Airline Division Week in Review -- Thanksgiving 2019
Work Progressing Rapidly on Divisions Newest Local
Aided by the full support of General President Hoffa, Airline Division Director Captain David Bourne and Airline Division staff, the structure of IBT’s newest Local; 2750 is rapidly coming together.
Since the announcement last month, the International and Division have worked closely with Local 2750 Trustee Captain Bob Kirchner and the ExCo to secure office space and do the time consuming but much needed foundational work to get the offices and systems up and running as quickly as possible.
In a message to the membership this week, Trustee Kirchner said, “We also are within days of securing our office space for Local 2750 in downtown Cincinnati. We are in the final stages of negotiating a few clauses in the lease Our IT guys and other union workers are ready to move in and start getting set up. The timetable right now has us up and running on a limited basis in December with a grand opening planned for sometime in January.”
Speaking about the ongoing work, Kirchner said, “In addition to conducting the day to day business of representation, planning for upcoming negotiations with management and holding in-person crew meetings at various locations throughout the system, and a well-attended crew call this week, the ExCo feels that there are sufficient funds in place to adequately fund negotiations and SPC efforts between now and when we get our next collective bargaining agreement. As such, they have determined that it is time to end the crewmember assessment and they hope to conduct the vote electronically starting next week.”
“None of this would have been possible without the total and complete support of General President Hoffa and Division Director David Bourne,” Kirchner continued. “From the moment we approached them with the request for our own Local and chart our own course; they have provided us support and assistance beyond our expectations. Setting up a Local is not an easy process. The underlying workload is massive and when you add those tasks to the day to day representational issues and contract negotiations; the risk of missing a minor detail that can have massive representational, legal and financial repercussions is tremendous.”
“We’re very pleased with the focus that the Atlas ExCo and Trustee Bob Kirchner have maintained during the transition,” said Division Director Captain David Bourne. “Standing a new Local up is not an easy process; however the dedication to the work and focus on their pilots has been outstanding and we are happy to provide the support that they need,” he concluded.
The next scheduled in-person meetings with crewmembers are scheduled for December 2nd and 3rd at the Courtyard Marriott in Miami, Florida.
Airline Industry News
UPS expects to offer expanded drone delivery to private homes within two years as demand, technology and regulation evolve, says Bala Ganesh, vice president of the company's advanced technology group. The company is focusing first on expanding its medical delivery program, which "is a really good use case because that is life-changing," he said.
Thanksgiving Message
As we gather with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, may we all keep in our thoughts our brothers and sisters who are away from their families and friends here and around the world, in the air, at sea or on the ground. May we all be grateful for the time we all have together and our good blessings.
In honor of Thanksgiving, the offices of the Airline Division will be CLOSED on Thursday, November 28th and Friday, November 29th. We will reopen for regular business on Monday, December 2nd.
On behalf of everyone in the Airline Division, we extend to each of you and your families our very best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.