Nicole Casey 2/5/21 Nicole Casey 2/5/21

February Business Agents' Report

Secondary RIF Results Delayed

We have been waiting for the results of the secondary RIF since the end of November. The secondary RIF includes those that came back from leaves after the original RIF was underway, those that had subsequent FRD corrections and any folks who had an award rescinded for any reason (primarily FRD and A&P License issues). We were informed that some of the individuals who had rescinded awards were subsequently 'recalled' and told to report to a new area. We have taken steps to make sure that those individuals are immediately returned to their original Bid Area and schedule, pending results of this secondary RIF. The reason for this is very simple: They have not had the opportunity to 'officially' exercise their Seniority as part of the Article 6 Reduction in Force, so they cannot be moved from their Bid Area or schedule. Additionally, those folks who have the Seniority to stay on the property after they exercise their seniority are going to be absorbed, meaning that they will not bump anyone out of the station. So, a valuable permanent recall position cannot be given to them or it will reduce the number of folks being brought back from the street or the system. With our numbers at SFO taking such an enormous hit, we can't very well lose additional positions because of clerical errors! So, if you are one of these individuals who have been moved erroneously, let your RIF Coordinator know to make sure that you are sent back to your original Bid Area.

We understand that the end result dictates that there are some individuals on the property waiting RIF results who do not have the Seniority to hold a permanent position. That is not due to any shenanigans. They are here because they have not yet been afforded their right to exercise their seniority. The reality of the situation is that the Company furloughed way more people out of SFO than they should have on the 1st RIF, then made a bunch of incorrect Line Station Bid Awards to folks with only one license which had to be rescinded; then had to go back and change a bunch of incorrect FRD dates which also meant more rescinded awards, then filled vacancies during the 1st RIF, which led to grievances, a subsequent LOA to address, and a RIF redo for a bunch of folks which led to some additional furloughs. Then the company started almost immediately doing permanent recalls here at SFO to address the fact that they sent out too many people in the first place! Add to that the passing of the new PSP that resulted in UAL dropping everything else they were doing so they can get the temp recall done! Talk about an absolute quagmire!

If you are one of the individuals awaiting the results of the secondary RIF, which we are told will be out any day, and you do not hold the Seniority to prevent Involuntary Furlough, the most likely scenario will be that you will be given your contractually mandated 14-day furlough notice after the Secondary RIF results are published and then you will be given an offer of temporary recall to commence immediately afterwards.

And now we wait for the next PSP!

Temporary Recall is Nearly Completed

Now that the temp recall is nearly complete, we would like to welcome folks back to SFO. To say that our membership has been through a lot the past few months seems to be the understatement of all time. The decision to take the temp recall could not have been an easy one to make for many folks. At our core, no matter what trials we endure, people tend to want to get back to some sense of normalcy. And getting yanked back and forth across the country surely does not help folks in their quest to get some balance back into their lives!

Those of you that had to separate from families to commute to another location had it especially tough. The decision to make that move and leave families back here to minimize your family’s disruption was obviously extremely difficult. And that decision had to be made having hope and faith that you could eventually get back to SFO at some point without having any idea whether or not or when it would happen.

We understand that this particular recall is only temporary. But we want you to know that we will continue to fight in every way possible to make sure that there are sufficient jobs here at SFO so that anyone out there in the system or on furlough who wants to come back permanently can do so.

Some of you were also fortunate enough to be permanently recalled as well. In fact, UAL was in the middle of a batch of permanent recalls at SFO before the second PSP hit. We expect permanent recalls to continue going forward and look forward welcoming more of you back on a permanent basis.

Healthy Airport Ordinance Update

As we mentioned in our November briefings and email blasts, on November 10th the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed the Healthy Airport Ordinance (HAO). This ordinance amended the Health Care Accountability Ordinance (HCAO) for the Quality Standards Program (QSP) for all employers at SFO, including UAL, so that they must now offer a health care plan to all employees and their families at no cost.

TeamstersSFO Locals 856/986 worked with partner unions for some time to help get this ordinance to the finish line and we are grateful for all of that hard work.

In order to comply with the ordinance, United Airlines is now offering a Kaiser Plan B which meets the platinum-equivalent ordinance requirements. There is a special SFO tile on the Your Benefits Resource (YBR) website which allows folks to switch over to the new no-cost plan for employees and their dependents. This choice will remain open to all employees until February 15th, so if you have not done so, please make sure to navigate over to the YBR site as soon as you can. The effective date for the new health benefits is March 21st, 2021.

The San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement (OLSE) and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH) will be conducting a webinar to help educate employees on the new standards and answer questions on February 10th at 11am. If you are interested in attending, you can go to the SFO CONNECT website for information and instructions on how to register at sfoconnect.com/about/news/webinar-quality-standards-program-employees.

Again, please make sure to get to the YBR website in order to change over from your current medical plan to the new Kaiser Plan B no-cost option!

California Kin Care Update

On December 1st, 2018, UAL first implemented the policy under which they would unilaterally designate the first six days (or half of the annual accrual) of an employee's sick leave as Kin Care, even over the objection of the employee. The Union felt that this was a clear violation of California Labor Code Section 233 and immediately filed grievances against the practice. Those grievances had to be placed on hold while we navigated the excruciatingly slow complaint process with the State of California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DSLE), as we were seeking a determination by the state as to the validity of UAL's practice under the Labor Code.

In September of 2020, we were notified by the State that UAL was claiming that they were exempt from the California Kin Care because they were providing sick time under an ERISA Trust. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) sets minimum standards for most voluntarily established retirement and health plans in private industry to provide protection for individuals in these plans. This is a move that the company tried to make about a decade back, but that ultimately failed after they were sued by the pilots. They apparently feel that they have their ducks better aligned to pass ERISA-compliance scrutiny this time out.

The State has informed us that this claim will be thoroughly investigated and that it will determine what action to take against UAL if the findings are that they are non-compliant. But we were also warned that this process has likely been severely extended by the Company's actions.

In the meantime, as we reported to you in November, Teamsters 856/986 co-sponsored legislation with Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin that amended Labor Code Section 233 regarding Kin Care usage to say that "...the designation of sick leave taken for these reasons shall be made at the sole discretion of the employee”. The bill took effect on January 1st, but the Company is refusing to comply based on the reason given above. We had hoped that the company would comply, given the unambiguous verbiage of the new law, but they have chosen to fight it out.

There has been an et al grievance generated based the company's non-compliance with the new amendment to the law, but we will have to wait until we get the response from the State before we can put it in front of an arbitrator. There is simply no getting around that fact.

Ironically, the company has not chosen to ignore the Kin Care law completely because Kin Care is still being offered. They are only ignoring the part that says that you get to choose when to designate it.

We will be sure to keep you informed of any further developments on this issue.

The Grievance Tracking System

The IBT Airline Division Grievance Tracking System has replaced our old paper system of grievances. The GTS is an automated, internet-based program which creates, stores, processes, prints, and tracks all Airline Division grievances. We have been transitioning to the GTS at SFO for some time, beginning with Shop Steward training offered last year. The system offers a comprehensive search capability and is designed to enable us to capture every piece of information we need about every grievance so that our records are complete and organized and so that everyone involved in the grievance process, from Stewards to Chief Stewards to the Business Agents has everything related to a particular grievance immediately available. Additionally, we have access to all of the grievances across the entire system.

We have now completely phased out the use of paper grievances and are now requiring all Stewards to enter grievances into the GTS. If you are a Steward and have not yet been trained in the GTS, please reach out to your Chief Steward. Please do not use the old paper grievances anymore.

Grievance Update

We have scheduled continued discussions with the Company regarding the SFO Heavy Check grievance on February 8th and 22nd. This will be followed by another date in March, if necessary. If no settlement is reached with the Company, the case will be arbitrated on April 15th.

We will also be starting initial dialogue next week with the Company concerning the open 3rd Step grievances at SFO. These discussions will be conducted in anticipation of the commencement of contract-case System Boards of Adjustment hearings in the near future.

We will be sure to keep you posted of any new developments going forward.

Labor History

February 3rd, 1941 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously in United States v. Darby to uphold the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which banned certain types of child labor, established a minimum wage, and set a maximum workweek at 44 hours.

February 2nd, 1977 - Legal secretary Iris Rivera is fired for refusing to make coffee for her employer. A Chicago-based advocacy group, Women Employed, led a series of public actions against her firing and eventually Rivera got her job back.

January 29th, 2009 - The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 is the first bill signed into law by President Barack Obama, restoring the protection against pay discrimination that was stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. The wage gap continues.

Famous Quotes

We draw our strength from the very despair in which we have been forced to live. We shall endure - Cesar Chavez

We have come too far, -- struggled too long, -- sacrificed too much and have too much left to do, -- to allow that which we have achieved for the good of all to be swept away without a fight. And we have not forgotten how to fight - Lane Kirkland

That we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just - Abraham Lincoln

Please Stay Safe Folks! In Solidarity,

Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora

Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856

Please click here to view a printable version of this report.

Nicole Casey 10/30/20 Nicole Casey 10/30/20

November Business Agents' Report

We had all been very hopeful that there would be a 2nd major Stimulus package by now that would have included new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provisions for the Airline Industry.

Stimulus Talks Fizzle

We had all been very hopeful that there would be a 2nd major Stimulus package by now that would have included new Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provisions for the Airline Industry. The chances of that legislation being passed before the election has steadily dwindled to somewhere near zero. That being said, now that we have all but given up, they will probably get it done. Such is the nature of the absolute disfunction in D.C. these days.

Noting the same lack of progress, the Company recently decided that they would start giving out reporting dates to folks displacing out into the system as a result of the RIF shakedown. What that means is this: There is no longer any chance that the entire RIF will be completely rescinded. If there is a new PPP, United will use the Recall process to get those folks home that want to return. That way, anyone who wants to stay where they landed gets to do so. That, frankly, is only fair. The last thing anyone wants is for folks that have landed out in the system, who have bought houses and taken other steps to establish their new residency, to be told that they have to return. The problem is that this approach raises a whole new set of questions as to how the Company will handle the situation arising from new PPP money. All in all, the further we get from October 1st, the more complex any potential PPP remedy becomes and the more questions we will have about any process' used by the Company to comply with any legislative requirements.

The Numbers at SFO

As was widely expected, United Airlines chose to execute this RIF largely on the backs of our members at SFO. And while we will continue to fight what we believe were several blatant contract violations by the Company conducted under the cover of COVID darkness, the results of this RIF, as of now, are devastating to our folks.

The original RIF shakedown resulted in the following impacts at SFO:

504 Involuntary Furloughs

178 Layoff at the Point

28 Retirement in Lieu of Furlough

3 Separations

288 members bumped into the System

The subsequent RIF repull (more on that below) resulted in an additional 18 Involuntary Furloughs and 6 additional LAOP's at SFO. There were also some award results modified for other folks during that particular process, but the overall numbers remained largely the same with regard to members bumping into the system.

Honestly, we believe that the Company was extremely callous and opportunistic in the approach that they took towards SFO during this RIF and we are committed to the fight to restore all of the jobs that we can to SFO going forward. The reality is that current UAL management was fully aware of the history and what our folks have had to endure over the years and yet they still decided that sending 30-year plus folks to the street while they feed outside vendors all-they-can-eat is all good. Frankly, we are disgusted.

Grievance Update

The Union was able to prevail in two termination cases this month. One was returned without a hearing after our grievance was sustained. The second was a result of our first virtual System Board hearing with the Company in September. Although not a perfect platform by any means, due to what we feel is a somewhat impersonal setting for something as significant and ultra-personal as a termination hearing, we are nevertheless pleased with the result. We are pushing for additional dates to hear our remaining termination cases.

The remainder of our discussion will center around the current open grievances thus far generated by the Company's decisions with regard to SFO.

A grievance was filed challenging the Company's decision to cease doing Heavy Checks at SFO charging that the Company violated LOA #3 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That grievance is now at arbitration level and we are currently awaiting an arbitration date.

Another grievance was filed over alleging an Article 1 Scope violation with regards to the MPA work here at SFO. That grievance is also at Arbitration level awaiting assignment of an arbitrator and date.

Another scope grievance was filed regarding the Company use of outside vendors to do storage checks on United aircraft. That grievance is also currently at arbitration level.

It is our understanding that there are several system terminations at arbitration level rightfully prioritized to receive the earliest 2021 arbitration dates and that scope grievances will receive highest priority thereafter.

Two other sets of grievances that were generated systemwide had to do with the Company filling vacancies during the RIF and also the question of FRD vs Craft Seniority and will be further discussed below.

Additionally, there were several other grievances filed by individuals alleging other specific violations by the Company during RIF. These are currently working through the grievance process. We will report more on those as they progress through the grievance process.

'Vacancies during RIF' Grievances and the resulting LOA

There were several grievances filed systemwide, including at SFO, because of the Company using the RIF process to fill existing vacancies at several locations in the system, despite the contractual requirement to freeze all vacancies during a Reduction in Force situation. After the Union threatened legal action, the Company agreed to the remedies outlined in the Letter of Agreement signed on September 29th.

Because of some apparent confusion, we felt it prudent to address this issue briefly. First and foremost, the main reason that this issue was so important was that, by adding vacancies during the RIF, the Company robbed senior Technicians of the right to bid those vacancies using their Craft Seniority per Article 5 (Filling of Vacancies). During a RIF, most folks are just trying to keep a seat where they are at. More importantly, folks bumping into the system during a RIF are using Furlough Recall Date (FRD) Seniority to do so. That is why it was so important to make sure the Company removed those vacancies from the RIF.

The result of the LOA was that the senior technician awarded one of these wrongfully added vacancies, along with everyone junior to him, had the RIF shakedown redone. The purpose of the redo was to remove the vacancies and restore these stations to the headcount snapshot that was taken on July 17th. This redo resulted in approximately 250 additional furloughs systemwide.

The second phase of the remedy is currently underway. Vacancies are currently being posted at various locations for folks to bid using Craft Seniority.

After the vacancies are filled, all vacated positions will be backfilled through the recall process to achieve the October 1st headcount snapshot for the entire system.

The back-end result means there will not be any more individuals laid off than would have been if the first iteration of the RIF shakedown was left to stand. The difference is that the Company will have filled the vacancies in the correct manner. That way, the use of Craft Seniority for the filling of vacancies will have been honored in terms of what is required in Article 5 (Filling of Vacancies) AND the vacancy freeze during RIF situations will have been honored as is required in Article 6 (Reduction in Force).

Furlough Recall Date vs. Craft Seniority

As part of the LOA signed regarding the 'vacancies during RIF', an agreement was made to hold an expedited arbitration regarding the use of FRD to hold Bid Areas during the RIF.

As you all know, FRD is your company seniority adjusted for time in promoted status and as well as other 'adjustable' time off such as extended Leaves of Absence.

The arbitration will decide the question of whether the Company was right to allow folks with higher FRD to remain in their home Bid Areas (which they would have been displaced from by Craft Seniority) or whether they should have been reduced from their home Bid Areas by Craft Seniority, then forced to displace the person with the lowest FRD at the point when their RIF options were exercised. More to come.

Apologies to our Lead Technicians

Before we move on, we would like to send out a few words to all the Leads (current and displaced) for us missing the mark when it comes to the information that we relayed to you during our briefings in the runup to the RIF shakedown. Despite the plain language in Article 6 that was staring us in the face stating that. "The employees with the least Craft Seniority by classification, by station in the affected Bid Area will be reduced," we mistakenly believed that the Leads and Technicians in every BAQ would be on the same Bid Area RIF list. That was obviously wrong, and we apologize for the mistake. We tried very hard to get you all of the correct information you all needed to make sound decisions and on that one we missed the mark. We will refrain from throwing anyone under the bus and just go ahead and take full responsibility!

Bid Area Qualifications

During the period leading up to the RIF shakedown, and again afterwards, we were inundated with requests for help with BAQ's. Since then, we have spent a tremendous amount of time getting folks BAQ's squared away. The primary focus was to address wrongfully rejected BAQ's because several folks were going to be on the wrong side of a furlough if their issues were not handled. It has been a mad dash here at the end because of upcoming secondary round plus a number of recalls being initiated, but we were able to get most issues resolved. We continue to work outstanding BAQ issues at this time.

One matter we would like to address is the assertion by some folks that they should have been given all of their BAQ's through auto-population on eBids. In answer to that, we point to Article 3.e.3.c. It reads, "No employee shall be regarded as qualified for any Bid Area that he has not affirmatively claimed qualification unless he was employed in that Bid Area on the effective date of this Agreement." We hope that clears things up.

Some Information Regarding Company Paid Moves

Now that the Company has started to give out report dates, it is important for everyone to understand issues related to Company paid moves. We are getting calls all the time about this stuff and we want to pass along anything that we find out as a result. Specifically, we have received two primary questions generated by the information provided in the IBT Represented Employees Summary of RIF Benefits and Privileges. First, there was some confusion about the apparent conflict between the language on page 19 that says transfer services are available 90 days from the effective date of transfer and page 26, question 2, where it says that you have 6 months from your report date to initiate your move. The feedback we received from Human resources was that you have 6 months after your report date to initiate your move but that, once initiated, you have 90 days to complete the move. Please remember that the process is initiated when you fill out the NuCompass information form.

Another related issue has to do with the information on page 20 of the handout under the header Travel to your New Location. Please be clear that if you are going to drive to your new location and submit expenses for reimbursement to NuCompass, you must first fill out the NuCompass information form. If not, any previous expenses might not be considered for reimbursement. Hope this helps. We will be sure to relay any new info we get as we get it.

A&P License Audits After RIF Awards

As we tried to communicate to everyone before the RIF Shakedown was initiated, we expected the Company to perform audits of every individual awarded a position at any Line Station through the RIF shakedown to make sure that they possessed both A&P Licenses. It has been reiterated for quite some time that the only two locations where non or partially licensed individuals from SFO Base could go was the IAH Base.

Unfortunately, many folks still were not aware of this restriction and others were unclear as to what stations were considered Line Stations.

Consequently, these audits resulted in quite a few RIF Awards out to the system being rescinded by the Company. Any individuals who had their awards rescinded will have to participate in the upcoming secondary RIF round. By the way, all stations outside of SFO and IAH bases are considered Line environments. It is apparent now that everyone now fully understands that.

Of significant concern was the recent occurrence of awards being rescinded after individuals had received report dates. We find this oversight completely inexcusable. If you were someone who may have been financially harmed because of a late notification of a rescinded award, we expect the Company to make every effort to make you whole. If that does not happen, please be sure to reach out.

2021 Vacation Accruals Paid Out

Due to some serious lack of communication on the Company's part, many individuals who were being furloughed did not get the opportunity to choose the option to leave their 2021 Vacation Accruals banked, per Article 6.F of the CBA, in case they are recalled before the end of 2021. We have a grievance on the matter which is currently at 2nd Step. As of now, the Company is refusing to allow any individuals to buy back their 2021 accruals, but we are going to push for that exact remedy. It is especially important that we have an accurate idea of who may be interested in this outcome. If you have been furloughed and feel that you should have been given the opportunity to bank 2021 accruals, please reach out to the Union, if not done yet, so we can document your interest.

Direct Medical Premium Billing During Severance

We have received many calls concerning the confusion over the direct billing for medical benefit premiums for individuals receiving severance pay. Article 6.Q states that, "Employees Medical Benefits will continue until the end of the month in which pay continuation furlough pay ceases..."

The one caveat is that United will not continue any payroll deductions for medical premiums during the severance period. As a result, you are now being billed directly. Those of you with at least two months of total medical benefits are being sent the combined bill for both October and November medical benefit premiums at this time.

The Company has taken steps to make the payment process easy for folks by adding a pay feature on accessible through YBR. All of you should have received an email from the Company by now on the matter.

The only thing that we will add on this topic relates to questions that we have received about this from furloughed members. It is purely optional as to whether or not you pay these premiums to keep your medical benefits active until the end of the month which your severance ends and it will not affect your recall status if you decide not to do so. That being said, if you are planning to retire during your severance period and plan to use your retirement bridge, you must have active medical benefits.

