E-Board Member
Grievance Report
- Open Grievances: 174
- Resolved This Week: 2
- Resolved Month-to-Date: 8
- Resolved Year-to-Date: 107
Second Step Grievance Meeting
On Tuesday, we had a Second Step Grievance Meeting with the Company. I presented four grievances on behalf of our members.
Of the four grievances presented, two were agreed to be paid, and the remaining two will move forward to the Grievance Review Board (GRB).
We will continue working these cases through the grievance process and doing everything we can to make sure our members are properly represented and the Agreement is enforced.
Benefits Update
I continued helping members this week get their accounts set up with NGP following NGP’s recent change in banks. If you have benefits through NGP and haven’t completed the process yet, or if you’re unsure about what you’re doing, please ask us for help. We would much rather help you get everything set up correctly than have you run into problems later.
Last week, I reported that NGP has a Health Assessment Benefit available with its Critical Illness Plan. I also want everyone to know that Lincoln Financial Group has a Health Assessment Benefit available with its Critical Illness Plan as well.
If you carry either of these Critical Illness plans, take a few minutes to check your benefits and see what you may be eligible for. Don’t leave money on the table. These are benefits you’re paying for, so make sure you’re taking advantage of everything that’s available to you.
Also, if you’re having trouble with your Fidelity Health Care Flexible Spending Account Card, please let us know. We’ve had members experiencing issues, and we’ll do what we can to help you get pointed in the right direction.
As always, if you’re unsure about any of your benefits or need help figuring something out, ask us. That’s what we’re here for.
Safety Corner – If It Doesn’t Look Right, Speak Up
We work in an environment where schedules, deadlines, aircraft commitments, and getting the job done are part of what we deal with every day. But no deadline is more important than making sure everyone goes home safely at the end of their shift.
If something doesn’t look right, stop and ask the question. If you don’t have the proper equipment, PPE, tooling, procedures, training, or manpower to safely perform a job, speak up. Don’t allow yourself or a coworker to be put in an unsafe situation just because someone is worried about how long the job is taking.
And just as important, look out for the person working beside you. Sometimes another set of eyes catches something we don’t. If you see a coworker about to put themselves in a dangerous position, say something. That’s not getting into somebody else’s business—that’s looking out for a Union Brother or Sister.
We all have a responsibility when it comes to safety. Management has a responsibility to provide a safe workplace, but each of us also has a responsibility to recognize hazards and speak up when something isn’t right.
Production can be recovered. Schedules can be adjusted. An injury may stay with someone for the rest of their life.
Take the extra minute. Ask the question. Use the proper equipment. Look out for each other.
No job is so important that it can’t be done safely.
Welfare & Entertainment
Our next Union event will be Trunk or Treat on October 24th, followed by our TWU Local 514 Adult Party on November 21st at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa.
The Welfare & Entertainment Committee continues working to make both events something our members and their families can enjoy. Trunk or Treat is always a great family event, and this year’s Adult Party will be extra special as we come together to celebrate 80 years of TWU Local 514.
More information will be coming as we get closer to both events. We hope to see a great turnout from our membership.
Mark your calendars—October 24th and November 21st!
Our Strength Starts Now
As we begin looking toward contract negotiations next year, now is the time to remember where our strength really comes from.
Negotiations don’t begin when our negotiating team sits down across the table from the Company. They begin right now—with us.
They begin with members staying informed, attending Union meetings, knowing our Agreement, supporting one another, and standing together when our contractual rights are challenged. A negotiating committee can only be as strong as the membership standing behind it.
For 80 years, the members of TWU Local 514 have fought for better wages, benefits, working conditions, job security, and respect on the job. None of those things were simply given to us. Generations of Union members fought for them, negotiated for them, and stood together to protect them.
As we prepare for the next round of negotiations, there will undoubtedly be different opinions about what our priorities should be—and that’s healthy. But when the time comes to stand together, we have to remember that what unites us is far greater than what divides us.
The Company will know what it wants when negotiations begin.
We need to know what we want—and we need to be united in demanding it.
Our strength has never come from one officer, one committee, or one negotiating team. Our strength comes from the membership.
Stay informed. Stay involved. Look out for one another. And most importantly, stay united.
One Membership. One Voice. One Union.
TWU Local 514 — 80 Years Strong, and We’re Not Done Yet.
Daron
918-402-0089
DMorgan@twumail.org