www.goiam.org
Tuesday,
April 6, 2004
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."
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