Local 514’s Digest for the week of March 21st, 2025

President:

In my career at American Airlines, there have been many ups and downs, not only in the economy, which at times impacted how the airline operated at the base, but also in the style of management and how they treat you. I know the Crew Chiefs have tried in every way possible to convince management how to more efficiently produce airplanes. At times, they consider what the Chiefs have to say, but for the most part, the management has the contractual right to manage and make decisions even if the impact is negative to productivity and you, the employee.

My question to you is this: Do you have confidence in your Supervisors and Managers? Zero, not much, 50/50, most of the time, or they are my heroes!

Click Here to Share your thoughts – https://twu514.org/question/

Please participate. The company reads this digest to look for any code words that we may use for a shutdown. Back when we were negotiating the 2020 contract, they took us into Federal Court in Dallas and accused us of a job action.

Of course, I’m not calling for a job action with this survey tool, but it could become a valuable tool in the future.

I’m available 24/7 at 918-636-6089.

Please let your crew chief or supervisor know if you see something unsafe.

Take care,

Dale Danker

Vice President:

The next Membership meeting will be Thursday, Mar 27, 2025 at 7:15 am, 11:45 am, and 3:45 pm.

Grievance Report

We currently have 1226 grievances. The majority of the grievances being filed are for overtime bypass. Remember you must file within 5 days of the violation. If you think you have a grievance, please contact a Union Steward to get the grievance started.

Electronic Bids are coming for the May Rebid. Check your AA email in the upcoming weeks for more information. Starting April 14th, you will be able to set your preferences. Crew Chiefs, TCC, Sr. Planners, and Inspection will start the live bid on April 21st. All other workgroup’s live bids will start on April 23rd. You will be assigned a five (5) minute window to complete your preference, but please go in before that and set your preferences.

Marla Johnson

Chairman of Maintenance: 

Week in Review

  • Weekly Grievance Meetings
  • Weekly Management Meetings

Social Media

  • Please be mindful when using any social media platform. Topics that may seem harmless could have unintended consequences for everyone involved.

Bids/Transfers

  • If you’re considering transferring to a different shop and your current position aligns well with your home life, or if you’re in A/P School, please speak with a board member first. We can help you understand the potential risks before making a move.
  • Shift Improvement
    • If you’re interested in shift improvement, contact the board member in your area for guidance on the process.

Safety

  • Slips, trips, and falls are at an all-time high. Stay aware of your surroundings and take precautions to prevent accidents.

FLOC

  • The FLOC committee welcomes new workers to the AA family!

Probation

  • Employees hired after August 15, 2024, will have a 140-day probation period.

           Joe Brown
          (918) 284-9666
          JBrown@twumail.org

Chairman of Material Logistics Specialist:

Headcount:   We have 486 MLS on Base with 21 on LOA.. 

Social Media:  Management has started having meetings about cell phone usage. Please be mindful of being on your phone. 

Safety:  A lot of construction is happening across the base. Be careful of areas marked. 

Time Clocks: Complete a payroll discrepancy form online if you have a problem clocking in and out.

Bids &  Transfers: Postings this weekend. Crew Chief opening in O26S (1,2 & 3), MLS openings in 026S (1,2 & 3), 031S (shipping) and 206S (5 & 6).

New Hires:  Job offers are going out soon. 

Grievances: 6 open. Breakdown: 1 out of service, 2 GRB, 3 OT bypass. Meetings are held monthly, and grievances are usually resolved quickly.  Thank you to all my Shop Stewards for taking care of our members. 

B.J. Rackers 
(918) 346-8918
bjracker@twumail.org 

Chairman of Facilities Maintenance:

Tulsa Facilities continues to grow but not at the rate of the expansion of the base, it’s a full time job keeping up with headcount as people depart from the company or choose different endeavors, we are replacing even those that are on LOA for more than 90 days, we have several new people and I have high hopes this will continue, please welcome any new employees you may encounter and show them what it means to be the BEST workers in the world.

