SMART Transportation Division Local 1715 and Transit Management of Charlotte, Inc., agreed to a contract extension Oct. 14 that will expire Nov. 11, 2013, at midnight, according to Local Chairperson Kevin Moss.
Local 1715 represents bus operators for the Charlotte Area Transit System.
A previous contract extension was set to expire at midnight Oct. 15, the same day the union and CATS management had scheduled a contract negotiations meeting. However, that meeting was canceled because a federal mediator who was scheduled to participate in the meeting was unable to attend due to the federal government shutdown.
The company and the union agreed to have the mediator present at the meeting as this round of negotiations have reached an impasse, Moss said.
“Due to the government shutdown, the union and the company will enter a new extension. A contract extension is necessary for the union and the company until we are able to reschedule our next round of negotiations with a mediator. I am very hopeful that the federal government will resolve the issues that have led to this shutdown. We thank all of the members of Local 1715 for their patience,” Moss said.
Amanda York was looking for job security after graduating. She’s one of a few dozen apprentices with the Sheet Metal 67 Union in east Austin. “Here we’re practicing our three pass weld,” said York. Amanda wants to be a welder. And she’s getting the opportunity to learn her trade for free. “Well you can think of the apprenticeship as a scholarship,” said Michael Kramm, Training Coordinator Sheet Metal 67. How it works is anyone who is a high school graduate and 18 years old – can learn the sheet metal industry for free and get paid while working as an apprentice. Click here for more
Interview with Eugene Frazier, Sheet Metal JATC coordinator in Dayton, OH, who talks about how students are pursuing high paying careers via a sheet metal apprenticeship.
Cleveland is experiencing a building boom and bringing with it, some good paying jobs. WOIO Action News has found one woman who is proving she can do the work too. She is taking advantage of a free apprenticeship program offered by Sheet Metal Workers Local 33. “I think the hardest part is the sizes and weights of the material that you work with because as a woman you’re not as strong as a man so sometimes it can be a bit challenging to try and lift something up and carry it up a ladder and try and install it over your head,” said Fatima Ware. Fatima is three years into the five year program and what’s her motivation? “To be better, to try to be better than the men. . .” Click here for more coverage from WOIO Action News in Cleveland.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak carried a record 31.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2013, delivering nationwide benefits, providing vital transportation services, advancing America’s economy and demonstrating the value and convenience of the national passenger rail network. It is the tenth ridership record in 11 years.
“Amtrak moves people, the economy and the nation forward everywhere the trains go,” said President and CEO Joe Boardman.
“In towns all across America, Amtrak brings economic opportunities for people, businesses and communities to grow and prosper,” stated Tony Coscia, chairman of the Amtrak board of directors.
During FY 2013, Amtrak’s state-supported corridor services grew to a new record of 15.4 million passengers. In addition, all long distance routes combined had the best ridership in 20 years with 4.8 million passengers. Ridership for all Northeast Corridor services reached 11.4 million passengers, the second best year ever. As evidence of a strong ridership rebound following Super Storm Sandy, the Northeast Regional service set a new record.
Also, FY 2013 produced eight individual monthly ridership records, the single best month in Amtrak history and new records on 20 routes. In addition, ticket revenue increased to a record $2.1 billion.
State-supported services are vital links in the Amtrak national network. The power of increasing demand for passenger rail is recognized through state investments to improve service, speed and safety. In addition, states and communities realize stations served by Amtrak are anchors for economic development, catalysts for historic preservation and tourism growth, sites for commercial and cultural uses, and points of civic pride.
Amtrak itself is an economic engine that returns nearly three dollars to local communities for every one dollar of federal investment (FY 2010-FY 2012). This support has allowed Amtrak to place more than $12.6 billion back into the economy through the purchasing of goods and services and employee salaries to maintain, operate and improve its national network.
“This year’s record ridership was achieved station by station in the more than 500 communities across America that Amtrak serves,” said Boardman.
MONTREAL – A former colleague of the train conductor involved in the Lac-Megantic, Que., derailment has set up a legal defence fund for the man. Randy MacDonald, 55, said he “wanted to help out” Tom Harding, the man at the centre of the explosions that killed 47 people in early July. Read the complete story at the Sault Star.
Sheet Metal Training Centers are opening to the public this coming Monday October 14th to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART). The event will showcase the cutting edge training, skills, and knowledge that have kept the unionized sheet metal industry at the forefront of the building and construction trades for more than a century. At local JATCs, the public will be able to tour the facility, speak one on one with instructors and learn about the unionized sheet metal industry, our accredited training programs and rewarding career opportunities for graduates. Union representatives will also be available to discuss new affiliations with local employers, colleges, and trade schools. Featured events will be held at these locations. Please contact Paul Pimentel at ppimentel@smart-union.org or 202 662-0812 for more information.
