also inspect ground equipment regularly.
PHL — Missing CO2 monitors in the A-East terminal
need to be replaced. These units check for unsafe CO2 levels
throughout an eight hour day. We are working with management and have initiated the lock-out tag procedure.
Safety Q&A from the Islands
PHX — Our big issue is operating equipment with design
flaws. Our workers feel that lav trucks, originally designed for
737s, pose a potential hazard when used with 757s.
Ground & Flight Safety Coordinator and Honolulu’s LL 1979
Henry Young, United Airlines HNLCG, serves as District 141
Safety Liaison. Henry provides insights to District 141 V.P.–
Hawaii, Sandy Olmos, for this safety Q&A from Hawaii.
Our other big issue is working in a clean environment;
one that is safe.
“WHAT ARE KEY SAFETY ISSUES FOR ALL EMPLOYEES?”
RDU — Having time, staffing, and a clear procedure in
place for passenger loading bridge operation. It’s too easy for
an accident to occur involving ramp and customer service.
Safety education and training are essential to the extent
that it’s applied everyday, by everyone.
WHAT SUCCESS HAVE YOU HAD IN CREATING A SAFER
WORK PLACE?
Safety is a lifestyle as much as it is a program. The keys
are awareness, practice, maintenance, and accountability.
Accidents happen when there is complacency.
PHL — Gaining an active, working, ongoing safety committee provides freedom to address many safety concerns.
“IS SOSAP WORKING?” (STATION OPERATION SAFETY
AWARENESS PROGRAM)
PHX — Having more respect from the company than we
might otherwise have without a union improves our communication of safety concerns from Members to the company.
PBI — We are having some luck in communicating with
vendors to insist on compliance with safety standards. We
also notice improvement in communication between Members and management, and that is a direct result of the union
and its involvement in safety.
3
For a new program, it is working, but there’s still room for
improvement. SOSAP seems to happen on borrowed time,
when the employees are between one flight departing and
the next one arriving. It needs enforcement, but we’re headed
in the right direction.
I do hope my job [Ground & Flight Safety Coordinator]
will become obsolete. Of course, that’s in a perfect world.
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
TREASURER
CEO of United Health Group, retired in 2006 with a platinum
parachute worth $1.1 billion. McGuire’s billion-dollar-buhbye is the largest retirement package ever paid in corporate
America.
For-profit health care:
A must-not read
QUALITY OF CARE
Capitalism and the essential market-based forces of
choice, competition, and incentives have failed to reduce
price or improve care.
by Dave Atkinson, District 141 Secretary-Treasurer
If you think we have the best health care system in the
world, please stop reading this article. Your head will explode.
We can no longer trust our for-profit health care system.
We cannot be brainwashed by free market propaganda from
business, government, and the media. All three have been
telling us to believe in a health care system that they themselves don’t even use. Democracy does not mean you have
the right to go without health insurance. Democracy does not
mean you have the right to go bankrupt trying to pay for your
daughter’s cancer treatments.
It’s time for all of us to listen to the issues. It’s time to recognize that the nation has a problem with health care.
FOR-PROFIT HEALTH CARE
For many people this is a heated debate, and it should be.
The health care industry spent $134 million on lobbying this
year and it paid off — for the economic elite.
The compensation of Aetna Insurance CEO Ron Williams is $24,300,112. The CEO of Cigna Insurance, H. Edward
Hanway, is limping along with $12,236,740. William McQuire,
IAM141.ORG Are you expecting a little bundle of joy? What you don’t
know is you’re about to play the lottery of birth. Thirty countries have a lower infant mortality rate than the United States.
Do you plan to retire in good health and live until your
80? If so, move. There are thirty other countries with a higher
life expectancy than the U.S.A. We’re only checking the scores
for birth and death. For other health issues, it gets worse.
ONE REMEDY
A single payer system works like this. Patients choose
from competing doctors and hospitals. Those doctors and
hospitals are paid from a universal, nonprofit, health coverage
fund. There are no co-pays or deductibles, and there are real
cost controls and benefits, for less money than we and our
employers pay now.
This is not socialized medicine but more like socialized
insurance. The question you have to ask yourself is, do we cut
the middle man — insurance companies — out of the picture
to provide a better health care system? Do you think health
care should be the right of all citizens?
Thanks for thinking.
Messenger 4
PRESIDENT
still the main goal of District 141 negotiations with UAL
Corporation. Issues concerning accrual and use of seniority,
as well as sick time, are important as well. It all needs to be
addressed.
Tangled issues define
the summer of ‘09
UNITED NEGOTIATIONS — MEDIATION
We continue to meet with United in direct negotiations,
as called for under the RLA (Railway Labor Act).
• United negotiations, mediation
• US Airways punitive “points” system
• Hawaiian Airlines and Mileage Plus negotiations
• UAL Corporation’s outsourcing obsession
• Organizing: Eliminating downdraft on wages
• ‘Super’ alliances and re-regulation
During the first week of August, both District 141 and
United will jointly apply for mediation assistance, through the
National Mediation Board. This will begin the second phase of
negotiations under the RLA.
There’s a saying, “The only way to eat an elephant is one
bite at a time.” That’s how District 141 is approaching this
tangle of issues; dealing with each in a measured way.
All internal issues, from negotiations to merger, are playing out in the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression.
