Air Transport District Lodge 142400 N. E. 32nd St.Kansas City, MO 64116-2983

Summer 2018

The Supreme Court ruled against public sector unionson June 27 when it sided with forces determined toweaken the power of working Americans.

The so-called Janus ruling overturns a 41-year-oldSupreme Court decision that allowed public-sector unions innon-“right to work” states to collect fees for bargaining, repre-sentation and other services from those who choose not to bemembers.

IAM International President Robert Martinez Jr. said of theruling: “The Janus decision is just the latest tactic of corpora-tions and wealthy donors who want to take away our freedomat work.

“The radical right will never defeat a wave of working peo-ple joining together for a better life. Union membership isgrowing and we will continue to organize, mobilize and defeatthose who want to destroy unions and silence workers. This iswar and working people are going to fight back.”

For more on this topic, read Secretary-Treasurer Ian Scott-Anderman’s column on page 2.

Machinists Union reacts to SupremeCourt’s anti-workerJanus decision

In this issue...

In July, the United States Supreme Court issuedits devastating, yet not surprising, decision on acase called Janus v AFSCME, concerningagency fees in public-sector unions.

The ruling overturns a 41-year-old Supreme Courtdecision that allowed public-sector unions in non-“right to work” states to collect fees for bargaining,representation and other services from those whodon’t want to pay union dues.

The result could be the worst threat to the LaborMovement in decades. Public sector unions likely willexperience a rapid loss of membership, affecting theirability to change the political landscape and help thecause of working people across the U.S.

Anti-unionists like to portray this issue as a matterof protecting “free speech” or a “right to work,” butit’s really about trying to destroy the ability of laborunions to negotiate higher wages and better benefitsfor their members.

Let’s look at the specifics of the case.Mark Janus worked for the state of Illinois in the

1980s before he left his job to start a business. He returned to government employment in 2008.

As a member of the American Federation of State,County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), he

never refused a single benefit his union ever negoti-ated for him. He received pay increases when the con-tract called for them and he used his union-negotiatedhealth insurance. He is earning a pension that hisunion fought for and preserved.

Janus’ legal challenge against paying union servicefees was funded by the Illinois Policy Institute, a con-servative think tank, which now employs him. After

the appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch by PresidentTrump, the case was brought before the SupremeCourt, which ruled 5-4 in Janus’ favor.

While this decision has no immediate effect onDistrict Lodge 142 members, I want to make a fewpoints to help provide answers to questions that areexpected to arise. I also encourage members to readthe decision if they have time.1. Workers in the IAM’s Transportation Department

are not affected by this decision because they arein the private, not public, sector. However, the ruling eventually could be extended to the privatesector nationwide if anti-union forces get their way.

2. Current law already enables public sector workers(city, state, county, schools, police, fire, etc.) in“right to work” states to get the protections of aunion-negotiated contract without having an obli-gation to join. The new ruling is court-ordered“right to work” for states that don’t already have“right to work” laws.

(Unions in the airline and transportation indus-tries operate under rules set by the National Rail-way Act, as opposed to the National LaborRelations Act, which covers unions in other indus-

Page 2 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Summer 2018

Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportBy Ian Scott-Anderman

Janus ruling could be worst threat to Labor Movement in decades

EAP ReportBy Paul Shultz, EAP Chair

Training improves responses

The Transportation Departmentheld its second annual CriticalIncident Response Teamtraining June 4-8 at the IAM’s

Winpisinger Center. There were 22 participants, all

active EAP coordinators from thethree districts of the Transportation Department. Sister Shay Blodgett,brothers Randy Klinckhardt, Gilbert(Mack) McKinney, Philip Skaar and Iattended from the District 142 EAPCommittee.

The first CIRT class last year focused on the fundamentals of a critical incident/traumatic incident response and working with our members in a one-on-one setting. It was taught by Dr. George Everly,Jr., who is one of the co-founders ofthe Critical Incident Stress Foundation(ICISF).

