The Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition (TAMC) is part of the Teamster Airline Division and was created specifically to better suit the needs of aviation mechanics throughout the industry. It is the goal of the TAMC to secure the futures of Teamster airline mechanics and related workers by bringing together all Teamster-represented aviation mechanics under one umbrella, enabling us to speak in one collective, powerful voice.
As mechanics in this industry, we have issues that are common to all carriers. We will use our collective voice and the power of the Teamsters Union and Airline Division to move our agenda—including anti-outsourcing legislation—to the highest levels of government and the court of public opinion.
The priorities of the TAMC include job security for our members, pension reform, bankruptcy reform, organizing aviation mechanics and related workers into the Teamsters Union, upholding industry standards, protecting the safety of the flying public, and putting and end to outsourcing aircraft maintenance work. Through our website and newsletter, TAMC Nuts & Bolts, we will give Teamster airline mechanics a voice, a forum in which they can voice concerns, and a channel through which members can stay abreast of industry news.
Our Members
The TAMC represents 18,500 aviation mechanics and related workers at 10 airlines including Air Micronesia, AirTran, Continental Airlines, ExpressJet, Frontier, Horizon Air, NetJets, Piedmont Airlines, United Airlines and UPS. We are currently helping to organize mechanics and related workers at Alaska Airlines, Atlantic Southeast Airlines and FedEx.
Structure
The TAMC is headed by Chair Chris Moore and a steering committee comprised of one mechanic from each of the ten airlines where Teamsters represent mechanics. The TAMC steering committee works hand-in-hand with the Teamster Airline Division to advance our agenda. We encourage all Teamster airline mechanics to becoming involved with the TAMC through the TAMC’s website, lobbying efforts and newsletter.
Fighting Outsourcing
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is taking this issue head on through its Airline Division and is taking steps to restore the high level of flight safety all Americans and working families can count on. The fight to stop outsourcing aircraft maintenance work for foreign repair stations is a priority of the TAMC and we are hard at work to secure the jobs of our members, all aircraft maintenance personnel throughout the industry and ensure the safety of the flying public. We have taken our message to all corners of the United States, from the politicians on Capitol Hill to the air travel consumers who rely on the work of aircraft mechanics to keep them safe.
During our outsourcing fight, we have taken our message to air travel consumers. We have leafleted travelers at airports informing them of unsafe outsourcing practices and were featured in an important CNN Lou Dobbs story on unsafe outsourcing to foreign MROs.
In conjunction with the Business Travel Coalition, the Teamsters Airline Division hosted the first ever Aviation Maintenance Outsourcing Summit of key industry professionals, senators, congressmen and aviation mechanics last year in Washington, D.C. The summit was the first the challenge the unsafe practices of outsourcing aircraft maintenance work to foreign, over-seas stations. We are planning to host a second outsourcing summit in the near future to stay on top of these issues.
Outsourcing Defect Report
To help propel our fight against outsourcing, the Teamsters Airline Division, in conjunction with the TAMC, has devised an Outsourcing Defect Report to document and catalogue faulty repairs made by foreign MRO stations. The reports are reviewed by qualified members and stored in a databank accessible by certain Teamster reps when needed. This report is all inclusive, meaning a mechanic does not even have to be a Teamster member to help support this bold effort. Teamster representatives and members of the Teamsters Aviation Mechanics Coalition are taking the information gathered and openly disclosing the defects to our nation’s lawmakers. Many are supporting and finding the value and need for this Teamster-led campaign to maintain the world’s safest transportation system.
Political Action
We are involved politically to make sure aviation mechanics’ concerns are addressed on Capitol Hill on a regular basis. We’ve had hundreds of meetings on Capitol Hill in the last few months, bringing the issues that matter to mechanics to the attention of our senators and congressmen. The TAMC, along with the Teamsters Airline Division, is lobbying for outsourcing reform, bankruptcy reform and we are seeking a moratorium on outsourcing. Through our lobbying efforts, we are projecting the jobs of aviation mechanics, the integrity of the industry and the safety of the flying public. We are make sure that when it comes time, political leaders are held accountable and that they will fight and vote in favor of the working men and women—including airline mechanics and related workers—who put them in office.
Do your part. Send a message to your representative and tell him or her to vote for anti-outsourcing legislation today!
History
The TAMC was formed in the fall of 2007 to give aviation mechanics a voice the industry and better representation within the Teamsters Union and the airline division. Though the coalition is still in its fledgling years, members have taken active roles, making the TAMC a leader in the fight against outsourcing aircraft maintenance. In the years since it was first founded, the TAMC has co-sponsored an outsourcing summit, released an investigative report about the hazards of outsourced aircraft maintenance work, and have brought the hazards of outsourcing to the attention of the American public. Members of the TAMC are continuously holding meetings on Capitol Hill to encourage Senators and Congressmen to vote for pro-labor, anti-outsourcing legislation.