Unemployment is climbing from an already high published
rate of 9.5 percent. The real unemployment rate is worse. When
people who have exhausted their unemployment benefits are included, it’s closer to 16
percent. And none of these rates take “underemployment” into account. Working Americans, many within our district, are working
part time involuntarily.
Turmoil is defining the airline industry
once again. It is bringing the possibility of
bankruptcy back into conversation, and the
restlessness of airline consolidation has government battling with itself. ­Consolidation is
taking on new forms — whether it’s the newest wave brought on by Republic purchasing
Frontier and MidWest or the “older” style, by
today’s standards, of a super alliance between
United and Continental.
If the unrest of summer of 2000 will forever be known
as the “Summer from Hell,” then summer of 2009 may come
from the same zip code.
UNITED NEGOTIATIONS
Contract talks between District 141 and United Airlines
began in the first week of April, and have been continuing
steadily since then. We have met face-to-face with the company more often and more consistently than any other Union
within United.
The pace has been slower than anyone wishes, but
nonetheless deliberate. This stride is necessary to address the
many proposals submitted by Members prior to negotiations.
We are attempting to resolve work-life issues that people
have told us are important. District 141 does not want to allow work-life issues to get lost in a larger discussion of airline
industry economics.
A federal mediator, once assigned, will meet with both
parties to determine the status of negotiations. The mediator
will also assume control of the talks. That means the mediator
will make basic decisions of when and where the parties will
meet, and will attempt to guide discussions towards a tentative agreement.
The mediator may ultimately make a decision that no further progress can be made during that phase of negotiations.
Then the mediator will make a proffer of binding arbitration
to both sides.
It is important to understand that mediated negotiation does not have a time frame.
Under the law, mediated negotiation can last
as long as the mediator determines.
We are hopeful that positive momentum
made during recent weeks of negotiations
will continue. We hope it will be aided by the
presence of a federal mediator. Our goal is to
attain a progressive agreement, in the least
time possible.
US AIRWAYS “POINT” PROBLEMS
RANGE FROM IMPLEMENTATION TO
BASIC FAIRNESS
US Airways has implemented an attendance policy,
known as their “point system.” Issues with the attendance
point system have been addressed in the grievance procedure. Now those issues are making their way to arbitration
— the final stage of the grievance process.
Problems with implementation of the point system range
from its application to its basic fairness.
The transition from the existing attendance policy to this
new approach is causing employees to be rushed through
the company’s discipline system. Members are now facing
discharge, often prematurely.
District 141 aims to address each specific problem with
the point system as it occurs. This means hundreds of grievances are in process. We are appealing cases and preparing
specific cases for arbitration. The results of arbitration will be
used to settle similar grievances. Though not a quick process,
this will be the most productive — eventually.
Improvements in wages, benefits, and job security are
5
Summer 2009 Outsourcing, organizing, negotiations —
continued with President on Page 10
IAM141.ORG
REVIEW
‘The politics of food’
By Michael Pollan, award-winning author & columnist, speaking at the World Affairs Council of Northern California
“Cheap food turns out to be very expensive,” says Michael
Pollan. He’s referring to the $2.5 trillion we spend in the
United States on national health care costs annually. Costs,
which he says, are related directly to the foods we eat.
Of that $2.5 trillion, three quarters goes to treating preventable diseases. “That does include smoking and alcoholism,” Pollan concedes, but most of those diseases are preventable: heart disease, type 2 diabetes, 40 percent of cancers, and
cardiovascular diseases. “The health care crisis in America is
another way of saying ‘American Diet,’” Pollan says.
We’re spending less on food and more on health care.
In 1960 we spent roughly 18 percent of national income
on food. Today it’s 9.5 percent, about half. During the exact
same period, money we spent on health care went from 5 to
18 percent of national income. Pollan acknowledges there are
multiple explanations, but the two are related. “Food is the
elephant in the room,” Pollan says.
What in this diet is so bad? The usual suspects are saturated fats, refined sugars, trans fats, and refined carbohydrates.
Every population in the world adopting a western diet has
developed predictable chronic diseases. We’ve documented it
since 1900. These are facts that nobody debates.
So how does the food industry and government deal with
these sturdy facts?
By ignoring them. It’s not allowed in debate. The last
time the government made any suggestion about food was
in 1977. A committee headed by George McGovern issued a
simple statement, consisting of only four words, “Eat less red
meat.” It turns out the government is not allowed to say eat
less of anything when there is a power lobby, and the beef
lobby is quite powerful. Lobbyists rewrote very clear words
to read instead “Choose meat that will reduce saturated fat
intake.” Industry loved it. It was muddier.
It turned an “eat less” message into an “eat more of something different” message. It translated the conversation about
food into a conversation about something else — nutrients.
The problem with talking only about nutrients within our diet
is that it misses another elephant in the room — our overall
diet. It’s like talking about the fleas on the elephant and ignoring the elephant itself.
In the early 1980s, just a few years after McGovern said
don’t eat red meat, the country began a low-fat campaign.
Thinking in nutrition terms, we focused on fat. The problem is
we binged on carbs. Low and behold, we got fatter, by 12 lbs.
We know what we need to know. To the extent we can get
off the western diet, we will be healthier. We need to focus on
the elephant, on both individual levels and on public levels.
IAM141.ORG On a personal responsibility level, which industry loves
to talk about, what to do is deliciously simple. Pollan advises,
“Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” That’s it. In reality, it’s
a tidbit harder. Food is well engineered and cheap.