We were fortunate to have Dr. Jeffrey T. Mitchell teach this year’sclass and share his critical incidentexpertise and experiences. Dr.Mitchell has written more than 275 articles and 19 books in the stress andcrisis intervention fields.

This year’s training focused on

working with our members in groupsettings on the objectives of crisis in-tervention. We learned the differencesbetween individual versus group crisisintervention, how to determine whichcrisis intervention methods to use andhow to use them.

Sharpening our response skillsDay three of the training was our

“IAM Day.” We started by reviewing the train-

ing from the first CIRT training in2017. We had several team memberswho had responded to critical inci-dents in the last year, such as Hurri-canes Harvey and Irma, the workplaceshooting in Oklahoma City, a suddendeath in SFO and the SWA emergencylanding in PHL where a passengerdied. They talked about their experi-ences and how our training was put touse in a practical application.

We talked about critical incident re-sources, where to find these resources,and how to access them during a criti-cal incident response.

We also did a critical incident mockexercise and debriefing afterward.

Something that we discussed at

length is that while EAP and criticalincidents are taught as separate sub-jects in a classroom setting, they tendto blend together after an incident. Inmy opinion, this was a critical part ofour training, as this is where we re-viewed the best ways to apply whatwe have learned in order to best takecare of our members.

I said this last year when I wrote anarticle about our first training and Ithink it is worth repeating:

When you go to work, you expectto have a normal day, do your job in asafe environment, and go home. Whena critical incident occurs, it puts ourmembers in an abnormal situation.Our role is to help our members un-derstand and cope with what theyhave just experienced.

This is why we have this team. Thisis why we do what we do.

If you have any questions aboutCritical Incident Response or any lifeissue, please contact your local EAPrepresentative or contact me at (704) 907-3563 (cell) or by email at pm.shultz@att.net.

Official publication of theInternational Association

of Machinists andAerospace Workers,District Lodge 142

AFL-CIO

Editor-in-ChiefDave Supplee

Headquarters400 N. E. 32nd St.

Kansas City, MO 64116

(816) 452-6646Fax: (816) 455-4793www.iamdl142.org

Continued on page 5

See article on PTSD on page 4.

As this article is being written, almost 90% of District 142’s membershiphas contracts in negotiations!

That’s more 17,000 members affected by negotiations.For most members, their contracts are amendable

every three to four years. For the District General Chairs, itmeans they are constantly in negotiations with one or more ofthe companies we represent.

Ups and downsSome of the talks are moving well, like at Alaska and

Southwest. Some are under the direction of the National Me-diation Board (NMB), including Air Wisconsin, British Air-ways (which opened talks with a proposal to outsource all theremaining work to a vendor!), El Al and ExpressJet. And someare not going well at all, particularly at American, which de-cided it’s better to “negotiate” via the company website ratherthan come to the table.

In all cases, our negotiating teams are handling the issuesand working through the proposals, all with the same goal inmind: bringing our members the best contracts for theirgroups.

Negotiations are stressful times for some of our members, especially when thecompany is proposing to eliminate work we currently do or take benefits fromus that we have grown used to having.

The good part for us at the negotiating table is knowing the airline industry iscurrently healthier than it has ever been, so we should NOT be in concessionarybargaining.

We also have a great support team at the International togive us financial advice on what our competitors are beingpaid, the benefits they have and other details, so when we sub-mit a proposal, we have sound backing on how we developedthe proposal and data to support our position.

Together, we have a strong team working for you, the mem-ber, to bring you a contract you can support.

Do your partOne question we have heard from the members is “What

can I do to help my negotiating team?” The best thing anymember can do is stay informed with the FACTS.

After each negotiation session, a report is posted on ourwebsite and emailed to everyone who has signed up for emailalerts. Unfortunately, only a fraction of the members hassigned up for these alerts.

It’s easy to sign up, and you can unsubscribe at any time.Just go to the District website, www.IAMDL142.org. At the

top left corner of the home page is a red button, “Join our email list.” Fill in yourname, personal email address and the company you work for, and you will getall bulletins for your company.

