October 18, 2017 -- AMFA leaders and the Virgin America Committee met in Seattle, WA to commence discussions on seniority integration of the Alaska Airlines (ASA) and Virgin America workgroups. This meeting started with introductions. Lonny McGrew of the Virgin Committee gave a statement on behalf of their committee expressing how grateful they were to have had the opportunity to work for a company with such great culture and a career that was bright, and he concluded with being unsure of the security of their career at ASA. Our Committee gave them an overview of AMFA and its structure. We then discussed what Alaska Labor Relations and Virgin are telling each other to expect through this process.
Read More...
|
|
October 18, 2017 -- In accordance with the terms outlined in Article 23, Wage Rules, AMFA and Alaska Airlines met to discuss the first Annual Wage Review of our current Agreement in Seattle, WA. Both sides reviewed all data used for the review, and we found that the data was incomplete when it came to some contracts Line Premium and longevity. We explained that this data is needed to do a proper review; the Company will inquire to get that data as soon as possible. We then conducted the external review with the data we did have, using the all-in wage compared to our primary competitors in accordance with the Agreement.
Read More...
|
|
October 17, 2017 -- The AMFA – Southwest Airlines Negotiating Committee has requested a system-wide referendum of the Facilities Maintenance Technician classification regarding a Tentative Agreement (TA). The complete text of the TA was emailed to each member’s company email address on October 9, 2017.
Read More...
|
|
October 10, 2017 -- Votes for the Primary AMFA – Southwest Airlines (SWA) Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) Event Review Committee (ERC) Representative Election were tallied October 10, 2017. TrueBallot Inc. conducted the vote and tally by use of the TeleVote® and WebVote® systems, and the results of the election are as follows...
Read More...
|
|
September 30, 2017 -- Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have affected several members of Local 18 and their families in southeastern Texas and Florida. A GoFundMe page has been established to help ease the burden while they recover from the catastrophic damage: https://www.gofundme.com/amfa-18-hurricane-benefit. Thank you to all who have already contributed. If you have not already done so, please consider contributing what you can. Every penny counts.
Read More...
|
|
|
|
September 20, 2017 -- On August 17, 2017, AMFA and Southwest Airlines finished the last scheduled negotiation session for the foreseeable future. The AMFA Negotiating Committee has made the decision to go out and explain where we are in the process, what issues remain open, and to answer questions from the membership.
Read More...
|
|
September 19, 2017 -- On July 13, 2017, Southwest terminated an Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) for deviating from “all required procedures included in MT 735-00-01. The letter of termination indicates that the Company relied on surveillance tape to determine that the AMT may have allowed a second mechanic to sign for work that the AMT had performed: “security video evidences that a second AMT did not enter the area of the flight crew oxygen cylinder and therefore, required processes and/or procedures of MT 735-00-01 were not completed.”
Read More...
|
|
September 18, 2017 -- Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 26, 2017, ravaging southeastern Texas. Soon after, on September 10, 2017, Hurricane Irma tore through Florida. Thousands of Americans have been displaced from their homes due to the catastrophic damage caused by these two storms, including many of our brothers and sisters from AMFA Local 18.
While airports in Houston and greater Florida have reported to be functioning at full speed, many of our AMFA brothers and sisters are still taking time off from work, tirelessly struggling to rebuild their homes damaged by the wind and flood waters. In an effort to help ease the burden of our members affected by this devastation, an AMFA 18 Hurricane Benefit GoFundMe page has been established. Please click the following link to support our fellow members. Every penny counts: https://www.gofundme.com/amfa-18-hurricane-benefit
Read More...
|
|
September 14, 2017 -- As the Aircraft Engineers International (AEI) prepares for their 45th Annual Congress in November 2017, I would take this opportunity to update the AMFA membership on AEI’s activities over the past several months. As you may know AMFA has been an active affiliate of AEI for more than ten (10) years.
Read More...
|
|
September 13, 2017 -- We met with the Company in Dallas, TX on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. During this one-day session we again reached an Agreement in Principle (AIP) for the initial Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) for your workgroup. This AIP includes changes to the tentative agreement (TA) voted down by the membership in December 2016.
Read More...
|
|
|
|
September 5, 2017 -- Due to the recent resignation of the Primary AMFA–Southwest Airlines Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) Event Review Committee (ERC) Representative, AMFA National has begun the process of filling the vacated position in accordance with AMFA National Policy.
Read More...
|
|
August 18, 2017 -- The parties met in Dallas, TX for a scheduled two and one-half day session beginning Wednesday, August 16, 2017. The goal of this session was to make an attempt to bridge the gap between the parties’ most recent positions. As a reminder, the Company’s response to our counter-proposal in July was to remain with the economic position that it passed over a year ago in August 2016. The parties engaged in an open discussion and entertained mediator supposals, but were unable to make significant progress toward reaching an agreement that adequately rewards you for your hard work and time devoted to this Company. In addition, the Company remains entrenched in its position that is must secure significant changes to your Article 2: Scope provision as part of any deal.
Read More...
|
|
|
|
|
|
February 16, 2017 -- Yesterday Southwest Airlines filed a lawsuit against AMFA National, AMFA Local 11, and several individual AMFA officers and contract negotiators. The lawsuit alleges that AMFA-represented mechanics initiated an overtime boycott and that AMFA and the other defendants failed to make “every reasonable effort” to prevent the boycott and/or bring it to an end. As a remedy, SWA is seeking wide-ranging injunctive relief that would implement judicial oversight of how you perform your maintenance work.
Read More...
|
|
February 11, 2017 -- As you know, AMFA is currently engaged in collective bargaining with Southwest Airlines pursuant to the Railway Labor Act (RLA). The RLA mandates that the parties are required to refrain from “self help” until released by the National Mediation Board (“NMB”) from mediation and a thirty-day cooling off period has expired. This means that during the negotiating process Southwest is prohibited from initiating a lockout or unilaterally changing the terms of our collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Southwest is also prohibited from implementing a divide and conquer strategy based on direct negotiations with our members. Based on our determination that Southwest has violated its legal obligation in this regard, we have commenced litigation against the carrier in federal court.
Read More...
|
|
Read More...
2017 SWA Roadshow Schedule Flyer.pdf