On the policy side, Pollan says we live in a food environment that “favors and enshrines” corn and soy with subsidies. That makes corn and soy cheap. The food industry in
turn finds very clever rearrangements of corn and soy, from
Twinkies to chicken nuggets. The problem is we are subsidizing the wrong kind of food.
How do you make healthy calories more competitive with
unhealthy ones? To change the demand side, the subsidy
system has to change. “The health care industry, assuming
reform, may turn out to be an ally of the food movement,”
Pollan says. If health care insurers are responsible for large
populations that they cannot cherry-pick — people they must
take care of for a long time — it will be in health care companies’ vested interest to support policies that will make a
healthy diet competitive with an unhealthy diet.
It’s not happening now. All corporate power is on one
side, with health care lobbies and food lobbies are on the
same team. In New York City, each new case of type 2 diabetes costs health care companies over a half a million dollars.
It is currently cheaper to treat rather than to prevent. That
means amputating limbs, prescribing medication, and so
forth. The economics are perverse, and there’s no incentive
for change … yet.
Learn more on michaelpollan.com; itsyourworld.org
Messenger 6
MEMBER SPOT
Rapper and CSR Francis Koenig
works to help people with ALS
Francis Koenig, Customer Service Representative with
United at RDUOZ (Raleigh-Durham), has always loved poetry
and music.
“That’s a perfect combination for a rap musician,” Koenig
says with a smile.
“I started writing poetry when I was in my early teens.
There were some domestic violence issues in our home
between my mom and my step dad, and I needed a way to
escape. Later on, I merged my poetry with music.”
Koenig’s musical hobby led him to a side career as a rap
musician. “I joined a band and started performing around
town,” he says. “I enjoyed it and decided to continue my musical career after the band broke up.”
Koenig performs under the name Saint Francis. He has
recorded two CDs and performs around the world. He was in
Sweden in January and recently returned from trips to Frankfurt, Cologne, Paris, and Dublin.
“I go into clubs and ask for a showcase,” he says. “They
are usually receptive. I do one of my own rap songs and then
hand out my CDs.”
Koenig has been with United for 10 years. He began his
career in his hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina, and
was transferred to RDUOZ in October 2008.
He has four older brothers between the ages of 37 and 51.
His relationship with his oldest brother, Donald, inspired his
most heartfelt musical composition.
“Donald was diagnosed with ALS [Lou Gehrig’s disease]
about eight years ago,” Koenig says. “Although we are nineteen years apart, he is the person I am closest to in the family.
He is my godfather, and because of the way he has handled
this terrible affliction, he’s also my hero.”
“Doctors gave him three to five years to live. It’s now
eight years and he is still fighting. Even though he can’t move
or speak, you can see in his eyes how determined he is to
survive.”
Koenig wrote the song, “Hero,” about four years ago. The
song is used extensively in public service announcements by
the ALS Association on radio and television and also at the
organization’s events and fund raisers.
“I’ll perform it anytime and anywhere I’m asked,” Koenig says. “It has become a kind of anthem in the MySpace
community for people who are living with this devastating
disease.”
Koenig, Donald, and Donald’s significant other have
started a nonprofit organization called Angel Hands for ALS,
7
Rapper, United Customer Service Rep and humanitarian —
St.Francis Koenig belts out “Hero.” It takes one to know one.
(www.angelhandsforals.com). Its goal is to get donations of
vitally needed medical equipment and give it to people who
suffer with the disease.
“Having the right equipment helps the ALS sufferer’s
quality and the quantity of life,” Koenig says.
“I hope all of my colleagues will go to the website and
help. It can make a real difference for ALS victims and their
families.”
Koenig says juggling a full time job, his charitable endeavors, and his musical career isn’t easy.
“I’m always tired,” he says. “I don’t get much sleep. I put in
about 50-60 hours a week on my music alone. But music is my
passion and something I enjoy very much. “
“It’s my dream to eventually work at it full time. But I also
enjoy my job, so until that day comes, I’ll continue with both.”
More information about Saint Francis the musician can
be found on his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/stfrancismusic or you can call him toll-free at 866-709-3368.
Do you have a “hero” in District 141? You can nominate a
141 Hero for interview in a future Messenger by going online.
iam141.org/hero
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
EDUCATION
District educator overhaul
District 141’s Education Department is undergoing a
complete overhaul. We are training new district educators
and retraining current educators. Shortly after taking office,
we put in place a complete redesign of the education web
page on the new iam141.org. Educational materials used in
training classes are scheduled for an update. And District 141
is also completing a technology upgrade, making it easier for
the educators to transport equipment, set it up, and teach.
Nine newly trained educators emerged from training
classes in May at the District Office. Another class is scheduled for completion by the end of July. When complete, there
will be fifteen District educators ready to give Members the
training they need and deserve.
District 141 Member training is also underway. Classes already complete are at SFO, LAX, SAN, SLC, ALB, RDU, and ROC.
Participants include District 141 Members from US Airways,
Hawaiian Airlines, and United Airlines. Also participating were
Members from other districts and airlines. More training for
more Members at more stations is being scheduled. If any
station is in need of training, it ‘s best to talk to your AGC and
your Local Lodge President. Those officers know what mandatory approvals are needed, before training begins.
SAFETY
On the job, and off
District 141 is working with United Airlines to improve
Members’ safety and health, both in and out of the workplace. Initiates are in effect, or in the process of roll-out.
