To: AMFA Locals and Members
Re: National Director’s Monthly Update for January 2016
Date: January 29, 2016
Dear Members:
The first week of the month we continued our mediated contract negotiations for the Southwest
Airlines (SWA) Aircraft Maintenance Technician’s contract in Washington, D.C. We successfully
Tentatively Agreed (TA) on two articles: Article 21: Grievance Procedures and Article 22:
Arbitration. It was good to see progress finally being made, and we have two sessions scheduled for
the month of February in Dallas, Texas. The Committee’s full update has been posted on the AMFA
National website.
The second week of January, the Rules Committee met to review and organize Constitutional
amendment proposals submitted by the Locals for the upcoming National Convention. They anticipate
that the proposals will be ready to present to the Convention Delegates well before the deadline. I
have arranged for a Delegate training class to be conducted on March 8, 2016, near the National
Office.
At Alaska Airlines our negotiations are underway, and we met with the Company January 19-21in
Seattle, Washington. We established protocols for our observers and continued with a joint
prioritization of issues to be addressed first. We also scheduled meeting dates through May 2016 and
set tentative locations of Seattle, Anchorage, Portland, and Phoenix; please be sure to check with your
local representative for observer opportunities. The Negotiations Update has been posted to the
AMFA National website.
On January 21, 2016, the Assistant National Director, National Secretary/Treasurer, Local 4
President, and Local 4 President Elect attended the SWA Labor Summit. Many topics were discussed
including the recent TAs turned down by the pilots and flight attendants, as well as the current TA
sent out to Ramp/Ops/Provo/Cargo for a vote. Also, and unfortunately, it is apparent that AMFA is
not alone in the fight against the Company using arbitration as a tactic to re-negotiate contract
language. In addition, another concerning piece of information was the Company’s recent attempts
at firing employees due to “ethics” violations. Please be aware that they are using this tactic and
reach out to your Local Professional Standards contact before a situation with another employee
escalates.
For more carrier-specific updates and further information regarding AMFA and the airline industry,
please visit the AMFA National Website at www.AMFANational.org and download the AMFA App to
your smartphone or tablet. Our most determined efforts will only succeed with your continued support
and participation – please stay informed.
Sincerely,
Louie Key
National Director
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