On a different note, the Company discovered an error in the IBT rates for the individuals who are on severance. All those folks should have been contacted by the Company informing you of the error and directing you to the YBR website for updated rates. If you have not received either of the above-mentioned communications for some reason, please go to the YBR site directly for the information.

Qualifying Periods

We have been asked by many folks whether or not they are subject to the Qualifying Period outlined in Article 5.D.3 of the agreement. They note that that the language specifically addresses folks who have been "...awarded a vacancy to a Bid Area or Classification in which he has never worked."

Management has been briefing folks of this requirement and it is causing much concern.

First, the answer to the question of whether the Qualifying Period applies to positions attained during a RIF situation can be found in Article 3.B. It reads, "New Hires, employees bidding permanent vacancies, employees filling temporary vacancies, employees exercising seniority in a reduction in force or those being recalled, either from furlough or from a reduction to a different/lower Classification, Craft, or Bid Area must meet license, trade tests and other requirements, as spelled out herein, except that an employee who has previously completed a Qualifying Period for a particular Bid Area shall not be required to meet these qualifications." So, the answer to the question is 'yes', those members exercising seniority in a RIF to bump to another Bid Area that they have not previously worked are indeed subject to a Qualifying Period.

However, a Qualifying Period is not a Probationary Period. And the Union will be particularly vigilant in making sure that this language is utilized in a completely fair and consistent manner. And we will vigorously challenge any attempt to disqualify someone unfairly using this language.

Recalls and Recall Rights

There are currently recalls underway for 21 positions at SFO. The following are positions that are currently being filled:

· 1 - 101 Line Technician

· 3 - 103 Powerplant Technicians

· 3 - Line 104 Avionics Technicians

· 2 - Base 105 Sheetmetal Technicians

· 2 - 107 Composite Technicians

· 2 - 109 Machinists

· 4 - 118 Facilities Technicians

· 1 - 121 Platers

· 1 - 123 Avionics Technicians

· 2 - 128 Electricians

By now, you all should have received a copy of the Recall Q&A through your Company email. Please make sure to read through the information completely and contact the Union if you have any questions.

Also, the complete Recall List can be found in eBid platform under the 'Help' tab.

Secondary RIF Round Explained

The secondary round is being conducted to allow any individuals who were on 'inactive' status, such as EIS, when the first 'active' employee snapshot was taken in late June. Also participating will be any individuals who had their original award rescinded for any reason, such as lack of A&P Licenses or incorrect Furlough Recall Dates, any folks who had wrongfully rejected BAQ's that caused them harm during the first RIF round that were later corrected, and any other folks who had personnel record modifications due to some critical circumstance.

The process for the Secondary RIF round will be as follows, subject to any changes as necessary:

· Notification will go out to all individuals who will be participating this Friday, October 30th.

· BAQ List will be frozen Thursday, October 29th and the list should be migrated over to the RIF Options platform on Friday, October 30th.

· RIF Options tool will be opened on Wednesday, November 4th, and remain open until Monday, November 23rd.

· RIF Options Output tool will be run the week of November 30th.

· RIF Awards likely published the week of December 7th.

· All notifications to follow shortly thereafter

· Effective dates likely to be January 3rd, 2021

Again, please understand that these dates are given only for general guidance and are subject to change by the Company for logistical reasons.

It is important to note that the secondary RIF round will not result in additional personnel being pushed onto furlough status. All senior individuals exercising their seniority will be absorbed wherever their seniority allows them to go without additional bumping to the street.

The exception, of course, is that junior individuals participating in the secondary round who do not have the seniority to hold SFO or another station, available as part of their RIF options. They will be furloughed as a result of the secondary round.

Another False Narrative

We have been hearing chatter about the recent Arbitration award concerning the Force Majeure language in the AMFA/Alaska Air CBA.

Of course, certain individuals have been out there peddling the theory that this is somehow indicative of the Teamsters unwillingness to fight for the membership. All of this is nothing but another bag of BS from folks who have nothing more to do than to throw darts from the sidelines while others do the heavy lifting on behalf of the membership. It is the same old story.

After review of this award, it is plainly clear that the situation at Alaska Air had zero to do with ‘fighting’ Force Majeure. In fact, they had language that cancelled their job protections if the business was reduced by 10% for over 120 days. That is nothing more than a bad winter season!

Make no mistake, Force Majeure is actually in effect at Alaska Air. However, the core issue of the arbitration award involved a technicality based on placement of paragraph 4 of their LOA #9. The Company screwed up drafting the agreement and by placing the paragraph at the end of LOA #9, they essentially made that paragraph exempt from their Force Majeure language. As a result, Alaska Air could displace folks from their Line stations to their hubs, but not furlough from those hubs.

Good on them for finding and exploiting a loophole. But we do not understand how this ‘technicality’ that accidentally benefited the folks at Alaska can somehow equate to the IBT not fighting for the membership at UAL. It is a completely false narrative.

Kin Care Amendment Passed by the California Legislature

After kin care issues at SFO were brought forward by the membership, Teamsters 856/986 co-sponsored legislation with Assembly Speaker pro Tem Kevin Mullin that gives employees the sole discretion on the use of sick leave. On September 28, Governor Newsom signed this legislation, AB 2017, into law. It will take effect on January 1st, 2021.

This bill is significant because this was added into the Labor Code, clarifying any confusion our employers might have when it comes to sick leave use, “the designation of sick leave taken for these reasons shall be made at the sole discretion of the employee”, instead of the employer designating how we use our sick leave. The bill passed with no opposition.

On October 21st, a letter was sent to senior UAL Leadership on behalf of all Teamsters 856/986 members here in California, by a local attorney with whom we work with extensively, informing UAL of the passage of AB2017 along with our expectation that the Company be ready to comply with the law on the first day of the new year.

Face Masks are Starting to Become an Issue

On a recent call with senior management personnel here at SFO, we were asked to convey the concern that is being caused by the increasing frequency of non-compliance with regard to mask usage.

We want to be real clear, folks. Wear your masks at all times! The last thing we want is people getting in trouble for something like not wearing a mask while at work.

We are still smack dab in the middle of a pandemic and we all need to be mindful of that.

There is no doubt that we are all experiencing some level of fatigue when it comes to COVID-19 but the danger is still very real. So, let's all be considerate of one another and keep masks on whenever on the property.

The TeamstersSFO Committee is Losing Key Personnel

We had hoped that we would get additional stimulus money from Congress in time to get this Reduction in Force rescinded, but that did not happen. As a result, as part of the many folks we are losing at SFO, the TeamstersSFO Committee is losing several vital individuals:

· Coordinator Fred Wood is going to Houston

· Line/Flight Safety Rep Paul Dodge is going to Portland

· Airframe Safety Rep Keri Martin is going to Portland

· TSAP/ERC Rep Tracy MacCorkell is going to Honululu

· TMAP Representative Steve Crummey was Furloughed

· Line LOSA Rep Ben Brillo is going to Honolulu

· Line LOSA Rep Matt Kruger is going to Maui

We want to take the time to thank them all for stepping up and working so hard on behalf of the membership here at SFO. It has been an honor to work with you all and we wish you and your families the best. We hope that they will all be back at some point in the near future!

As a result of these losses, we have made the following interim appointments to the TeamstersSFO Committee:

· John Laurin - Coordinator

· TMAP Representative (Jet Shop/Backshops) - Eddie Lugo

Thanks to you both for your willingness to step up and fill the void.

Tracy MacCorkell will continue as the TSAP Representative.

We will keep you updated on additional personnel moves as they happen.

SFO Briefings

We are scheduling briefings to be conducted over the next three weeks to check in with folks and to answer any questions that you may have. The Chief Stewards and Shop Stewards will be notifying folks of the meeting times/locations starting early next week. We look forward to seeing you.

Please click here for a printable version of this report.

Nicole Casey 7/13/20 Nicole Casey 7/13/20

July Business Agents' Report

UAL Sends Out WARN Notices

While we had started to be encouraged by a temporary flattening of the pandemic curve and an uptick in travel nationwide, recent developments make it clear that we can no longer hopeful for less severe outcomes with respect to the airline industry. United Airlines has now made it clear that there will be a significant number of folks impacted by the reorganization of the company into a much smaller entity in the near term.

There is simply no getting around the fact that with 500 aircraft parked around the system, the resulting reduction in volume of work across the system, and particularly at SFO, is staggering. Add to that the decision to do two lines each of heavy checks at Orlando and Houston, and to no longer do heavy checks in Airframe, and it is no surprise that SFO will be severely impacted.

UAL Sends Out WARN Notices

As such, the Company sent out WARN notices this week to a significant portion of our folks here at SFO. We want to be clear that receiving a WARN notice does not necessarily mean that you will be furloughed or even be affected by movement caused by a furlough.

As of this writing we still don't fully know the number of folks that will be directly impacted. As you know, there are several efforts underway that can potentially mitigate how many people are directly affected by furloughs, including the VSP and PCL programs.

We remain fully committed to making sure that any actions that the Company takes regarding maintenance work, furlough mitigation efforts, or personnel decisions at SFO are done so with adherence to the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Currently, the IBT has been working with the Company to produce a set of documents with explanations, including FAQ's, based on Article 6 (Reduction in Force) and LOA 19 (Exercise of RIF Options). This effort has been ongoing, and we expect those documents, along with others we are preparing, to be ready soon.

We understand that there are a lot of questions out there on the floor. Rest assured, we are working diligently to answer all of your questions. To that end, we will be conducting briefings regularly throughout SFO on all three shifts starting soon and we will continue to do so right on up to October. Until then, please be patient, folks.

These are extremely challenging times for us all, but we will get through this together. We always have. Please stay safe!

Pathetic Displays Over and Over Again

There is no doubt that this pandemic has hit us all hard. It has brought with it a boatload of challenges, starting with the most obvious: How do we keep our families safe! As if that is not enough, folks with kids are struggling with decisions about childcare and unknowns related to the upcoming school year. Add to that the uncertainty of potential furloughs during this period of mass unemployment and it is no surprise that anxiety levels on the floor are enormous.

One of the things our many years of experience has taught us is that, unfortunately, there are always going to be folks who spend most of their time sitting in the corner throwing darts at those who choose to serve. We do not speak of those members who might express disappointment with one provision of the contract or another after a long hard-fought negotiation. That is inevitable. We speak of the others. The ones who have literally spent their entire careers at UAL running guerilla campaigns against one Union or another. Some of these characters have been at it 20-plus years and long ago lost their moral compass. They will twist facts and outright lie with no hesitation because they learned a long time ago that there is no accountability in their game. They know that a lot of folks will just take them at their word, no matter what they say. They routinely preach as fact unrecognizable versions of the truth. They don't care whether or not their actions hurt the membership.

But nothing is more pathetic than when those individuals choose to capitalize on the anxieties of our members at a time when our folks are dealing with so much. It is a pretty disgraceful display.

This is one of those times when solidarity is paramount. But we are sorry to say that it has become an inevitable certainty that when a crisis hits our members and people are stressed to the max, the bottom feeders will come out. It is the standard playbook. We have all seen it before. Over and over. They seek to divide us for their own gain. And they could care less that they do so at a time when our members face historical challenges. This is what they do.

Let's talk about some real facts. This ALTA bunch does not represent a single member of any employer anywhere. Not one.

Yes, we know, some of these people supported a previous Union and never got over the membership rightfully choosing to move on from that bad experiment. We get it. But don't walk around this property like we should all be looking back at those few short years as the golden age of technicians. That is far from the truth. We all went through it and we all have the scars to prove it.

Unionism is a by no means an easy nor perfect endeavor. Negotiating a contract within the Railway Labor Act is a particular challenge. Companies can string out negotiations for years, which costs members more every day that goes by. The longer the process goes on, it forces the calculus between what you will gain and what you will lose. In the end, there will always be some compromise and some disappointment. Anyone who tells you different is either lying or in denial. But you surely gain as well. And we have gained a lot since the Teamsters came on the property. Of that there is no doubt. So, please stop trying to tell us how good we had it back in 2006.

We will continue to work hard every day for the membership while you do not and then say you are.

Backshops Chief Steward Elections

The ballots for the Backshops Chief Steward election between John Laurin and Maurice McDonald have been mailed by BallotPoint. Any members who do not receive a ballot by July 20th should call Lisa Hensel at (650)266-7702. The window for duplicate ballots will be open between the hours of 8:30am - 4:30pm from Monday July 20th thru Wednesday July 22nd.

The deadline to cast your ballot will be 12pm on Wednesday July 29th.

The ballot count will be conducted on Wednesday July 29th at 12:00pm -12:15pm. Please refer to your IBT Bulletin Board for details.

We understand that there is a lot of things going on right now but we strongly urge you to exercise your right to vote and be heard.

Kin Care Update

After the Company changed the policy regarding California Kin Care so that it was auto designated for all sick time, we filed a complaint with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) arguing that the company violated CA Labor Code Section 233. We subsequently worked with an attorney from the State throughout a lengthy interview and document submittal process that was finally completed on April 10, 2020. We are currently awaiting a final decision by the State. There are several grievances currently on hold pending this decision.

Additionally, the Teamsters have been working the issue on the legislative front. On January 29th, 2020, Assembly Member Kevin Mullin introduced Assembly Bill Number 2017 (AB2017) to clarify the language of Labor Code Section 233 so that Kin Care can only be designated at the employee's discretion. The Teamsters co-sponsored the bill, which went through committee and was awaiting a final vote in March before COVID-19 hit.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed both of these potential resolutions to this issue, we fully expect to get this situation remedied one way or another. We will report back as soon as we hear anything further.

Grievance Update

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, all System Board hearings across the system have been cancelled until further notice. For SFO, this means that our April 21st-22nd and July 15th-16th dates have already been cancelled and, because of the recent resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the pending furloughs, our October 14th-15th dates may be in jeopardy.

The IBT has been working with the company on a process to allow for virtual hearings but even if we do get all of the details hammered out, this process will be used solely to do termination hearings initially which, rightfully so, must be our top priority right now..

In the meantime, we continue to work with Labor Relations to find remedies for any of the 3rd Step (System Board of Adjustment level) grievances that we can. 1st and 2nd Step grievances will continue normally through the process until they reach 3rd Step.

One important thing that we should mention is that any grievances regarding contract language that are currently in-process do not simply go away if the member transfers, retires or is furloughed. That is not how the process works.

The normal process of grievance evaluation at each step of the process will continue without regard to the status of the employee who filed the grievance or without regard for whether or not the aggrieved individual is still on active status.

Thus, if your grievance has merit, it will continue through the process.

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Nicole Casey 6/1/20 Nicole Casey 6/1/20

June 2020 Business Agents' Report

With the COVID-19 pandemic now having claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States, Memorial Day took on a historically somber tone this year. It is truly astonishing that, in a few short months, this disease has claimed more U.S. lives than the Vietnam and Korean Wars combined. Unfortunately, we are not out of the woods yet. It is pretty safe to say that we are all holding our collective breath as our desire to start opening up and getting out battle our inherent fear of a second wave and the potential to catch this terrible disease. Especially so in the absence of a truly validated and proven treatment or the creation and wide distribution of a safe and successful vaccine.

Memorial Day 2020

Additionally, we should not forget the true meaning of Memorial Day. The sacrifice that members of this and past generations have made for our country makes it necessary that all of us take at least a moment to pay tribute to them. In the absence of a direct consequence, it is sometimes hard to truly grasp and appreciate what they have given, what their families have had to endure, or what we as a society have gained because of their sacrifice. We simply cannot afford to forget that on this day, it does not matter which battle or war, whether we individually agree or not that it was necessary, whether we believe it was a success or a failure, whether you are on one side of the political spectrum or the other, this day, Memorial Day, is to honor them for fulfilling their duty to country at immense cost.

That being said, we hope that all of you were able to have a safe holiday this Memorial Day 2020.

Aviation Maintenance Technician Day

AMT Day was observed on May 24th. With all of the madness and uncertainty (yet again!) around us, it is an easy day to overlook. But the skill and integrity with which most folks accomplish their work every day needs to be celebrated. Never more than during difficult times like these when there is so much to be fearful about and we must exist surrounded by constant uncertainty. We salute you all for the professionalism you exhibit on a daily basis. Your dedication to your craft and unwavering commitment to safety is truly appreciated.

COVID-19 Cases at the San Francisco Maintenance Base

As you all know by now, there were two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Jet Shop several weeks ago. Contact tracing protocols were initiated, and affected areas were deep cleaned. Members on all three shifts in the affected area were also briefed by company representatives. At this point, there have been no further developments.

The Furlough Question

Ever since this COVID-19 pandemic hit and decimated the economy and the travel industry, everyone has been preoccupied with the question of furloughs from our ranks. We have been asked repeatedly what the impact to our folks will be and it is frustrating as heck to have to say that we simply do not know. This is an extremely dynamic situation and the Company has not indicated precisely their intent except to acknowledge what we already know, which is that there will indeed be layoffs. Beyond that, it would be a disservice to the membership for us to speculate how many because there are simply too many unknowns at this point.

Both of us have over thirty years at this airline and we have both had to deal with the uncertainty of pending layoffs several times throughout our careers. And we definitely understand that this furlough question will be a constant topic of conversation on the floor. And rightfully so. But we do not believe that it is a given that the Company can just do whatever they want in this circumstance. They must follow the CBA. From where we sit, the primary legal question as to whether or not the Company can simply layoff our members at their discretion beyond the CBA's furlough protection date has not been answered. That and many other questions remain before we have a real indication of what to expect on October 1st. So patience is a must right now.

Another question that has come up has to do with concessions. A few folks have indicated that they believe that the Union should engage with the Company in negotiating contract concessions. We strongly disagree. We have all been through too much to just be handing back hard-fought contract language to the Company. The overwhelming majority of our members agree with us that this is not a feasible approach to take. Due to the number of folks that have reached out to us recently about this topic, we felt that this needed to be said so that there is no confusion on this issue.

We have taken the time to put together some pdf's of various contract language regarding furlough protection, furloughs, and seniority. We think that all of our members should take the time to review and become familiar with the language. This is your contract and you should know it, especially in times like these. This contract language has been distributed to all of the Shop Stewards so please be sure to reach out to your Steward for copies. Or you can email us directly if you like and we will get them out to you. Afterwards, please reach out to your Shop Steward or Chief Steward with questions or come on up to the office and we will be sure to get them answered.

UAL's Voluntary Separation Program 2

Last week, United rolled out its second Voluntary Separation Program. To be clear, this was not a negotiated agreement and the Airline Division believes that this program lacks sufficient financial incentives. In a statement released this weekend, Airline Division Representative Vinny Graziano stated that "...this package falls short of what we believe will be needed for a majority of the members who are close to retirement but not ready to make that decision." Nevertheless, each of you will have to make your own determination as to the viability of this program based on your own personal situation. Please be sure to review all details thoroughly before making your decision.

Union History

May 31st, 1997 - Rose Will Monroe, who became known as “Rosie the Riveter” dies at the age of 77. Rose worked at an aircraft parts factory during World War II and was “discovered” by filmmakers producing a film promoting war bonds. The song and the iconic poster were already well known and a real-life Rosie who was a riveter “proved too good for the film’s producers to resist,” said Monroe’s daughter.

May 30th, 1937 - In what would become known as the Memorial Day Massacre, police open fire on striking steelworkers, their families, and supporters who were marching to the Republic Steel plant in South Chicago to set up a picket line. The police killed ten people and pursued those fleeing the attack, wounding many more; no one was ever prosecuted.

June 25th, 1938 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) into law. The FLSA applied to industries whose combined employment represented only about one-fifth of the labor force. In these industries, it banned certain types of child labor, established a minimum wage, and set a maximum workweek at 44 hours.

Union Quotes

True wisdom lies in gathering the precious things out of each day as it goes by - E.S. Bouton

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives - Abba Eban

Tomorrow's justice does not justify today's injustice - Jeffrey Nall

Our Commitment to Communication

The Chief Stewards are in constant communication with your Shop Stewards in order to pass on any important informational items that may come up. It is crucial to our process that every work area on every shift have Shop Steward representation so that you can be assured of getting information in a timely manner. Also, be sure to check the bulletin boards in your area for the latest information.

