ReformAlpa
Member
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2005
- Posts
- 19
Absolutely Furious !!!!!
Below you will find an exerpt from the rejected TA of the ALPA professional and administrative office staff. Please read through it, but be careful...if you are a dues-paying ALPA member it will make your blood boil.
My personal 2 favorite parts are:
1. "A continuation of reimbursement of FICA taxes for up to $4550/year which provides 100% reimbursement to every Unit 2 employee making under $59,000/year. This is a traditional benefit for ALPA employees , but a rarity elsewhere."
TRANSLATION: OUR UNION DUES ARE BEING USED TO PAY SOME SECRETARY'S OR OFFICE CLERK'S INCOME TAX.
2. "Unit 2 employees will continue a 35-hour work-week"
TRANSLATION: OUR UNION DUES ARE BEING UTILIZED NOT TO HELP FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS, TO ADD TO THE QUALITY OF OUR LIVES, BUT RATHER TO SUBSIDIZE THE GRAVY JOB AND LIFESTYLE OF OUR OFFICE STAFF.
This is from the TA which the office-staff at ALPA HQ Rejected...it wasn't good enough for them. I am absolutely livid, and you should be too.
We are putting together a campaign to run a candidate who is going to put and end to this. The election for a new ALPA president is being held in October in Las Vegas. We are in the process of putting together a campaign for a candidate who will run against Duane Woerth. More details will come out as the date of the election come closer...please be patient as there is a lot of work to be done. This is a watershed moment for ALPA and our livelyhoods and we don't want to come out ill-prepared.
Fly safe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AsaLossPaywAlpa
Contents of the Rejected Unit 2 Agreement
ALPA has been informed by the leaders of the Union of ALPA Professional and Administrative Employees, Unit 2, that their members are on strike effective 12 noon May 12, 2006. As reported earlier, ALPA and Unit 2 (which represents the union’s clerical and administrative employees) have been negotiating with a goal of reaching a consensual agreement on the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.
Earlier this week, ALPA and Unit 2 completed a tentative agreement that contained merit salary increases, delayed health care cost increases, and improved several other areas of the contract. Unit 2 members have rejected that TA. While there are no updates on talks with Unit 2 negotiators, a number of pilots have enquired about details of the tentative agreement they have rejected. Here is a brief summary of the details of the rejected agreement.
Compensation
The rejected TA stretched to the limit the Association’s ability to provide salary increases that do not cause costs to grow faster than revenue. ALPA pilots at major airlines – including US Airways, Delta, Northwest and United – have taken pay cuts of as much as 40% or more, and have signed long-term contracts with minimal raises. ALPA dues revenue is less than it was when both the current Unit 2 and Unit 1 contracts were signed, and the dues outlook looks worse. The average contractual raises for pilots at seven of our largest airline - US Airways, Alaska, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United – that comprise nearly two-thirds of ALPA’s dues revenue will be less than 1.5% over the next three years.
The rejected TA provided Unit 2 employees a merit increase of up 3.5% each year for the duration of the 3 year agreement, up from the 3% pay raise effective for the last year of the expired contract. As a comparison, the Economic Research Institute projects that pay raises for administrative positions will grow at a rate less than the 3.75% forecasted average for all U.S. workers. Additionally, while most US workers are required to work 40-hour work weeks, Unit 2 employees have, and will continue to have, a 35-hour work week.
The TA also provided for the continuation of a reimbursement of FICA taxes of up to $4,550 per year, which provides 100% reimbursement to every Unit 2 employee making under $59,000 per year. This is a traditional benefit for ALPA employees, but a rarity elsewhere.
Health Care
Despite significant and continued increases in health care costs, ALPA does not require monthly premium contributions from employees for individual or family coverage. In 2005, only 17% of U.S. employers paid 100% of workers’ individual premiums for single employees, and only 6% of U.S. employers paid 100% of premiums for families. The TA would have continued the benefit of not requiring monthly premium contributions.
Unit 2 employees have not experienced an increase to their deductibles or co-insurance limits since May of 2003, and would have continued to enjoy the same until Jan. 1, 2008. The rejected TA provided for a $75 increase in in-network deductibles and co-insurance limits and a $150 increase in out-of-network deductibles and co-insurance limits, as well as higher co-pays for ER and hospital visits.
The TA also included a reduction in the reimbursement level of out-of-network medical expenses, from 80/20% to 70/30%. While this may result in a slight increase in out-of-pocket expenses for Unit 2 employees, the corresponding co-insurance limits would have continued to limit their overall exposure. Again, these changes would not have gone into effect until Jan. 1, 2008.
Retiree Health
ALPA provides a rich Retiree Health Plan for employees who reach age 56 with 18 years of service. Unit 2 members who retired before November 2003 were paying $15 -$30 per month per person over the 2000 – 2003 Unit 2 contract. The rejected TA provided that monthly premiums remain unchanged until July 2008, when they would have increased to $30 - $50 per month per person. There was also to be a modest increase to deductibles and co-insurance limits.
Unit 2 members who retired after November 2003 and are over 65 years of age were required to elect Medicare Part B and pay 10% of the calculated premium with a cap of $60 per person on a monthly basis. The TA provides for an increased cap of $75, effective January 1, 2008. Unit 2 members who retired after November 2003 and are under 65 years of age were required to pay 20% of the calculated premium with a cap of $120 per person on a monthly basis. The TA provides for an increased cap of $150, effective Jan. 1, 2008. There will also be a modest increase to deductibles and co-insurance limits for post-2003 retirees at that time.
