Aircraft mechanics and related maintenance workers for US Airways on Tuesday ratified a three-year agreement covering 3,300 workers, including about 750 in Pittsburgh. Nearly two-thirds of the International Association of Machinist members voted in favor of the contract, which becomes amendable at the end of 2011.

The contract is the second major pact to be ratified since US Airways merged with America West in September 2005. Passenger-service and reservations agents agreed to a new contract in June 2006.

The IAM agreement raises former America West employees' pay to that of their counterparts in the east, then immediately increases all 3,300 workers' pay by 10 percent, followed by 3 percent increases in each of the next three years.

The 9,300 active and furloughed mechanics who comprise the bargaining unit will become Teamsters as soon as the NMB vote is certified. The board is expected to certify the vote by close of business Tuesday.

The Teamsters victory culminates a two-year effort by United (Nasdaq: UAUA) mechanics and related personnel to gain strong representation. A key issue was the failure of their former bargaining representative, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association, to hold United to its contractual obligation to limit outsourcing.

“We’re thrilled that United mechanics voted to join our union by such a large margin,” said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. “United mechanics will now have the Teamsters strength behind them in their fight against outsourcing to foreign repair stations.”  

On March 1, 2008 a informational meeting was held to discuss issues related to the representation vote at United Airlines.

Ustream.tv now has the video available of this meeting.

Below is a link to the segments in order.

Pt 1

Pt 2

Pt 3

Pt 4

Pt 5

Tuesday Teamster Airline Division Director Don Treichler issued a letter to Continental Airlines CEO Larry Kellner notifying him about the Teamsters interest in the potential airline mergers between Continental Airlines-United Airlines and Delta Airlines-Northwest Airlines.

Continental Airlines cannot merge with another carrier unless approved by Northwest Airlines.  Northwest holds a "Golden Share" of Continenal Stock.

News reports show the increased possibility of a deal between Delta and Northwest Airlines and Treichler stated "a Northwest merger could make this a non-factor. We look forward to the appropriate dialogue should the aforementioned merger move forward."

In respect to personnel integration Treichler stated "As advance notice, should the Continental-United merger occur, it is the Teamsters general position that the seniority integration of the mechanic and related employees be accomplished by date of hire under the auspices of sections 3 and 13 of Allegheny-Mohawk, among other conditions."

- As the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) prepares to hold its first Airline Summit meeting on maintenance outsourcing in Washington, DC, today, Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) officials said, "Better late than never."

"This is the first time the IBT has shown any real interest in limiting outsourcing. They've been at Continental Airlines for 10 years and still don't have any outsourcing audit provisions in their contract. These provisions and other measures have been standard in AMFA's carrier contracts for many years," said AMFA National Director Steve MacFarlane.

MacFarlane said data collected by the respected MIT Airline Project shows that for the period 1995-2006, outsourcing percentages have grown substantially higher than industry averages at airlines under contract with IBT.

(WASHINGTON) - The Teamsters Union and the Business Travel Coalition co-sponsored a national summit on aircraft maintenance outsourcing today. The summit drew nearly 200 participants form the aviation industry, government agencies, labor, business, and Congress from 35 states. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) and Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minnesota) gave videotaped presentations at the event.

At the summit, Greg Feith, former NTSB investigator moderated panels in which invited speakers debated the current state of outsourcing and urged invited speakers to discuss possible solutions to the safety and security issues.  Some of the legislative ideas that were considered include: increased frequency and depth of FAA inspections to domestic and foreign repair stations; required criminal background checks for repair station employees; mandated drug and alcohol screenings; and harmonized standards for U.S. airlines for all repair stations. 

Teamster mechanics are urging Congress to impose a moratorium on any further outsourcing of airplane repairs and maintenance by the country’s airlines until there are uniform maintenance standards and FAA oversight, saying they are concerned about the dangers to passenger safety and national security that the practice poses.

On February 11, the Teamsters Union and the Business Travel Coalition will launch a national discussion about how U.S. airlines are outsourcing more of their vital repair work to overseas third-party facilities, off-shoring U.S. jobs and putting the flying public at risk.

The Aircraft Maintenance Outsourcing Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (EST).

Watch the live web cast presentation of the summit here on February 11, beginning 9:00 a.m.

To view click the direct link here

WASHINGTON, -- The Teamsters Union and the Business Travel Coalition will hold a summit on aircraft maintenance outsourcing on Feb. 11, 2008, in Washington, D.C.

The purpose of the summit is to discuss the safety and efficiency of current U.S. airline industry outsourcing practices and to explore potential solutions.

Safety advocates, government officials and aviation industry representatives will also discuss the likely impact of industry consolidation on maintenance outsourcing.

Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa said foreign repair stations are a threat to passenger safety and security.

"Aircraft mechanics should all be held to a single standard whether they repair airplanes in Beijing or San Francisco," Hoffa said. "Unfortunately, the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't have the staff or funding to enforce the current double standard."

The mechanics, more than 3,000 of whom are employed at the United maintenance base at San Francisco International Airport, have been represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association since 2003.

A group of the mechanics have voiced concern over the fate of their jobs — and their retirement security — and have led the drive to replace AMFA. The vote has been authorized to happen in the next six weeks or so, a Teamsters spokeswoman said.

United, one of the biggest employers in San Mateo County, announced in August that it may sell all or a stake of its maintenance operations off Highway 101 in San Bruno to outside investors.

Members of Northwest Airline's Aircraft Mechanics union have issued a no confidence vote in the carrier's executive team.

Members of the working for Northwest Airlines received a letter Monday from Ted Ludwig, president of AMFA Local 33, stating that the union has approved a no confidence vote in the carrier's executive team.

Members of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association Local 33, which is based in Bloomington, received a letter calling for the vote from Ted Ludwig, local president.

The letter said that the union's local leadership was concerned by "the progressive degradation of operations at NWA." The letter also said it was concerned about the carrier "expecting their employees to continue to do more with less," which it claims hurts employee morale.

The letter also said that, "The flight cancellations that recently caused NWA's stock to drop are certainly being caused by the shortage of pilots, but another contributing factor is the highly stressed maintenance department."