‘MOVE SMART’ AND BACK-A-LINE
The goal of MoveSMART® is to teach employees the principals, skills, and attitudes for taking personal control of their
own safety. Training focuses on safe lifting and body mechanics, and is designed to prevent employee injuries. Participants
learn simple, powerful techniques using principals derived
from the martial arts. The program builds a base of techniques
and strategies that increase usable strength, improve balance
and control, increase body awareness, and enhance judgment. These skills also reduce employee injury associated
with strains and sprain type injuries and increase safety while
reducing the wear-and-tear of daily work. MoveSMART started
at ORD, and already has rolled out in IAD and SEA.
Back-A-Line is a new back belt being tested to reduce
back strain injuries. These belts are easier and more comfortable belt to wear. They have an extra layer of support when
pushing, pulling or lifting heavy objects. The belt can be
IAM141.ORG Messenger 8
worn all day, compared to old support belts which would
need to be removed or adjusted constantly during strenuous activity. The belts have been tested and implemented at
PDXCG and SEACG with very favorable results.
District 141 also is working with the IAM Occupational
Safety and Health Department. A grant from the Department
of Transportation is being used to teach hazmat safety to
twenty United Airlines Members. With continuing grants, it is
expected that hazmat safety training will extend to the rest of
District 141 Ramp and Stores. This safety training is in addition
to the hazmat training already given to Members by United
Airlines.
It is the goal of District 141 to reduce member injuries
through these safety initiatives, and to promote safety both
inside and outside of the workplace.
STATION OPERATION SAFETY
First launched in the summer of 2008, the Station Operation Safety Awareness Program (SOSAP) was created in cooperation with United Airlines, IAM District 141, and the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA.)
SOSAP provides employee Members with a self-reporting,
voluntary, and non punitive environment for the reporting
of incident and related safety concerns. Under this program,
Members confidentially submit valuable information about a
general safety observation or a specific safety-related event
that may not have reported otherwise.
The top five safety concerns captured in the SOSAP reports at United Airlines are:
• Driving in Gate/Non Gate Areas
• Early Brake Release
• Weight & Balance Issues
• Passenger Count Discrepancies
• Insertion / Removal of By-Pass Pin (Airplane)
To file a SOSAP report, always have a Shop Steward present. If you file on SkyNet, access via iam141.org > Member Services > United Airlines > SkyNet, and then navigate to SOSAP.
MEMBER SNAGS 30K FOR SAFETY ED
Sometimes it only takes one Member to make a difference in safety.
Meet Richie Howell from Local Lodge 1776 in Essington,
Pennsylvania. He just earned a $30,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Howell plans to use
the money to support safety education in his local. “It will
keep Members trained and current on safety issues,” he says.
Involving Members throughout the airport is part of the
plan for safety education. That includes United Airlines, US
Airways, Southwest Airlines, and Atlantic Aviation. “We’ll be
able to train all Members,” Howell adds.
What’s the key to this victory? Activism and sticking-toit make a difference. In addition to being a 30-year active
employee of US Airways fleet service (ramp), and president
of his local lodge, Howell serves on the AFL CIO Transportation Industry Partnership, which he credits for assistance
with the grant. Howell also serves on the Penn. State Council of Machinists as Vice President–East, Airlines, and he’s a
delegate to the AFL CIO in his community.
A union Member since its inception at the airline, Howell comments on how it was before the Union. “For years
there was no say in work rules regarding safety. Our jobs
were on the line every day because of it. Now we have a lot
more say in the work place.”
Educating Members is a job that never really concludes.
Besides safety education, what other goals does Howell
have? “To keep our Members well-educated in politics and
legislation. Politics plays a big part in our industry,” he says.
New Members (and newly interested Members) sometimes ask, “What can I do?” Staying informed is the first step.
The inaugural issue of the new Messenger, for example, debunks myths about the Employee Free Choice Act, legislation
which is under vigorous attack by corporations and chambers of commerce. Your online resource is always iam141.
org. Everyone leads busy lives, and sometimes a quick e-mail
reminder is all it takes. You can join our email update list by
going online to iam141.org/join.
Members of IAM Safety Committee, Tony D’Aloiso, Chair,
collaborated to produce and display a huge safety banner
9
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
President ...
and Public Contact, have by themselves taken the action
necessary to call for a representation election. There’s a real
possibility that AirTran Crew Members could become Members of the IAM.
continued from page 5
HAWAIIAN CONTRACT: MEDIATION?
Hawaiian Airlines Members rejected a tentative agreement last spring. Negotiations are underway once again. A
gap still exists between what the company offers and what
Members believe are true improvements. That means Hawaiian negotiations will soon enter the mediation phase, similar
to the United negotiations. District 141 believes that a federal
mediator will bridge the differences, allowing Members to
vote on a replacement agreement.
MILEAGE PLUS — JOB SECURITY AND
AFFORDABLE BENEFITS
Mileage Plus (MPI) negotiations also began in April and
will continue in direct talks. Issues of job security and affordable benefits are main topics of discussion.
MPI is an example of what has been happening throughout our company and industry. MPI was a once vibrant and
active part of United’s sales operation. Today it occupies a
single location. MPI has seen the day-to-day effects of moving
American work overseas.
