« Contents

IAM aircraft technicians at a courthouse rally protesting US Airways’
plans to outsource Airbus heavy maintenance to a foreign-owned facility
in Mobile, Alabama.

Fighting to Save Jobs at US Airways
The attempt by US Airways to subcontract heavy maintenance of its Airbus aircraft was met with a swift response from the Machinists Union.

In October, IAM attorneys went to court and obtained a landmark injunction blocking the airline’s plans to outsource the work. In February, a judge lifted the injunction, setting the stage for the next round in the legal battle to force US Airways to honor their contract with workers.

“We are determined to prevail in the fight to preserve this work for our members,” said Transportation GVP Robert Roach, Jr. “It is   disgraceful that employees must seek court protection from the same company they helped to get out of bankruptcy just a few months earlier.”


IAM Rail Campaign Targets NMB
A major effort by the IAM and its 10,000 railroad members is underway to free the National Mediation Board (NMB) from business and political influences that are preventing the federal agency from functioning as required by law.

Since 1999, rail management has balked at a new agreement for union members at the nation’s Class 1 rail companies. Despite repeated requests to compel the carrier to bargain, the board has allowed management to prolong the existing agreement for nearly four years.

“We are unwilling to let this important public agency be held hostage any longer,” said GVP Robert Roach, Jr.

IAM members are contacting elected representatives with calls, mail and personal visits demanding the NMB be restored to its proper place as an independent agency.

The effort also calls for the NMB to immediately respond to repeated requests for a proffer of arbitration, a step that historically precipitates settlement of difficult contract disputes.

Reservations agents at Southwest Airlines' Dallas office are among 1,700 IAM members at the carrier affected by the explosion in online ticketing.

Southwest Hangs Up On Reservations Centers
The announcement that Southwest Airlines would join Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and others in the industry by closing three reservations centers came as a surprise to employees at the profitable carrier.

Nearly 1,700 IAM members at Southwest Airlines were forced to choose between relocating, resigning or accepting furlough. More than 500 IAM-represented Northwest Reservations Agents faced a similar decision recently when the Minneapolis-based carrier closed its Detroit reservation center.

IAM representatives met with members at all four locations immediately    following the announcements to explain each member’s options and programs the Machinists Union has available for displaced members.

Andrea Antonette, left, Dayna Marilynn Robson, center, and Wendy
Yee, right, were among thirty-four IAM-represented Continental Flight
Attendants who attended a week-long program at the Winpisinger
Center designed to expand  communication and education among
IAM members.

Flight Attendants Launch Unique Program
Thirty-four Flight Attendants from Continental Airlines, Continental Express Jet and Continental Micronesia traveled to the IAM’s Winpisinger Center recently to inaugurate a program designed to extend the Union’s communications and education network.

“The idea came from a single Flight Attendant who wanted to start a grassroots network among IAM members,” said Robert Roach, Jr., General Vice President of Transportation. “The IAM provided the facilities, instructors and material, but the Flight Attendants came on their own time, worked hard and made the program a success.”

Participants were trained in labor history, organizing, political action and modern communication techniques. “The training I received changed how I think about our union,” said Kelly Kirk, a Flight Attendant at Continental Airlines.

“I believe this program will prove to be very beneficial for Flight Attendants and the IAM.”