Mark DesAngles - IBT Local 986
Javier Lectora - IBT Local 856
Teamsters Airline Division - SFO Point
July 17th, 2020
All SFO IBT Members,
By now, most of you have probably seen the email by SVP TechOps Tom Doxey regarding the furlough notices. Because of the possibly complex trickle effects of the JFK station closure in terms of potential Article 6 bumping from some very senior employees, the Company is sending Furlough/Displacement notices to potentially 90% of IBT members, despite only sending out far fewer WARN notices. As Airline Division Representative Vinny Graziano stated in the Special Update sent out yesterday, the IBT Legal Department is reviewing the situation to determine whether or not there has been a violation of the WARN Act. Despite this, we want to make it clear that receiving a furlough/displacement notice does not mean you will be furloughed or displaced. But it is essential that you follow the instructions to choose all of your available options if you get a furlough/displacement notice because the impact to the system has the potential to be significant.
The Company also officially notified the IBT that it intends to invoke the force majeure language in LOA 18 (Furlough Protection) and Article 1.B.10 (Base Protection). The IBT has been told by legal counsel that the Company was within their rights to do so. This means that the Company will be able to furlough individuals with greater seniority than December 5th, 2016 and displace members from both the San Francisco and Houston Maintenance Bases.
Now, let us address the number of total expected furloughs that Tom also provided today on a call. The initial overage determined by the Company was 2,898 IBT members. 906 members took the VSP. So, as of now, we have been told that the 1,992 IBT members will be furloughed. This is the breakdown:
1325 Technicians
230 Facilities Technicians
220 GSE Technicians
203 Utility Specialists
14 Maintenance Planning Analysts
Please be aware that these numbers will potentially be reduced by the voluntary PCL program that the Company intends to offer to our members. We also want to make it clear that, despite the fact that you may not be furloughed, the number of IBT members displaced due to bumping has the potential to be significantly higher. We will be sure to let you know if anything changes.
Additionally, the deadline for BAQ approval is set at 3pm PST today. It is our intent to make sure the Company understands the we expect open issues related to wrongly rejected BAQ's will be addressed and corrected.
Beginning next week, we will be briefing extensively on all three shifts so that we can get all of your questions and concerns addressed. There is a lot of ground to cover, so please be patient until we can make it to your area.
In Solidarity,
Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora
Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856