We have several ongoing construction projects throughout the base be diligent and safety conscious and if possible help us make sure the contractors are doing what they are contracted to do.

  • Budgeted headcount 316
  • Total headcount 319
  • Headcount on LOA 9
  • Actual headcount 310

Jim Holt
(918) 378-2079
JHolt@twumail.org

Executive Board Members at Large:

George Albano:

Retirement Seminar

A retirement seminar will be held in the town hall on April 2 and 3, 2025. Representatives from AA retirement services, 401k, Fidelity, and American Airlines Federal Credit Union will attend.

  • April 2 – 3:00 PM
  • April 3 – 5:00 AM and 9:00 AM

Grievances

I attended the grievance meeting on Wednesday for Hgrs 1, 2, and 3. Several are awaiting updated fact sheets from management, and then pay letters will be issued.

ASAP / COMPLIANCE

The following information was provided by Brad Brugger – ASAP TWU Coordinator :

ASAP Focus – March 2025

Lockout Tagout – Ensure proper documentation. It should reflect the work accomplished by the AMT performing the task.

Safe Aircraft Movement – Be aware of all GPM requirements prior to the Aircraft move.

Monitor and Challenge—Perform all required procedures to ensure the safety of the aircraft door (with slides) prior to troubleshooting or maintenance.

BENEFITS

Alight has found an issue with Voluntary Term Life. If you’re in the age group of 60-64, please look at your paychecks & see if the amount being deducted is consistently the same every paycheck. If it is not, please contact me. 

George Albano
918-378-1947
GAlbano@twumail.org

Gene Chapin:

  • Continue covering the midnight shift, working the grievance office, and walking the base daily.
  • Continue working on new and old grievances.
  • The Wednesday grievance meeting with management settled two grievances for payment. Four grievances are waiting on management for more information, and one has been withdrawn.
  • Attended 32j for attendance.
    • If anyone knows of any members retiring, be sure to inform an E-board officer or union rep so they can receive their retirement Bible and Watch.

Gene
918-640-2097
GChapin@twumail.org

Tracy Hardin:

I continue researching and working on old grievances in AERO from 2022 – 2023. Some are pretty complicated, and memories are short. I will get to them.

In AERO if you are requesting time off, remember to start with an email to your supervisor, they will take it higher if need be.

Benefits:

If you receive a text about your union sponsored benefits, please give us a call if it sounds confusing. Don’t just sit on it.. 

March 31st, you need to spend your extra FSA money, or you will likely lose anything over $640. Log onto www.fsastore.com for items that qualify.

NEOK Labor Council:

  • March 23 – NALC Fight Like Hell Rally – Oklahoma State Capitol 3 pm
  • April 1 – Primary elections for State Representatives. Go Vote!
  • April 2 – Day at the Capitol – Connect with your legislator and tour 9 am – 1:30 pm
  • April 17 – CLC Labor & Friends Banquet – Will Rogers Theater 6 pm
  • April 26 – OKC CLUW Bowling Tournament, registration required
  • April 28 – Workers’ Memorial Day – Oklahoma State Capitol 2nd floor rotunda 

As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, let us salute the women who supported the military during WWII. Some of them worked on the Tulsa base building bombers so that we could achieve victory over Germany and Japan. Thank you!

Tracy
(918) 409-5962
THardin@twumail.org

Don McCormick:

Most of the meetings with Management are between 9 AM and 3 PM.  I am usually on base until 6:30 PM and have no problem helping resolve issues as needed.  You can contact me or any officer if you have any questions or concerns.  918-378-5823.

I have been averaging over 55 hours a week addressing the membership’s concerns.

Grievances – 221 open for multiple areas. 

