August 01st, 2020

Republic Management Set to Furlough AMTs: It’s Not Too Late to Sign a Card and Gain Full Seniority Rights

IAM contracts provide a myriad of seniority rights during a reduction in force.

Republic management has begun to notify AMTs that they are targeted to be laid-off come October 1st. There are many uncertainties AMTs face because we do not have a legally binding contract that outlines our rights when it comes to a reduction in force.

The following is a list of rights that we currently do NOT have because we do not have a union contract:

• If laid-off we DO NOT have the right to “bump” to another location on the Republic’s system based on our seniority.
  • This means that there will be AMTs that could still be employed who have less seniority than others who are laid-off in other locations.
• If laid-off we DO NOT have the right to be recalled to employment if/when the airline industry recovers and Republic has a need for additional AMTs.
  • In fact, Republic has a plan that they are initiating in which unlicensed workers would perform aircraft maintenance work.
• We DO NOT have the right to fill a vacancy in another job based on our seniority to maintain employment.
• We DO NOT have the right to a set amount of severance pay if we are laid-off.
• We DO NOT have the right to maintain our health insurance for a period of time after we are laid-off.
• We DO NOT have the right to enter into discussions with management to develop programs to mitigate future potential layoffs.

These are just some critical issues we face going forward.

​Our plan is to file for a union representation election in the very near future. We need everyone to submit their request for an election by filling out an election authorization card (a-card). You can request one online here.

It’s not too late. If we can file in the near term, we will have time to officially enter discussions with the Company to gain rights we currently do not have.

View the Day One Plan, the-day-one-plan.html

Have a great weekend and remember to get your a-card submitted. Thanks!
 

---