Get involved and stay informed.

Please Stay Safe Folks!

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                      Business Agent
Local 986                               Local 856

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Nicole Casey 4/2/20 Nicole Casey 4/2/20

March Business Agents' Report

The last few months have been historic in terms of the impact the COVID-19 Pandemic has had on all of our lives. Things have changed dramatically for all of us and we are all now living with a tremendous amount of fear and anxiety. We all have seen the modeling which predicts that things will get much worse before they get better. Therefore, it is extremely important that everyone take seriously the CDC guidelines being circulated in order to help slow the spread of this virus.

COVID-19 Update

First and foremost, this means that if you are sick, you need to stay home. Your health and that of your family needs to be the primary focus and not superficial collateral issues like the attendance policy, etc. Additionally, if you are compromised in any way in terms of potential exposure to COVID-19 it is essential that you take any time off necessary to mitigate the risk. If you have any issues arranging for time off or returning from time off, please reach out to your local Union Representative.

The IBT Safety and Health Department has published Fact Sheet for Airline Workers that is a must read for all. You can access it by going to the TeamstersSFO website and clicking on Coronavirus Updates. This page also has a direct link to the IBT Safety and Health COVID-19 Resource page as well as various links to web pages related to the CDC best practices concerning personal hygiene, hand washing, respiratory etiquette and social distancing.

The TeamstersSFO Committee remains engaged with the Company at various levels in order to determine the requirements under the law that UAL has in terms of notification to employees regarding any potential COVID-19 exposure in the workplace. We understand that this a major concern for our folks and we are working diligently to address those concerns. However, please be careful not to spread rumors and innuendo. That does nothing but increase stress on yourselves and your coworkers. Please remember that it is ultimately the CDC that is calling the shots on these response-related issues and we have to trust that these professionals know what they are doing.

One last word about stress. If you find yourself having a hard time dealing with anxiety, stress, depression or other related issues, please do not hesitate to reach out to your local TMAP representative for a confidential conversation. Steve Loone (MM/Airframe) can be reached at Cell: (650) 745-5864 Work: 650-874-2619 and Steve Crummey (Back Shops/Jet Shop) can be reached at Cell: (650) 745-5867 Work: 650-874-3006

Going forward, we will be sure to send out any new information we receive as we get it so be sure to get signed up on the TeamstersSFO website for email updates.

John Johnson Appointed TeamstersSFO Grievance Secretary

Longtime Shop Steward John Johnson has been appointed interim Grievance Secretary to replace Mark Gabriel, who retired as of April 1st. Anyone who has worked with John knows that has a reputation for leadership, tenacity and attention to detail. We are grateful that he accepted this new challenge and we are certain that his superb skill set will serve the membership well. We look forward to working with him.

We would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the retiring Grievance Secretary Mark Gabriel for his many years of service to the membership. Our first memories of working with Mark date back to the Oakland days in the early 90's where Mark first developed his reputation as someone who had expert knowledge of the contract and who could always be counted to serve it up straight with no BS. Mark also never hesitated when it was time to take on the company and over the years many of our members have benefitted from the resolve and diligence he showed when working an issue or grievance.

We are privileged to have had the opportunity to work with him and we hope that he enjoys a long and joyful retirement.

Congratulations Mark! You earned it, Brother!

California Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Scholarship

The window is now open to apply for the 2020 California Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Scholarship. This scholarship is open to deserving High School Seniors graduating this year who are a daughter/son of an active Teamster whose dues are current with his/her Local Union and are attending or have been accepted by an accredited University, College, or Trade School. For more information or to apply please go to the TeamstersSFO website and click on the Scholarship tab under the Member Resources header. The application deadline is Friday, June 5th, 2020.

New IBT Airline Division Grievance Tracking System is Live

The IBT Airline Division Grievance Tracking System is an automated, internet-based and complete solution for storing, printing, processing and tracking of all Airline Division grievances as well as providing automatic e-mail notifications and comprehensive but secure search capability of the entire grievance database. It is designed to enable the Union to capture every piece of information about each grievance, so that all records will be complete and organized and so that anyone else involved with the grievance process will need no other source of information. The old paper grievances will now no longer be used. Please see your Shop Steward for more information.

This Month's Quote

“We will come out of this storm. In the coming days, we have to stay calm and confident. And for sure, we will overcome this moment of despair. How long this will last cannot be ascertained. But the one thing that we can be sure of is that we will not be the same anymore. Hopefully, we would have changed for the better. This is the way of life. This is how life teaches us its lessons." - Avijeet Das

Please Stay Safe Folks!

            Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                      Business Agent
Local 986                               Local 856

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Guest User 2/20/20 Guest User 2/20/20

February Business Agents' Report

New Hire Pay Proposal Update

As we reported to you previously, after much effort, we were finally able to secure a meeting with UAL Senior leadership on October 21, 2019. At that time the first order of business was to share a sample of twenty letters we received from our members detailing the many challenges they were facing living in the Bay Area, where an already high cost-of-living has soared in recent years.

New Hire Pay Proposal Update

Afterwards, we shared a detailed proposal to increase wage rates for folks in the first four years of the Appendix A Scale. We included all relevant financial data with the proposal and asked that the new increases take effect on December 5, 2019.

We thought if the Company was able to read first-hand accounts of all the trials our folks faced, whether it be technicians living in their vehicles, or staying in crashpads with up to 18 other people, or that family of four cramped in a one bedroom apartment in a rough neighborhood, they would see this was a crisis situation that had to be handled with an extreme sense of urgency.

In December, after not receiving any word of a decision, we initiated a follow-up meeting with the Company which took place in mid-January, where Principal Officers Peter Finn from Local 856 and Chris Griswold from Local 986 were in attendance. Unfortunately, the meeting ended without a path to alleviate what we believe is a serious crisis that our newer Brothers and Sisters face. At that time, the principal officers did strenuously reiterate to the Company that the status quo is unacceptable.

We are not sure that the Company has come to recognize this situation as a crisis as we do. Yet, what we do know is that we here new stories every day of those who have had to give up and leave the Company for their sake and their families' sake.

The parties agreed to meet again in the near future. As of this time, dates have been proposed for March and we are waiting for confirmation.

2020 Scholarships are Taking Applications

It's that time of year again folks. If you are interested in obtaining some additional funds to help with your child's college tuition expenses, please make sure to apply for the variety of scholarships available to our members. Right now, there are two scholarship programs currently taking applications, The Local 856-986 Scholarship available exclusively to UAL members at SFO and the James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund which is available to all members in good standing. The Local 856-986 Scholarship will be taking applications until March 31st. You can find out more information, including how to apply, by going to our website at TeamstersSFO.com. The James R. Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund will be taking applications until March 2nd. You can also find more information on our website or you can go directly to jrhmsf.org. We will be sure to let you know when additional scholarship programs such as the California Teamsters Hispanic Caucus begin taking applications.

Retirement Seminar Draws a Packed House

On February 8th, over 75 members and spouses packed the Local 856 meeting room to hear valuable retirement information provided by Teamster Member Assistance Coordinators Steve Loone and Steve Crummey along with guest speakers from Kaiser Permanente, Fidelity Investments, and the United Airlines Pension Department. If you are contemplating retirement and were not able to participate, you can still receive information like the Retirement Benefits Guide or get any additional retirement questions you may have answered by contacting Steve Loone or Steve Crummey. Their contact information can be found on the Union Board in your area. Remember, it is never too early to start planning for retirement!

SFO System Board of Adjustment Schedule for 2020

The Airline Division has confirmed the SBA schedule for SFO for 2020. We will host System Boards three times during the year to hear grievance cases that are at the 3rd Step (SBA Level) of the Grievance process where no resolution with the Company can be obtained. The three 2020 dates for SFO are April 21st-22nd, July 15th-16th, and October 14th-15th. If there are any termination cases to be heard, additional dates will be scheduled with the Company throughout the year, depending on timing.

System Board of Adjustment (SBA) Explained

We figured this was a good time to talk about 3rd Step (SBA Level) grievances again. As many of you already know, once a contract grievance is elevated to the 3rd Step by the Grievance Committee, it is the responsibility of the Business Agents to move it forward. That process will likely initially involve direct engagement with Labor Relations and Local Management in order to discuss resolution. If no resolution is reached, we will schedule the grievance for a 3rd Step hearing, which is officially called a System Board of Adjustment (SBA) hearing, per Article 19.D.

At the SBA hearing, the Union will present its case supporting the grievance first and then the Company will present its case against the grievance. The System Board consists of four members, two from the Company and two from the Union. There are generally three possible outcomes for a contract grievance. The first is that the grievance is ‘sustained’. In that case, the Company must enact the appropriate remedy. The grievance can also be ‘denied’, which is rather self-explanatory. In both cases, where the Board sustains or denies the grievance, the ruling of the Board is final and binding. The third outcome is called a ‘deadlock’, whereby the Board cannot reach a majority decision. In that case the Business Agents will consult with counsel to determine whether or not the grievance should be appealed to the 4th Step, which is the Board of Arbitration (Article 20).

Contract grievances that are appealed to arbitration become the responsibility of the Airline Division and will be arbitrated by the IBT staff attorneys or outside counsel. The local Business Agents continue to assist throughout the preparation process for these grievances until they are ultimately heard in Chicago, unless there is mutual agreement on another venue, on the previously agreed upon dates. Arbitration hearings are presided over by a neutral arbitrator, with one member from the Company and one member from the Union also sitting on the Arbitration Board. After presentation of the cases by each side's attorney, in the same order as presented at the SBA, the parties adjourn and await the completion of the stenographer’s report. Once the report is completed and delivered to the parties, the attorney for each side will prepare a final brief outlining all of their arguments. Those briefs are then submitted to the arbitrator to be used in rendering a final decision. Once the arbitrator has rendered a decision, that ruling is final and binding on the parties.

Likewise, if any of our members are terminated for any reason, a grievance is automatically filed on that member’s behalf and it moves directly to SBA Level. The SBA hearing process for terminations is essentially identical to that which is used for contract cases except the Company presents first. If the System Board deadlocks on a termination, the Business Agents will consult with our local attorney as to whether or not to arbitrate. If the decision is made to arbitrate, our local attorney will handle the arbitration and the hearing will be conducted here at SFO.

Union History for the Month of February

February 7, 2008 - A huge explosion and fire at the Imperial Sugar refinery northwest of Savannah, Georgia, killed 14 and injured 38 people. The explosion was fueled by massive accumulations of combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building. An investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board stated that the explosion had been “entirely preventable,” noting that the sugar industry had been aware of the risk of dust explosions since 1926.

February 9, 2000 - Boeing engineers and technical workers begin what is to become a forty-day strike over economic issues. At the time, it was the largest white-collar strike at a private company in the U.S. It ended in a victory for the 22,000 workers represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA).

February 19, 1910 - The Philadelphia Rapid Transit trolley company fires 173 workers – all members of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America – and replaces them with scabs from New York City. Street battles, demonstrations, and a general strike ensued in the city that lasted for 57 days.

We must never forget!

Union Quotes

The man who has his millions will want everything he can lay his hands on and then raise his voice against the poor devil who wants ten cents more a day. We do want more, and when it becomes more, we shall still want more. And we shall never cease to demand more until we have received the results of our labor - Samuel Gompers

Never forget, people DIED for the eight-hour workday - Rebecca Gordon

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics - Plutarch

Our Commitment to Communication

Additionally, the Chief Stewards hold weekly meetings with the Shop Stewards to pass on any important informational items that may come up during the month. It is crucial to our process that every work area on every shift have Shop Steward representation and that the Shop Steward give, at a minimum, weekly briefings to his/her crew so that all the information gets to our members and members have the opportunity to ask questions.

Most importantly, we urge you to also consider getting more involved. Every month, on the last Thursday, we hold Craft Meetings at Local 856. At these meetings, the membership hears reports from the Business Agents and other members of the SFO Committee on Grievances, Safety, Member Assistance, and the TSAP program. Additionally, all members have an opportunity to ask questions and to bring up topics for discussion. Check your IBT Bulletin Board for dates and times and make it a point to stop by.

Nicole Casey 12/19/19 Nicole Casey 12/19/19

December Business Agents' Report

SFOMM Technician Oscar Medina Qualifies for Olympic Trials

We have an amazing athlete in our midst! On October 13th, SFOMM Technician Oscar Medina ran the Chicago marathon in 2:18 hours to qualify for the Olympic trials being held in Atlanta this coming February. Oscar, who works at Terminal 1, ran Track and Field at Lakeview High School in Chicago, Class of 2011, then went on to compete at Southern Illinois University afterwards. He has been running marathons competitively for about four years now. We want to send out a big fat congrats to Oscar and wish him good luck at the trials!
B-Scale Pay Proposal Update
On Monday, October 21st, we flew to Chicago to meet with United Airlines senior leadership regarding B-Scale pay. During the meeting, we first presented them with a series of letters from our newer technicians outlining the significant challenges they are having making ends meet in the San Francisco Bay Area. Afterwards, we presented them with a detailed proposal to increase the pay of those folks. We had hoped to receive an answer to our proposal by now but, unfortunately, we have not. We will be sure to pass on any news we receive as soon as we get.

Article 11.M Non-Critical Illness
We have had several questions, along with a recent grievance regarding the Company's policy of auto-designating Article 11.M Non-Critical Illness concurrently with Kin Care when it is requested for a spouse or dependent child of our member. After seeking advice on the matter from Union Counsel, we will be brief and direct on the issue. If you call in Kin Care for your spouse or child, then it is perfectly legal for the Company can run your Kin Care and Article 11.M Non-Critical Illness concurrently. Remember, Article 11.M allows you up to six days of sick leave, with a maximum of two occurrences, for use to care for your sick spouse or dependent child.

Grievance Update
The last scheduled SBA dates for the year were November 12th and 13th. In the preceding weeks, we engaged Labor Relations in several discussions related to the seven open 3rd Step grievances we had identified to have the highest priority. Additionally, we met with our attorney to discuss several of those grievances as well. In the end, this is how things played out:

Two grievances (Seniority Issue and Article 11.M Auto-designation) were withdrawn for lack of merit based on advice of counsel.

Two grievances (Boston Fuel EFS and Trade Day Off OT Overlap) were settled by the Company including issuance of revised 2nd Step answers and all affected members being made whole. Additionally, an eTA system fix has been scheduled for the issue related to the payment of appropriate overtime rates on the overlap between trade day off and an overtime shift.

One grievance (Revised OT Hours Charging) was sustained, pending review by the Airline Division, before implementation of additional eTA system fix so that overtime charging is done correctly for all hours 'accepted or refused'.

The Company indicated that it was not ready to hear one grievance (Improper Pay). Discussions are ongoing with the Airline Division and the Company in order to figure out the next steps on this one. It is likely that face-to-face meetings with the company will have to be scheduled to discuss appropriate remedies before ultimately moving forward with an attempt to arbitrate this grievance. As such, this grievance in now on hold.

In the end, we ended up having two hearings on November 12th, one for a Termination case and one for a contract grievance (Management Doing Protected Work).

We have one upcoming arbitration related to a termination case scheduled for March. We are actively pursuing dates for another contract arbitration (OV Tool Crib). Additionally, there are current internal discussions underway concerning another contract grievance (SFOMM HNL EFS Bypass) at arbitration level, in light of the arbitration decision we received denying a similar grievance (SFOLX HNL EFS Bypass). We expect the Airline Division attorneys to have a decision soon for us on the matter of whether to pursue or withdraw.

A Message from your TMAP Representatives

The Holiday Season is upon us. This time of year can bring all kinds of emotions and feelings that may be difficult to process. It may be that you have a Family function every year that tends to get out of control because of some underlying family tension or emotional distress. Or you have some memories of loved ones who have passed on that become especially hard to deal with at this time of year. Maybe it’s yours or a family member's drinking problem that seems to get worse during the Holidays that is causing you concern. These are just a few of the things that may cause stress and fatigue at this time of year. If you need someone to confide in about different life events that may be affecting your duties at home or at work and would like to seek help with developing a plan to work through some life events, call one of our Member Assistance Professionals. We have helped a lot of technicians find appropriate resources to start the path of recovery from Grief and Loss, Alcohol/Drug Dependency, Relationship problems and many others. The Teamster Member Assistance Program is here to help 24/7/365. If the Holidays have you down, give us a try before it has adverse effects that may be irreparable at work or at home.

SFOOV/MM/GQ/PV - Steve Loone 650-745-5864

SFOPD/RQ/LX/MP - Steve Crummey 650-745-5867

2020 Retirement Seminar Date is Set

The 2020 Retirement Seminar date has been set for Saturday February 8th.

The event will be held at Local 856 in San Bruno. If you are contemplating retiring in the coming year, this event is a must! We will put out more details including time, agenda, and guests in January. In the meantime, make sure to mark your calendars.

Our Commitment to Communication

Union History for the Month of December

December 15th, 1921 - A protest by 500 women in Kansas that began earlier in the week – organized in support of striking mine workers and against new anti-labor legislation that forced unions into arbitration and outlawed strikes in the state – swells to 4,000, stretching a mile long. The women, dubbed the “Amazon Army” by The New York Times, disbanded upon hearing that the militia was on its way. Victory came a year later when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Kansas anti-labor laws unconstitutional.

December 3rd, 1946 - In Oakland, California, 130,000 workers from 142 unions – including workers from factories, industries, services, retail stores, transportation systems, and more – declare a “work holiday” and walk off their jobs in support of striking department store clerks and in opposition to police intervention that was facilitating strike breaking activity. The Oakland General Strike lasted for two days.

December 8th, 1993 - President Bill Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law, stating that it “will promote more growth, more equality, better preservation of the environment, and a greater possibility for world peace.” In reality, NAFTA has done the opposite: costing jobs and lowering wages, increasing inequality, and compromising environmental and consumer protections.

We must never forget!

Quotes

Every advance in this half-century--Social Security, civil rights, Medicare, aid to education, one after another--came with the support and leadership of American Labor — Jimmy Carter

Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those -- regardless of their political party -- who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice — Dwight D. Eisenhower

No business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. By living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level --I mean the wages of decent living — Franklin D. Roosevelt

Special Message from the SFO Committee
On behalf of the entire SFO Committee, we want to take some time to wish all of you a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year! We hope that all of you get to enjoy some time with your families and that none of that sacred time is clouded by distractions related to the job. Happy Holidays Folks!

Happy Holidays Folks!

Guest User 10/17/19 Guest User 10/17/19

October 2019 Business Agents' Report

Ralph Ortiz and Mike Valladares Receive NSC Labor Division Awards

On September 6th, the TeamstersSFO Committee traveled to San Diego to attend the National Safety Council Labor Division Awards Luncheon.
We made the trip to show our appreciation and support for TeamstersSFO Safety Committee Chairman Ralph Ortiz and Components Safety Committeeman Mike Valladares who were honored at the luncheon for their exemplary work and dedication to workplace safety.

Ralph Ortiz and Mike Valladares Receive NSC Labor Division Awards

The Labor Division of the NSC consists of government regulators and union safety professionals, such as our TeamstersSFO Safety Committee, who are interested in advancing the cause of workplace safety.
Ralph, who has been involved with Safety since the 90's, received the Labor Division's highest honor: the Edward Egan Soldier of Safety Award.

Mike, who has been at United for 35 years and has been a member of the Safety Committee since 2008, received the Meritorious Service to Safety Award. The awards were presented by National Security Council President Lorraine M. Martin and NSC Labor Division Chair Joe Grabinski.

We are extremely proud of Ralph and Mike for their longtime commitment to the goal of ensuring that the safety policies and practices at United are in the best interest of our members.

SFO Safety Committee Chairman Ralph Ortiz

Returning to Work from Illnesses of Short Duration

We have been getting questions from our members about the process for returning to work after time off for a personal illness of short duration so we thought it would be a good idea to go over the relevant contract language and explain what it means in terms of your rights.

