United Airlines Negotiations
The United negotiations update below remains current through the week of January 4, 1010. Happy New Years from District 141.
US Airways Mourns Joseph Chiapetta
US Airways and District 141 mourn the passing of line station Member Joseph Chiapetta.
Visitation
Passantino Brother's Funeral home
www.passantinobros.com <http://www.passantinobros.com>
2117 Independence Blvd
Kansas City, Mo, 64124
816-471-2844
Tuesday Dec 29th, from 3:00-7:00
Funeral Mass
Dec 30, 10:00 am
St. John LaLande Catholic Church
805 NW R.D. Mize Road
Blue Springs, Missouri 64015
816-229-3378
Burial — following the Mass
Mt Olivet Cemetery
7601 Blue Ridge Blvd
Raytown, MO
816-353-1900
Mary Reed, US Airways Member / Coworker, MCI — Rarely does a coworker touch your life in a way that makes you feel like family. Joseph Michael Chiappetta was one of those that you never forget. He touched everyone's heart. Joe would get up for work at 2:30 in the morning and arrive before anyone else. When we got there he always had the coffee ready. No one made coffee as good as Joe. When we'd run out, we would call him on the radio, and he'd come right in and make a fresh pot. He brought his Mom's famous italian cookies, or something wonderful Betsy, the love of his life, had baked, for us to start our day. At lunch time, if we were lucky, Joe would break out a delicious italian dish his Mom had made and share it with us. Rose is a wonderful cook! Joe said working at US Airways was his favorite job.
Joe loved his family. We felt like we knew them. He was always talking about how wonderful his daughters, Stephanie and Michelle are. He was so proud of them. He showed us the web sites from the schools they went to, along with countless stories about them. His eyes would light up when he talked about them. When his phone would ring we would always know if it was Betsy, by the "Isn't she Lovely" ring tone. He loved her so much. To hear him talk about his Mom, Rose, you knew she was a special lady, the kind of Mom everyone loves. She gave him the most important gift a Mom can give, the gift of faith and love.
Joe was sick for a long time. Most of us didn't know at first. He never slowed down, never complained, and still outworked us all. It was hard to believe that he was fighting cancer. Joe passed away on Christmas morning. It was never about him. He was always doing for others. He delighted in bringing back gifts from a trip, little things that he knew would be special to someone. His love of music, especially The Beatles, brightened our days. He knew a song for every occasion, and kept the music playing. It was always fun having Joe around. We would sit around the computer and watch music videos, some that he was in! We would laugh so much with Joe. There will be void in our lives without him by our side. We are grateful for the chance to have known him. His music, laughter, courage, faith, love of life and family, have taught us all a lesson we will never forget.
United Update
December 20, Rich Delaney — Contract talks with United Airlines resumed this past week. The week was spent addressing and discussing issues that had been brought up in previous sessions but both sides felt could be resolved and closed out before the end of the year. The topics of Seniority and how it should apply during furloughs and finding ways to have our Grievance Procedure work better for resolving complaints were the main focus. As we have started to have more meaningful talks with United about our future, both in terms of job security and compensation, both sides understand the importance of reaching agreement on other issues in order to devote full attention to the remaining proposals.
The continual furloughing of our members has not only put great stress on them but has also shown some of the problem areas and misunderstandings of the contractual furlough process and its impact. We have reviewed the original set of proposals exchanged with United in April to verify that the topics we as a Negotiating Team are concerned with now remain in line with the proposals submitted by our members. We are confident we are representing the wishes of the membership by continuing to address these issues and bring them to a conclusion.
Our Grievance Procedure fortunately affects a small portion of our total membership but is a constant point of concern for Union Stewards and Committees across the system. Their desire to have the process work the most efficiently on behalf of our members generated several proposals designed to streamline the process and get to an answer faster. We discussed with the Company what we believe are some of the underlying causes of delay in hearing and resolving grievances and concluded that the contractual procedure would work well if it was reinforced by all levels of management. We also talked about new, innovative ways other companies and unions are addressing the same problem. We have proposed to United that we keep our current language in tact and continue to explore additional solutions to speed up the process and bring justice to the workplace, including the possible inclusion of government agencies.
As we get within a few days of the end of 2009 many questions have been raised concerning the amendable date of our current contract. Our Agreement officially becomes amendable on December 31, 2009. We began negotiations earlier than historically called for but have still not been able to reach a complete agreement with United over our wages, benefits, and working conditions. The Railway Labor Act (RLA), the law governing labor relations in the airline and railroad industries, handles labor contract differently than other industries. Under the RLA once an agreement is reached between an airline and an union it never expires, it becomes amendable. This means that the terms and conditions of our contract remain in full force and effect until a new replacement contract is agreed to. While we will continue to strive for an acceptable agreement in the shortest time possible, the knowledge that our current contract will remain in effect allows us to make sound decisions based on the value of the proposed agreement, not because of time pressure.
On behalf of the entire District 141 Executive Board and the members of the Negotiating Team I wish you all a very happy, safe, and peaceful holiday.