Bonnie Morr, Vice President for Bus Operations, SMART Transportation Division, has been appointed to the General Executive Council of SMART to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Malcolm “Mike” Futhey. She has the distinction of being the first woman to serve on the Council. Joe Nigro, SMART’s General President, said, “This appointment brings a needed voice to our deliberations and plans for attracting more women to this union in all of our operations.” Born in the Bronx, NY, of immigrant parents, Morr comes from a family of union workers. “My father was a union painter and my mother and aunts worked in sweatshops as young children from 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. every day. My mother and my aunts helped start the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union. In the 20s and 30s, unions were different and people had to lay their lives on the line just to get a basic worker right, like being able to use a restroom,” Morr said. Morr completed three years at Hunter College, with a major in sociology. After leaving school, she began working for Air Canada Airlines in ticketing and ground support. After settling in Santa Cruz, CA, she returned to school at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Morr started driving buses in 1982 for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. In 1989, she moved on to the Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit District, where she is still employed. In 1990, she and 60 other operators were furloughed due to the economic downturn. Having the longest seniority, she returned to work 10 months later. It took four years to get the others back to work and it was this instance that began her interest in unions and how they worked. Morr became interested in the affairs of UTU Local 23 in Santa Cruz. “I swore that no one would be treated the way I and my co-workers were being treated during that furlough time,” she said. Morr used her furlough time as a volunteer for Rainforest Futures, a nonprofit, grassroots organization started by Santa Cruz residents. She helped organize a group of indigenous people from Brazil to come to the United States to speak at the United Nations. She assisted with their struggle to halt the damage to the rainforests and its inhabitants. Morr was elected legislative representative of Local 23 in 1995 and general chairperson in 2000. She was elected alternate vice president-bus by delegates at the UTU convention in 2007 and elected vice president by delegates at the UTU convention in 2011. She has continued to pursue coursework from the National Transportation Institute and labor classes at the University of California Berkley. She has also completed training at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service as both a mediator and an arbitrator. She has been involved in transportation task forces to improve public transportation and has worked to pass federal legislation on transportation-safety issues. She continues to lobby for both state and federal funding and legislation for transit. She has served as vice president of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council. Morr has been married to her husband Loren for 36 and they have a son, a daughter and three grandchildren. The family resides in Santa Cruz.
Lawrence J. Cassidy February 10, 1931 – October 6, 2013
Lawrence “Larry” Cassidy, Retired General Secretary-Treasurer of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association and a third generation Sheet Metal Worker, died at his home at The Villages in Florida on October 6, 2013. His career spanned some 37 years as an active member, retiring in October 1994. He was initiated into Local 12, Pittsburgh, PA in 1957 after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. He served on the local’s executive board; was Recording Secretary and President; and elected as Business Agent over the period, 1961-1973. He served as Executive Assistant to the International’s General President from 1974 until his appointment as General Secretary-Treasurer in 1989. Brother Cassidy was well known throughout the labor movement, on Capitol Hill, and in the construction industry. He was one of the initial trustees on the sheet metal and air conditioning industry’s National Training Fund, now the International Training Institute). He was a leading supporter of DAD’s Day, raising funds for the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami, FL. He played a key role in overseeing the International’s year-long Centennial Celebration in 1988. Larry Cassidy was pre-deceased by his wife, Millie, and their son, Kenneth, and is survived by daughters Lynn and Kathleen (Executive Secretary to the current General Secretary-Treasurer of the Union) and son, Kevin, a journeyman Sheet Metal Worker in Local 100, Suitland, MD. His family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association Scholarship Foundation, 1750 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20006.
If you already read the Aug. 15 article titled “Great Lakes Faces Shortage of Pilots” that was written by James Chilton and published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, you may be interested in a broader view of the story.
In response to Great Lakes’ far-flung exertions across the western United States to garner public support through articles of small town newspapers of the communities to which Great Lakes flies, there may be a few things those articles neglected to tell you.
While it is true that the Federal Aviation Administration recently published the final rule increasing the qualification requirements for first officers from 250 to 1,500 flight hours (among other things), it was hardly the unexpected. You may have seen on the news that the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 included several new rulemakings to ensure the highest level of safety possible for the flying public. That’s right – the Act was created in 2010.
These regulations were quickly imposed following the tragic crash in February 2009 of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y., in which 50 lives were lost. Back in 2010, other airlines (and most significantly, other regional airlines) immediately began planning for this law and implementing new programs to ensure their compliance with the congressional mandate once it went into effect on Aug. 1, 2013. Great Lakes, however, did not.