Been a very successful week getting 19 grievances paid

Pre JCBA

  • 52 Shift Swap (Hgr 1/2)(Looking into possible Mediation)
  • 1 OT (Hgr 3)
  • 1 Acting CC Hgr (1/2/3)
  • 2 Skill Premium (Composite Shop)

Post JCBA

  • 75 Known Outages (Presidential Grievance)
  • 28 Qualifications (8 Structure, the rest misc.) (Presidential Grievance)
  • 18 OT Bypass
  • 14 FT Bypass (6 we are looking into Arbitration due to Covid Testing)
  • 5 Agreed to Pay (Waiting on Beene Group to Sign)
  • 7   HR waiting for denial to advance to GRB
  • 6 Discipline Letters
  • 4 Call Log
  • 3 Points
  • 3 Return to Work
  • 2 Parking lot Damage to weather

YTD- 478 Resolved – This is a rolling number of the last 12 months

  • October –        Resolved 27 with 12 paid and 15 W/D
  • November –    Resolved 22 with 6 paid and 16 W/D
  • December –    Resolved 14 with 2 paid and 12 W/D
  • January –        Resolved 22 with 10 paid and 12 W/D
  • February –      Resolved 44 with 41 paid and 3 W/D
  • March –          Resolved 20 with 19 paid and 1 W/D

Automated Re-Bids coming in April 2025 (So we are being told)

  1. We had a preliminary meeting with Management about the process and it will be like the Current selection tool for Vacation Bidding.
  2. We met on March 4th. We discussed the future of Vacation bidding with a “Global Preference,” Shift Betterment, and how to handle transfers. Follow-up meetings are involved.  
  3. The Automated Re-Bid should roll out in mid-April.  Check your e-mail for details.

Hangars 5 and 6  

1.Public Service Announcement –   

  • I went to investigate a Painter being written up “Grievance” on misplacing 2 orbital sanders in 3 days.  I discovered after a week that there had been 10 sanders stolen in Hangar 5 during breaks and lunches from the first and second shifts from the work area in the last 45 days.
  • I brought this up to the CC’s in Hgr 5 and spoke to a majority on the afternoon shift Thursday night about this issue.  After speaking to over 100 AMTs, I was notified that more than 10 have had tools taken in the last 30 days.
  • Everyone in the area has been notified to challenge everyone on the docks without a badge and any vendor or person not belonging in the airplane footprint.
  • Corporate Security has been notified and will be making every effort including video surveillance to identify the Thief/Thieves.
  • In the old days, we handled these issues internally and took care of business. Nowadays, I have to be politically correct, and state that anyone caught will be terminated. I prefer the old ways better, but to each their own.

Any information on the thief/thieves is appreciated and I will help insure they will not be working for AA anymore.

  • Every dock is now doing E-tasks. Feel free to reach out to the representatives for training and help.
  • If you’re interested in becoming a CC, reach out to existing CC’s, Management, or myself about what the jobs will entail.
  • Attended 2 CC/Management meetings for 257 on issues that are around the workplace. Tooling, stands, ladders, parts not available, parts being delivered to different locations, E-Task items, etc… Management is working on resolving the issues now.   
  • 5S – We all need to take the “blinders” off and become aware of our surroundings.  I have been a part of HGR 5/6 for over 20 years and we all become complacent over time. 
    • We will become proactive in working with management to get proficient in our work areas.  We will try to get back to doing business pre-US air.

I am stating this because WE (The TWU) will now be getting more involved with handling day-to-day tasks and operations in the hangar.  We all need to be policing our work areas.  If you want to be a part of the transition, please get a hold of me, Brian Drenthe, or a CC in the area.

RETIREMENT

Whether you’re 60 days from retirement or 30 years, we highly recommend you go to the TWU Website and review the Retirement Checklist.

  • It is crucial that each member is informed on what benefits are out there and what they should be doing to have a successful plan for retirement.
  • There are hyperlinks to different resources on there with approximate timelines of when to complete or review the steps…

EACH member is responsible for their own financial situation.  This will help guide you in the right direction.

Welfare and Entertainment                                                                                       

Tulsa Oilers Hockey Upcoming schedule

  • Friday, March 21 —Tahoe Lake Monsters —7:05 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 22 —Tahoe Lake Monsters —7:05 p.m.
  • Thursday, March 27 —Rapid City Rush —7:05 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 29 —Rapid City Rush —7:05 p.m.
  • Sunday, March 30 —Rapid City Rush —3:05 p.m.