Below you will find an exerpt from the rejected TA of the ALPA professional and administrative office staff. Please read through it, but be careful...if you are a dues-paying ALPA member it will make your blood boil.
My personal 2 favorite parts are:
1. "A continuation of reimbursement of FICA taxes for up to $4550/year which provides 100% reimbursement to every Unit 2 employee making under $59,000/year. This is a traditional benefit for ALPA employees , but a rarity elsewhere."
TRANSLATION: OUR UNION DUES ARE BEING USED TO PAY SOME SECRETARY'S OR OFFICE CLERK'S INCOME TAX.
2. "Unit 2 employees will continue a 35-hour work-week"
TRANSLATION: OUR UNION DUES ARE BEING UTILIZED NOT TO HELP FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS, TO ADD TO THE QUALITY OF OUR LIVES, BUT RATHER TO SUBSIDIZE THE GRAVY JOB AND LIFESTYLE OF OUR OFFICE STAFF.
This is from the TA which the office-staff at ALPA HQ Rejected...it wasn't good enough for them. I am absolutely livid, and you should be too.
We are putting together a campaign to run a candidate who is going to put and end to this. The election for a new ALPA president is being held in October in Las Vegas. We are in the process of putting together a campaign for a candidate who will run against Duane Woerth. More details will come out as the date of the election come closer...please be patient as there is a lot of work to be done. This is a watershed moment for ALPA and our livelyhoods and we don't want to come out ill-prepared.
Fly safe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AsaLossPaywAlpa
Contents of the Rejected Unit 2 Agreement
ALPA has been informed by the leaders of the Union of ALPA Professional and Administrative Employees, Unit 2, that their members are on strike effective 12 noon May 12, 2006. As reported earlier, ALPA and Unit 2 (which represents the union’s clerical and administrative employees) have been negotiating with a goal of reaching a consensual agreement on the terms of their collective bargaining agreement.
Earlier this week, ALPA and Unit 2 completed a tentative agreement that contained merit salary increases, delayed health care cost increases, and improved several other areas of the contract. Unit 2 members have rejected that TA. While there are no updates on talks with Unit 2 negotiators, a number of pilots have enquired about details of the tentative agreement they have rejected. Here is a brief summary of the details of the rejected agreement.
Compensation
The rejected TA stretched to the limit the Association’s ability to provide salary increases that do not cause costs to grow faster than revenue. ALPA pilots at major airlines – including US Airways, Delta, Northwest and United – have taken pay cuts of as much as 40% or more, and have signed long-term contracts with minimal raises. ALPA dues revenue is less than it was when both the current Unit 2 and Unit 1 contracts were signed, and the dues outlook looks worse. The average contractual raises for pilots at seven of our largest airline - US Airways, Alaska, America West, Continental, Delta, Northwest and United – that comprise nearly two-thirds of ALPA’s dues revenue will be less than 1.5% over the next three years.
The rejected TA provided Unit 2 employees a merit increase of up 3.5% each year for the duration of the 3 year agreement, up from the 3% pay raise effective for the last year of the expired contract. As a comparison, the Economic Research Institute projects that pay raises for administrative positions will grow at a rate less than the 3.75% forecasted average for all U.S. workers. Additionally, while most US workers are required to work 40-hour work weeks, Unit 2 employees have, and will continue to have, a 35-hour work week.
The TA also provided for the continuation of a reimbursement of FICA taxes of up to $4,550 per year, which provides 100% reimbursement to every Unit 2 employee making under $59,000 per year. This is a traditional benefit for ALPA employees, but a rarity elsewhere.
Health Care
Despite significant and continued increases in health care costs, ALPA does not require monthly premium contributions from employees for individual or family coverage. In 2005, only 17% of U.S. employers paid 100% of workers’ individual premiums for single employees, and only 6% of U.S. employers paid 100% of premiums for families. The TA would have continued the benefit of not requiring monthly premium contributions.
Unit 2 employees have not experienced an increase to their deductibles or co-insurance limits since May of 2003, and would have continued to enjoy the same until Jan. 1, 2008. The rejected TA provided for a $75 increase in in-network deductibles and co-insurance limits and a $150 increase in out-of-network deductibles and co-insurance limits, as well as higher co-pays for ER and hospital visits.
The TA also included a reduction in the reimbursement level of out-of-network medical expenses, from 80/20% to 70/30%. While this may result in a slight increase in out-of-pocket expenses for Unit 2 employees, the corresponding co-insurance limits would have continued to limit their overall exposure. Again, these changes would not have gone into effect until Jan. 1, 2008.
Retiree Health
ALPA provides a rich Retiree Health Plan for employees who reach age 56 with 18 years of service. Unit 2 members who retired before November 2003 were paying $15 -$30 per month per person over the 2000 – 2003 Unit 2 contract. The rejected TA provided that monthly premiums remain unchanged until July 2008, when they would have increased to $30 - $50 per month per person. There was also to be a modest increase to deductibles and co-insurance limits.
Unit 2 members who retired after November 2003 and are over 65 years of age were required to elect Medicare Part B and pay 10% of the calculated premium with a cap of $60 per person on a monthly basis. The TA provides for an increased cap of $75, effective January 1, 2008. Unit 2 members who retired after November 2003 and are under 65 years of age were required to pay 20% of the calculated premium with a cap of $120 per person on a monthly basis. The TA provides for an increased cap of $150, effective Jan. 1, 2008. There will also be a modest increase to deductibles and co-insurance limits for post-2003 retirees at that time.
