Wages
benefits :
Restoration
Restoration of wages and benefits continues to be the focus of the negotiations, especially this past week.
As discussions persist around the topics of vacations and holidays, the fundamental position of the Union is to return these benefits to the level that existed prior to United’s bankruptcy.
These two areas of our Agreement are more than economic issues.
It is important for everyone, including the company, to understand what our Members gave up during bankruptcy, and these two issues are examples of the sacrifice that Members and their families made in order to keep United in business.
Members gave up time with their families and agreed to work for United instead. That time cannot be replaced; vacations that were not taken in 2007 cannot be taken now.
But we can try to reset the formula for the future.
Our Members, through their proposals, have said the subjects of time with their families, and the flexibility needed to take that time, are very important. Our Negotiating Team is looking at several different ideas of how to improve the current contract language to allow for the maximum amount of time off and the maximum amount of money for those required to work.
The discussions of the past week included both new proposals and reviews of other airline employees’ benefits for comparison. It is obvious when looking at other contracts and company policies that there are many ways to accommodate vacations and holidays.
Negotiations are not scheduled this week but will resume next week. Mediator Iannone will be attending the talks then.
Drilling sense into drones;
the end of the brain-dead ‘no’?
Discussions with United also included a review of the company’s dependability point system, and aspects of it that needed to be modified.
A critical area of the point system is the recognition that individuals sometimes suffer significant health problems that prevent them from coming to work. In addressing this issue the Point System allowed for those circumstances of critical/catastrophic absence to be considered non-accountable absences.
The problem we have seen in the past 11 months is that when an employee notifies the company of such an absence it is rejected and there is no appeal of that decision.
We now have a process that will expedite a review of the individual’s need to be away from work after a recorded absence. Employees that receive rejection notices regarding their critical/catastrophic illness absence should contact their Committee member quickly. A copy of the rejection notice, without any individual medical information, will also be sent to the IAM now. An investigation of the facts for each person will be done and the IAM will appeal these decisions in the appropriate cases.