In November, we provided you information about the changes the US Department of Transportation (DOT) made to the federal drug testing requirements. As you recall, workers already subject to DOT drug tests will now be screened for four additional drugs, specifically, semi-synthetic opioids. That change took effect January 1, 2018. More information is available here.

In our effort to keep you informed of updates relating to this DOT change, we’re alerting you to two documents DOT produced intended to help workers navigate the drug testing changes.

1. The first document is an Employee Notice, intended to provide some real-world interpretation of how the new drug testing process will occur. You can access that document here.
2. As you recall, under the revised DOT regulation, before a MRO reports information about your prescription drugs to DOT or employer, the MRO may give you 5 business days to ask your doctor to call the MRO and determine if the medication can be changed to one that does not pose a significant safety risk.

The second document is official DOT guidance that describes scenarios in which the MRO can report information about your legally prescribed medication to a third party (employer, etc) before those 5 business days have passed. The second DOT document is here.

The Transport Workers Union of America Retains Ridge Global to Assess the Safety and Security Risks of Having U.S. Passenger Aircraft Repaired and Maintained on Foreign Soil

First U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge Says Airline Safety Must Remain a Priority 15 Years After Creation of DHS

The Transport Workers Union of America (TWU) today announced it has retained the services of Ridge Global, the firm founded by the first U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge, to evaluate and assess critical repair and maintenance work performed on U.S. passenger aircraft. Specifically, the TWU has asked Sec. Ridge to examine whether the ‘off-shoring’ of such repair and maintenance to aircraft to foreign countries is putting the American flying public in danger.

“Mechanics and other ground workers employed at U.S. airlines have serious concerns that commercial airlines are putting profits ahead of passenger security and safety,” TWU International President John Samuelsen said. “That’s why we have asked Sec. Ridge and Ridge Global to determine if the practice of off-shoring aircraft repairs and maintenance to foreign countries is a catastrophe waiting to happen, as we fear. Mechanics and other ground workers employed at U.S. airlines take great pride in making the U.S. air transportation system the safest and most reliable in the world. We also have a very personal stake in doing things right. Our families fly on the planes we fix.”   Continue reading →

The newly elected leadership of TWU is pleased to announce that the four-year-long litigation regarding the legal validity of the Equity Distribution Plan adopted by TWU in 2013 has at last come to an end, because plaintiffs have not filed timely papers in the Supreme Court that would have been required to ask it to review the decision of the lower courts dismissing the Demetris case.

What this means is that the long delay in making a distribution from the TWU Reserve Fund to the beneficiaries of the TWU Equity Distribution Plan is coming to an end, and that TWU will now be able to arrange for a distribution of the monies derived from the American Airlines shares that have been held in the TWU Reserve Fund pending the conclusion of the litigation.

As the difficult preparations to distribute the proceeds from the original AA shares are being made, there are a number of things that you should keep in mind: Continue reading →

Hurricane Maria has left devastation across the island of Puerto Rico and we know many of you have family, friends and properties on the island. Our thoughts are with all of you while you get through this difficult time.

From Sept. 22 until Sept. 29, American Airlines will allow Envoy employees to move supplies and generators to SJU using the employee Priority Parcel Service (PPS) program from all U.S. domestic stations (lower 48). They will waive size and weight restrictions and there will be no shipping costs so that you can get your families what they need.

Download this flyer to read the details.

As our brothers and sisters in several states — and now in Puerto Rico — attempt to rebuild from the devastating hurricanes of the last several weeks, TWU is committed to supporting them. Working with local leaders on the ground in all affected areas, we are monitoring members’ needs and creating an action plan to ensure everyone gets the help they need. At this time, those wishing to help can continue to make donations to the TWU of America Hurricane Relief Fund, which will be distributed directly to union members in affected areas as needed.

If you would like to make a contribution to this fund, please click here.

If you prefer to make an offline donation, please mail a check or money order to:

TWU of America Disaster Relief Fund
c/o Gary Maslanka, Secretary-Treasurer
501 3rd Street NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20001