Southwest/AirTran Update

May 17, 2011 — On Tuesday, May 10, 2011 the IAM met with the Board members Mr. Harry Hoglander, Chairman; Linda Puchala, Member and Elizabeth Dougherty, Member of the National Mediation Board regarding the Board's role in the merger. The Board members advised they had met earlier in the day with management from Southwest. The members explained it is this Board's policy to meet with all parties involved to assure they are clearly aware of the Board's role in the merger. The Board offered to facilitate wherever requested in this process going forward. Later in the day District Lodge 141 PDGC Rich Delaney and I met with Southwest Airlines to discuss representational issues going forward for the newly organized AirTran employees. Over the past several months we have had limited tentative discussions with the company regarding the transition to one operation. With the recent legal closing of this transaction meetings to discuss the plenary of transition issues will begin in earnest. As these discussions take place you will be kept fully apprised.

AirTran Employees Choose ‘Union’

March 28, 2011— The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) today announced AirTran Airline’s 2,900 Fleet and Passenger Service/Reservation employees have voted to join the Machinists Union.

“Whatever the outcome of AirTran’s proposed merger with Southwest, AirTran employees understand the need for professional representation during this critical time,” said IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. “This was a grass roots campaign, and I commend our organizing committee and AirTran employees for taking this positive step toward a better, more secure future.”

The National Mediation Board conducted the Internet and telephone vote from February 28-March 28, 2011. A majority of participating employees voted in favor of the Machinists Union. 

“We are proud of our new AirTran members for making the decision to be participants in shaping their future,” said IAM District 141 President Rich Delaney. “As airlines consolidate, merge and partner with each other to protect themselves, the employees of AirTran realize that joining together is the best protection they have.”

The IAM represents Passenger Service/Reservation employees at AirTran’s proposed merger partner, Southwest Airlines. IAM members at Southwest earn $8.56 an hour more per hour than Air Tran Passenger Service Agents, and $9.66 an hour more than Air Tran Reservation Agents.

District Lodge 142 NEWS

Southwest Airlines Update

March 26, 2011 – On January 21, 2011, Southwest Airlines reported an annual profit of $550 million dollars less special exceptions for 2010. Pursuant to Article XXVII, paragraph O, page 51 of the IAM Southwest Agreement the operating margin target of 8.2% qualifies all IAM members for an additional 1% contract pay increase effective November 1, 2011. The rates of pay at each step level are as follows: Read More...

District Lodge 142 NEWS

District #142 Scholarship Competition

The following is a basic format for the year 2011 District #142 Scholarship Program and is intended for the guidance of all members and legal children of members who may be eligible to participate in the competition.

The competition will be open to all members in good standing of District Lodge 142 as of February 1, 2011, as well as their legal children who are 2011 graduating high school seniors. The winners of the competition will receive scholarship tuition of $1,000.00. This money will be paid directly to the college or accredited institution of higher knowledge, at which the entrant is accepted, for tuition only.

The competition will be based on an essay competition, the subject of which will be selected by the Scholarship Committee. This Committee will also select the judges, who must be scholars or leaders in the labor movement, and who are not members of District #142. The essays will be judged on grammar, style, syntax, originality and content, and the decision of the judges will be final. Upon receipt, essays and application forms will be separated and numbered correspondingly. The essays will be identified by number only for judging purposes. The Scholarship Committee will match winning essays to the appropriate application. All essays received will become the property of District #142 and may be printed in the future using the contestant's name.

To apply for the competition, a fully completed application form together with an essay must be sent by U.S. mail to the District Office and postmarked no later than midnight April 30, 2011.

Entrants must comply with all the rules regarding the Scholarship competition or face disqualification. Additionally, any information supplied by entrants found to be untrue will result in disqualification. Disqualification will be made only by majority vote of the Scholarship Committee.

Competition will open on February 16, 2011 and will close at midnight April 30, 2011. Applications postmarked after that date will not be considered. Winners will be announced on June 30, 2011. Application forms for the competition together with specific rules and regulations are available through your Local Lodge. Additionally, the General Chairperson assigned to your area can provide answers to any other inquiries concerning the entire program.

All eligible members and year 2011 graduating high school seniors who are legal children of members are urged to take advantage of this opportunity to win financial assistance toward their continuing education. Scholarship Application...

District Lodge 142 NEWS

Southwest Airlines Update

December 22, 2010 — Southwest General Chairpersons met with the Ground Operations Employee Resources, Sr. Director and managers on December 8, 2010 to continue discussions on: Stations Staffing; Supervisors performing covered work; Rest Periods; Express Bag Drop; CSA work schedule bids and the method of vacation allocation used by Ground Operations.

