Tag: vote (Page 2 of 2)

Ford’s UAW Members Vote to Ratify New Four-Year Contract

November 15, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: Frankfurt hosts the international Motor Show (IAA)

DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union said on Friday that rank-and-file members at Ford Motor Co <F> have voted in favor of a new four-year labor contract with the No. 2 U.S. automaker.

The UAW will now focus on Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) <FCAU>, the sole remaining Detroit automaker without a new labor contract. Talks with FCA are expected to begin on Monday, a UAW spokesman said.

The union said 56.3% of Ford’s hourly workers voted to approve the deal, which allowed the company to avoid a strike like the one that cost its larger rival General Motors Co <GM> about $3 billion (£2.3 billion).

UAW leaders said earlier this month that Ford under the deal agreed to invest more than $6 billion in its U.S. plants, and to create or retain more than 8,500 UAW jobs.

The deal also includes pay raises and lump-sum payments over the life of the contract, a pathway to full-time employment for temporary employees and unchanged healthcare coverage.

Workers at GM approved a deal in late October that ended a contentious 40-day U.S. strike, the longest automotive labor stoppage since 1970.

Detailed terms of the Ford deal – released just a week after GM workers approved their new contract – echoed those agreed to with GM, as the union typically uses the first deal as a template for those that follow.

UAW leaders managed contract negotiations with Ford and GM, including the lengthy strike, while struggling with an ongoing federal corruption probe.

To date, 10 people have pleaded guilty in connection with the criminal investigation into illegal payoffs. Just last week former UAW vice president and former GM board member Joseph Ashton was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.

Earlier this month the UAW said that its president, Gary Jones, who had been linked to the ongoing corruption probe, was taking a leave of absence.

Rory Gamble, the union’s acting head, said last week he will examine every department of the union in response to the spreading federal corruption probe to prevent future misuse of members’ dues.

(Reporting by Nick Carey and Ben Klayman in DetroitEditing by Matthew Lewis and Cynthia Osterman)

KLM Firms Up Order for E195-E2 Jets, Adds Six Further Aircraft

November 12, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, Nov. 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Embraer and KLM Cityhopper have signed a firm order for 21 E195-E2 aircraft, plus 14 purchase rights. The 21 firm positions will be acquired via operating lease from Embraer lessor partners Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing. The order was previously announced as a Letter of Intent for 15 firm orders with 20 purchase rights at the Paris Air Show earlier this year. With all purchase rights exercised the deal would have a value of USD 2.48 billion.

The aircraft for this order will come from the existing backlogs of lessors Aircastle and ICBC Aviation Leasing; each providing KLM with 11 and 10 E195-E2s, respectively.

“KLM’s decision to add a further six aircraft to this order is a significant vote of confidence in our E2 programme”, said John Slattery, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “Delivering 30% lower emissions when compared to KLM’s current E190s, yet still providing a further 32 seats, the E195-E2 will simultaneously increase capacity for KLM at slot constrained Schiphol Airport, while also delivering huge reductions in emissions.”

KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers, said, “For KLM this aircraft is a significant part of our commitment to improving our environmental impact. Not only is the E195-E2 the most fuel efficient lowest emission aircraft in its class, it is also the quietest by a considerable margin – a huge benefit for both our communities and our passengers.

KLM will configure the aircraft with 132 seats. Deliveries will begin in the first quarter of 2021.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.

Ryanair German Pilots Vote (99%) For 4 Year Collective Labour Agreement

October 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Ryanair today (02 Oct) confirmed that its pilots based in Germany have voted by a majority of 99% in favour of a 4 year Collective Labour Agreement (VTV), to cover all Ryanair’s directly employed pilots in Germany until March 2023.

The agreement, negotiated between Ryanair and the pilot union VC, will deliver a new pay structure along with a fixed 5/4 roster. Ryanair and VC have also agreed a Social Plan to govern German base closures or reductions.

Embraer Says Key Vote on Boeing Tie-up May Proceed

February 26, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian planemaker Embraer said on Tuesday a key shareholder meeting to vote on the sale of 80 percent of its commercial aviation business to Boeing Co could proceed as scheduled on Tuesday, after it got an injunction overturned.

A federal judge had suspended the meeting on Friday at the request of a union representing some Embraer workers which had lobbied against the deal, partly on concerns Boeing would slash jobs if the tie-up was approved.

Shares in Embraer surged 3 percent in early Sao Paulo trading on news the meeting would take place.

Last-minute legal twists are common in Brazil, and Embraer had already overturned several injunctions that temporarily blocked the deal.

Under the proposed terms, Boeing will pay $4.2 billion to control Embraer’s most profitable division, its commercial aviation business.

The deal will provide a cash influx that the Brazilian planemaker has defended as crucial to its survival as increased competition between Boeing and Airbus squeezes out smaller rivals.

“The potential operation with Boeing will save Embraer,” lawyers for the Brazilian planemaker said in July in a court filing as it battled an earlier challenge to the deal.

But critics say the arrangement will leave Embraer weaker and financially dependent on its two remaining divisions, executive jets and defense, both of which have posted losses in recent quarters.

Foreign shareholders, who own a tiny slice of the company, overwhelmingly voted to approve the deal.

Brazil’s securities regulator late on Monday denied a separate request filed by minority shareholders to suspend the shareholder meeting.

Embraer’s union has vowed to protest the meeting, which will be held at the planemaker’s headquarters in the city of Sao Jose dos Campos. The union’s plans prompted Embraer to seek legal restrictions of its own.

A judge sided with Embraer last week, allowing Brazil’s military police to safeguard the planemaker’s premises while the meeting takes place.

The deal has already been approved by Brazil’s government, which holds veto power over important business decisions at Embraer, which was a state company until its privatization in the 1990s.

(Reporting by Marcelo Rochabrun in Sao Paulo; Additional reporting by Gram Slattery in Rio de Janeiro; Editing by Jason Neely, Keith Weir and Bernadette Baum)

Belgian Pilots Back Ryanair Pay and Conditions Deal

February 15, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Belgian pilots have overwhelmingly voted in favour of a deal with Ryanair on pay and rosters, the Belgian cockpit association (BeCA) said on Friday.

The BeCA said that 98.5 percent of those participating in a secret ballot had voted in favour of the deal that the association said guaranteed stability for pilots for the next four years and harmonised working conditions and pay for all pilots based in Belgium.

Belgian cabin crew and pilots had reached a preliminary deal in October.

“However, it is not all over. It is now up to Ryanair to establish an appropriate local management structure that will guarantee the quick implementation of these commitments,” BeCa said in a statement.

Ryanair suffered a number of strikes last year by cabin crew and pilots, forcing it to cancel hundreds of flights, after the airline recognised unions for the first time in 2017.

The Irish low-cost carrier has sought to reach agreements with unions in a series of countries across Europe.

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Fate of Mexico City’s New Airport Up For Public Vote

August 24, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

Mexico’s next president has called a referendum so the public can decide whether to continue the construction of the capital’s major new airport, designed by Norman Foster and Fernando Romero.

President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador will hold a public vote in October 2018 to determine the fate of the New Mexico City International Airport project, he announced last week, despite the fact that construction has been ongoing since 2015.

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Fate of Mexico City’s new Airport