Any pilot shortage that Great Lakes is now experiencing is completely self-imposed. In 2012, the company had hired 74 new flight crew members, while during the same time period, 43 members left. This was a net increase of 31 people. In contrast, by this time in 2013, the company has hired 15 new flight crew members, furloughed 25, and 78 members took employment elsewhere. This was a net loss of 88 people. Instead of taking proactive measures immediately following the new law being passed, Great Lakes chose to ignore reality until it was too late.
The company had options to offset the attrition rates and still does. They could pay competitive wages to attract pilots who are just beginning their careers. They could retain pilots by agreeing to the proposed collective bargaining agreement changes that would provide for pay increases, decent benefits and an improved quality of life, thereby enticing qualified individuals to stay.
Instead, in April 2013, Great Lakes Airlines attempted a last minute change in their operations hoping to sidestep the new qualification requirements for pilots by petitioning the FAA for what is known in the industry as a “split certificate.” This would allow the airline to, in effect, run two separate airline operations under the same company name. One operation would fall under the Part 121 certificate, which the airline currently has, and the other would fall under the new Part 135 certificate. Part 121 is what the public generally thinks of when they think of flying – scheduled revenue flights with predetermined departure and arrival times. Part 135 flights are generally considered “on-demand” or charter flights.
The FAA granted the split certificate in June, requiring the airline to physically remove 10 passenger seats from each 19-seat Beechcraft 1900D to comply with Part 135 requirements, thereby reducing the number of available seats on Part 135 routes.
But flights operated under Part 135 are not held to the same federal regulations and safety standards as flights operated under Part 121. This means that the airline would be able to dodge the new law and continue to hire pilots with less than 1,500 hours of flight time, since Part 135 operations are not required to comply with the new ruling.
The new law did not “force the airline to drop 30 pilots” as the company stated. The company simply chose to drop those pilots, some of whom had been flying for the company for over a year, because they were no longer qualified under the new regulations. Should those pilots have been required to get their 1,500 hours at their own expense to continue flying for Great Lakes? Of course not, but the airline required them to do just that. This approach by Great Lakes Airlines was not only unfair to the pilots, but also to the flying public whose service is now being disrupted, while the EAS tax dollars continue to flow into the airline’s pocket .
Prior to Aug. 1, 2013, the SMART Transportation Division had been researching possible solutions to the quickly approaching deadline in an effort to save the jobs of approximately 40 pilots – a full 15 percent of our membership. For months, SMART had encouraged the company to explicitly make the contractual scheduling rules more flexible to allow the lower-time pilots to optimize their opportunity for flight hours. The company has hindered those efforts. Individual pilots networked with ATP Flight Schools, who bent over backwards to offer the airline incredible deals that would have saved the company time and money.
The SMART Transportation Division approached Congress and the FAA to request a short extension “grandfather clause” to allow the affected pilots the ability to continue flying under the old regulations in order to achieve the required hours. Congress indicated that they would have agreed, pending a forthcoming collaborative letter from the airline. The company refused to write the letter.
So, where does this leave you? Pure and simple, Great Lakes’ pilots need your help. Contact your mayor and town council. Your airport manager, your congressional representative, your senator. Your local newspaper, your local television station, your favorite blogger. Your best friend’s cousin who knows a “guy.” Give them the link to this ruling.
Tell them that you don’t think it’s right that Great Lakes Airlines uses loopholes to avoid legislation. Tell them that you don’t think it’s right that the pilots at Great Lakes Airlines are working for less than minimum wage. Tell them that you don’t think it’s right that Great Lakes Airlines substitutes the Part 121 service that they agreed to provide to your EAS community with a Part 135 service because YOU, the flying public, will have fewer seats available, a less-experienced flight crew, and less frequent service while the Airline will continue to receive EAS taxpayer funding.
Tell them that you don’t think it’s right that the pilots at Great Lakes Airlines are required to work more grueling schedules, under more difficult conditions, with less sophisticated equipment, into more challenging environments, while working for lower wages and under rest rules that provide for less sleep than pilots at any other airline in the country.
Tell them that you don’t think it’s right that Great Lakes Airlines profits off the backs of hundreds of hardworking employees, just like you, who do the right thing and come to work every day, just to make sure that your family gets home safely.
SMART Transportation Division Local 1715 and Transit Management of Charlotte, Inc., agreed to a contract extension Oct. 14 that will expire Nov. 11, 2013, at midnight, according to Local Chairperson Kevin Moss.
WASHINGTON – Amtrak carried a record 31.6 million passengers in fiscal year 2013, delivering nationwide benefits, providing vital transportation services, advancing America’s economy and demonstrating the value and convenience of the national passenger rail network. It is the tenth ridership record in 11 years.
If you already read the Aug. 15 article titled “