Get the facts, not the Facebook rumors, on your talks! And once an agreement is reached, stay informed and participate in the infor-

mational meetings. Knowledge is power. And so is solidarity with your union sisters and

brothers.

Summer 2018 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Page 3

President’s ReportBy Dave Supplee

It’s negotiating time — so get informed!

Officers sworn inFormer District

Lodge 142 General Chair

Albert Calhoun

In Memoriam

Albert Cleveland Calhoun, a former DL 142 General Chair,died on June 8 in Springfield, Mo. He was 78.

Calhoun was born in Coweta County, Ga., and joinedthe U.S. Air Force at age 18. He served as a Titan 1 missile

mechanic and went to night school to earn his FAA license. After eight years of service, he was discharged and immediately

began a 37-year career with TWA. He worked as a mechanic inKansas City, Mo., for 20 years and then served 17 years as presidentof Local 1650, where he was promoted as a General Chair for Dis-trict Lodge 142.

Calhoun also was a member of Masonic Lodge 659 and the North-land Shriners. He loved watching NASCAR races, sporting eventswith the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs, playing golf, hunting quail,singing karaoke and spending weekends at the lake.

He is survived by his wife, Sheila, his children, stepchildren,brothers and sisters, and his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Visitwww.IAMDL142.org

From left: VP American Airlines John Bidoglio; VP Southwest Airlines Clyde Haynes; General Chairs April Butler, Jim Samuel (hidden),

Jessica Morris, John Coveny, Bill Wise, Jeffrey Tobius and Sara Gonzales;PDGC Dave Supplee; General Chairs Sean Ryan and Randy Griffith.

DL 142 election results

O n June 18 and 19, District Lodge 142 election tellers countedand tabulated votes for the election of District Officers and Gen-eral Chairs and nominees. In accordance with the provisions of

the DL 142 Bylaws and the Grand Lodge Constitution, the followingare hereby elected to office or position:

President/Directing General ChairVice President ExpressJetVice President SouthwestVice President British AirwaysVice President American AirlinesTrusteeGeneral Chair At-LargeGeneral Chair At-LargeGeneral Chair At-LargeGeneral Chair ExpressJetGeneral Chair Southwest AirlinesGeneral Chair American AirlinesGeneral Chair American AirlinesGeneral Chair American AirlinesGeneral Chair Alaska

4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years4 years4 Years

Dave Supplee *Nicole Fears *Clyde Haynes *Diane Willaum *John Bidoglio *

Michael Cicconi *April Butler *Sean Ryan *Jim Samuel *

Sara Gonzales *Jessica Morris *John Coveny *

Randy Griffith *Bill Wise *

Jeffrey Tobius

Knowledge is power. And so is solidarity with your

union sistersand brothers.

*Winner by acclamation

Page 4 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Summer 2018

PTSD: Information for yourself and others

The devastation of a hurricanein Texas. The relentlessnessof wildfires in Northern Cali-fornia. The horror of a fatal

mid-flight accident.The impact of events like these can

be life-changing. The trauma they inflict on everyone involved, both directly and indirectly, is widespreadand affects members of our union.

Experiencing upsetting memories,anxiety or sleeplessness after you havebeen part of a traumatic event is not un-common. In fact, reactions to trauma

take on many forms, such as:

Mental reactions• Hopelessness

• Detachment

• Feeling on guard constantly

• Feeling shocked and numb

• Irritability

Physical reactions• Upset stomach

• Trouble eating

• Pounding heart and rapid breathing

Have youmoved?

Keep DL 142 up to date with your current contact information!

www.IAMDL142.org/contact-us/

• Sweating

• Excess smoking, drugs,

alcohol or food

If these reactions do not go away orworsen, you may have Post TraumaticStress Disorder (PTSD).

PTSD sometimes takes days, weeks,months or even years to manifest. It’simportant to monitor the above symp-toms if they continue longer than amonth.

The only way to know for sure if youhave PTSD is to talk to a mental healthcare provider. You may think yoursymptoms will go away on their own,but that is unlikely, especially if theyare longstanding.

