District 141

Crew Member Update—AirTran

AIRTRAN CREW MEMBERS TRANSFER TO DL 142

On January 4, 2012 General Vice President of the IAM Transportation Department, Sito Pantoja transferred the Airtran Crew Members from District Lodge 141 to District Lodge 142 of the IAM.
This move had been anticipated and expected in the recent months as negotiations over seniority integration for the Airtran/Southwest employee groups began to take shape and became increasingly more defined.

Since DL 142 already represents the Customer Service and Reservation employees at Southwest Airlines, their well-established relationship with the airline enables them to quickly contact the right person for the right matter. 

Similarly, for those Airtran employees who work on the ramp, DL 142 has worked with the TWU 555 for many years. Between DL 142, TWU 555 and Southwest Airlines the need to have another party seated at the table was unnecessary and cumbersome.   

District Lodge 141 is proud to have organized the Airtran employees and we are grateful for the support given to our organization the past 9 months. As we are confident the Crew Members will find themselves in the experienced and capable direction of DL 142, we wish the best to all and thank you for being a part of the IAM family. 

SENIORITY INTEGRATION

Richard Chu, November 19—Last week, the Airtran Negotiation Committee (ANC) met separately with the Transport Workers Union 555 and District Lodge 142 of the IAM with regards to the eventual integration of Air Tran Crew Members, and their seniority dates within either union. Personnel from Southwest Airlines' Labor Relations Department were also in attendance as an interested third party. The meetings were held at Southwest's headquarters in Love Field, Dallas-Fort Worth.

On November 14, the ANC and TWU 555 me for the first time since initially exchanging seniority positions on August 31 of this year. On Tuesday, neither union moved from their opening position and no alternative proposals were offered. While both unions agreed to have further discussions with the intent of negotiating an agreed upon settlement, the two parties began exploring the option of arbitrating their respective argument.

Earnest talk of how the potential arbitration panel would be selected, the time frame of each step, the question(s) to be decided and application/enforcement of the decision were discussed. The path from beginning to end of the arbitration process is detailed and exact. This is why time-consuming efforts are necessary, even in its preparation stage. Legal counsel was present for the IAM , TWU 555 and Southwest.

On November 15, the ANC met with DL 142, IAMAW. These integration discussions are unique in that both groups are part the IAM. In this first meeting of the groups, DL 142, similar to DL 141, stated their position as being “that of the organization.” As previously written in other updates, the IAM has a long standing policy on seniority integration. This is the employee's date of entry into the classification. Both sides agreed to set dates in the near future to further examine how the integrated workforces would appear and any concerns that may arise once the two employee lists are merged.

Updates to both negotiations will be made available as soon as they become available.

Richard Chu, November 18—Subject: Closing of AirTran Stations BMI and IAD

Download pdf update

As you are aware, the company will cease operations at Bloomington and Dulles in June 2012. Other stations that will be closing in June 2012 are Charleston, Miami and Knoxville, however; they are contracted out and are not represented by the IAM District Lodge 141. While this news will present a number of questions and concerns from you; please note that the Leaders of IAM District Lodge 141 and the Company are discussing these options and are working behind the scenes to provide detailed information and options that will allow you to make informed decisions about your future.

There are options that will be made available to you that will allow you to remain with the company and serve at a different station or accept a voluntary furlough package which requires a commitment to remain in your position until the closing of the station.

Some of the details are outlined below.

EMPLOYEES WHO ELECT TO REMAIN WITH THE COMPANY AND EVENTUALLY TRANSITION TO SOUTHWEST AIRLINES WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE FOLLOWING:

• Retention Bonus—Employees remaining in their positions until the actual closing will be paid a retention bonus of six (6) weeks’ pay. Employees who elect to transfer prior to the station closing will not qualify for the retention bonus.
• Relocation Allowance—Employees remaining in their position until the actual closing date and then transfer to another station will be provided a $1,500 allowance to relocate which will be payable upon arrival
• Employees who elect to transfer prior to the station closing will not qualify for the relocation allowance.

TRANSFER OPPORTUNITIES AFTER THE STATION CLOSING

• The full range of transfer opportunities available to BMI and IAD cannot be fairly determined until the seniority integration is finalized. We expect this to be completed well in advance of the station closing date and we are fully committed to keeping BMI and IAD Employees advised of the ongoing status of these discussions.