TWU Vouchers will be good for the upcoming playoffs.

Family Day will be June 21st at the WE Street Center.  Meetings ongoing to discuss the event planning.   More details will come out in April.

Don
(918) 378-5823
DMcCormick@twumail.org

Daron Morgan:

  • Continue covering the Grievance Office Daily
  • Continue working new and old Grievances
  • Tuesday March 18th, we had a Local Grievance Review Meeting
  • I settled 4 grievances this week 2 paid on the 1st step, and 2 withdrawals. 
  • Continue preparing Grievances for the April GRB

We had an issue with security writing parking tickets at CRC this week for employees parking over the lines, but the problem is that  the lines are barely visible.  I addressed this issue with  the CRC leadership, and they are turning in a FM request to have the lines repainted

Union Membership Meetings will be held on Thursday March 27th this Month.  Show up and Make your voice heard!

The Next Tulsa Oilers Hockey Home Games are scheduled for Friday March 21st (Free Adult Jersey for the 1st 1000 Fans) and Saturday Mar 22, 2025 (Military Appreciation Night free reversible bucket hat for the 1st 1000 fans).  We have tickets for the games available at the grievance office and at the Union Hall.  The giveaways are promotions that are done by the Tulsa Ice Oilers Organization.

  • Tulsa Oilers Football Season will Kickoff on April 19th
  • TWU Family Day will be on , at the WE STREET IceCenter
  • Continuing to seek out opportunities to get TWU Local 514 more Involved in the Community.  

Daron
918-402-0089
DMorgan@twumail.org

Jay Potter:

Scope – Base Outsourcing Report, March 21, 2025

In-house Base Maintenance  – Four (4) Stations 

  • 32 Aircraft 
  • 12 of these aircraft are check aircraft (MBV, CC, C11, or EIS).
    • CTO – Charlotte, NC
      • A319 – 3
      • A320 – 1
      • A321 – 3   
    • DWH – Dallas, TX
      • A321 – 2       (1 – EIS)
      • B737MX- 1   (1 – EIS)
      • B737NG – 1
      • B777 – 1
      • B787 – 2
    • PTO -Pittsburgh, PA
      • A319XF – 1
      • A320 – 1   (1 – C11)
      • A321 – 1   (1 – S1)
    • TLE – Tulsa,  OK
      • B737MX – 1     (FUS DMG)
      • B737NG – 10   (5 – MBV04, 2 – MBV08)
      • B737MX – 1     (Fus Dmg)
      • B777 – 3
      • B787 – 1     (1 – CC03)       

Outsourced Base Maintenance – Three (3) Stations

  • 30 Aircraft.
  • 26 of these aircraft are check aircraft (MBV, CC, C11, S, or EIS).
    • SLO_Aeroman, El Salvador – 19 Aircraft
      • A319 – 3   (3 – 4S)
      • A319XF – 2   (2 – 4S)
      • A321 – 11   (2 – 1S,  9 – 4S)
      • B777 – 3   (1 – MBV06, 1 – MBV09, 1 – MBV10)
    • STA_VT San Antonio Aerospace, San Antonio, TX – 5 Aircraft
      • A321 – 3   (2 – OASIS)
      • B777 – 1   (1 – MBV04)
      • B787 – 1   (1 – CC03)
    • VQQ_Flightstar, Jacksonville, FL – 6 Aircraft
      • B737NG – 6   (1 – MBV03, 3 – MBV05, 1 – MBV08)
  • Livery aircraft do not count toward the outsourced man-hours (stations include AMA, GUS, and ROW).
  • If you have questions regarding Contractual Scope Language, you can reach me at (918) 845-8059 or jpotter@twumail.org.  I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Tulsa Aviation Maintenance Group (AMG) Headcount