First, this information does not pertain to those members that are on Extended Illness or some other Authorized Leave. This information is strictly for those members who have taken sick time for an illness of short duration. For Return to Work in these circumstances, the relevant contract language is as follows:
Article 10.D.3 - The Company has the right to verify the fitness of an employee to return to work after any absence by having the employee examined by a Company approved physician.
Article 11.H.1 - United may require an employee to submit to a physical examination by a Company approved physician. This may be requested to verify the employee's illness, disability, occupational injury, fitness for duty or release to duty. The cost of the examination will be borne at Company expense. In addition, an employee will be pay protected for time lost because of said examination if he is at work.
We have been asked whether or not you are required to bring a note from the doctor if you are off sick from work for a period of short duration and you were not under a doctor's care. The simple answer is 'No'. Based on the contract language above, when you return to work, the Company can send you to Concentra or another Company paid physician for a release to duty examination. You are not required, nor can you be compelled, to go to your own doctor to get a note after the fact.
Additionally, if you come to work after an illness for which you were under a doctor's care and you are in possession of a doctor's note, the Company cannot hold you out from work until they get clearance from OPCMD. Once your doctor releases you and you come to work, the Company has no right to hold you out. If they do hold you out until they get OPCMD clearance, you will be pay protected for the duration of time between when you were sent home and you are cleared by OPCMD. Hope this helps.

The MEALP/LUCA Issue

As we first mentioned in the June BA Report, due to the California meal period penalty language in California Labor Code Section 512, the Company changed its policy so that folks working an overtime shift after a regular shift are no longer allowed to leave a half-hour early and receive pay in lieu of taking a 2nd lunch. The Company is basing this policy decision on the 'needs of service' language in Article 17.E. There have been ongoing discussions between the IBT and the Company, but the issue remains unresolved.

As a result, if you are working a 4-over in conjunction with your regular shift, you should take your full half-hour lunch 2 hours into the overtime.
If you are working 8-hour Hold Over overtime after your regular shift, you should be taking a half-hour lunch after two hours, 10-minute break after 4 hours, and another half-hour lunch after 6 hours of overtime.

Those of you working an 8-hour Early Start overtime prior to your regular shift should be taking a half-hour lunch two hours into the overtime shift, a 10-minute break after 4 hours, a half-hour lunch after six hours, and a ten- minute break prior to the beginning of your regular shift.

If anyone tries to deny you any of these lunches or breaks, which conform precisely to Article 17.E, we want you to immediately contact your Shop Steward or Chief Steward.

Annual Teamsters Member Assistance Program (TMAP) Training Held

The Annual TMAP Training was held at the Los Altos Retreat Center from October 2nd thru October 4th. It was attended by 22 TMAP Volunteer Coordinators from around the system including from Orlando, Newark, Dulles, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco. The event was organized by TMAP Regional Coordinators Caleb Good (ORD), Dominic Fiero (IAH), Mike Brooks (DEN), Steve Crummey (SFO), and Steve Loone (SFO). The speakers included Dr. Abby Metcalf (Motivational Interviewing), Carl Crayton (UAL Drug Abatement), Kip Bowen (UAL EAP), Anthony Cozzi (UAL Help Hub), and Carlos Rivera (UAL FMLA) who each presented training seminars designed to guide TMAP representatives as they assist our members with various issues. Additionally, TMAP Regional Coordinator Mike Brooks (DEN) gave a presentation on EAP Ethics. Thanks to all for their participation and dedication to our membership.

If you are interested in becoming a TMAP Volunteer Coordinator, please contact Steve Loone or Steve Crummey.

Kincare Complaint Update

We have been informed by an attorney for the State of California that our complaint is being reviewed by the state. We had been asked to submit a revised complaint and did so a few weeks ago. The complaint is based on the Union's assertion that the Company's policy of auto-designating Kincare when a member calls in sick for a personal illness is a violation of California Labor Code Section 233. We will be sure to update you once we receive any further information.

Union History

October 30th,1912 - Little Falls, New York, mounted police attack striking textile workers – mostly immigrant women and girls – beating some of them unconscious. The police chased the fleeing workers to their strike headquarters, continuing their assault, ransacking the building, destroying their union charter, and arresting the entire strike committee. Despite this, the workers saw the strike through until January 1913, when they won an agreement that included reinstatements, wage increases, and other demands.

October 3rd, 1932 - State troopers march into Kincaid, Illinois, to guard against a sympathy strike by more than 160 of the town’s 180 high school students, protesting the use by their school of scab-produced coal from the Peabody Coal Company while their fathers are on strike over wages.

October 25th, 2011 - Car wash workers at Bonus Car Wash in Santa Monica, California, become the first to unionize in an industry where workers are often exposed to a variety of toxic chemicals without adequate protections, work for extended periods in the sun without rest or shade, and are paid a daily rate that is far less than the minimum wage. The contract provided a wage increase, health and safety protections, grievance and arbitration procedures, and prohibited the employer from firing workers without just cause.

We must never forget!

Union Quotes

Management doesn't seem to understand the importance of the human factor. -Charles, Prince of Wales

When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses. -Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

Corporate power lies behind nearly every major problem we face--from stagnant wages and unaffordable health care to overconsumption and global warming.... With all this happening, why do we not read more about the pervasiveness of corporate power? In large part because even the "Fourth Estate," our media establishment, is majority owned by a handful of mega-corporations. -Marjorie Kelly, journalist and corporate reformer

Our Commitment to Communication

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora
Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856

Nicole Casey 9/5/19 Nicole Casey 9/5/19

September 2019 Business Agents' Report

Shop Steward Training Held at Local 856

On Wednesday, July 31st, we held training for our UAL Shop Stewards at Local 856 in San Bruno. Over 50 UAL Stewards from all over SFO were in attendance to hear presentations on Conflict Resolution, FMLA, and Internal Organizing.

The presenters for the training were attorneys Susan Garea and Andy Baker from the Beeson, Tayer and Bodine Law firm and Local 856 Director of Organizing Chris Rosell. The training allowed the Stewards the opportunity to connect with each other, build solidarity, share experiences and information and partake in lively discussions about critical issues affecting our membership. We are grateful to all of the Stewards who were able to come out and participate. They definitely brought their A-game.

Shop Steward Training Held at Local 856

*UAL Shop Stewards from SFO attend training on July 31st, 2019*

Thanks to all of the members of the TeamstersSFO Committee for their help in getting our Stewards to the event and to Local 856 Principal Officer Peter Finn, Local 856 Office Manager Lisa Hensel and the rest of the staff over at Local 856 for all of their help in making sure the training went off without a hitch. Special thanks to Susan Garea, Andy Baker, and Chris Rosell for sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience with our Stewards!

We look forward to continuing our effort to make sure you have the best representation possible at all times.

*Attorney Andy Baker from Beeson Tayer and Bodine presents on the topic of FMLA*

HRA/HSA Arbitration Decision Update

Arbitrator Berger denied the Unions request for interest earnings on the HRA/HSA 2017 payouts. The Airline Division forwarded spreadsheets outlining all HSA/HRA adjustments to all of the systems Business Agents and we have forwarded the spreadsheets for SFO and SMF to the Chief Stewards so that individual members can check to see if the amounts shown as the difference between their ‘actual’ and ‘owed’ 2017 HSA/HRA contributions are correct.

The adjustments will occur automatically, and no action will be required on your part. However, if you worked more than 1560 hours between April 1st and December 31st, because of overtime, and you were not compensated VEBA hours beyond the company-imposed 1560 cap, you should reach out to your Chief Steward so that you can check the spreadsheet and verify that your hours were adjusted correctly.

Additionally, the Airline Division is working with the company in order to provide a source through payroll to verify contributions, but that work is not yet complete.

We will continue to send out updates as the situation unfolds.

2019 Hoffa Scholarship Awards

The 2019 Hoffa Scholarship Award winners were revealed last week, and we are happy to announce that we had three winners here at SFO.

$1000 awards were made to Bryan Ngo, Son of SFOOV R&E Technician John Ngo and to Dylan Lopez, Son of SFOMM Line Technician Jonathan Lopez. Additionally, Jan Truong, daughter of RQ Technician Minh Trong received one of the top scholarships of $10,000!

Congratulations to all of this year’s recipients!

Hundreds Rally in Sacramento in Support of AB5

On Wednesday, July 10th, Local Teamsters joined other folks in Sacramento to Rally in support of Assembly Bill AB5, which seeks to prevent worker misclassification by employers as independent contractors when they should be classified as employees. The bill, which has widespread support, including by Governor Gavin Newsom, will be coming up on the floor of the State Assembly soon. Thanks to all of our folks who participated. They really turned up the volume in the hallways of the Capital Building!

2019 Joint Council 7 Day at the Ballpark

On Saturday, August 24th, hundreds of Teamsters showed up to celebrate Teamsters Day at the Ballpark sponsored by Teamsters Joint Council 7. The weather was hot and the links were hotter. Overall, the event was a smashing success and the party outside the game was as fabulous as the game itself (Sorry A’s fans). Thanks to all of our members for their continued support with this event. For those of you who could not make it: There is always next year!

*Teamsters, along with friends and family were out in full force on Saturday, August 24th*

*Technician Gene Durr, Local 856 Principal Officer Peter Finn, Shop Steward Don Stevens, Local 856 Business Agent Kathleen Romero and Local 856 Business Agent Javier Lectora*

Grievance Update

The System Board decision was received for one 3rd Step grievance (Progressive Discipline-Skipping Steps) and the Board deadlocked. We discussed the case with counsel and were advised that we could not prevail in arbitration. An opinion letter was drafted for us and we closed the grievance based on that opinion.

Prior to the System Boards the Company settled two 3rd Step grievances by providing revised 2nd Step answers. With the first grievance (Deferred Holidays), the Company committed to make sure that anyone that deferred a holiday while on a 10-hour schedule, and later switched to an 8-hour schedule and used the deferred holiday, would be credited with the two unused hours to their bank. The Company also committed to modifying the eTA program so that all 10-hour deferrals are fully credited to the an employee’s DAT bank so that individuals will no longer be deprived of any hours if they happen to switch from a 10-hour schedule to an 8-hour schedule after they defer a holiday.

Another 3rd Step grievance (50 Divisor-VDAT allocation) also had a revised 2nd Step answer submitted by the Company. The Company committed to using a divisor of 50 when calculating the vacation allocation per Article 9, Paragraph B.

Two cases were heard at System Board on Thursday, August 21st. The first was a termination case and the second involved a first-time AOA security violation and subsequent action by the Company that we feel violated our member’s right to just cause treatment. After additional information requests, the record is now closed on those hearings. We now await the decision. The next System Board hearings are scheduled for November.

We are also awaiting one arbitration decision (EFS Bypass) and are currently seeking agreement for an arbitrator/date for another grievance (Dock 3 Tool Crib) currently at arbitration level.

Union History

June 25th, 1938 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) into law. The FLSA applied to industries whose combined employment represented only about one-fifth of the labor force. In these industries, it banned certain types of child labor, established a minimum wage, and set a maximum workweek at 44 hours.

August 28th, 1963 - 250,000 people participate in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C. The march—initiated by A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters—was organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. It was here that Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

July 26th, 1990 - President George H.W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, like many business organizations, opposed the law, arguing that the costs of the ADA would be “enormous” and have a “disastrous impact on many small businesses struggling to survive.”

We must never forget!

Union Quotes

We can either have democracy in this country or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

When morality comes up against profit, it is seldom that profit loses - Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed; those who are cold and are not clothed - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our Commitment to Communication

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                             Local 856

View the PDF Version of this Report Here

Nicole Casey 7/2/19 Nicole Casey 7/2/19

May/June Business Agents' Report

2019 National Safety Council Labor Division Spring meeting

Keri Martin, Mike Valladares and Ralph Ortiz attended the National Safety Council (NSC) Labor Division Spring meeting in Kansas City from April 28th to May 1st, 2019. The Labor Division of the NSC is comprised of labor unions that meet and discuss safety issues in various industries. The purpose of the Labor Division is to be the conduit for safety-focused information sharing and idea exchange with other Unions and its members and to discuss safety issues with other safety professionals who share the same job responsibilities, have experienced the same challenges and can share their thoughts and ideas to help Unions and its representatives develop solutions.

2019 National Safety Council Labor Division Spring meeting

Pictured: Teamster Representatives at the NSC Labor Division Spring meeting Left to Right: Mike Valladares - SFO Local 856/986, Keri Martin - SFO Local 865/986, Vic Austin - Local 455, Ralph Ortiz - SFO Local 856/986, Joe Grabinski - Local 1150, Ra… — Pictured: Teamster Representatives at the NSC Labor Division Spring meeting
Left to Right: Mike Valladares - SFO Local 856/986, Keri Martin - SFO Local 865/986,
Vic Austin - Local 455, Ralph Ortiz - SFO Local 856/986, Joe Grabinski - Local 1150, Randy Dutertre - Local 1150, Mike Faschingbauer - Local 2727

During the four days of the Labor Division meeting, various committee meetings, education sessions, networking and Union caucuses were scheduled. On the Transportation committee, chaired by Ralph Ortiz, Safety & Health topics discussed included availability of chemical resistant gloves for use with Skydrol, concerns related to employees working alone or in isolated areas, aircraft tow tractors and other powered industrial trucks lacking a fall protection system, First Aid Kits that meet the ANSI standards, new hearing testing equipment being used by some Airlines, and fuel freeze testing labs that may lack proper safety protections.

At the IBT Caucus, they also met with Teamsters representatives from Local 1150 (Sikorsky) Local 2727 (UPS mechanics) and Local 455 (DEN - UA) and Local 781 (ORD) to discuss ongoing safety and health issues and challenges each representative is dealing with.

Educational sessions presented at the Labor Division meeting included:

◊ Social Media and Harassment: A Trade Perspective.

◊ How to effectively communicate safety & health to members.

◊ Communcating safety and health with young and new workers.

◊ Working with OSHA Labor Liaisons.

◊ Violence at work are safety hazards too.

Fed-OSHA labor liaisons from regions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 &10 provided OSHA updates and current activities.

VEBA 2017 Arbitration Decision – What it means to you

As you have no doubt heard, the arbitrator ruled in our favor on the 2017 VEBA grievance. In sustaining the grievance, the arbitrator declared that, “The Company violated Article 16.G.2.d when it capped the VEBA contributions in 2017 by a total of 1560 hours per employee. Any employee who worked more than 1560 hours in 2017 between April 1st and December 31st, 2017 while in active employment will be made whole with respect to VEBA contributions.” What it means for you is exactly that. If your compensable hours for 2017 totaled more than 1560 between April 1st and December 31st, you are owed $1.20 per hour for every hour over 1560, up to a total of 2080 hours max. As an example, if you worked a lot of overtime and are owed for the full 2080 hours this will mean an additional contribution of 520 hours, at $1.20, or $624 to your VEBA account for the year 2017. As soon as we have any additional information on how the Company plans to implement the process to make our members whole, we will be sure to get that out to you.

MEALP/LUCA ISSUE

We were informed by the Company that those individuals working overtime in conjunction with their regular shift will no longer be afforded the ability to leave ½-hour early and receive pay in-lieu of taking a lunch, as is outlined in Article 17.E. The Company is claiming that this is due to the California meal period requirements under California Labor Code Section 512. Frankly, we do not agree with the Company’s assertion that that this section of the Labor Code should apply to overtime shifts covered by our CBA and we consider it to be more of an eTa programming issue. That being said, there are ongoing discussions related to the matter and we are hopeful that we can get an acceptable resolution as soon as possible.

In the meantime, however, if you are working a 4-over in conjunction with your regular shift and are not being allowed to leave ½-hr early using MealP you should insist on taking your full lunch 2 hours into the shift. If you are working 8-hour Hold Over Overtime in conjunction with your regular shift and are not being allowed to leave ½-hour early using MealP you should insist on taking a lunch after two hours and again after 6 hours of overtime. If any management person denies you any of your lunches, we want you to immediately contact your Shop Steward of Chief Steward.

2019 Scholarship Recipients attend May Craft Meeting

Several of this year’s scholarship recipients along with their proud parents attended the May Dayshift Craft meeting held on May 30th at Local 856 in San Bruno. Scholarship checks were presented by Local 856 Principal Officer Peter Finn and Local 986 Airline Division Coordinator Clacy Griswold. The meeting had a decidedly festive atmosphere thanks to their presence and we sincerely appreciate everyone coming out.

Raffle Drawings held at May Craft Meeting

We also held two prize drawings at the May Dayshift Craft Meeting for the Harry Beier Benefit Raffle and the Giants Ticket Raffle benefiting the TeamstersSFO Solidarity Fund. The winner of the Samsung 55-inch Flat Screen TV was Johnny Kong from SFORQ and the winner of the August 10th pair of Giants tickets was Kevin Grover from SFOGX. Thanks to all of you who participated.

Grievance Update

As stated previously, the arbitrator sustained our grievance for the cap on 2017 VEBA contributions. We are currently awaiting an arbitration decision on another grievance (EFS Bypass). We have two grievances at arbitration level that are on hold, pending decisions in related cases: one grievance (Line EFS Bypass) is on hold pending decision of above EFS Bypass case and one grievance (GSE Lead Pay) on hold pending the outcome of a similar grievance from Orlando.

We had an initial discussion with the Company regarding the SFO outsourcing grievances currently at arbitration level and will be scheduling additional discussions in the near future.

As for 3rd Step grievances, we received System Board decisions on the three grievances heard in late March. One grievance (Dock 3 Tool Crib) deadlocked (2 to 2 tie) and was immediately appealed to arbitration. One grievance (BAQ116 work by BAQ128 personnel) was remanded back to the parties for discussions/resolution. In the case of a grievance that is remanded back, the parties must make an attempt to find a resolution. If no resolution is reached, then the most likely outcome is a revision of the decision to reflect a ‘deadlock’ and appeal to arbitration immediately thereafter. One grievance was denied (VAC conversion for FMLA) and is now closed.

Additionally, we must make a correction related to the prior BA Report in April. In it, we stated that we were awaiting System Board decisions for four grievances. In fact, one grievance (progressive discipline) was settled by the Company just prior to the System Boards. This involved the Company providing an amended response to the initial grievance which was acceptable to the Union. Therefore, we were only awaiting decisions on the 3ea above grievances and not four as we previously stated.

As for the remaining 3rd Step grievances, we have our next System Boards scheduled at SFO on August 20th and 21st. We will be engaging Labor Relations in discussions for a potential docket later in July.

As always, if you have any questions about any of the information we have provided above, or about any specific grievance at 3rd Step or arbitration level, please feel free to stop by the Union office for a chat or contact your Shop Steward or Chief Steward.

Fourth of July Message from your Member Assistance Professionals

With the Fourth of July Holiday fast-approaching we felt is necessary to remind you all of the valuable resource that is at your disposal. Our TMAP (formerly EAP) Coordinators offer free confidential services to help out Teamster members and their families identify and resolve personal problems or concerns. They can assist you in developing a plan of action or refer you to appropriate licensed professionals. Some of the issues they can assist with include Alcohol/Drug dependency, Addictive Behaviors, Mental Health, Grief and Loss, Child/Teen Conduct, Domestic Violence, Elder Care, Trauma, and Relationship Concerns. They can also assist with Retirement questions, Workers Compensation, State Disability, FMLA, Reasonable Accommodation, and other state, federal, or Company Benefits. All of these services are free, voluntary, and confidential and cannot be discussed with anyone without written consent from you. If you have a problem or situation that you would like to discuss in private, please call: Steve Loone for MM/GX/PV/OV 650-745-5864 or Steve Crummey for Jet Shop/Backshops 650-745-5867

Labor History

July 6th, 1889 - Striking laborers employed by contractors on street and sewer improvements in Duluth, Minnesota, attempt to break through the police presence protecting scabs doing their work. The police opened fire and a gun battle ensued that resulted in the deaths of four workers and a bystander; many more were seriously wounded. The state militia was called in and drove the workers back with fixed bayonets. Strike leaders were arrested and the police who participated were given gold medals.