District 141’s priority is to stabilize the MPI work. Our
priority is to allow remaining employees to work without
constant threat of losing their jobs to operations in India or
Philippines. While MPI negotiations share things in common
with United negotiations, they are not on the same track
toward mediation. District 141 will continue with direct talks
with MPI, so long as progress is being made.
ORGANIZING ­— CANNOT BE OVERSTATED
With a change in organizing leadership, District 141
Organizing Department is seeing unprecedented activity. The
importance of organizing success to each Member of 141 cannot be overstated.
High on the radar is bringing current Delta employees
into the IAM. In doing so, they would be joining brothers and
sisters from newly merged Northwest Airlines.
Delta is now the largest airline in the industry.
As such, it will influence wages, benefits, and working
conditions — at all airlines. It is in every airline employee’s
interest, regardless of the carrier at which they work, that
the new Delta becomes a unionized company. It’s in every
Member’s interest that Delta negotiates the future with fully
unionized employees.
That’s why I ask every IAM Member to do this: Encourage
employees of both Delta and Northwest to participate in the
signing of authorization cards, encourage them to call for a
representation election, and encourage them to vote in that
election.
FROM ‘AIR’TRAN TO ‘FAIR’TRAN
Here’s a very encouraging development. The response of
employees of AirTran Airways to the IAM continues to be positive. AirTran Crew Members, including Ramp, Reservations,
IAM141.ORG It will be a tough fight. Air Tran Crew Members face an
employer determined to stay unorganized and determined to
remain unanswerable to its employees.
District 141 organizers, using the most up-to-date communications tools, are showing AirTran Crew Members the
benefits of belonging to a Union — especially the IAM and
especially during chaotic times.
When the date of this election is known, we will again
call on District Members to talk to our counterparts at AirTran.
Encourage them to vote. The job security of all IAM Members
will benefit from the success of this and future organizing
campaigns by District 141.
UAL — NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE TO OUTSOURCING
We continue to address the impact of United’s increased
reliance on express carriers and its devastating effects on
employees and stations.
We have actively worked with United to structure a financial model to show, in some cases, that IAM Members should
continue to perform the work of handling the UAX operation.
The challenge of competing with vendors and non-union
airlines for work is great. System wide and in every hub, UAX
schedules exceed United’s mainline schedule in size. We must
do everything we can to secure as many UAX jobs as possible.
MASTERS OF THE TANGLE
The Department of Transportation and the Justice Department are debating pros and cons of a United-Continental
alliance. Meanwhile, District 141 and the entire IAM are lobbying the Obama administration to recognize the need for some
form of re-regulation of airlines.
In what looks like a replay of the banking and auto industries’ panhandling for protection, major airline heads are
asking for government investment in air transportation. They
are calling for funding of NexGen satellite air traffic control,
infrastructure improvement, relaxing the remaining protection from foreign ownership, and anti-trust limitation.
The IAM believes none of that should be considered
unless and until there is some regulation involving worker
security. Thirty years of airline deregulation — and the current state of the industry — clearly shows two things: carriers
cannot regulate or discipline themselves and workers are the
ones who suffer.
Isn’t it ironic, especially during the summer, to think that
little league baseball games are played with umpires. But an
industry, vital to the success or failure of the global economy,
operates virtually without rules or controls to protect workers.
District 141 Officers wish you a safe, enjoyable summer
with your family. Stay informed with iam141.org. Stay together.
We’ll be able to enjoy many more summers in the future.
Messenger 10
ORGANIZING
AirTran: 60 days to D.C.
After 60 days of organizing work, District 141 files for the
right to represent AirTran workers in collective bargaining.
The filing on June 26, with the National Mediation Board in
Washington, D.C., culminates phase one of unionizing AirTran
crew members (rampers, and customer service agents).
AirTran’s non union workforce exerts downward pressure
across the industry on airline worker’s wages, benefits, and
work rules.
“We were clear with AirTran crew members about our
time frame. No long, drawn-out campaign, but crew members
had to support our organizing efforts,” says 141 Director of
Organizing, Tim Nelson.
From airTran to
Support us they did. AirTran crew members turned out in
record numbers in the key Atlanta hub and in busy line stations system wide.
fairTran
”AirTran is the most oppressive airline company I’ve
ever seen,” says Nelson. Pay is among industry-worst. That’s
remarkable for an airline whose profits remain among the
industry’s highest. AirTran rival Southwest Airlines, in contrast,
is heavily unionized by the IAM and others, profitable, and
high-paying.
“At AirTran, respect and dignity are out of town,” Nelson
says. He notes AirTran crew members are written up routinely
— and fired — for not charging extra for a overweight bag.
When a passenger adds weight to the bag after contact with
an AirTran crew member, workers are still held liable.
“It’s insane,” says Nelson. “Crew members on the ramp
get axed for late flights, with no recourse. The work-life
expectancy of an AirTran crew member is about six months.”
The company maintains a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. Crew
members either quit or get fired.
This stinks. Our organization exists in part to free these
folks from unchecked corporate oppression. The aim is to
empower workers with a voice. “It’s our mission, it’s what we
do, and it is our duty to reach out and organize these folks,”
declares Nelson.
However, a difficult road lies ahead because AirTran management is determined to stay non union. Nelson appeals
to all locals to support District 141 Organizing by talking to
AirTran folks at your station. Encourage them to do the right
thing. If you can mobilize organizing committees for this,
contact Tim Nelson.