Asking for help can be difficult formany people. But there are reasons youshould seek assistance as soon as pos-sible, according to the National Centerfor PTSD:

1. Early treatment can prevent symptoms from getting worse.

2. It’s never too late — even if your trauma happened years ago.

3. PTSD symptoms can affect your loved ones and relationships.

4. Untreated PTSD can lead to physical health problems.

5. You may not have PTSD. SomePTSD symptoms are the same asother mental health issues, such asdepression. A diagnosis from yourdoctor will ensure you are receivingthe correct treatment.

If you are dealing with PTSD foryourself or a loved one, here are somesteps you can take right away to helpimprove your quality of life:

Get more information: Learn more

about PTSD so you are better able tocope with the problem.

Join a support group: Listening toother people’s experiences can help val-idate the feelings you may be experi-encing, and you can learn how theyhave overcome the effects of trauma.

Learn relaxation skills: Deep breath-ing exercises and other techniques canhelp manage fear and anxiety.

Write about your feelings andthoughts: Writing can be helpful to ex-press and organize your feelings, andyou are in control of how much youwant to share.

EAP is always here to help. If younotice the signs of PTSD in yourself orone of your fellow members, please contact your local EAP represen-tative or contact Paul Shultz at (704) 907-3563 (cell) or by email atpm.shultz@att.net

PTSD sometimestakes days,weeks, months or even years tomanifest. It’s important to monitor [your]symptoms if theycontinue longerthan a month.

The Machinists Union joined U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and other members ofCongress to outline the principles that shouldguide the renegotiation of NAFTA ahead of the

Mexican economy minister’s visit to Washington.The IAM and other members of Congress are de-

manding an end to outsourcing by fighting for strong,enforceable labor standards within a renegotiatedNAFTA.

Low wages, a lack of independent unions and an in-ability for workers to collectively bargain in Mexicohave led to the outsourcing of good-paying American

jobs to Mexico and low wage growth.“IAM members know how important trade is to our

jobs and to our economy” said Owen Herrnstadt, theIAM’s director of trade and globalization.

“After all, IAM members produce, manufacture,service, assemble and transport the goods that makeup the global economy,” he said. “IAM membersknow when trade works and IAM members knowwhen trade doesn’t work.”

Any proposed NAFTA deal would need to be fin-ished by late August in order to be signed before theend of the year.

Machinists:NAFTA

doesn’t work

Summer 2018 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Page 5

The Workers Memorial on the grounds of the IAMAW’s William W. Winpisinger training centerin Maryland stands in tribute to all workers who died while working at their jobs. The memorialis one of many ways the union stands in solidarity with working people everywhere. The IAMjoins the world in observing Workers’ Memorial Day each year on April 28.

On May 5, 1888, our great union was founded when 19 railroadmachinists secretly met in Atlanta to protect their rights froman abusive employer.

During that meeting in a dirty railroad pit, those individualscould not have conceived what the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers would become.

Tom Talbot and his coworkers set in motion a cause that has steadilygrown in reach. Within two years of its formation, the Machinists Unionbecame truly international when the first Canadian and Mexican local lodges were chartered. We were one of the first industrial labor organizations to admit women and minorities into its ranks.

Today we celebrate the IAM’s past accomplishments and look forwardto the future we will all share. Many of the historical struggles our predecessors faced remain with us today. Our unity and resolve to defendthe rights of working families have never been stronger.

Workplace justice and fairness are noble ideals worth fighting for. Demanding that multinational corporations and our government recognizethat is our ongoing task, and I am confident we are up to the challenge.In solidarity,

Bob MartinezIAM International President

Happy 129th birthday, Machinists!

IAM presidentblasts Harley’s decision to movejobs overseas

The international president of the IAMblasted Harley-Davidson’s June 25 an-nouncement that it was moving moreproduction out of the United States as

“the latest slap in the face to the loyal, highly-skilled work force that made Harley an iconicAmerican brand.”

International President Robert Martinez Jr. dis-missed Harley-Davidson’s claim that it was forcedto increase its overseas production by the TrumpAdministration’s escalating trade conflict with theEuropean Union.