In an effort to reduce the arbitration docket, further discussion was held on several cases. A tentative agreement was made to define and expand on the ten hour rest period. This information will be distributed upon final review and approval. The Union expressed concerns about the space restrictions at the kiosk's and how the CSA work environment can be improved while providing better customer service. It was reported that the roll-out of "Express Bag Drop" at the seven stations went very well during Thanksgiving travel.

An IAM/CS&S Leaders' meeting followed the Ground Operations meeting for the remainder of the day. Expansion of the bilingual agents will now include the Houston Center (HC) and will begin with the March 2011 bid. We continued discussions of average handling time and the baseline performance for quality concerns were debated. Inconsistencies with "click to coach" evaluations were discussed as well. A briefing of the International Desk testing of the dual computers and the progress of the code share work was provided and reviewed.

On December 9, 2010 the first of many briefing meetings was held with the Air Tran integration process. This first meeting was primarily regarding basic integration requirements and anticipated time lines. President- Directing General Chairperson Tom Higginbotham assigned General Chairpersons Ann Liu and Debbie Aven to participate in these meetings. The next Southwest/Air Tran integration meeting is scheduled for the third week of January 2011. The next meetings with Southwest Ground Operations and CS&S are scheduled for January 18 and 19, 2011. Wishing all of our members a safe and Happy Holiday Season! Printable Version

District Lodge 142 News

Southwest Airlines Merger Update

November 9, 2010 — On Wednesday, October 20, 2010, District Lodge 142 General Chairpersons met with Ground Operations and Customer Support and Services management at Headquarters in Dallas, TX. There were three meetings: the first with Director of Customer Service Chris Johnson, followed by Employee Resources Senior Director Steve Goldberg, Director Bill Venckus, and Managers Trudy Christensen, Debbie Robinson, and Mike Holcomb. The third meeting with CS&S Senior Director(s) Operations, Tammy Shaffer and Teri Brown, Director of Employee Resources Lavitia Brunson, Manager(s) of Labor and Employee Relations Lucy Rodriguez and Shanelle Taylor. There were many topics to discuss in each department.

In Ground Operations the discussion began with the improvements that will be made with the new booking tool to help prevent oversells. In addition, there was an announcement of the Ground Operations website for the purpose of improved communication. The Holiday and Vacation Bids are in progress and the outstanding issues will be addressed through the grievance procedure (and arbitration).

The "Initial" training definition and application for probationary members was addressed and the Company has advised additional research is needed to provide clarification for all new hires across the system.

The Company is also working on enhancements to CS2 to be implemented for the first quarter of 2011 to provide better customer service for our passengers.

During the CS&S meeting the discussion centered around the A.H.T. (average handling time) grievances and the many challenges our membership face maintaining the "Baseline Performance for Quality" standard imposed by the department.

Additionally, District Lodge 142 has addressed the training and bidding process for the International Desk. We will continue to monitor contractual compliance and protection for our members.

The Union Leaders received a 3rd Quarter Report from C.E.O. Gary Kelly on Thursday, October 21, 2010. There were three areas of interest addressed: the Air Tran acquisition/merger, the increased capacity with the 800's and the new Reservation System. However, no specific dates or additional information were provided. We will keep you advised of future developments as they occur. Printable Version

District Lodge 142 News

Southwest Airlines Merger Update

September 30, 2010 — Immediately after the announcement of the acquisition of Air Tran by the company we had a brief discussion with the company regarding various details of the announcement. As is usually the case in these situations initially after the announcement there are more questions than answers at this time. As a result of our conversation we have set a meeting with the appropriate department heads and Labor Relations for next Friday October 8, 2010, to begin the process of sorting through the many operational questions that exist. An update will be published immediately after this meeting. Printable Version

IAMAW merger watch

Southwest Airlines to Acquire AirTran for $1.4 Billion

September 28, 2010 — The merger mania that has reduced the nation’s network air carriers to just four, spread to low-fare carriers this week with the announcement that Southwest Airlines will acquire AirTran Airways for $1.42 billion.

The merger is expected to close in the first half of 2011, pending approval by shareholders and federal regulators. For representation purposes, the companies will continue to operate as separate, independent entities until the National Mediation Board issues Single Carrier Rulings and representation issues are resolved.

Southwest Airlines is widely regarded as a bright spot in a troubled industry, with a track record that includes stable labor relations, strong union contracts and a fiercely loyal customer base. The IAM represents 5,000 Passenger Service and Reservations Agents at Southwest, while similar employees at AirTran are unrepresented. “The Machinists Union has more airline merger experience than any other union,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “Our team will monitor the situation and ensure our members’ collective bargaining agreement is protected.” While Southwest maintains a significantly larger fleet of aircraft, AirTran serves more locations, with 70 airports, compared to Southwest’s 69.  Of those airports, 32 have overlapping service between the two companies. Printable Version