Moving forward, Nelson anticipates a complete ballot
count by late August. Follow the campaign at www.airtrancrewmember.com. Nelson encourages all airline workers to
add supportive comments to the AirTran message board.
Nelson concludes saying, “It’s the humanitarian thing to
do. It’s also smart politics and smart economics. These folks
11
Tim Nelson’s cell is 224.234.5414; tnelson@iam141.org
Contact information also on iam141. org > About > Staff
need our help. We all benefit — all workers in all airlines and
other middle class jobs — when downward pressure on wage,
benefits, and work conditions is limited or removed.”
The next step is to hold an election at AirTran in which
workers can vote for or against union representation. Unlike a
U.S. presidential election, for example, a simple majority vote
is not considered “good enough” under current law. Instead,
more than 50 percent of all eligible workers must vote “yes.”
Failure to vote one way or the other counts as a “no” vote.
The system established under NLRA, the National Labor
Railway Act, which governs airline labor unions as well, is
inherently tilted in favor of corporations and against workers.
The EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act) seeks to level that playing field, and is discussed in detail in the Spring 2009 Messenger (available online at iam141.org).
“60 Days To D.C.” is an organizing effort led by Tim Nelson
and assisted by District 141 Communicator–US Airways, Dave
Lehive. It may well become the first major organizing victory
for the district in over a decade.
Not bad for a couple months work.
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
LABOR HISTORY
Atlanta’s washerwomen strike
It was the Summer of 1881. With the official end of slavery
less than two decades before, thousands of black laundresses
were striking for higher wages, respect for their work, and
control over how their work was organized. The women were
gaining so much support they threatened to call a general
strike, which would have shut down the entire city of Atlanta.
Government and business were not amused.
In July 1881, twenty of those laundresses met to form a
trade organization, the Washing Society. They sought higher
pay, respect, and improved work rules. With the help of black
ministers throughout Atlanta, they held a mass meeting and
called a strike to achieve higher pay at a uniform rate.
The Washing Society, or “Washing Amazons,” as their
opponents called them, established door-to-door canvassing to widen their membership, urging laundresses across
the city to join or honor the strike. They also involved white
laundresses, who were less than 2 percent of laundresses in
the city — an extraordinary sign of interracial solidarity for
the time.
In three weeks, the Washing Society grew from 20 to
3,000 strikers.
By August, municipal authorities were taking direct
action by arresting strikers, fining members, and making
house visits. But the laundresses were not deterred. The
white establishment was so agitated that city politicians got
involved. The City Council proposed that members of any
washerwoman’s organization pay an annual fee of $25 and
then offered nonprofit tax status to businesses that wanted
to start commercial laundries. Even though the $25 fee would
mean several months of wages, the strikers were not discouraged. They responded with a letter to the mayor, agreeing to
pay the fees rather than be defeated. “We mean business...or
no washing,” the letter stated.
These politically savvy workers were willing to pay the
fee in exchange for self-regulation. To them, self-regulation of
their industry was about respect. In the post-Civil War South,
the laundresses refused to be seen as subordinate. These
laundresses saw the strike as asserting their freedom and
identity and gaining respect for their work.
The resolve of the striking laundresses — despite the
arrests, fines, and proposed fees — inspired other domestic
workers. Cooks, maids, and nurses began demanding higher
wages. Hotel workers went on strike. Unlike past strikes, employers — aware of the magnitude of the black labor unrest
— weren’t confident they could find replacement workers. So
the following week, the City Council rejected the proposed
fees. The laundresses had prevailed.
In the end, the strike not only raised wages, but also
established laundresses — and all black women workers —
IAM141.ORG She was called “the most dangerous woman in America.”
Rock on, Mother, rock on.
as instrumental to the New South’s economy. The white
establishment was forced to acknowledge that black women
workers, former slaves, were not invisible.
Mother, what a leader
In one tragic week in 1867, Mary Harris Jones lost her husband and her four small children in a yellow fever epidemic.
Tragedy continued to pursue her in 1871, when she lost everything she owned in the Great Chicago Fire. But out of tragedy
came triumph for Mary Harris “Mother” Jones who, despite
her setbacks, would go on to become what labor activists
called “the greatest labor agitator” of their time.
Seeking a new path for her life, Jones began to attend
meetings of the newly formed Knights of Labor, which
nurtured a passion for justice and equality that she inherited
from her Irish-born parents.
Having lost her own family, she “adopted” the working people of America. They responded by calling her “Mother Jones.”
She was born in May or August (exact date is unclear)
when Andrew Jackson was president; when she died 100
years later, in 1930, it was the dawn of the New Deal.
America changed a lot in the century of her life, and
“Mother” Jones played a significant role in making those
changes happen.
Messenger 12
She went from city to city helping strikers, leading protests, and organizing workers. In 1898 she helped found the
Social Democratic Party and in 1905 she was present at the
founding of the Industrial Workers of the World.
After 1890, Jones dedicated most of her efforts to organize miners for the United Mine Workers.
She achieved national fame in 1902, when she led a
charge by Pennsylvania coalminer’s wives who chased away
strikebreakers with brooms and mops. The next year, she
led a “children’s crusade” of striking children who marched
to President Theodore Roosevelt’s home in Long Island, NY,
seeking the abolishment of child labor.