Even before the EU’s announcement of retalia-tory tariffs against American products, Martinezsaid: “Harley made the decision to close its plantin Kansas City and has manufacturing facilities inIndia and Brazil. It also announced a future plantin Thailand.”

“This latest move is in keeping with Harley’spast decisions to open plants outside of NorthAmerica,” he continued.

“Will Harley use any excuse to ship jobs over-seas?” he asked. “Does Harley even understandwhat ‘Made in America’ means?”

On Jan. 30, shortly after receiving a massivecorporate tax break, Harley-Davidson announcedthat its Kansas City, Mo. facility would close and600 IAM members would lose their jobs. Machin-ists Union members also work at Harley manufac-turing facilities in York, Penn. and Milwaukee,Wis.

“Kansas City is suffering the consequences ofHarley-Davidson’s continued neglect of its NorthAmerican work force and ridership,” Martinezsaid at the time.

“Isn’t Harley afraid that replacing ‘Made inAmerica’ with ‘Made in Thailand’ will destroytheir iconic brand? If the EU rescinds its tariffs,will Harley drop its plans to offshore more pro-duction? This is looking like just another excuseby Harley to justify moving more American jobsoffshore.”

In March, members of the Missouri congres-sional delegation sent a letter to Harley’s CEOurging him to “reconsider the decision to close theplant.”

tries. This means IAM members inthe Transportation Department arecovered by nationally-negotiatedcontracts that are not affected bystate “right to work” rules.)

3. In their case before the SupremeCourt, Janus’ attorneys argued heshouldn’t be required to pay any feesat all to a union because there was no way the union could avoidspending money in politics. Thecourt unfortunately agreed with thisflimsy argument. The anti-unionists who handpicked

Mark Janus for this case want to silence the voices of working people inpolitics. If they can do that, the politicians will only have to answer tothem and not workers.

Big business already outspendsLabor 10 to 1 when it comes to politics.But unions have a secret weapon: a knowledgeable and activated membership that can volunteer on campaigns and vote in its own interests.

We can’t just vote for someone because he or she is a Democrat or aRepublican. We have to ask candidateswhere they stand on issues like Janusand “right to work.”

There is an old union saying that hasnever stopped being relevant: “An injury to one is an injury to all!”

When we in Labor confront a threatlike Janus v AFSCME, it presents uswith an opportunity to organize and become more active — and stronger.

Janus ruling could beworst threat to LaborMovement in decades Continued from page 2

Secretary-Treasurer’s ReportBy Ian Scott-Anderman

Page 6 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Summer 2018

Ground Safety ReportBy Brian Szolodko

A little about me and summertime heat

Brothers and Sisters: A bit about me first.

I’m proud and honored to take over for retiring Ground Safety DirectorRon Miller.

I started as a mechanic with TWA, and aftersome years I started at US Airways as a mechanicin DCA and RIC and then as a lead mechanic inMCO. Along the way, I have been extremely fortu-nate to work with some great people.

Safety has always been a passion for me, and Ihave found a lot of like-minded individuals puttingin the work to get us home safely every day at USAirways, now American Airlines. In my role atGround Safety in the IAM, I get to work with someincredible people working hard at all of the carriersin our IAM family. I am eager to help keep safetymoving forward with all of you.

Summer heatIt’s the time of year for backyard barbecues and

visits to the beach. It’s also the time of year for timecrunches, heavy passenger factors — and heat.

Whether you work in the terminal or out on theramp, heat affects all of us. At home mowing thelawn or working on a flight, it can be a matter oflife and death that you stay hydrated and recognizethe signs of heat exhaustion and stroke (see below).OSHA has some good additional info at

www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3154.pdf.Please stay hydrated. If you drink electrolytic

drinks such as Gatorade, be sure to drink plenty ofwater. Electrolytic drinks are a supplement to water,not a replacement.

Take a break and find the shade or go in the airconditioning. If someone tells you to take a break,please take one. And if any of your co-workersstarts behaving strangely, get help. He or she maytell you not to, but many folks do not know whenthey are in trouble.

