Thursday, June 19, 2008

How soon they’d like you to forget...


In one of their many distorted, deceitful e-mails, the Decerters state “We cannot point to any benefits gained as a result of union representation in the past seven years.” Apparently, they haven’t looked too hard at what went on during those seven years, because I can come up with a list of gains we got in just one day in 2005.

The list below shows the “non-represented benefits” Onex implemented on Spirit’s June 16th “Day One” and the “represented benefits” improvements negotiated in the SPEEA contract approved a month later on July 11th.


Non-represented benefit: No appeal for Employee Performance issues
SPEEA-negotiated benefits: 2-level appeal process

Non-represented: Holidays determined year-to-year at Company discretion
SPEEA benefit: Holidays identified for duration of contract

Non-represented: Holiday overtime rates at time& a half
SPEEA benefit: Doubletime Paycode 2 overtime for holidays

Non-represented: No ordered layoff process
SPEEA benefit: Retention-based layoff process

Non-represented: No active layoff status for retirement
SPEEA benefit: 30-month bridge to retirement for layoff

Non-represented: Retentions accomplished only during surplus action
SPEEA benefit: Scheduled, periodic retentions to build performance history

Non-represented: No retention adjustment for experience
SPEEA benefit: 20-year employees receive 1 Level increase in retention

Non-represented: No appeals for retention
SPEEA benefit: Appeals language for all dropped levels; employee allowed at retention appeal hearing

Non-represented: No standard process for filling job positions
SPEEA benefit: Formal process/procedure guaranteeing fair internal hiring

Non-represented: Forced variable work schedules
SPEEA benefit: Company required to first request volunteers prior to mandating non-standard schedules

Non-represented: Eight-hour third shift
SPEEA benefit: Six and one-half hour third shift

Non-represented: All non-exempt Paycode 2 overtime at time & a half
SPEEA benefit: Time and a half for first twelve hours of OT; double time after twelve hours of OT and for work on second rest day

Non-represented: Reductions in reporting pay
SPEEA benefit: Reporting and call back pay implemented

Non-represented: No payout of vacation and sickleave upon retirement
SPEEA benefit: ETO paid in full at retirement; sickleave carried over from Boeing paid at previous Boeing rate

Non-represented: No employee stock ownership plan
SPEEA benefit: Employee stock purchase plan at opening IPO stock price

Non-represented: No bereavement leave
SPEEA benefit: Three days of bereavement leave per occurrence

Even the Decert team has to admit that without the protections and guarantees of the SPEEA contract, there is nothing preventing these benefits from immediately reverting to those Onex had imposed the day they took over.


-- Bill, who thinks his friend Decerter Brian Hickman needs to fess up about how the union’s allowed him to wear his favorite shorts all summer, too...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good words.