On February 12, 1913, Jones led a protest in Charleston,
West Virginia, and was arrested. A military court convicted
her of conspiring to commit murder and she was sentenced
to 20 years in prison. Her case created such uproar that the
United States Senate ordered an investigation of conditions
in the West Virginia coal fields. However, on May 8, 1913,
before the investigation began, West Virginia’s newly elected
governor set Mother Jones free. She was 83 years old.
Later in 1913, she participated in an epic strike by coal miners in Colorado, where she was arrested and imprisoned twice.
Mother Jones inspired nationwide expressions of outrage
against the “machine gun massacre” of miners and their families at Ludlow, Colorado, on April 20, 1914, when 20 people
were killed.
Mother Jones went on to participate in 1915 and 1916 in
the strikes of garment workers and streetcar workers in New
York, and in the strike of steel workers in Pittsburgh in 1919.
In January 1921, at the age of 91, as a guest of the Mexican
government, she traveled to Mexico to attend a meeting of
the Pan-American Federation of Labor.
In 1923, when she was 93 years old, she was still working
among striking coal miners in West Virginia.
Mary Harris Jones died in Silver Spring, Maryland, on November 30, 1930, just 7 months after her 100th birthday. Her
grave is near those of the victims of the Virden, Illinois mine
riot of 1889.
Lewis: His ‘groupies’ are now
known as the AFL CIO
John L. Lewis was a rock star among American labor
leaders in the first half of the 20th century, regularly advising
presidents and challenging America’s corporate leaders.
This year commemorates the 40th anniversary of his
death on June 11, 1969.
As founder and leader of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Lewis raised living standards for millions of
American families in the 1930s.
In 1935, the first year of the CIO, nearly four million workers joined labor organizations and wages were raised by more
13
From coal miner to founder of the CIO to advisor of presidents, John L. Lewis remains a rock star of labor.
than a billion dollars.
Lewis was born on Feb. 12, 1880, in Lucas, Iowa, the son of
a Welsh immigrant coal miner. He became a coal miner at the
age of 15 after settling in Panama, Illinois.
Between 1898 and 1907, Lewis tried farming, construction
work, and running a small business before joining the Labor
Movement in 1907. He served as president of the United Mine
Workers of America (UMWA) from 1920 until 1960.
Lewis sent hundreds of UMWA organizers to help create some of the nation’s leading labor unions, including the
United Steelworkers of America, the United Auto Workers, the
Communication Workers of America, and many other organizations that continue to speak for America’s workers.
One of Lewis’ greatest legacies was the creation of the
UMWA Welfare and Retirement Fund in a contract with the
federal government that was signed in the White House with
President Truman in attendance.
The UMWA Fund permanently would change health care
delivery in the coal fields of the nation, building eight hospitals in Appalachia and establishing many clinics.
In 1964, Lewis was awarded the Presidential Medal of
Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian decoration, by President Lyndon Johnson. He remained chairman of the UMWA
Fund until his death.
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
REMEMBER
Recent retirees
United Airlines
Alforque, Protasio A.
Beatty, David G.
Berry, Zoe J.
Chuck, Gerald E.
D’Ambrosio, Julie A.
Dagenais, Jewell B.
Dittmar, James O.
Dohrmann, Ninive C.
Dusek, Harvey J.
Filipinski, Larry
Gleeson, William G.
Graham, Patricia A.
Harrison, Debra L.
Hill, Carol R.
Ingo, Dominic B.
Johnson, Johnnie L L.
Jones Jr., Wilson
Kalsbeek, Linda
Kim, Curtis G. K.
Kowalski, Margaret M.
Lorek, Karen
Ludwig, Slavica
Mahoney, Robert C.
Mansfield, Mary Lee L.
May, Frances B.
McCormick, John T.
McFadden, Frank J.
Moore, Herbert C.
Morris, Colin H.
Owens Jordan, Ruth C.
Perkins, Rosalina Q.
Regal, Steve
Reggio, Ellen L.
Rich, Corrine K.
Rodgers, Annie
Sands, Edward L.
Satterfield, Cynthia A.
Siel, Robert P.
Stewart, Betty A.
Stubing, Kevin
Titcomb, Debra K.
Townsend, Melvin D.
Turner, Deborah
Valdez, Josephine V.
Van De Sande, Peggy P.
Vandling, Larry M.
Veloso, Joseph B.
Wong, Carrie C.
Wong, Larry C.
LAXCG
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05/30/09
03/01/09
02/04/09
US Airways Retirees
Abbasi, Arshad A.
Benzin, Richard L.
Curbelo, Edward
Firmani, Daniel D.
IAM141.ORG Full, Edward B., Jr.
Gould, Gary L.
Gove, Alan F.
Griffin, Thomas R., Jr.
Hortert, Keith B.
Hutchinson, George B.
Kirkwood, William H.
Megahan,Ralph R.
Murphy, Paul E.
Norris, Walter C.
Peternel, Edward W.
Petruska, Charles T.
Phelps, James P.
Salas, Alfredo
Stark, George H.
Streyle, Wayne T.
Tesauro, Sherry L.
Torrey, Brian D.
Voss, Erling R.
Wynn, Douglas L.
Zellers, Dennis E.
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02/03/09
03/12/09
07/17/09
02/09/09
05/19/09
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04/11/09
05/30/09
05/03/09
04/27/09
04/09/09
02/13/09
03/02/09
05/25/09
06/28/09
04/08/09
05/17/09
03/08/09
03/31/09
04/29/09
Obituaries
United Airlines
Andres, Gary H.
