Contents:

• Location Change for Arbitration Case #74-01,

"Probationary Terminations/No Furlough"
• Mesaba Airlines - Flight Attendants Reach Tentative

Agreement on First Contract
• Strike Averted as Machinists Reach Tentative Agreement with UAL
• Airlines fended off security upgrades

For over a decade, lobbyists rebuffed, manipulated FAA

Location Change for Arbitration Case #74-01,
"Probationary Terminations/No Furlough"

AFA and the Company have agreed to change the location for the upcoming arbitration case #30-99-02-74-01, "Probationary Terminations/No Furlough" scheduled for February 26 - 27, 2002.

The new location:

Marriott Key Bridge
1401 Lee Highway
Arlington, Va 22209

703-524-6400

This is a short cab ride from DCA airport.

The purpose for the change of location from Company headquarters to the Marriott is that an audience is anticipated as flight attendants and MEC members have expressed interest in observing the proceedings.

The audience gallery will be 15 -20 seats theater style off to one side of the meeting table.

Despite the change in location, the Company has indicated that they may ask to close the meeting to all but elected representatives (no general audience) to protect potentially confidential material from the Company.

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL MN - The flight attendants at Mesaba Airlines, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO, have reached a tentative agreement on a first contract with airline management.

"There is no better job security than a contract, and this first contract at Mesaba will serve to protect the flight attendants in a very turbulent time in our industry," said Tim Evenson, AFA Master Executive Council president for Mesaba.  "This agreement provides for increases in pay, and improvements in scheduling and work rules that will enhance the quality of life of every Mesaba flight attendant."

Mesaba flight attendants have been negotiating for their first contract since May 2000.  The tentative agreement will be sent to the elected leaders of the AFA Master Executive Council at Mesaba for approval.  If approved by the MEC, the tentative agreement will then be put to a vote of the flight attendants.

Details will not be released until Mesaba flight attendants have a chance to review the tentative agreement.

The assistance of National Mediation Board Senior Mediator Patricia Sims was crucial to the successful conclusion of the negotiations.

More than 50,000 flight attendants, including the 600 flight attendants at Mesaba, join together to form AFA, the world's largest flight attendant union. Visit us  www.afanet.org.
 

Strike Averted as Machinist Reach Tentative Agreement with UAL

Source: IAM Press Release
Date: February 18, 2002

Washington, D.C., February 18, 2002 - The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) announced a tentative agreement today for 15,000 United Airlines Mechanic and Related employees represented by IAM District 141-M.

The landmark five-year accord comes 27 months after negotiations began, and 2 days before a February 20 strike deadline.  The Machinists group recently voted to reject a proposal by United Airlines based on recommendations of a Presidential Emergency Board (PEB).

"This agreement fulfills the IAM's promise to negotiate an industry-leading contract - one that recognizes the past sacrifice and current value of these employees," said District 141-M President and lead negotiator Scotty Ford.  "This negotiating committee unanimously recommends a 'Yes' vote on the agreement reached today."

The new accord includes improvements over the PEB-brokered proposal. Retirement benefits, application of license premiums, and a plan for retroactive pay were all enhanced.  A 'linkage letter' requiring IAM participation in an unspecified recovery plan was modified to allow union members to vote on the plan's terms.  A process to expedite the next round of negotiations is also included in the tentative pact.

"Our negotiators worked aggressively for more than two years," said IAM International President Tom Buffenbarger.  "Now the most important people involved in these negotiations, our members, will have the final say."

Ratification voting will take place on March 5, 2002.  District 141-M and United have mutually agreed to extend the strike deadline to March 7, 2002 to allow time for ratification voting.  Full details of the agreement will be available on the District 141-M web site at www.iam141m.org as soon as they are prepared.

"This agreement shows that settlements can be reached without government interference," said General Vice President Robert Roach, Jr. "Not until a firm strike deadline was set and the prospect of further delay eliminated was this agreement possible."

IAM District 141, representing 30,000 Ramp & Stores, Public Contact, Food Services and Security Officers is still in mediated negotiations with United.  Both IAM districts have been negotiating with United Airlines since December 1999.  All IAM contracts with United became amendable on July 12, 2000.

Airlines fended off security upgrades
For over a decade, lobbyists rebuffed, manipulated FAA
By Alex Rodriguez
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 18, 2002

More than a decade before the Sept.  11 attacks forced a public debate over the adequacy of airline security, a similar discussion was unfolding in airline conference rooms and in Washington after a bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The debate was rekindled after the 1995 arrest of terrorist Ramzi Yousef, suspected of planning to blow up 12 passenger planes on a single day.

Each time, the government responded by appointing special commissions that recommended a series of regulations to make the skies more secure--from background checks for security screeners to matching checked bags to passengers aboard the planes.

But each time, the airline industry, wielding one of Washington's most powerful lobbies, was able to fend off any major security improvements.

On Sunday, the new Transportation Security Administration officially took over responsibility for overseeing aviation security.  Under sweeping changes enacted after the terrorist attacks, O'Hare International Airport will be among the first to have government employees take over passenger and baggage screening.

Read the Chicago Tribune article at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0202180177feb18.story