July 17th, 1944 - An explosion while loading munitions onto a cargo vessel at the military depot at Port Chicago, California, kills 320 and injures nearly 400 sailors (mostly African-American enlisted men who were part of a segregated unit) and civilians. Following the disaster, many of the surviving sailors refused to resume loading munitions, citing unsafe working conditions. Fifty men were convicted of mutiny and received 15-year sentences. It was the largest mass mutiny trial in U.S. history.

July 31st, 1999 - The Great Shipyard Strike of 1999 ends after steelworkers at Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. ratify a breakthrough agreement which nearly doubles pensions, increases security, ends inequality, and provides the highest wage increases in company and industry history to nearly 10,000 workers. The strike lasted over 16 weeks.

We must never forget!

Labor Quotes

So much of what we call management consists in making it difficult for people to work. - Peter Drucker

If hard work were such a wonderful thing, surely the rich would have kept it all to themselves. - Lane Kirkland

When a man tells you that he got rich through hard work, ask him whose.

Don Marquis

Our Commitment to Communication

As always, Stay Informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                   Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                             Local 856

Guest User 5/3/19 Guest User 5/3/19

March/April Business Agents' Report

For Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, a Statement from Mr. Hoffa

In the United States, Canada, and many other countries, Workers’ Memorial Day is when we remember and honor our fallen brothers and sisters in the labor movement. It is a time to look back and mourn for workers killed and injured on the job, as well as a time to look ahead and rededicate ourselves to the fight for safe workplaces.

For Workers Memorial Day, April 28th, a Statement from Mr. Hoffa

Last year, many working men and women throughout the United States and Canada, including Teamsters, were killed and injured on the job due to unsafe conditions. On behalf of all 1.4 million Teamsters, I ask that each of you take a few minutes to remember these workers.

Forty-nine years ago, Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), promising every worker the right to a safe job. Decades of struggle by workers and their unions resulted in significant improvements in working conditions. Unions won regulations, standards and other protections that have made workplaces safer for all workers. Union contracts have also given workers a voice on the job.

The toll of workplace injury, illness and death remains enormous. Some Teamsters within the union’s 22 trade divisions and conferences, both in the private and public sectors, are particularly at risk, suffering very high rates of job injuries and fatalities. Roadway incidents continue to be the leading cause of on-the-job fatalities and truck drivers suffer more on-the-job fatalities than any other individual occupation. Ergonomic hazards cripple and injure hundreds of thousands of workers every year and musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) occur in one out of three (31%) injury and illness cases requiring days away from work in 2017, without corresponding standards to prevent them. Many people have no union protections, like the workers at XPO from California to Florida to New York who are demanding that XPO respect their rights. Among them are many Hispanic and immigrant workers, who often work in the most dangerous jobs, are exploited by employers, and often are afraid to speak out. Many public sector workers also have no OSHA protection. Hundreds of workers are fired or harassed by their employers each year simply for voicing job-safety concerns or reporting injuries. Although there are dozens of whistleblower protection and anti-retaliation laws on the books, some are simply too weak and others are just not aggressively enforced due to insufficient funding of the regulatory agencies charged with enforcement. As such, whistleblower and anti-retaliation provisions are not adequately protecting workers who try to exercise their legal rights to speak out on workplace safety issues. In a policy memo1, OSHA instructed its inspectors to start investigating—and in many cases, to cite employers for violations—when the inspectors find practices that discourage workers from reporting injuries.

On this Workers’ Memorial Day, we need to join hands to seek stronger safety and health protections and better standards and enforcement. To quote Mother Jones, a small woman but a giant in the American labor movement, “Mourn for the dead and fight like hell for the living!”

Samsung 55-inch Flat Screen TV Raffle

The TeamstersSFO Committee is currently selling raffle tickets for a Samsung 55” Flat Screen. All proceeds will go towards helping member Harry Beier and his family, who find themselves in a time of great need right now. The tickets are selling for $10 each or 3 for $20. You can purchase tickets by contacting your Shop Steward or Chief Steward. The raffle ticket drawing will be held at the Dayshift Craft Meeting at 3pm on May 30th at Teamsters Local 856. You need not be present to win.

Giants Tickets Raffle

The TeamstersSFO Committee is also currently raffling off a super-sweet pair of tickets right behind home plate for the San Francisco Giants versus the Philadelphia Phillies on August 10th, 2019, at Oracle Park in San Francisco. All proceeds will go to the Solidarity Fund. The raffle tickets are selling for $10 each or 3 for $20. Again, you can purchase tickets by contacting your Shop Steward or Chief Steward. The drawing will be held at the dayshift Craft Meeting at 3pm on May 30th, 2019, at Teamsters Local 856. Again, you need not be present to win. We would like to give a very special thanks to Pete Poncia, a Technician in the Landing Gear Shop, and a great Union Brother, for kindly donating these tickets!

2019 Teamsters 856/986 Scholarship Recipients

We would like to send out congratulations to all the recipients of the Teamsters 856/986 Scholarship awards for 2019.
The recipients of the $1000 Teamsters 856/986 Scholarships are:

Dylan Lopez, Son of SFOMM Line Technician Jonathan Lopez
Paige Thrush, Daughter of Jet Shop Technician Ray Thrush
Riley Savage, Daughter of Airframe General Technician Brian Savage
Camille Starr, Daughter of Jet Shop Technicians Skip and Mary Starr
Lillysvette Joya-Campos, Daughter of Machinist Omar Joya
Lillian Crummey, Daughter of Technicians Steve and Debbie Crummey
Natalie Moresco, Daughter of Base Welder Paul Moresco

The recipient of the $2500 Bernie Fleischer Memorial Scholarship Award is Bryan Ngo, Son of Airframe R&E John Ngo

Congratulations to all these deserving students and their proud parents!

California Teamsters Hispanic Caucus Scholarship

The window is still open to apply for the 2019 Hispanic Caucus Scholarship. This scholarship is open to deserving High School Seniors graduating this year who are a daughter/son of an active Teamster whose dues are current with his/her Local Union and are attending or have been accepted by an accredited University, College, or Trade School. Please see your Shop Steward or Chief Steward to get an application. The application deadline is Friday, June 28th, 2019.

Go buy Technician Brian Tripp’s New Book ‘Briansride’

Briansride is the new book by Airframe R&E Brian Tripp. It chronicles his amazing adventure riding around the world on an old bike back in 2008. Brian has always had a great sense of humor and you will definitely laugh out loud more than a few times reading his book. But you will also come away with a true sense of how defining this experience was in Brian’s life and of just how vast our world is and of how little we all know outside of our own little corner of it. It is a great read, folks. Go buy now. Congratulations Brian!

Grievance Update

We finally got the decision on the MealP grievance. Unfortunately, the Arbitrator ruled against us and denied the grievance. That means that the status quo will continue when it comes to the paid lunches on a 2nd Shift. If you work a second shift during the week, you will continue to get paid meal periods per Article 17.E. If you work a second overtime shift on your RDO, you not receive the paid meal periods.

Our attorney for the HRA/RHA 2017 grievance has informed us that the briefs have been submitted by each sides counsel to the Arbitrator for consideration. The purpose of the briefs is to outline each sides argument in the case based on the testimony offered at the Arbitration hearing. It is customary for the decision to be rendered within 60-90 days from this point. We will let you know when we get the decision.

We are still awaiting decisions for the four grievances (Dock 3 Tool Crib, Progressive Discipline, BAQ116 work by BAQ128 Technicians, VAC conversion for FMLA usage) that were heard on March 26th and 27th. System Board hearings were scheduled for May 14th and May 15th. Beginning several weeks ago, the Union and the Company engaged in discussions regarding the seven grievances that the Union identified for disposition.

The Union agreed to the Company request to push one grievance (Improper premium pay) out to August System Boards while the parties work towards an acceptable resolution. The grievance will be heard in August if there is no agreement beforehand.

The Company settled one grievance (Improper adjusted pay).
Two grievances (Improper I-time hours and Deferred holiday hours) were put on hold pending System Board decisions at other locations in the system.

Two grievances [Kincare 2017 (Not the current Kincare grievance that are on hold pending investigation by the State of California. This was a grievance to convert 2017 N-Time to Kincare) and Incentive program] were withdrawn by the Union.

The discussions on the last grievance (Vacation allocation calculation) continue and it was agreed to schedule another call on the matter. Ultimately, it was agreed that because we had only one remaining grievance of the original seven we identified and we were still discussing resolution, we would cancel the May System Boards. There is a 15-day requirement to disclose exhibits prior to a System Board hearing and there is simply no time left to identify and pursue other grievances this close to the scheduled date.

If you ever have any questions about the grievance process or a specific grievance, please fell free to stop by the Union office for a visit or contact your Shop Steward or Chief Steward.

Our Commitment to Communication

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                             Local 856

Guest User 3/13/19 Guest User 3/13/19

February 2019 Business Agents' Report

Kin Care Update

We received answers on the two grievances that were submitted to the company regarding Kin Care.

Kin Care Update

We received answers on the two grievances that were submitted to the company regarding Kin Care.

Remember, the first grievance asserted that, since IBT members can call in sick on a trade day, they are also eligible for Kin Care if they choose to designate the day as such. That grievance was sustained by the Company, meaning that they agree with our assertion. This was expected because the Company had already amended their final communication concerning Kin Care to state that, “Kin Care is not applicable for any absence which does not qualify for sick pay under the applicable sick pay policy or CBA.” This makes it clear that our CBA governs the situation. It is our expectation that the company will continue to honor the fact that the trade language in our CBA allows for sick-time usage and any sick day used on a trade day will also be eligible for kin care protection.

That still does not address our second grievance, however. We are also asserting that it has to be at the employee’s discretion whether or not they want to designate any sick day as kin care and that it should not be auto-designated as such by the Company over the employee’s objections. Additionally, our grievance states that the 2-hr minimum usage requirement is arbitrary and wrong because it does not mirror any sick-time usage requirements in our CBA, as is required by the kin care law.

The Company answer denied our grievance and it was moved to the 2nd Step. The Business Agents expect to receive that grievance after it is pushed to the 3rd Step. At that point, it will be placed on hold pending the outcome of the state investigation of our corresponding complaint.

We are currently waiting for the assignment of a Compliance Officer to investigate our complaint to the State. We will be sure to pass along any information we get going forward.

Shift Bid Absentee Bid Forms

There have been several instances recently where individuals missed their bid appointments for a shift bid. Honestly, if you miss your appointment for any reason and cannot exercise your seniority, the result is probably going to be ugly, with you ending up on the least desirable shift, crew, and/or day-off pattern. That is why we recommend that you always make it a habit to fil out the pre-bid with a full list of preferences based on your priorities. You can still call at your designated appointment time to see what is available but, if you miss your appointment, you will be protected against striking out on a shift bid.

We realize that most folks do not plan to miss their appointments once they are made, but it happens nonetheless. And there is generally nothing that can be done to reverse the result.

So, make sure to protect yourself. It only takes a few minutes to fill out the form and give yourself some peace of mind.

Meet Jimmy Uharriet - SFOPV Technician

Jimmy Uharriet had a severe firearms accident in March of 2016 that left him completely blind in both eyes. Prior to the accident, Jimmy had been a PV Mechanic at SFO working on Facilities, Jet Bridges, Locksmithing and DC Air carts. After his accident two people, Valerie Campos, an Orientation and Mobility Specialist with the Vista Center, a non-profit that provides services for blind and other visually-impaired folks, and Suzanne Tierney, a counselor from the California Department of Rehabilitation, were instrumental in getting Jimmy on the road to recovery. They taught him how to use a computer and walking stick and basically how to learn to live while blind. Senior Manager Cathy Abbott, who was Jimmy’s manager at the time, mentioned to Jimmy that there might be a path to get him accommodated at United after discussions with Chief Steward Greg Sullivan. This really gave Jimmy hope.

Jimmy also started working with Connie Liu, the Founder and Director of Project Invent, a design thinking program with the goal of inspiring high school students nationwide to invent technologies that make a difference in their communities.

Jimmy hit it off with the kids at Project Invent and soon they were collaborating on an ongoing basis. Eventually, the team came up with two remarkable inventions. One was a cane modification using built-in sensors that help stop blind people from veering off course so that they continue on a straight path. Another invention also involved a cane modification that uses motion-rechargeable LED’s that provide light to make the person visible at night. Both of these modifications dramatically improve safety for blind individuals.

The experience with the students at Project Invent provided a lasting inspiration for Jimmy and this really helped his healing process. While this was all happening, Teamsters Member Assistance Coordinator Steve Loone stayed in contact with Jimmy and also helped Greg Sullivan facilitate discussions with Cathy Abbott and HR Manager Kathy Tetrev on Jimmy’s possible return. Around September of 2017, Jimmy started to really push for an opportunity to show what he could bring to the table. Cathy Abbot asked him to put together a list of jobs he felt he could perform. Jimmy came up with the following: Build and Repair battery Charging Cables, Build A 320 GPU Cable supports, Overhaul and Build drive motors and reducers, Clutch Breaks, Roller bearings for the Rotunda’s on the Jet Bridges, Stream lights, Repair PC Push Carts as well as PC Air Coupling Seal replacements.

The new SFOPV Manager, Robin Bier, who took over for Cathy Abbott when Cathy moved up to manage Base Facilities (SFOMP), was also very supportive of the idea to bring Jimmy back. On January 18, 2018, they had the first RAP session to discuss Jimmy’s return. Present with Jimmy were Kathy Tetrev, Robin Bier, Greg Sullivan, and Valerie Campos. Later, PV Lead Doug Rojas and the guys in the PV shop helped set up a work area for Jimmy and he came in with Valerie to discuss what he needed as far as Tooling, Drawers, Parts Bins and also to identify and address safety concerns.

On June 11, 2018, Jimmy came back to work on a 90-day trial period. PV Leads Jeff Sanchez and Technician Ed Tanasupol worked closely with Jimmy to get him acclimated to his new workspace. It was apparent from the beginning that Jimmy could do all of the jobs on his list and much more. He has been going strong ever since.

We want to send out special thanks to PV Leads Doug Rojas and Jeff Sanchez, Technician Ed Tanasupol and all of the other folks down at Facilities for their support of Jimmy’s mission. Additionally, we are very grateful to Cathy Abbot, Kathy Tetrev, and Robin Bier for their support in making this endeavor a reality. Thanks as well to Greg Sullivan and Steve Loone for their tireless advocacy on Jimmy’s behalf. Jimmy’s incredible story of overcoming his disability and making his way back to work from this devastating accident is an inspiration to us all!

***SFOPV Technician Jimmy Uharriet attends the February Craft Meeting***

Grievance Update

We had an Arbitration hearing in Miami, Florida on February 21st concerning the grievance for the HRA/RHA cap in 2017. We believe that the hearing went very well. The Arbitrator is awaiting the submittal of the official stenographers report. Once submitted, that report will go to both attorneys and they will prepare their respective briefs for the case and submit to the Arbitrator for his consideration. From that point, the Arbitrator should have a decision within sixty to ninety days.

We have an upcoming Arbitration date on April 4th in Chicago for the EFS Bypass from SFOLX. We will be flying to Chicago on April 2nd to finalize preparation.

We are also currently in discussions concerning another EFS bypass grievance for SFOMM, which is also at Arbitration step but not yet scheduled. It is our intent to schedule an Arbitration date if this latest dialog does not lead to a settlement satisfactory to our members.

We have two days of System Boards scheduled for March 26th-27th. We originally intended to focus on hearing our Outsourcing grievances, but after discussions with the Airline Division, we intend to push those grievances directly to Arbitration.

As a result, we identified a batch of 9 grievances to schedule for discussions concerning System Board hearings. Subsequently, it was determined that two identical grievances (I-Time Bank & Deferred Holidays) were heard/scheduled at other stations so they were put on hold pending those outcomes.

Of those remaining, one grievance (Improper Point Assessment) was settled by the Company, one grievance (Untimely Attendance Interaction) will have first step answer revised by the Company to the Union’s satisfaction and will thus be Withdrawn, one grievance (Improper Overtime Assignment) is still being discussed and will be heard if no resolution, and four others (Dock 3 Tool Crib, Progressive Discipline, BAQ 116 work by BAQ128’s, VAC conversion to FMLA) will be heard. We will keep you posted of all developments. If you would like to know more about these grievances, please contact your Shop Steward or come by the Union Office for a visit.

Democrat Republican Independent Voter Education (DRIVE)

Big Business spends big money in Washington to influence members of Congress and push their anti-worker plans. They outspend working families on politics by more than 15-1.

Through grassroots political action and aggressive lobbying on Capitol Hill and in State Houses and City Halls across America, Teamsters have stopped some of the worst attacks on working people.

But Big Business is pushing their agenda harder than ever. That means we have to fight back stronger than ever. And we have to move forward with our own programs, like improving job safety, fighting for affordable childcare, and stopping abuses by corporate health providers and insurance companies.

You can take a stand for working families by contributing to DRIVE – the Teamsters’ political action committee. Your contribution will support grassroots action by Teamster families to stand up to Big Business interests.

Contributions to DRIVE support a wide range of Teamster activities:

Keeping members and their families informed on the key issues that affect our future, including voter guides that show the records of our Senators and Representatives in Congress.
Rallies, news conferences, advertisements, and phone banks to build support on issues of concern to working people.
Voter registration, and financial support for political candidates who will stand up for working families. DRIVE is non-partisan and independent from any political party.

Our Commitment to Communication

The communication process is an extremely important part of what we do to represent our folks here at SFO, and as we have been outlined for quite some time, we have been blasting out the BA Report along with any other communication we get from the Airline Division or the International to anyone who registers at the www.TeamstersSFO.com. We feel that it is essential for all of our members to be engaged and informed at all times. Therefore, we encourage all of you to spread the word to your fellow technicians to go to the TeamstersSFO website and click on the ‘email signup’ tab to get on the list.

Additionally, the Chief Stewards hold weekly meetings with the Shop Stewards to pass on any important informational items that may come up during the month. It is crucial to our process that every work area on every shift have Shop Steward representation and that the Shop Steward give, at a minimum, weekly briefings to his/her crew so all the information gets to our members and members have the opportunity to ask questions.

Most importantly, we urge you to also consider getting more involved. Every month, on the last Thursday, we hold Craft Meetings at Local 856. At these meetings, the membership hears reports from the Business Agents and other members of the SFO Committee on Grievances, Safety, Member Assistance, and the TSAP program. Additionally, all members have an opportunity to ask questions and bring up topics for discussion. Check your IBT Bulletin Board for dates and times and make it a point to stop by whenever you can.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                             Local 856

Guest User 2/8/19 Guest User 2/8/19

January 2019 Business Agents' Report

February is Black History Month: Union Rights and Civil Rights Link

The following is a piece on this relationship from the IBT:

Since 1903, the Teamsters Union has been at the forefront of the struggle for workers’ rights in North America. During Black History Month, Teamsters honor the contributions of African-Americans in our nation’s history and their important place in the union today.

February is Black History Month: Union Rights and Civil Rights Link

The following is a piece on this relationship from the IBT:

Early on in the union’s history, Teamsters advocated for “no color lines” within the labor movement and would not hold with the practice of separate unions for black members. Women and minorities were part of the membership from the beginning, with black Teamsters attending at the founding convention. Teamster contracts included provisions for equal pay as early as 1917. That year, the union won a clause in a contract for women laundry workers that employees would be paid the same regardless of race.

Over the years, the Teamsters Union has been privileged to both lead and support civil rights struggles that helped build the foundation of our great union and helped make North America a better place for all of us.

“Today’s Teamsters work in almost every imaginable occupation and hail from a multitude of backgrounds and ethnicities,” said Jim Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “While our heritage and tasks may differ, we share a common commitment to guaranteeing a safe and fair workplace, a secure retirement and a decent standard of living for ourselves, our families and our fellow workers.”

This Black History Month, be thankful for the contributions of those who have helped make our union what it is: a diverse, ever-growing organization that fights for justice, equality and fair treatment in the workplace.

2019 Scholarship Application Periods are now Open

It is that time of year again folks. The Teamsters Local 856/986 Scholarship Fund and the James R Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund will be accepting applications until March 31st.

