Sam Says …

First is Negotiations: In March, our last mediated negotiations meeting, we gave the company all outstanding economic Articles to complete our comprehensive proposals for Title Groups 1 and 2.

Essentially, we are waiting on the Company to respond to our latest proposal, and pushing the mediator to set the next dates. Mediator Kane advised us that he has designated two days for the Mechanic and Related Committee and the Company on April 28th and 29th. He stated the Stores Negotiating Committee mediation session dates would be scheduled at a later date. There have been no meetings scheduled for (Title 3) Fleet Service this year and we are working on that issue through political channels and more picketing events to come.

The Second is the RO Committee: Gary Kelley, Joe McGill and I have initiated a buildup of the Local 514 RO Committee focusing on three specific areas. Teams will be identified from within the RO Committee to cover “Current Like Work”, the “Manufacturing of Parts for Stock” and “New Work” including third party work. These teams will be a necessary part of maintaining stable workloads in the future.

Third is Recalls and Reassignments: Although AA has now sent recall notices to all maintenance and related classifications, the out sourcing of Talent Services has caused a real nightmare. As reported in an earlier Informer #16, the creation of four teams has been implemented. I believe the recalls will be completed in the very near future and the Company will be processing the 12L’s and 12M upgrades.

The fourth item of priority is Grievances: There was a lot of heartburn about the 2,400 grievances and three 29D grievances when Local 514’s officers took office. The 29D grievance on Landing Gear, CFM engines and AOS have been heard and are awaiting a decision. The Retro-fit Kitting grievances are being discussed and we hope to have a settlement soon. It is the goal of Mike McDonald, myself and the Executive Board to expedite our remaining grievances and get them down to 400 or less by the end of June 2011.

The fifth item of priority is our Finances: I’ve made it a priority to ensure that your union dues are spent and used responsibly to represent you. We will spare no expenses in the representation of our members. However, other things such as sponsorships, IT, and the cost of the daily business of the union hall are areas in our budget that needs improvement.

Thank You! Sam Cirri.