August, Harry
retiree
Besse, Norma T.
retiree
Burgess, Dale I.
retiree
Chel, Cornelis
retiree
Colina, Edgardo G.
retiree
Connor, Richard F.
retiree
Conticchio, Libertaria R. retiree
Contreras, Juan A.
Davis, Marilou E.
retiree
De Ford, Leslie A.
retiree
Deavers, Joan K.
Delgado, Jesus
retiree
Ewert, Michele J.
Farrelly, James T.
Faulkner, Troy C.
retiree
Fedele, James A.
retiree
Fensch, Donald W.
retiree
Fields, Richard W.
retiree
Fiorenza, Ralph K.
retiree
Foster, Willie J.
retiree
George, Mary F.
retiree
Griglak, John V.
retiree
Grimaldi, Michael J.
retiree
Grob, Robert J.
retiree
Hagedorn, Alma M.
retiree
Harrison, Vernon O.
retiree
Hathaway, Eunice A.
retiree
Higgins, Albert G.
retiree
Hull, Larry L.
retiree
Izydorczak, Jo Ann H. retiree
Jenkins, Jolene P.
retiree
Johnson, Lennart O.
retiree
Johnston Jr, Arthur G. retiree
Kaminski, Chester A.
retiree
Messenger SMFOZ
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Larry, Julia M.
retiree
Layman, Karen S.
retiree
Lee, Nancy T. F.
Lineberry, Stephen S.
retiree
Malvarez, Carlos A.
retiree
Man, Ron
Mc Morrow, Michael J. retiree
Mura, Chizuko
retiree
Murray Jr, Edward P.
retiree
Novak, George J.
retiree
Obas, Francois
retiree
Paget, Elizabeth A.
Palombo, Robert T.
retiree
Pankiw, Sofia
retiree
Pemberton, James D.
retiree
Perry, Dorothea M.
retiree
Perry, George D.
retiree
Poole, Betty J.
retiree
Porria, Walter T.
retiree
Rakestraw, Kenneth L. retiree
Rihel, David J.
retiree
Robinson, Annie L.
retiree
Roper, Warren J.
retiree
Rowles, Gerald W.
retiree
Rowlette, Vera L.
retiree
Sanchez, Pedro H.
retiree
Sapelak, Frank J.
retiree
Schaefer, Barbara A.
retiree
Schutte, William D.
retiree
Seman, Thomas J.
retiree
St John, Harold R.
retiree
Staff, Leonard E.
retiree
Steele, Kenneth W.
retiree
Still, Robert
retiree
Stone, John F.
Sun, Alice P.
retiree
Szymanowicz, Anthony
Taft, Roy R.
retiree
Tartaglini, Louis J.
retiree
Tear, Lorraine A.
retiree
Thrailkill, Theodore T.
retiree
Tortoriello, Gennaro
retiree
Twiddy, Douglas R.
retiree
Uddin, Inam A.
Van Sant, William L.
retiree
Vizzard Jr, Thomas F.
Wall, Mildred L.
retiree
Wilcox, John
retiree
Wohlgemuth, Roy W.
retiree
Wyborn, George E.
retiree
Zwarts, Jeanette G.
retiree
OMACG
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US Airways Obituaries
Hudson, Brian D. Hupp, Michael J.
Jamery, Richard M.
15
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Bricks surrounding the Memorial bear names of fallen
Members of the IAMAW.
Workers memorial ceremony
honors fallen Members
Families, friends, and fellow IAM Members gathered at
the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center
in Placid Harbor, Maryland as part of a national observance
of Worker’s Memorial Day to honor the memory of those who
perished on the job or from work-related disease. Each year
the IAM honors its fallen brothers and sisters by inscribing
their names on bricks that are placed at the Workers’ Memorial at the Winpisinger Center. Family members and co-workers
honored the memories of 21 IAM and Transportation Communications Union (TCU) members.
District 141 Secretary Treasurer Dave Atkinson says, “This
day always brings remembrance and reflection on those
brothers and sisters we have lost on the job.” Forty-two Members of the transportation territory are remembered on the
Winpisinger memorial.
Our most recent loss is Walter Bailey, 22. Walter died tragically when his US Airways fleet service vehicle overturned on
August 5, 2008.
“The IAM cares very deeply about its Members, their
families, and the work our Members do. We struggle and fight
hard every day to assure that when one leaves for their job,
that they return home safe and sound,” says IAM President
Tom Buffenbarger. “We don’t always win that fight, but it
inspires us to work ever harder so that others don’t have to
endure the pain and grief of losing a loved one. Only when
we all make safety and respect for workers paramount will we
cease to have a ceremony like today.”
This year’s service was the 20th annual observance of
Workers’ Memorial Day, which began in Canada and is now
observed every April 28th in thousands of services around the
world. In the United States, this year marks the 39th anniversary of passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act,
which created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to set and enforce workplace safety standards.
Summer 2009 IAM141.ORG
USPS
000-993
INSIDE
•
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For-profit health care? It pays, but
not for consumers and employers
Summer ‘09 presents a tangle of
challenges, rivaling UAL Corp’s
infamous “Summer From Hell”
Simple and messy:
“The Politics of Food”
Member photos, safety, education
Summer rock stars, from the
history of the labor movement
MAILING LABEL
ADDRESS ONE
ADDRESS TWO
CITY, STATE, ZIP
MESSENGER
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The
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