If your son or daughter is a graduating high school senior with a GPA of 3.0 or better, who will be attending a college/university or vocational/trade School in the fall, then you want to apply for both scholarships.

You can find out more information by going to the TeamstersSFO website and clicking on the Scholarships & Discounts link under the Member Resources tab.

You can download the 856/986 Scholarship application directly from there or you can contact your Chief Steward or Shop Steward to get a copy.

All applicants for the James R. Hoffa Scholarship must submit applications online at the James R Hoffa Memorial Scholarship Fund website at www.jrhmsf.org. Please do not wait until the last minute as there is a verification of member ‘good standing’ with your Local that must take place before final approval of each online application.

Kin Care Issues

As was mentioned in the SFO Grievance Committee letter to the membership dated January 7, 2019, United Airlines initiated several administrative changes to their Kin Care Policy, as of December 1, 2018, including a two-hour minimum usage provision as well as auto-designation of sick time taken for one’s self as Kin Care. Additionally, the Company indicated in their communication that any sick time taken to care for an ill qualifying family member on a trade day was ineligible for use as Kincare.

The union has taken several steps to protect your rights. First, there were two grievances filed with the company. The first deals with the issue of trade days and was filed to make certain that the Company is not trying to reinterpret the language in the CBA that allows a member to utilize the sick time, and hence Kin Care, for a Trade Day/Shift. The second grievance is against the two-hour minimum usage and auto-designation provisions of the new policy.

Additionally, the Union filed a complaint with the State of California Office of Labor Standards Enforcement on the basis that the company is violating the California Labor Code with these modifications of its policy.

We will be sure to keep you informed of any developments along both of these fronts moving forward. Thanks for your patience while we work to resolve these issues on your behalf.

Pre-Retirement Seminar on Saturday, February 9th at Local 856

TeamstersSFO will host our annual Pre-Retirement Seminar this coming Saturday, February 9th, at Local 856. The address is 453 San Mateo Avenue in San Bruno. The event will be held from 9 a.m. until 12 noon. Light refreshments will be provided and there is plenty of convenient parking nearby.

Please note also that an updated Survivor Benefits Guide for 2019 has been posted on the TeamstersSFO website. You should read the guide beforehand so you can get any questions you have answered at the event.

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!

Grievance Update

There are eight grievances at the Arbitration (4th) Step of the grievance process. Of those, two are termination cases. One has been heard and is awaiting a decision and one is awaiting an arbitrator/date assignment. Of the other six arbitration cases, one has been heard (MealP-post DOR) and is awaiting the decision which was delayed by the arbitrator and is now expected by Mid-March. Two grievances are scheduled for February 20th in Miami (HRA/RHA cap for 2017) and April 4th in Chicago (SFOLX EFS Bypass). Two grievances are in a holding pattern, one pending discussions with the Company (PCL Closing Columns) and the other pending an arbitration decision for a related grievance (GSE Lead Calculation). We are actively trying to schedule the remaining grievance (SFOMM EFS Bypass) with the Company at this time.

There are a total of twenty-four 3rd Step Grievances in the pipeline. The next SBA dates are March 26th and 27th. We anticipate presenting a total of six to eight grievances at the System Board. We will be entering into discussions this coming week with Labor Relations to determine which grievances, if any, are candidates for discussion/settlement after which we will select the cases for March dates. We will be sure to keep you posted, either through the next BA Report or through your Shop Stewards.

The remaining SBA dates at SFO for 2019 have been tentatively assigned and are as follows: May 14th and 15th; August 21st and 22nd; November 12th and 13th.

The End of an Era: Bruce Rollin Retires!

Top Row L to R: Mark DesAngles; Javier Lectora; Fred Wood Bottom Row: Bruce Rollin and Debbie Crummey — Top Row L to R: Mark DesAngles; Javier Lectora; Fred Wood
Bottom Row: Bruce Rollin and Debbie Crummey

Bruce started his career as a machinist in 1964 and spent nearly 54 years with United Airlines! He was a fixture in the metrology lab for many years where he was responsible for calibrating equipment used to make precision parts for the airline; a job that is instrumental in providing the airline with reliable components. Bruce was also awarded the Charles Taylor “Master Mechanic” Award in 2014, which recognizes a lifetime of accomplishments for senior aircraft technicians and is the highest honor that the FAA can bestow upon those in this field.

Just as important, Bruce was a true Union man at his core and served as a Shop Steward dating back as far as anyone can remember. He rarely missed a Craft Meeting and he was always game for a good union rally. His dedication to his Craft and to the Labor Movement will be greatly missed.

Thank you for your service, Brother Bruce! We wish you many happy years of joyful retirement!

Labor History for the Month of January

January 4, 1965: Eight thousand social workers represented by two different unions in New York City go on strike over workload and wages. Mayor Robert Wagner fired all of the strikers and threw nineteen leaders in jail for two weeks, but the workers won the strike within a month. Supported by organized labor, the civil rights movement, and a community coalition, it was the longest labor action by public employees in the history of New York City.

November 7, 1945: Machinists in Stamford, Connecticut, go on strike when the Yale and Towne lock company terminates its contractual obligations and withdraws recognition of their union. The company’s union-busting effort was met with a city-wide general strike on January 3 in which 10,000 people marched and rallied in support of the workers. By early April, the company conceded.

We must never forget!

Labor Quotes

In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right-to-work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining... We demand this fraud be stopped - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning - Frederick Douglass

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it -Thomas Paine

Our Commitment to Communication

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                      Business Agent
Local 986                               Local 856

Guest User 11/16/18 Guest User 11/16/18

November 2018 Business Agents' Report

Teamster Member Assistance Program Training held September 26th-28th

Once a year, the Teamster Member Assistance Program (TMAP) Regional Coordinators put together a training session for the TMAP volunteers from around the system. This year, the training was held at the Los Altos Jesuit Retreat Center on September 26th thru September 28th.

Teamster Member Assistance Program Training held September 26th-28th

The event was attended by 18 volunteers representing LAX, IAH, ORD, DEN, EWR, PHX, CLE as well as our two SFO volunteers, Chris Curtis (MM) and Bryan Bartling (RQ). In preparation, our two SFO Regional Coordinators, Steve Crummey and Steve Loone worked the logistics of the event, including transportation and resource gathering, and assisted the other system Regional Coordinators, Caleb Good (ORD), Mike Brooks (DEN) and Dominic Fiero (IAH) with developing the agenda and selecting presenters for the 3-day session.

The training included discussions on Prescription Drugs in a DOT environment, including Opiates and THC, Leave of Absences and Workers Comp Guidelines as well as Ethics, Benefits, FMLA, LTD insurance and the sharing of experiences from around the system to better serve our membership.

A special thanks to the Local 986 Principal Officer Chris Griswold and Local 856 Principal Officer Peter Finn for their continued support of this extremely important program. Thanks also to the two Steves for helping put this event together and for all of the outstanding work they do for our members on a daily basis.

If you or anyone you work with is having trouble coping with a personal problem that is affecting their work or, you just want some info on FMLA, State Disability, Paid Family Leave, a benefits question or just an ear to listen. Reach out to our TMAP Coordinators Steve Crummey (Jet Shop/Backsops) 650-745-5867 or Steve Loone (Airframe/MM) 650-745-5864.

Aflac Representatives Visit SFO

Aflac representatives spent several weeks here at SFO last month and we were able to make them accessible to nearly every work area at the Base and the Line on all three shifts. These folks are providing a dynamic set of insurance products, including Whole Life Insurance, Critical Illness, Accident Insurance and Short-Term Disability, to supplement and solidify your personal insurance portfolio and plug all the gaps in your coverage. Additionally, we were able to get another round of ‘guaranteed issuance’ approved by Aflac for this year so that our folks again were able to sign up for any of the products offered without undergoing any type of physical evaluation. Overall, it was a very successful effort and we want to say ‘Thanks’ to all of the TeamstersSFO Committee members who spent long hours escorting Aflac personnel around SFO. Special thanks to Coordinator Fred Wood, who spearheaded the logistics of this Aflac visit, which was no small accomplishment.

Family Day at the Base

United Airlines held another family day at the Base on Sunday, October 7th. At the Teamster table, our TeamtersSFO Committee members were joined by reps from the Aflac team and folks from the WE Rise SF Labor Center. The team handed out TeamstersSFO water bottles and pens as well as a number of other goodies. The overwhelming favorite moment of the day occurred when one of the young visitors got a special gift from the Aflac folks. We thought that we would share the moment because it really signifies what the day is about. Thanks to Fred Wood for the fabulous photo.

SFO Grievance Update

We had an arbitration hearing in Chicago for a contract grievance (MEALP) and we are currently awaiting the decision. We also had an arbitration hearing on Wednesday, November 14th, for a terminated member.

The System Board deadlocked for another contract grievance (EFS Bypass) and it has been appealed to the 4th Step (Arbitration). We now have three contract cases (EFS Bypass, PCL closing DAT columns, and GSE Lead pay) that have been appealed to arbitration and are awaiting agreement on arbitrators/dates from the Company. Also, another contract grievance (HAS/HRA for 2017) has already been scheduled for February 21st in Miami, Florida.

We have System Boards scheduled for January 22nd and 23rd of 2019 and we intend to present three 3rd Step grievances each of those days. We have scheduled preliminary discussions with Labor Relations beginning next week to discuss about 10 current 3rd Step grievances in the pipeline to see if there is an appetite on the Company side to settle the grievances before we have to hear them. Whichever grievances are not settled will then be ranked by priority and the top six will get heard in January.

There is also ongoing settlement discussions around another contract grievance (2nd EFS Bypass) where the System Board hearing in September was suspended and the grievance remanded back to the parties for disposition. Failure to reach an agreement will mean that another System Board will have to be scheduled for the case. We are hoping that this will not be the case.

A Few Words about some Important Issues

One of the things we do in our grievance update is provide some information about termination hearings at System Board or Arbitration. You might have also noted that we do not provide any details about those terminations. That’s mainly because of our privacy obligations to our members. As a result, we generally do not announce details of our successful attempts to get our folks back to work, despite the significant amount of time we spend on termination-related issues. However, we do feel that it is important for our members to know some important information regarding some disturbing trends we are seeing. These have to do with members having confrontations and also with members signing for work that they did not complete. We should not have to say how important it is for you to not engage in either of these behaviors. But we are mentioning it because this type of stuff is happening way too much. And if you are involved in a physical or verbal confrontation that gets out of hand or you are irresponsible enough to sign for work that you have not accomplished, there is a very good chance that you are going to end up on the outside looking in, wondering how you are going to feed your family. Those folks who have been on the outside know just how hard it is to get back in and the significant time and effort it takes on the Union’s part to make that happen. But we are not always successful. And when we are not successful, there is a good chance that one of these two issues were the reason. Don’t do it. Enough said.

2019 Craft Meetings Schedules

We are always striving to have the right balance of floor time and craft meeting time every month. After receiving much feedback on the issue, we have decided that we will move the Swing shift Craft Meeting start time back to 11pm. Midnight meetings and Dayshift meetings will remain unchanged at 7am and 3pm, respectively. We will also continue our commitment of rotating monthly floor visits to Airframe, Jet Shop, Backshops, and the Line on all three shifts, but we are also going to mix up days because we got some feedback that we were missing a whole segment of the population by consistently visiting on the same days every moth. Thank you all for your feedback and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.

Happy Thanksgiving

We want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful Holiday Season! This is the time of year for us all to enjoy time with family and friends and to reflect on our achievements and to set next year’s goals for both life and work. And to try not to eat too much!

If you have an opportunity, please also do something positive for your community this season. It is good for the soul. And there are many folks out there who are in desperate need. We all have a responsibility to help in some small way.

Have a fabulous New Year and see you in 2019!

Stay Informed

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                             Local 856

Guest User 9/26/18 Guest User 9/26/18

September 2018 Business Agents' Report

Lying Liars and the Lies They Tell

It has generally been our policy not to address the barrage of misleading information, personal attacks, recycled fliers from the 1990’s, half-truths and outright lies that have been circulated around the Base for a while now because we know that most folks remember what happened when Jim Seitz previously had an opportunity to lead. But, in some cases, we must make an exception. That’s because Jim’s lies now have a real possibility of hurting our members. It is there that we must draw the line.

Lying Liars and the Lies They Tell

First off, none of the stuff we are going to talk about is new. Our Stewards here at SFO have been briefed on all of this information from the beginning on an ongoing basis and, in turn, this information has been passed to the floor. Throughout the last year or so, we have also spoken to many of you directly about this issue, as we have fielded many questions on the topic. But we also recognize that how much of the entire story each individual member knows is always a function of many factors. Therefore, we think it is a very good exercise to go back and summarize the entire process for you in one shot. Then, you be the judge.

The first issue we will discuss is the attendance policy and the assertion that it came into being through an LOA between the UAL and the IBT. That is simply false. Jim is practicing an age-old guerilla tactic here: If you say something enough times, people will eventually start to take it as fact. But we did not agree to this policy, folks. The Company announced and implemented the policy all by itself. And, at that time, we immediately began internal discussions, including consultations with attorneys, to determine our options for dealing with it. Through this process, one thing became very clear: There is no law prohibiting any company from implementing an attendance policy in any workplace, even if is a point-based policy. Also, United’s establishment of a point-based attendance policy does not, in and of itself, violate the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That is the reality of the situation. However, no provisions of an attendance policy can violate the CBA. And we believe that some of the provisions and related practices of the attendance policy do, in fact, violate the CBA. We will detail those for you later.

But first, back to the beginning. There are two primary strategies when dealing with a policy that contains any provisions that may violate the CBA. The first is to file a single grievance against the entire policy in the hopes that you can get the whole thing thrown out by an arbitrator. This is more of a longshot approach unless the entire premise of the policy violates the CBA. The second strategy is to file individual grievances against any portion of the policy which is offensive to the CBA as it is implemented. This is generally the more effective approach, as it focuses directly on the offending provisions or practices contained in the policy. At the time, we decided to do both, despite it being redundant.

Now, there was one particularly offensive clause of the attendance policy that we are sure you will all remember: The ‘conversion’ table. When the Company applied these conversions for the transition to the new attendance policy, many members suddenly found themselves precariously close to zero points. Although we believed that these conversion tables were indefensible and that, ultimately, once they were brought before an Arbitrator, any terminations that resulted from their use had a very good chance of not meeting the ‘just cause’ standard, there was still a significant concern.

Because it takes time to get through the Arbitration process. And many leaders were uncomfortable with having any members who were unfairly terminated sitting out there for an extended period of time waiting for the process to work itself out and trying to figure out how to put food on the table. This was the primary issue at hand when the Business Agents met to discuss the ramifications of the attendance policy in 2017. And that argument proved to be one that was very persuasive. So, with that in mind, it was agreed that the single-grievance approach would be discarded in return for all members being allotted a full balance of seven points. That is the agreement that was made. And whether or not an individual agrees or disagrees with that decision, as is their right, it was made because of concern for the membership.

Additionally, and most importantly, the Union expressly reserved the right to file individual grievances against the policy as it was applied and we have been doing so from the beginning. We have currently identified 6 buckets of et al grievances (which are filed on behalf of the entire system) containing a total of nearly 75 grievances. They are as follows:

1) No Union representation during management interactions

2) Being assessed Points while under a Doctors Care

3) Progressive Discipline (due to skipping steps for multiple incidents)

4) Not allowing Kincare usage for Self for 2017

5) Incentive Program discrimination against protected leaves (FMLA/Kincare)

6) Converting whole bid vacation weeks for FMLA

7) Lack of full point restoration after 1 year

Most of these grievances, with the exception of #7, are on the 3rd Step Docket and we will be sure to keep you informed of their progress as they move forward in the grievance process (as they had been in a holding pattern pending the outcome of the MCO discussions between the SF Office of Labor Standards Enforcement and UAL).

Now we must ask you to consider a simple question. If we are in agreement with the attendance policy, why would we have this many grievances against it?

Now let’s talk about the San Francisco Minimum Compensation Ordinance (MCO). Here is where it gets just plain weird when it comes to Jim and whoever is helping him produce these fliers. They have decided to forego all integrity in a blatant attempt to dupe the membership and claim responsibility for something with which they had no involvement for some political gain. It is sad.

To give you a clear picture, we are going to go back to the beginning again, to the time when the attendance policy was announced. After searching state and local laws and attendance ordinances, we initially did not find anything that would affect the implementation of the attendance policy. However, one of our Shop Stewards at the time did find the MCO and called the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement to ask about it. After reporting to us that the Compliance Officer had agreed to look into the matter, we immediately assigned the Grievance Secretary to follow up. Since then, the Union has been kept appraised of the situation directly by the Compliance Officer, first through the Grievance Secretary, then through one of our attorneys, which we called shortly thereafter. Also, from the beginning, the Compliance Officer made it clear that she wanted only one point of contact from the IBT calling for information about the situation. That point of contact was assigned by us. Also made abundantly clear was the fact that this process and subsequent discussions were solely to occur between the Compliance Officer and United Airlines.

Once United was held to be out of compliance, there began an extended period of negotiations between United and the Compliance Officer and we were not involved in those discussions. All we were able to do is wait like everyone else and occasionally have our attorney check in with the Compliance Officer to gauge the progress. That is something that has been briefed extensively.

And it is an undeniable 100% fact that this group of ALTA jokers had absolutely no involvement whatsoever during these discussions. Period.

Let's look at a couple of the other more egregious lies told by the lying liars. First, we have not ever told anyone that the MCO “did not apply because we had a CBA”. That statement was made in reference to the California Paid Sick Leave Act (and it is true, by the way). Why the heck would say that about the MCO when we knew that the SF Compliance Office had informed United that it was out of compliance? It does not add up, folks. This is another trick typically employed by Jim and his bullcrap machine. These guys have completely lost all morality.

More importantly, and the primary reason for this information piece, is ALTA’s claim that “Employees cannot be disciplined for using their sick leave”. This is simply not true and we think it is dangerous and irresponsible for this type of false statement to be hurled at the membership. We do not want anyone taking this to heart and then getting themselves in trouble because of it. The irresponsibility and complete lack of integrity shown by Jim and his accomplices here, although very characteristic, is extremely troubling because of its potential negative impact on our membership!

Lastly, and also profoundly disturbing is ALTA’s latest attempt to smear the IBT using a bunch of made up statements supposedly attributed to the SF Compliance Officer. All of the Union’s interaction with her have been amicable and courteous and we have a tremendous amount of respect for the thoughtfulness and diligence with which she handled this process. It is, therefore, simply disgusting to us that these characters would stoop that low.

Now we want to focus on the agreement between the Compliance office and UAL regarding the MCO and what it means to you. The MCO has two primary elements. First, it allows for 12 paid days off per year. As it relates to you, this means that the first 12 days off in any calendar year, such as holidays, vacation, sick leave or any other paid days off, must be considered MCO days. Therefore, they cannot be subject to any point reduction or discipline as a result. The second element of the MCO is the allowance for 10 unpaid days in a calendar year. Unpaid MCO days could only be used when an employee has exhausted all paid time off available to him/her including Vacation Time, Sick Time, and Holidays (including Christmas). Because of that, unpaid MCO days can be utilized very rarely when it comes to our members.

Additionally, another condition of the agreement between the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement and United Airlines is the requirement for an audit to determine who has had points reduced and/or discipline assessed in violation of the MCO and for modifications to be made to their attendance record to reflect the MCO protections. That audit is ongoing. If you have any questions about the MCO and its implications, please see your Shop Steward or Chief Steward. If you are getting your information from anyone else, there is a good chance it is not going to be accurate. Remember, however, that it is ultimately the Company’s responsibility to comply with the agreement.

The Kincare Issue

We have been receiving many questions about the use of Kincare and how it relates to the Attendance Policy modification due to the MCO.

First, as we mentioned in the prior piece, we have an active grievance to address the issue of using Kincare for yourself in the year 2017 because the effective date of the California modification to Kincare usage was in early 2017. Many members were not afforded the opportunity to use Kincare for themselves at any time during 2017 because there was no notification of the change by the company. As we also mentioned, that grievance is ongoing and we will report any progress we make going forward.