FOR THOSE EMPLOYEEES WHO ELECT TO ACCEPT A VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH AND NOT TRANSFER TO ANOTHER STATION:

Retention Bonus and Health Insurance— Employees who elect to separate from the Company at the time of the Station closing rather than transfer to another location can elect one of the following two options:

• Option One – Employees can elect to receive a retention bonus of eight (8) weeks’ pay and would also be eligible for 18 months of Health Insurance coverage under the Cobra Plan.
• Option Two – Employees can elect to receive a retention bonus of 6 weeks’ pay and be eligible for continued Health Insurance coverage for three full months. At the conclusion of the third month the Employee will be eligible for an addition 18 months of coverage under Cobra.
• Vacation Payout—Employees who accept a voluntary furlough will be paid all accrued and unused vacation. This includes both vacation earned in 2011 for use in 2012 and vacation earned in 2012 for use in 2013. Employees who elect to remain with the Company and transfer to another station will continue to utilize their earned vacation according to the Company policy.
• Pass Travel— Employees remaining in their positions until the close date will be eligible for unlimited space available Pass Travel benefits on Southwest Airlines and AirTran for themselves and their eligible dependents for three (3) years after the closing of the station. Consistent with other separation packages, this benefit is not extended to parents of Employees.
• Retiree Pass Travel—Governed by the AirTran Company policy; AirTran Employees electing to retire and meet the eligibility requirements of the AirTran Retiree Pass Travel Policy will also be eligible for Retiree Pass Travel on Southwest. However, eligibility for offline Pass Travel is at the discretion of the offline carrier

Download pdf update

Richard Chu, November 13, 2011—

Southwest/Airtran announces additional station closures.

Southwest Airlines announced on 11/11/11 that its subsidiary airline, Airtran, will cease flight operations in BMI, CRW, IAD, MIA and TYS next June.

Of these five stations, District Lodge 141 represents approximately twenty Airtran Crew Members in Bloomington, and ten in Washington Dulles. The other stations are handled by outside vendors.

District Lodge 141 has already opened discussions with Southwest Airlines regarding the affected members.  As was done when the previous discontinuance of service by Airtran to DFW and PHF was announced, DL 141 will look to negotiate Letters of Agreements for our members in BMI and IAD.

Updates will be provided as soon as they become available.

Rich Delaney — September 2, 2011

The Airtran Negotiations Committee (ANC) met on 8/22/11 at Southwest Airlines DAL headquarters to open discussions regarding the planned closing of Airtran’s PHF station. After providing service to the Newport News community since 1998, Airtran will cease its operation on March 9, 2012. In recognition of the long and faithful work provided by the Crew Members in PHF, the negotiating committee wanted to provide financial assistance and viable options to those affected.

The ANC looked closely for enhance options to those members who agree to stay on as PHF employees until the closing date and then sever their ties with Airtran. Also, options to be made available should these employees decide to seek employment within the Airtran/Southwest system after the station closes were proposed.

Your ANC made offers to the company which, if agreed upon, would result in enhanced payments in the areas of upfront cash, retention pay for work continuance, vacation pay accrual and relocation expenses. Further benefits would come in the form of extended coverage for health insurance, prolonged pass travel and bidding rights to vacancies.

We were hoping the company would have responded by the time of this posting, but that was not the case.

On 8/31/11 the ANC met in Chicago with the Transportation Workers Union (TWU) to initiate dialogue regarding seniority integration for those Airtran members whose work classification have been identified as being “below the wing.”

What the TWU offered as “fair and equitable” was immediately rejected by the IAM. Under their proposal, the Airtran Crew Member would be place at an extreme seniority disadvantage in comparison to the Southwest TWU workers.

The TWU pointed out that their offer was supported by an arbitration seniority dispute award in 2002. This case stemmed from American Airlines acquiring TWA and the ensuing seniority grievances filed by former TWA unions. It was because of this egregious example of unfairness that led to the McCaskill-Bond Amendment in 2008 which provided for a true “fair and equitable” solution to seniority integration as a result of mergers. Ironically, once again the two parties in this dispute are the IAM and TWU.

Your ANC reply was simple and consistent. We maintained the IAM has for decades followed the Allegheny-Mohawk LPPs and date of hire into the classification as being the fairest way to merge the combined list.

Both unions agreed to study respective proposals and to search for alternative solutions. If unsuccessful, the TWU contract calls for an arbitrated settlement. The IAM is ready to defend our position in such a proceeding.