Remember, we are here for each other in solidar-ity, and that means caring for each other’s safety,too.

Have any questions? Reach out to your SafetyCommittee. Want to get involved? Talk to yourlocal and district leadership.

We are stronger and safer together. Thank youfor all you do.

Ground safety trainingDon’t forget to submit your forms to attend the

annual JATSC Ground Safety Training Conference,Aug. 28-31 at the William W. Winpisinger Centerat Placid Harbor. There is high demand and a wait-ing list, so be sure to act fast to get your spot. If youare interested in attending, talk to your local lodgeleadership.

Hawaiian Airlinesground safety

Heat strokeSymptoms: confusion; fainting; seizures; excessive sweating or red, hot, dry skin; very high body temperature

First aid: Call 9-1-1. While waiting for help:• Place the worker in a shady, cool area.• Loosen clothing, remove outer clothing.• Fan air on the worker, place cold packs in armpits.• Wet the worker with cool water; apply ice packs, cool compresses or ice if available.• Provide fluids (preferably water) as soon as possible.• Stay with the worker until help arrives.

Heat exhaustionSymptoms: Cool, moist skin; heavy sweating; headache; nausea or vomiting; dizziness; lightheadedness; weakness; thirst; irritability; fast heartbeat

First aid:• Have the worker sit or lie down in a cool, shady area.• Give the worker plenty of water or other cool beverage to drink.• Cool the worker with cold compresses/ice packs.• Take him or her to a clinic or emergency room for medical evaluation or treatment if signs or symptoms worsen or do not improve within 60 minutes.

• Do not return the worker to work that day.

Heat crampsSymptoms: Muscle spasms; pain in abdomen, arms or legs

First aid:• Have the worker rest in a shady, cool area.• The worker should drink water or other cool beverage.• Wait a few hours before allowing the worker to return to strenuous work.• Have the worker seek medical attention if cramps don’t go away.

Heat rashSymptoms: Clusters of red bumps on skin; often appears on neck, upper chest, folds of skin

First aid:• Try to work in a cooler, less humid environment if possible.• Keep the affected area dry.

By Brian Simonson

A t Hawaiian Airlines, Movesmart Training hasbeen reintroduced as a way to reduce on-the-job injuries. Safe-movement training exer-

cises are being conducted for all work groups. The company and union are working at imple-

menting new policies and procedures on the ramp inthe hopes of increasing efficiency without compro-mising safe work practices.

Employees are reminded of ongoing airport con-struction and to be vigilant and recognize changes indriving patterns and the movement of heavy equip-ment during this process.

Seat belt use is being monitored and disciplinary measures are being taken for thosefound not to be in compliance.

The Ground Safety Improvement Program(GSIP) has come out with a quarterly newsletteroutlining the improvements undertaken by Hawai-ian as a result of employee submissions.

Heat illnesses, their symptoms and how to reactIf you are not a medical professional, usethis information as a guide only to helpworkers in need.

Iam happy to report that the revamped ASAPsystem is working and our members are gain-ing confidence in it. This is resulting in morereports, which should lead to safer operations

for employees and customers.The bad news is that these reports are revealing

widespread failures in following procedures through-out the industry, as well as a lack of assertiveness.

Workers at all work groups, stations and airlinesare failing to follow maintenance manuals, job cardsand flight and ramp operation manuals.

For example, a mechanic was assigned to work onan aircraft door. He knew this was a sensitive job thatrequired another mechanic. When he requested thepaperwork for the “Monitor and Challenge” and another mechanic to assist him, his lead told him:“No, you don’t need it. This is only a 15-minute job.”

The outcome was an inadvertent slide deploy-ment.

When asked afterward why he didn’t insist on get-ting the correct paperwork and some help, the me-chanic replied, “I don’t usually work on this crewand I just figured that this was how it was done here.”

Here’s another example:A mechanic assigned to the “Monitor and Chal-

lenge” position was working on an aircraft door as-sist bottle discrepancy. The other mechanic, who hadforgotten to bring the correct safety pin, simplypulled out a small pocket screwdriver and jammed itin the rig pin hole.