However, what is most concerning our members now, is the rumor that any Sick Days taken them that fall under the 12 paid MCO days at the beginning of each calendar year will be automatically run concurrently as Kincare days by the Company. If it is true, the Union would certainly not be in agreement. Therefore, if any member calls in sick and is automatically assigned a Kincare day, we would like you to immediately contact your Shop Steward.

Teamsters National Black Caucus Meeting

There will be a Chapter Introduction Meeting of The Teamsters National Black Caucus (TNBC) at Teamsters Local 315 on Saturday, October 20th, from 9am-11am. The meeting will be hosted by Teamster Locals 315, 853, and 856. The purpose of the meeting will be for members to learn more about the TNBC to possibly start a NorCal Chapter. Incoming TNBC Chair James Curbeam will be the special guest speaker. All Teamster members are welcome. Teamsters Local 315 is located at 2727 Alhambra Ave in Martinez. We hope that you can make it by.

eTa System Deployment at SFO Leads to Confusion about Shift Trades

It is our understanding that the recently deployed eTa system at SFO may unfortunately not be allowing our members to schedule a second back-to-back

(double) shift in the same week. Article 7 (Hours of Service) is very clear on this matter. Specifically, Paragraph 7.M.1.d reads as follows:

Employees may trade for a maximum of four (4) additional shifts in any work week. Of these four (4) additional shifts, employees will be allowed to work a maximum of two (2) back-to-back (double) shifts per week, subject to the Duty Limitations set forth in Paragraph I above. (For example, an employee normally scheduled to work day shift with Saturday and Sunday off may work additional trade shifts on Monday and Tuesday, but would not be eligible to work a trade shift on Wednesday; he would then be eligible to work additional trade shifts on Thursday and Friday.)

This language is clear and unambiguous. If you are not able to schedule trades conforming to the example shown, please contact your Supervisor to make sure that the trades are entered into the system correctly. If you are denied the ability to execute this type of trade, please contact your Shop Steward.

Occupational Injuries

If you are injured at work, please remember that you are supposed to be coded OCC (Occupational) for payroll purposes from the very beginning. Some folks were under the impression that an employee would be coded N-Time (Sick) until the investigation and certification of the injury as Occupational by Sedgwick. That is simply not true. You must be coded as OCC and if it is subsequently found that your injury is not work-related, the Company has the right to reclassify that time as N-Time or UNP (Unpaid), depending on your sick balance. If you are injured and you paycert does not indicate OCC from the date of your injury forward, then please contact your Supervisor to have it changed. If you have any questions or concerns, please see your Shop Steward.

Hurricane Maria Raffle Winner

The winning raffle ticket was pulled at the August Dayshift Craft Meeting. We would like to congratulate the owner of the winning ticket, Mary Gutekanst who is an Avionics technician in SFORQ. Mary is the proud new owner of a Vizio 50-inch flat screen TV. Thanks to all who participated in this worthy cause!

Grievance Update

There were two days of System Board hearings in September. We had three termination cases and four contract cases on the docket. Ultimately, two grievances were withdrawn (Recall bypass) due to lack of merit and one grievance was settled (Lead Overtime Bypass). The remaining four cases were heard on September 11th and 12th.

There is also an Arbitration scheduled for October 17th in Chicago regarding the MEAL P (post Date of Ratification).

Stay Informed

The communication process is an extremely important part of what we do to represent our folks here at SFO and, as we have been outlining for quite some time, we have been blasting out the BA Report along with any other communication we get from the Airline Division or the International to anyone who registers at the TeamstersSFO website. Additionally, there are weekly meetings held with the Shop Stewards to pass on any important informational items that may come up during the month. It is crucial to our process that every area on every shift has Shop Steward representation and that the Shop Steward give, at a minimum, weekly briefings to his/her crew so that all the information gets to our members. We feel that it is essential for all of our members to be engaged and informed at all times. Therefore, we encourage all of you to spread the word to your fellow technicians to go to the TeamstersSFO website and click on the ‘email signup’ tab to get on the list. And, most importantly, we urge you to also consider getting more involved. Every month, on the last Thursday, we hold Craft Meetings at Local 856. At these meetings, the membership hears reports from the Business Agents and other members of the SFO Committee on Grievances, Safety, Member Assistance, and TSAP. Additionally, all members have an opportunity to ask questions and to bring up topics for discussion. Check your IBT Bulletin Board for dates and times and make it a point to stop by.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles                    Javier Lectora
Business Agent                     Business Agent
Local 986                               Local 856

Guest User 7/9/18 Guest User 7/9/18

Summer 2018 Business Agents' Report

Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Raffle

TeamstersSFO is raffling off a Vizio 50-inch flat screen at the August Dayshift Craft Meeting. Proceeds of the raffle will benefit Brother Victor Oyola. Tickets are $10 each or 3 for $20. Please see your Shop Steward or your Chief Steward to purchase. The holder of the winning ticket need not be present at the drawing to win.

Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Raffle

2018 986/856 Scholarship Recipients

We would like to send out congratulations to the winners of the 986/856 Scholarship awards for 2018. They are as follows:

Sarina Silva, Daughter of Technician Melvin Silva

Tobias Frager, Son of Lead Technician Benjamin Frager

Congratulations to these well-deserving students and their proud parents!

2018 National Safety Council Spring Labor Division Meeting

Paul Dodge, Mike Valladares and Ralph Ortiz attended the National Safety Council (NSC) Spring Labor Division from May 20th to 23rd in Rosemount, IL. The Labor Division is comprised of labor unions that meet and discuss safety issues in various industries. The Labor Division is over 200 members strong. The purpose of the Labor Division is to be the conduit for safety-focused information sharing and idea exchange with other Unions and its members and to discuss safety issues with other safety professionals who share the same job responsibilities, have experienced the same challenges and can share their thoughts and ideas to help Unions and its representatives develop solutions.

The four days included various committee meetings, education sessions, networking and Union caucuses. On the Transportation committee, chaired by Ralph Ortiz, Safety & Health issues discussed included fall hazard from ladders during engine oil service on wide body aircraft, lack of fall protection due to gaps between power belt loaders and cargo pit, lightning detection systems used at various Airports and the differences found between the system, potential for radiation exposure due to Wi-Fi systems installed on Aircraft, OSHA investigations being conducted at various Air Carriers including a study on the hazards of loading and offloading of motorized wheel chairs and scooters from Aircrafts.

At the IBT Caucus, we meet with Teamsters representatives from Local 1150 (Sikorsky) Local 2727 (UPS mechanics) and Local 455 (DEN - UA) to discuss ongoing safety and health issues and challenges each representative is dealing with.

Educational sessions presented at the Labor Division meeting included:

◊ Silica dust awareness and new requirements under OSHA’s updated Silica regulations

◊ The Dirty Dozen-Human Factors

◊ What are Job Hazard Analysis (JHA) and how to conduct them

◊ Fatigue at work

◊ Working with OSHA to improve workplace Safety & Health

◊ Workers and Management working to change safety culture

◊ Opioid epidemic

The CEO and President of the National Safety Council, Deborah Hersman provided updates on the NSC vision 2020 and spoke on the NSC 3-part report “The Road to Zero” which outlines the plan to eliminate all traffic deaths in the United States by the year 2050.

At the conclusion of the four days, the Labor Division Closing Sessions was held which included a report by the Chairman of the Labor Division and reports from each of the Labor Liaisons.

Teamster Representatives at the NSC Labor Division meeting:Back Row: Paul Dodge - SFO Local 856/986, Bob Waxman - Local 1150, Joe Grabinski - Local 1150, Vic Austin - Local 455Front Row: Mike Valladares - SFO Local 865/986, Ralph Ortiz - SFO Local 8… — Teamster Representatives at the NSC Labor Division meeting:
Back Row: Paul Dodge - SFO Local 856/986, Bob Waxman - Local 1150, Joe Grabinski - Local 1150, Vic Austin - Local 455
Front Row: Mike Valladares - SFO Local 865/986, Ralph Ortiz - SFO Local 856/986, Mike Faschingbauer - Local 2727, Rich Travis - Local 2727

IBT UAL Benefits Committee completes Benefits Guide

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters UAL Benefits Committee has created a Benefits Guide to assist you in understanding your negotiated benefits and to provide you with a quick-reference, user-friendly, document. Benefits have become more complex and are an important part of your total compensation. Employee benefits, negotiated for you by your Union, are part of your total compensation package. These benefits include retirement, medical, dental, long-term disability, sick leave, retiree health account, life insurance, flexible spending accounts, and survivor benefits. It is important for you to have a clear understanding of all the benefits to which you are entitled.

A copy of this Benefits Guide can be found on the TeamstersSFO website under the Member Resource tab.

Shift Bid Preference Forms

The SFO Committee would like to remind you all of the importance of always filling out an absentee Shift Bid Preference Form. These forms should be filled out even if you intend to call in or show up in person for your shift bid appointment. They will only be used if you are not present and do not call in at your assigned appointment time. If you do not fill out the form and are not able to make your appointment for any reason, you run the risk of being assigned a much less desirable shift and work area than your seniority might otherwise entitle you. Once that happens, there is little anyone can do to unwind that reality. Again, please make it a habit to ALWAYS fill out the form so you do not end up on the wrong end of this situation.

When to Fill Out a Withdrawal Form

It is important to always fill out a withdrawal form from your local union If you are going to retire, are transferring to another station, or you are going out on Extended Illness leave.

If you ever end up getting another Teamster job after you retire, you can save yourself and the union any confusion regarding initiation fees or back dues if you filled out a withdrawal before you retired.

Likewise, if you are transferring to another station, the transition can be much smoother regarding dues if you fill out a withdrawal form. This can save you from having to deal with any mistakes on your check once you start getting paid at the new location.

Lastly, we always recommend filling out a withdrawal when you are going on leave for an extended illness. That way, when you come back, there you can be sure there are no mistakes on your paycheck as well.

All of these types of mistakes can and will be corrected if they happen, but it is better for all and it definitely saves time and effort if you filled out a withdrawal form in the first place. See your Shop Steward or stop by the Union Office for the form.

Returning to Work after an Illness

We have lately been receiving some troubling accounts of the Return-to-Work process from some of our members, so we decided to visit this topic so that you know your rights in different situations. The first Return-to-Work situation we will discuss is as follows:

If you are returning to work from a non-critical illness of short or medium duration that is not related to a protected leave such as FMLA, not due to an Occupational Injury, and not from an Extended Illness Leave, there are a couple of things that you need to know. First and foremost, if you are under a doctor’s care and your doctor is releasing you to come back to work, you must make sure that he or she makes it clear on your note that you are being returned to work at “Full Duty with No Restrictions” if that is the case.

After this type of illness leave, once you bring in a doctor’s note indicating that you are released to Full Duty with No Restrictions, if you are prevented from going to work and told that you need clearance from OPCMD, we want you to immediately contact your Chief Steward. If the Company holds you out of service in this circumstance, you must be paid any time from the minute you bring that note to work until the Company clears you to return to work, no matter how long it takes, at straight time on the Company dime. Under no circumstances is it ok for the company to try and make you use your sick time in this situation if they refuse to clear you to work. Period.

Additionally, if you are required to fill out an Absence Certificate after returning from a non-critical illness of short to medium duration that does not involve an FMLA related illness, occupational injury or extended illness, we also want you to contact your Chief Steward immediately. More to come.

The Reasonable Accommodation Program

If you find yourself involved in the RAP process for any reason, you must also be sure to know your rights. In accordance with the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), it is your right to choose who will advocate on your behalf during the ‘interactive process’. The interactive process is simply the period of dialogue that takes place between you and the Company in order to reach an agreement on accommodation. If you choose to have the Union advocate on your behalf, you must make that choice known to the Company and then make sure to contact one of our Member Assistance Coordinators, so they can help guide you through the process. Remember, it is not a given that the Union participate in the process. You must make that choice. Likewise, you can always choose to advocate on your own behalf or choose to have an attorney represent you. Please contact your Member Assistance Coordinator if you would like more information. Again, you should always know your rights.

3rd Step Grievance Process

As many of you already know, once a contract grievance is elevated to the 3rd Step by the Grievance Committee, it is the responsibility of the Business Agents to move it forward. That process will likely initially involve direct engagement with Labor Relations, Human Resources, and Local Management in order to discuss resolution. If no resolution is reached, we will schedule the grievance for a 3rd Step hearing, which is called a System Board of Adjustment (SBA) hearing, per Article 19.D.

Contract grievances that are appealed to arbitration become the responsibility of the Airline Division and will be arbitrated by the IBT staff attorneys, unless outside counsel is hired. The local Business Agents continue to assist throughout the preparation process for these grievances until they are ultimately heard in Chicago on the agreed upon dates. Arbitration hearings are presided over by a neutral arbitrator, with one member from the Company and one member from the Union also sitting on the Arbitration Board. After presentation of the cases by each sides attorney, in the same order as presented at the SBA, the parties adjourn and await the completion of the stenographer’s report. Once the report is completed and delivered to the parties, the attorney for each side will prepare a final brief outlining all of their arguments. Those briefs are then submitted to the arbitrator to be used in rendering a final decision. Once the arbitrator has rendered a decision, that ruling is final and binding on the parties.

Likewise, if any of our members is terminated for any reason, a 3rd Step Grievance is automatically filed on that members behalf. The 3rd Step process for terminations is essentially identical to that which is used for contract cases except the Company presents first. If the System Board deadlocks on a termination, the Business Agents will consult with our local attorney as to whether or not to arbitrate. If the decision is made to arbitrate, our local attorney will handle the arbitration and the hearing will be conducted here at SFO.

Grievance Update

Now that we have familiarized you with the grievance process once a grievance reaches the 3rd Step, we will be adding this grievance update to the Business Agent Report periodically to give you a breakdown of the of current 3rd Step Grievances and where they are in the process. Because the bulk of the Business Agents’ work is related to 3rd Step Grievances and those at the arbitration stage, we feel that it is very important for all of our members to know as much as possible about the current state of these grievances.

We will start with a rundown of the grievance process so far in 2018. A full breakdown of current status of grievances/terminations will follow. There were four termination cases heard at System Board on January 9th and 10th. Of those, the Union was successful in getting two of the individuals returned to work and the Board deadlocked on the other two, which were subsequently appealed to arbitration.

Additionally, there were six contract cases scheduled for System Board on January 16th and 17th. Of those, one was settled by the Company prior to SBA (Outsourcing - Plant Maintenance Work) and five were heard. Of those five, one was sustained (Lead Bypass-Supervisor doing Lead Work), one was denied (MM DST EFS Bypass), two deadlocked (GSE Lead Pay & Meal P-post Date of Ratification) and one was remanded back to the parties for settlement (Lead Bypass - this is very rare but does happen on occasion where the Board sees a path to compromise). The two deadlocks were subsequently appealed to arbitration.

There were also four System Board hearings scheduled for April 11th. Of those, one was withdrawn (Retirement VAC payout - HRS/RHA credit) after the company provided proof it complied with the CBA, one was settled by the Company (Loss of pay during station transfer badging process) and two were heard at SBA. Both of those cases deadlocked and have been appealed to arbitration (PCL closing VAC/DAT columns & 2017 HRA/RHA pro-rate).

There were three hearings scheduled for SBA for July 11th, two terminations and one contract grievance (LX EFS Bypass). One termination hearing has been postponed pending the outcome of current discussions surrounding a resolution. The other two cases will be heard as scheduled.

There are eight cases on the radar for the August 14th and 15th scheduled SBA dates. The Union has engaged the Company in discussions to resolve at least two. If there are no termination cases to be heard, the Union plans on hearing six contract cases. More to follow on those after they are heard at SBA because the schedule is still in flux. The following is a breakdown of current grievances.

We currently have eight grievances at arbitration stage, four terminations and four contract cases. Of the four terminations, we have one scheduled for a second arbitration day on July 31st, one scheduled for August 23rd, one scheduled for November 14th and one awaiting agreement on an arbitrator/date. Of the four contract cases we have at arbitration, we have one scheduled for September 19th (MealP -post DOR) and one tentatively scheduled for October 17th (GSE Lead Pay). The other two were just recently appealed to arbitration and are still awaiting dates (PCL closing VAC/DAT columns & 2017 HRA/RHA pro-rate).

Besides the two terminations at 3rd Step previously discussed, there are a total of nineteen grievances active at 3rd Step, six inactive grievances held in abeyance, and three inactive grievances that are on hold for various reasons.

More information to follow as we move forward in the process for each. Well there you have it. We hope you found this informative.

Labor History for the Summer Months

June 30th, 1928 - Alabama outlaws the leasing of convicts to mine coal, a practice that had been in place since 1848. In 1898, 73 percent of the state’s total revenue came from this source. 25 percent of all African-American leased convicts died.

July 7th, 1998 - A two-day general strike called by a coalition of 60 unions shuts down most of Puerto Rico. More than half a million people participated in the walkout, supporting striking telephone workers and protesting plans to privatize the telephone company. It was the largest work stoppage in the island’s history.

August 22nd, 1945 - Flight attendants working for United Airlines form the Air Line Stewardesses Association, the first labor union representing flight attendants. They were reacting to an industry in which women were forced to retire at the age of 32, remain single, and adhere to strict weight, height, and appearance requirements. The union later became the Association of Flight Attendants, and since 2004 has been part of the Communications Workers of America.

We must never forget!

Labor Quote

"The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor." —Thomas Donahue

Stay Informed

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora
Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856

Guest User 5/15/18 Guest User 5/15/18

April 2018 Business Agents' Report

LOA #29 Industry Reset – An Explanation

As we are now in the second year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, we’ve been receiving some questions about LOA #29, so we decided to put together a basic explanation for folks.
As many of you know, our members had to endure many years of total compensation that did not reflect the quality of work that was being performed on a daily basis or the status that should be associated with working for one of the largest carriers in the country. The combination of Industry and Company misfortunes conspired to make the term ‘Industry Leading Compensation’ a distant and positively unattainable objective. Fortunately, things are different now and our CBA, and LOA #29 in particular, assures that our members will remain at the top of the industry in total compensation for years to come and deservedly so.

LOA #29 Industry Reset – An Explanation
As we are now in the second year of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, we’ve been receiving some questions about LOA #29, so we decided to put together a basic explanation for folks.
As many of you know, our members had to endure many years of total compensation that did not reflect the quality of work that was being performed on a daily basis or the status that should be associated with working for one of the largest carriers in the country. The combination of Industry and Company misfortunes conspired to make the term ‘Industry Leading Compensation’ a distant and positively unattainable objective. Fortunately, things are different now and our CBA, and LOA #29 in particular, assures that our members will remain at the top of the industry in total compensation for years to come and deservedly so.

The basic premise of LOA #29 is very simple: At two years, four years and six years after Date of Ratification (December 5th, 2016), and every year beyond the amendable date thereafter, a measurement of ‘Annual Wages and Benefits’ will be taken of the top three industry carriers (United Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines). Those measurements will result in a total rate calculation for each carrier. The total rates for American and Delta will then be averaged. If the total rate for United is not at least 2% above that industry average, then wages at United will be increased so that the United total rate is equal to 2% above the industry average.

The Annual Wages and Benefits is the sum of Annual Employee Wages, Annual Employee Benefits, and Time-Off Adjustments. It is calculated for 10, 20, and 30 Years of Service weighted 20%, 60%, and 20%, respectively.

The Annual Employee Wages is the sum of basic wages, license premiums, line premium, longevity premiums, and HSA/HRA contributions at the measurement date. A profit sharing comparison is made based on a percentage of total wages, and the result is converted to a dollar amount which is added to the other factors to get the total Annual Employee Wages.

Annual Employee Benefits consist of retirement benefits and active medical plan cost share. Retirement benefits are calculated as a percentage of total wages and include Defined Contributions (401K Company contributions) and Defined Benefit (CARP). Active medical plan cost share is also calculated as a percentage of total wages. After the percentages are calculated, they are also converted to a dollar amount using total wages.

