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Tuesday, April 6, 2004  The U.S. Senate could vote as early as Wednesday, April 7 on a bill that is critical to the stability of airline pension plans. Act Now to Save Airline Pensions The U.S. Senate could vote as early as Wednesday, April 7 on a bill that is critical to the stability of airline pension plans. After passing in the House by a 336-69 margin, the Pension Stability Act (H.R. 3108) faces obstacles in the Senate that threaten to derail the legislation and jeopardize retirement plans for tens of thousands of IAM members. "It is critical that this legislation be enacted prior to April 15," said IP Tom Buffenbarger and ALPA President Duane Woerth in a letter to legislators urging support for the terms worked out in a bipartisan House/Senate conference committee. "The survival of the pension plans of over 100,000 airline workers and millions of other American workers covered by 31,000 single employer pension plans depend on your prompt and favorable action." All IAM members are urged to call their Senators immediately and demand they support passage and "cloture" of this bill on the Senate floor. You can find your Senators' phone number on the IAM's Grand Lodge Web Site at http://capwiz.com/iamaw/dbq/officials. The legislation is designed to help bankrupt and near-bankrupt airlines continue making their required pension payments as they struggle to overcome the unprecedented stock market declines that drained normal pension reserves. The two-year relief measure is not a bailout and retired workers' pension amounts are not affected. By contrast, pension plans for airline workers face an increased risk of termination if the measure fails to pass. Bush: Billions in Breaks for Job Exporters President George W. Bush continues to support billions in new tax breaks for U.S. corporations overseas operations. Last year, Bush proposed new tax breaks to export jobs in his budget. Now he’s supporting foreign tax breaks in legislation before Congress. As Bush lobbies for the legislation, a new survey of 182 companies shows nearly 86 percent of U.S. firms that are exporting U.S. jobs plan to outsource more jobs in the near future, according to a March 26 report by Reuters on a poll by the management consulting firm Diamondcluster International. Bush is supporting the $37 billion in tax breaks for U.S. firms’ offshore operations as part of a Senate bill (S. 1637) that would also replace a domestic tax break for exporters found to be illegal by the World Trade Organization with a new domestic tax benefit for manufacturing. While the manufacturing tax benefit standing alone would create an incentive to keep and create jobs in the United States, the new foreign tax breaks will encourage companies to export more jobs. Unions Vow to Keep Air Canada Flying Union representatives at Air Canada emerged from a three-hour meeting early this week more determined than ever to keep the nation's largest carrier airborne. "We came out of this meeting with one voice," said Ron Fontaine, IAM National Organizing Co-coordinator. "We want to assure the Canadian public that we are committed to saving this airline as well as our jobs." Despite concessions worth $1.1 billion a year from Air Canada's nine unions, outside investors are threatening to walk away from the struggling airline if union representatives refuse to consider additional measures, including deep cuts to employees' defined benefit pension plans. "We're putting together a union-coordinated restructuring team with representatives from all of Air Canada's unions," said Fontaine, who called for "a more open and transparent" restructuring process. Fontaine and Canadian Airline Coordinator Steve Vodi will serve as IAM representatives on the union-coordinated restructuring team. The IAM represents 11,500 employees at Air Canada. For more information about the effort to keep Air Canada aloft, point your browser to: http://www.iamaw.ca/index2.html. Southern Territory Hits a Double The IAM Southern Territory went 2-0 in a pair of recent elections where workers voted unanimously to join the IAM. A civil engineering group for Ahntech Inc. in Avon Park, FL led off when workers voted 5-0 for IAM representation. "This was an easy win," said Dave Liebeck, District Lodge 166 Organizer. "The folks were excited about joining the IAM." Next up were employees of The Orasa Group, Inc., who voted 12-0 for IAM representation. These highly skilled employees provide Transient Alert services for aircraft arriving and departing Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. "After seeing the great contracts that have been negotiated for other employees under the Service Contract Act (SCA), these employees wanted to join the premium Service Contract organization, the IAM," said Southern Territory Organizer Ray Moffatt. "Special thanks go to Bob Biddick for helping bring the IAM message to these employees." Southern Territory GVP Bob Martinez welcomed the new members, who will join District 75. "Congratulations to the organizing committees for a job well done," said GVP Martinez. "As word spreads of the strong IAM contracts, we continue to bring more and more members aboard." Past iMail|Your Email|Visit www.goiam.org|Print Version|Sign-Up for iMail 
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The IAM is repeating its members-only photo contest again this year
and you are encouraged to enter. Photo entries should catch IAM members
at work in unposed photos. If your entry wins, you'll win a cash prize
and your photo will appear in the 2005 IAM Calendar. Go to:
pc2005.
President Bush's promise of new jobs is falling far short. Find out how much at www.jobwatch.org
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