When I interviewed the first mechanic and asked,“Why didn’t you have him get the correct rig pin?”he replied, “I knew it wasn’t right, but I’m new onthis crew and I didn’t want to make any waves.”

The outcome was not consequential… this time.Yet another example:

A line mechanic received a late gate call for aproblem with a taxi light. While he was repairing thelight assembly, the jetway was pulled away from theaircraft.

After repairing the discrepancy, the mechanicasked about making a logbook entry for the repair.His supervisor told him, “No, you can do it later because we don’t want to take a delay.”

The outcome was a failure to document mainte-nance performed in the logbook.

These are just three recent examples of failing tofollow procedures. However, failing to follow pro-cedures was just a classification of the error. The rootcause was simply a lack or assertiveness.

Each of these mechanics knew the correct proce-dure. They allowed themselves to be swayed by either their co-workers or management into not fol-lowing procedure.

If you feel something doesn’t seem right, safe orin accordance with policy… stop.

The age of “just get the job done” is over. Yes, wewant you to get the task accomplished in a timelymanner. But even more importantly, the task needsto be done safely and according to policy and proce-dures.

The task needs to be completed in a manner thatis safe for you, your co-workers, our passengers andthe aircraft.

It is just as important to be in compliance as it isto be safe. This means having the paperwork com-plete and using the correct tooling as specified in themanuals.

As the mechanic doing the job, you are the “lowhanging fruit.” You will be the one whom manage-ment and FAA will call to task.

Always follow procedure!

Summer 2018 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Page 7

Flight Safety ReportBy John Hall, Flight Safety Director

Reports are lacking assertiveness; always follow proper procedures

Did you know every two sec-onds someone in the UnitedStates needs blood? Thatadds up to 36,000 units of red

blood cells, 10,000 units of plasma and7,000 units of platelets every day.

Keeping up with this demand is ahuge challenge. Fortunately, you cando your part by donating blood to savelives. Blood donation is a four-stepprocess that includes registration, abrief questionnaire about your medicalhistory, a mini-physical and the blooddonation, followed by refreshments.

The entire process usually takes justover an hour, but the actual blood do-nation only takes 10 to 12 minutes.Your mini-physical includes checkingyour temperature, blood pressure, pulseand hemoglobin.

A healthy donor can donate redblood cells every 56 days and plateletsevery seven days, but no more than 24times a year.

Once you’ve finished donatingblood, the bag, test tubes and donorrecord are labeled with identical barcodes. Blood is stored in iced coolers

until transport.Next, it goes on to processing. The

bag is scanned into a database and thetest tubes are sent for testing. A dozentests are completed to determine bloodtype and to check for infectious dis-eases.

Finally, if blood is determined to betransfusable, it is stored in refrigeratorsor freezers before being shipped towhere it is needed. It’s that easy.

To learn more about blood donation,visit the American Red Cross’ websiteat redcross.org/give-blood.

Donate blood to save lives!

Blood donation myths and factsBlood donation myths False: “I cannot give blood be-cause I have tattoos.” In moststates, you can give blood rightafter getting a tattoo as long asthe tattoo was applied by a state-regulated entity using sterileneedles and ink.

False: “I need to go on a specialdiet to donate.” You don’t haveto go on a special diet, but youshould always have a balanceddiet. You need to have enoughiron in your blood to donateblood.

Blood donation facts True: Healthy bone marrow re-plenishes the elements givenduring a blood donation — forsome in a matter of hours andfor others in a matter of weeks.

True:All donated blood is testedfor HIV, hepatitis B and C,syphilis and other infectious dis-eases before it can be released toa hospital.

Page 8 District Lodge 142 OBSERVER Summer 2018

Southwest Stewards Training Conference

Photos by Kyle Morris, Southwest Steward, Philadelphia

Southwest Stewards convened at the William W. Winpisinger Education and Technology Center in Hollywood, Md., for their annual conference in May.They focused on skills in improving their roles as stewards, organizing and recent developments in negotiations around the industry, among other topics.