The Time-Off Adjustment is made using three factors: sick pay accrual, vacation accrual, and holidays (both fixed and floating). As with previous factors, the percentage is converted to a dollar amount for use in the comparison to the industry average consisting of American and Delta.

As mentioned previously, the ‘Annual Wages and Benefits’ is the sum of the ‘Annual Employee Wages, Annual Employee Benefits and Time-Off Adjustment calculated for 10, 20 and 30 Years of Service weighted 20% (10 YOS), 60% (20 YOS) and 20% (30 YOS).

The total rate used for comparison against the industry average is the Annual Wages and Benefits plus or minus the Scope Adjustment. The Scope Adjustment is simply the ratio of technicians per aircraft.

It should be noted here that all the factors used for the calculations are readily available through SEC filings and other public sources. When this language was being negotiated, the Company set out a huge list of factors that they wanted considered in this calculation, some of them very abstract. It was no small feat to get the factor list down to what we have now. And, although we will obviously use our actuaries when we are determining retirement related costs, the calculations will definitely be simpler as a result of those efforts.

Again, after all calculations are complete, the total rates for American and Delta will be averaged. If the total rate for United is not at least 2% above that industry average, then wages at United will be increased so that the United total rate is equal to 2% above the industry average. If there is to be a wage increase, it is contractually mandated to take effect the first pay period after each measurement date.

All eyes are on the industry right now. The probability of wage movement through the use of the industry reset at the two-year measurement will obviously increase based on short-term movement by American and Delta. But that is by no means guaranteed. We will continue to keep our eyes on the industry to see how things shake out. And, of course, we will strive to make sure you are informed throughout.

Labor History for the Month of April
April 29th, 1899 - Angry over low wages, the firing of any miner who held a union card, and the planting of company spies, miners seize a train, load it with 3,000 pounds of dynamite, and blow up a mill at the Bunker Hill mine in Wardner, Idaho. On May 3, the Governor declared martial law and 700 miners were arrested, hundreds kept imprisoned in a hastily constructed military prison for over a year.

April 29th, 1943 - The special representative to the National War Labor Board issues a report, “Retroactive Date for Women’s Pay Adjustments,” setting forth provisions respecting wage rates for women working in war industries who were asking for equal pay. A directive issued by the board in September 1942 stated that “rates for women shall be set in accordance with the principle of equal pay for comparable quantity and quality of work on comparable operations.”

April 28th, 1971 - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration — the main federal agency charged with the enforcement of workplace safety and health legislation — is formed. April 28 is designated as Workers’ Memorial Day, an international day of remembrance for those workers killed, injured, or made sick on the job.

We must never forget!

Workers Memorial Day Note from Safety Committee Chairman Ralph Ortiz
On April 28th each year, Labor observes Workers Memorial Day to remember those who have suffered and died on the job. Every worker death is a tragedy. Each brother or sister killed or injured on the job impacts their family in unimaginable ways. Unions and their members honor those brothers and sisters. Let this year be the year that all brothers and sisters return home safely each and every day to their families.

A special thanks to Brother Ralph for these thoughtful words.

Labor Quotes
Today in America, unions have a secure place in our industrial life. Only a handful of reactionaries harbor the ugly thought of breaking unions and depriving working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. I have no use for those -- regardless of their political party -- who hold some vain and foolish dream of spinning the clock back to days when organized labor was huddled, almost as a hapless mass. Only a fool would try to deprive working men and women of the right to join the union of their choice. —Dwight D. Eisenhower

Our labor unions are not narrow, self-seeking groups. They have raised wages, shortened hours, and provided supplemental benefits. Through collective bargaining and grievance procedures, they have brought justice and democracy to the shop floor. —John F. Kennedy

Great quotes from great men. We see all around us the repercussions of the demise in Unionism in this country, but nothing illustrates that more than the disparity in wealth between the one percenters and everyone else in this country and the resulting contraction of the middle class.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles Business Agent
Local 986

Javier Lectora Business Agent
Local 856

Guest User 4/13/18 Guest User 4/13/18

March 2018 Business Agents' Report

2018 FAA InfoShare

2018 FAA InfoShare

TSAP Event Review Committee Member Tracy MacCorkell and SFO Line/Flight Safety Representative Paul Dodge, who also serves as Tracy’s Alternate on the ERC, attended the 2018 FAA InfoShare in Baltimore, Maryland, from March 20th thru the 23rd. Over one thousand people from all the major airlines, as well as the FAA and MRO's, attended the 3-day event. Pilot, Dispatch, and Tech Ops safety-related issues were discussed, and participants also heard presentations from the FAA and various airlines. In addition to our SFO contingent, the Teamsters also had members from DEN, ORD, and IAH at the event along with Airline Division representatives. Tracy MacCorkell and Paul Dodge also participated in the UAL TSAP Event Review Committee (ERC) presentation to the group which focused on how the ERC promotes our TSAP program at United Airlines. The presentation was well received, and many question were asked afterwards. Our thanks go out to Tracy and Paul for representing our members at SFO with honor and professionalism.

Pictured are participants representing the IBT from the Airline Division and around the system including Tracy MacCorkell (Bottom, 2nd from left) and Paul Dodge (Top left)

2018 Women in Aviation Conference

The 2018 Women in Aviation Conference was held in Reno, Nevada from March 21st thru March 24th. The event was held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and featured education sessions, lectures and exhibits from across the industry spectrum. The focus was on celebrating the accomplishments of the many women in Aviation and fostering encouragement and support to young women interested in aviation-related careers. United’s contingent included technicians, maintenance planning analysts, pilots, flight attendants, management, storekeepers, customer service reps and other work groups. We would like to send out a special appreciation to our SFO members who participated in the event. We recognize what a vital part you play in the success of our group! Thank you for representing us here at SFO with honor and distinction.

Pictured are some the participants from SFO: Jet Shop Chief Steward Deborah Ward-Crummey - Technician, Dorothy McClain - SFOWR Metal Spray/Flame Spray, Rhonda Bustillos-Rivera SFOWR Welder, Sharon Dimatteo - SFOJJ Stores, Candice King SFOWR Welder a… — Pictured are some the participants from SFO: Jet Shop Chief Steward Deborah Ward-Crummey - Technician, Dorothy McClain - SFOWR Metal Spray/Flame Spray, Rhonda Bustillos-Rivera SFOWR Welder, Sharon Dimatteo - SFOJJ Stores, Candice King SFOWR Welder and Andrea Coleman Maintenance Planning Analyst - MPA . Also shown are two High School students learning about Careers in Aviation, Arelly Benavidez (15) Galt High School - Sophmore and Lillian Crummey - (15) Vision in Education/Delta College - Sophmore

Also attending from our group, but not pictured were Machinist Loretta Percell and Technician Audrey Wright.

Again, thank you all!

Stay Informed

The communication process is an extremely important part of what we do to represent our folks here at SFO and as we have been outlining for quite some time, we have been blasting out the Business Agents Report along with any other communications we get from the Airline Division or the International to anyone who registers at TeamstersSFO.com. We feel that it is essential for all of our members to be engaged and informed at all times. Therefore, we encourage all of you to spread the word to your fellow technicians to go to the TeamstersSFO.com and click on the ‘email signup’ tab to get on the list.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity,

Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora
Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856

Guest User 3/8/18 Guest User 3/8/18

February 2018 Business Agents' Report

Teamsters License Protection Program

As aviation maintenance professionals, we all take safety very seriously. Unfortunately, there are times when, due to circumstances we sometimes cannot control, we might find ourselves in a position where we are accused of or have actually violated FAR’s. The Teamster License Protection Program is open to both licensed and unlicensed technicians at no cost to the employee and offers legal counsel for FAR violations.

Teamsters License Protection Program

A Letter of Investigation (LOI) is issued by the FAA in those cases where the FAA believes a technician may have violated one or more FAR’s. An LOI can be issued in cases where there has not yet been self-disclosure using a TSAP (TechOps Safety Awareness Program) report or where a TSAP report was rejected by the TSAP Event Review Committee (ERC). If a technician receives an LOI from the FAA, he or she should immediately contact the Business Agents. The Business Agents will then discuss the circumstances surrounding the LOI with the technician, contact the program administrator, then make a decision about contacting outside legal counsel to assist. If the case is to be referred to an attorney, the technician will need to draft a response, explanation, or justification for the work that the FAA is investigating which will be used by the attorney as a basis to answer the LOI.

The attorney may have questions or need additional information that may be requested by phone or email. A letter will be sent from the attorney to the technician explaining the arrangement of legal representation through the Union.

The attorney will then help the technician craft their response to the FAA to make sure the situation is clearly explained. In many cases, the LOI response ends the investigation. However, should the FAA decide to continue to an informal conference, the technician, Business Agents and the program administrator will discuss the next steps with the attorney.

If the decision is made by the program administrator to proceed to the informal conference step with the FAA, the attorney will help prepare the technician for the meeting and will be present in person or via conference call for the meeting.

If the matter cannot be resolved at the informal conference and the FAA proceeds with a certificate action before the NTSB, the technician, the program administrator, and the attorney will decide the best course of action. Should the parties decide to go in front of the administrative law judge for a hearing, the attorney will represent the technician at the proceedings.

Of course, we hope you never find yourselves on the receiving end of an LOI. But if you do, we will do our best to make sure your rights are protected throughout the process.

Teamsters Joint Council 7 Day at the Ballpark

The annual Teamsters JC7 Day at the Oakland Coliseum will occur on July 21st, between the Oakland A’s and the San Francisco Giants. If you do not yet have tickets and are interested in attending, please contact your Chief Steward as soon as possible because they are selling out fast. Tickets are $35 and they include access to the Teamsters Joint Council 7 pre-game party and barbeque.

We will also be raffle off a pair of tickets at the June 21st Craft meeting at Local 856 with proceeds going to the TeamstersSFO Solidarity fund. The price for the raffle tickets is $10 or 3 tickets for $20. See your Shop Steward or Chief Steward for raffle tickets. We hope to see you there!

Pre-Retirement Seminar at the MOC

Thanks to all of you who attended the annual Pre-Retirement Seminar held at the MOC on Saturday, February 17th. Members received a wealth information from Member Assistance Representatives Steve Loone and Steve Crummey and listened to presentations from Kaiser Permanente and Fidelity Investments personnel. We received a ton of positive feedback from members who attended, and we look forward to keeping this going as an annual event. Thanks to all of our volunteers for their help making sure things went smoothly and special thanks to Steve Loone and Steve Crummey for putting it all together!

Did You Know: Girl Scouts Gift of Caring Program

The Girl Scouts Gift of Caring Program is a great way to support military personnel and Girl Scouts at the same time!

During the cookie program, customers can donate money directly to Girl Scouts, which will then be used to purchase cookies that are sent to organizations that bring comfort to the women and men serving in the armed forces. There are several ways to donate but we recommend talking to your local Girl Scout cookie salesperson and asking how you can help support our troops deployed overseas. For those of you who want to make larger donations, visit your local Girl Scout Troop’s website and look for the Gift of Caring Program information. Thanks again to Technician Lou Kostura for the info!

Labor History for the Month of February

February 19th, 1910 - The Philadelphia Rapid Transit trolley company fires 173 workers – all members of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees of America – and replaces them with scabs from New York City. Street battles, demonstrations, and a general strike ensued in the city that lasted for 57 days.

February 7th, 2008 - A huge explosion and fire at the Imperial Sugar refinery northwest of Savannah, Georgia, kills 14 and injures 38 people. The explosion was fueled by massive accumulations of combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building. An investigation by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board stated that the explosion had been “entirely preventable,” noting the sugar industry had been aware of the risk of dust explosions since 1926.

We must never forget!

This Month’s Labor Quotes

Strong, responsible unions are essential to industrial fair play. Without them the labor bargain is wholly one-sided. The parties to the labor contract must be nearly equal in strength if justice is to be worked out, and this means that the workers must be organized and that their organizations must be recognized by employers as a condition precedent to industrial peace. - Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis

Stay Informed

The communication process is an extremely important part of what we do to represent our folks here at SFO, as we have outlined for quite some time. We have been blasting out the BA Report along with any other communication we get from the Airline Division or the International to anyone who registers at the TeamstersSFO website. We feel it is essential for all of our members to be engaged and informed at all times. Therefore, we encourage all of you to spread the word to your fellow technicians to go to the TeamstersSFO website and click on the ‘email signup’ tab to get on the list.

Additionally, the Chief Stewards hold weekly meetings with the Shop Stewards to pass on any important informational items that may come up during the month. It is crucial to our process that every work area on every shift have Shop Steward representation and that the Shop Steward give, at a minimum, weekly briefings to his/her crew so all the information gets to our members and that our members have the opportunity to ask questions.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity

Mark DesAngles Javier Lectora
Business Agent Business Agent
Local 986 Local 856

Guest User 2/1/18 Guest User 2/1/18

January 2018 Business Agents' Report

Happy New Year

We hope that all of you had a fabulous Holiday Season!

Although 2017 posed many challenges, we are proud of what we were able to accomplish and that our members now enjoy the best contract in the industry.

Happy New Year
We hope that all of you had a fabulous Holiday Season!

Although 2017 posed many challenges, we are proud of what we were able to accomplish and that our members now enjoy the best contract in the industry.

As is normally the case, during the transition to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, there have been some implementation issues and also some areas where we disagree with the Company in terms of contract interpretation. We have been working to get those issues resolved and we will actively pursue the grievance process right on up to Arbitration in all areas where we believe that the Company is misinterpreting the CBA. In fact, in January we completed five System Board of Adjustment hearings for contract cases and are fully prepared to take those to Arbitration if we have to. Additionally, we are in constant dialogue with the Company in an effort to find resolution whenever possible on any outstanding issues or grievances. Eventually, we will get these issues resolved one way or another.

We would like to now point to the many gains that we have attained over the last decade. Think back to how it was back then. We all lived it together. No pension. Bottom of industry in wages. Four OT shifts max for a month. Not even an inkling of what a Trade Day consisted of nor what a HRA account was. No ability to bid to another crew or another shift even though you had the seniority because you had to wait for some magic opening to occur. Layoff after layoff. We remember very clearly the despair we all felt back then. It was like being stuck in quicksand.

But we have turned the corner. And we are thankful for where we are now and also gratified for the work your Grievance Committee, Safety Committee, Member Assistance, and TSAP representatives do every day on your behalf. Of course, there are those that like to sit in the corner and throw darts at the Union or, more specifically, throw darts at those of us that have dedicated our lives to fighting for the membership. All while they contribute nothing except bitterness, hypocrisy, and worse, outright lies. As we are both individuals who believe in Unions and who have both continuously served as a Shop Stewards through three Unions, we see this bunch as the worst and most cynical to ever to come along. They have willingly partnered with known Union Busters to advance their agenda and they have happily recruited dues objectors and other union-haters to their cause. Then, they want to assert that they are the keepers of true Unionism and that only they will fight on your behalf to get you that elusive perfect contract that you have always wanted if you would only put your trust in them. Despite their assertions, the Union does not write a Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is negotiated and, as such, there will never be any such thing as a perfect contract. But, that being said, there is no doubt as to what we have been able to attain. There is simply no better contract in the industry. Top of the industry in wages with a pension, an HRA, Day Trades, 20+ shifts of OT eligibility, to name just a few. Whether you want more time off or more opportunity to work overtime, you are covered. Like the saying goes, “the proof is in the pudding.” It is our understanding that the process of distributing the new contract books to the membership has begun. We hope that each of you will take the time to read your contract very carefully. Then take a moment to reflect on how things used to be.

New Craft Meeting Hours
As you may have seen posted, we have changed the hours at our monthly Craft Meetings to the following:

Midnight Shift Meeting – 0700
Swing Shift Meeting – 1130
Day Shift Meeting – 1500

This change will allow us to focus more on floor visits on all three shifts throughout Craft Day so that we can answer questions, address concerns, and also just say ‘hello’. Going forward, a group consisting of the Business Agents, Coordinator, Area Chief Steward, Area Safety Rep, Member Assistance Representative, and TSAP ERC member will be visiting each of the four primary work locations (Line, Backshops, Airframe, and Jet Shop) on a rotating basis. In January the group visited various crews out on the Line on all three shifts and had an opportunity to speak to many folks. Thanks to all for your feedback.

SFOTeamsters.com Transition is Complete
We have completed the transition to the new website. Please visit SFOTeamsters.com and take a look around. You will find information regarding your local committee personnel, communication updates and a variety of important member resources and forms.

BAQ 113 – Calibration Technician Matrix
We have still been receiving questions about ‘grandfathering’ rights regarding several BAQ’s for technicians on the Seniority list prior to 2011 ratification of the stand-alone agreement. In order to clarify the issue, we are going to explain the qualification process for the two most questioned BAQ’s. The first is BAQ 113 – Calibration Technician. Because it had been an established practice that a Trade test would be administered to qualify for this BAQ, the following matrix was discussed and implemented with respect to ‘grandfathering’ requests submitted through the eBids website for BAQ 113:

1)    The Technician has previous documented work experience in Bid Area 113; the BAQ request is approved with no further action required or,
2)    The Technician has previously documented work experience in Bid Area 116 – Tooling Repair Technician prior to June 1, 2017 (SFO - prior to 116/113 split); the BAQ request is approved with no further action required or,
3)    The Technician has previously documented experience in Bid Area 123 - Avionics Shop Technician; the BAQ request is improved with no further action required or,
4)    The Technician has previously documented work history as a Mechanic - Radio Shop with the associated job code 6030 – 24; the BAQ request is approved with no further action required or,
5)    When the Technician does not meet any of the requirements noted above for the 113 BAQ, ‘request a trade test’ function will be administered to determine qualifications

We hope that this information will help clear up any questions regarding BAQ 113 ‘grandfathering’.

BAQ 117 – Electric Harness Shop Technician
The other BAQ that we would like to address is BAQ 117 – Electric Harness Shop Technician. Again, because of a prior established trade test practice, an appropriate matrix was developed to address ‘grandfathering’ practices for technicians on the Seniority List prior to 2011. It is as follows:

1)    The Technician has previous documented work experience as a Bid Area 117 – Electric Harness Shop Technician; the BAQ request is approved with no further action required or,
2)    The Technician has previous documented work experience in the former SFOEC electrical shop; the BAQ request is approved with no further action required or,
3)    The Technician has previously documented work history has a Bid Area 104 - Avionics Technician (Airframe or Line Maintenance); the request is approved with no further action required or,
4)    The technician has previous documented work history as a Bid Area 123 - Avionics Shop Technician; the BAQ request is improved with no further action required or,
5)    When the Technician does not meet any of the requirements noted above for the BAQ 117, ‘request a trade test’ function would be administered to determine qualifications.

We want you to know again that the matrices above pertain to ‘grandfathering’ rights afforded to technicians who were on the Seniority List prior to 2011 ratification of the previous stand-alone agreement only. All Bid Area Qualifications outside of this ‘grandfathering’ will be administered according to Article 3 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Stay Informed
The communication process is an extremely important part of what we do to represent our folks here at SFO and, as we have been outlining for quite some time, we have been blasting out the BA Report along with any other communication we get from the Airline Division or the International to anyone who registers at SFOTeamsters.com. Additionally, there are weekly meetings held with the Shop Stewards to pass on any important informational items that may come up during the month. It is crucial to our process that every area on every shift have Shop Steward representation and that the Shop Steward give, at a minimum, weekly briefings to his/her crew so that all the information gets to our members. We feel that it is essential for all of our members to be engaged and informed at all times. Therefore, we encourage all of you to spread the word to your fellow technicians to go to SFOTeamsters.com and click on the ‘email signup’ tab to get on the list. And, most importantly, we urge you to also consider getting more involved. Every month, on the last Thursday, we hold Craft Meetings at Local 856. At these meetings, the membership hears reports from the Business Agents and other members of the SFO Committee on Grievances, Safety, Member Assistance, and TSAP. Additionally, all members have an opportunity to ask questions and to bring up topics for discussion. Check your IBT Bulletin Board for dates and times and make it a point to stop by.

As always, stay informed!

In Solidarity,

Javier Lectora
Business Agent
Local 856

Mark DesAngles
Business Agent
Local 986