March 21,  2025 January 23, 2020 VARIANCE
TCC72 TCC79 TCC-7
CC AMT280 CC AMT245 CC AMT35
AMT2396 AMT2681 AMT-285
OSM484 OSM425 OSM59
INSP242 INSP263 INSP-21
CC CL17 CC CL16 CC CL1
CL160 CL130 CL30
TOTAL3651 TOTAL3839 TOTAL-188

Hiring 

  • For available vacancies in Tech Ops, check jobs.aa.com.
    • Aviation Maintenance Technician – Plater
    • Aviation Maintenance Technician

Retirement Committee – Jay Potter Chair, George Albano Co-Chair

  • Retirement Seminar scheduled for April 2 – 3, 2025, at the Tulsa Base Townhall Room
    • 300PM on Apr 2, 2025
    • 500AM & 900AM on Apr 3, 2025
  • Retirement Resources are available on Jetnet for those looking to retire..
    • In Jetnet, click Resources at the top of the  page
    • Under Information and Help, click Team Member Services
    • Scroll down and click on Retirement
      • There you will find several links:
      • Retirement eligibility
      • How to access retirement income
      • Retirement gift selection
      • How to stay connected with American
      • Retirement benefits and privileges 
      • Travel privileges for retirees
      • Retirement gift FAQ
      • Signing up for an electronic W-2 
  • Fidelity has a designated phone number for AA employees
    • (800) 354-3412
  • Fidelity offers designated Medicare Advisors to answer any questions (this is a free service)
    • Call (833) 886-0033 to schedule an appointment
    • You may also schedule an appointment at medicare.fidelity.com
      • In addition to setting up an appointment, this site is an excellent resource for Medicare   
  • Visit the Local 514 website for your retirement resources 
    • twu514.org

Retirements / New Hires

  • We had zero members retire the week of Mar 10 –  Mar 16, 2025
  • We had 16 new hires the week of Mar 10 – Mar 16, 2025
    • AMT – 16

MRO Americas 2025 – April 8 – 10, 2025

  • American Airlines will have two (2) teams competing in the Aerospace Maintenance Competition (AMC). The company has highlighted the teams on Jetnet. We thank all that are competing and wish them good luck. In addition, we have several members that will be utilized as judges for the AMC; we thank them for their participation as well.
    • Base Team
      • Scott Bell (TUL)
      • Luis Cervantes-Bustios (TUL
      • Brent Duvall (TUL)
      • Sergio Lozada Chinea (TUL)
      • Lisa Prince (TUL)
      • Nick Wiseman (DWH)
    • Line Team
      • Edgar Danis-Montero (IOC)
      • Jason Feguson (PHL)
      • Erik Lopez – Isidro (CLT)
      • Robert “Bobby” Mack (MCO)
      • Damian Navas Moreano (PHX)
      • Albert “Al” Padilla (IAH)

May Rebid will be by the electronic Bidding Hub 

  • You can access the Bidding Hub by going to the TechOps TUL Bulletin Board
    • Go to TechOps home page
    • Scroll down to Base Maintenance Promoted Links
    • Click on Bulletin Boards and select TUL under Base
    • Click on Bidding Hub
  • You can also access the Bidding Hub through Worbrain
    • Click on TechOps Bidding Hub
  • The Bidding Hub preliminary preferences will become available on Monday,April 14, 2025 at 0800
    • You will be able to pre-load your selections similar to the vacation picks
    • Live bid (5-minute window) will be April 21-22  for Crew Chiefs, TCC’s, Sr. Planners, and Inspectors
    • Live Bid (5-minute window) will be April 23-25  for all other work groups
    • New Shift starts on Monday, May 12, 2025
    • The company will be releasing a nine (9) minute video covering the new bidding process.

Jay
(918) 845-8059
JPotter@twumail.org

Passages

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.”

The Passing of Retired Sister Kellene Collins

We are deeply saddened to share with you the passing of retired sister Kellene Collins on February 15th, 2025. Kelly had started working with us here at American Airlines in 1990 and retired from the position of Aviation Maintenance Technician in 2008. Please keep the Collins family in your thoughts and prayers. Kellene Elizabeth Easky April 27, 1958 — …

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