May 17, 2022
Brothers and Sisters,
Last week representatives from the Airline Division met with representatives and members at the SFO Base. This a first opportunity for our new Director Joe Ferreira and Deputy Director Greg Unterseher to meet with United Airlines Technicians and Related in their new roles. Also, in attendance besides myself, were Mike Moats Division Representative in charge of Benefits at UA, Eastern Region Rep Bob Fisher, Central Region Rep Chris Moore, and staff Attorney Stephanie Spanja. On Tuesday the 10th we first met with the Business Agents, the Grievance Committee, as well as Safety and TMAP Reps, before heading out to the Base to talk with stewards and members assigned to swing shift. On the 11th we met with stewards and members assigned to both the midnight and day shifts.
Unfortunately, there was an incident in South San Francisco on the evening of the 10th that meant a couple members of the team couldn't join the walk around on the 11th while they dealt with the aftermath of the prior evening's event. We will try to get back to SFO as the schedule permits so that those Reps can meet with those they missed.
There were questions about upcoming negotiations as well as feedback on areas of concern expressed by representatives and members alike. We relayed that we had no concrete information on the upcoming negotiations as plans are still being formed but we let everyone know that as soon as clear direction was given, we would report to the membership as a whole. We discussed communications and how we were attempting to change both the delivery method and content for future updates. Look for more on that in the coming months.
We discussed with everyone the need for a two-question survey regarding limited issue bargaining versus opening the whole Agreement as the answer in the last survey was unclear. At this point the company is in receipt of our Section Six notice which states that all provisions are open. This was done to ensure your rights were protected regardless of which path you ultimately choose to pursue. After that question is answered, and the Principal Officers meet, we'll enter a protocol agreement with the carrier that spells out broadly how bargaining will work. This agreement will address things such as scheduling dates and which expenses are shared as well as other structural issues to be covered surrounding the bargaining process.
Look for further updates as developments occur.
Fraternally,
Vinny Graziano
Airline Division
International Brotherhood of Teamsters