Members,

• VFLR

• ETB TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION

• MY THOUGHTS

VFLR

The bid closing for the Voluntary Furlough with Limited Recall (VFLR) is Thursday, April 20th at 2359 EST. The bid awards will be processed shortly after the closing and the successful bidders will be notified. If you wish to rescind your bid you must do so prior to being notified of your award. Once you have been notified you CANNOT REVOKE YOUR BID. If you wish to rescind your bid it would be my advice that you do so prior to the bid closing. In order to dispel a few rumors here a few key points to remember:

--The $10,000 payment will be paid in a lump sum 30-45 days after your release date.

--Pass privileges will terminate upon the death of the former employee or upon employment of the employee by an air carrier that offers travel benefits.
 
--If you choose not to accept a recall you will deemed to have resigned.
--Company subsidized medical and dental benefits will terminate on the effective date of your release. COBRA will be offered in accordance with applicable law. In general COBRA will continue for 18 months.

--It is unlikely that you will a) be recalled or, b) accept a recall as a recall will be offered only after the actual recall of all other voluntary and involuntary furloughees and subject to the forfeiture of  his/her prior longevity and seniority (i.e. start at the bottom of the list at first year pay).

--Vacation accruals and unused vacations will be paid out in a separate check. A flight attendant with 7 or more CUMULATIVE vacation days will be paid out at 4:00 hours per day. A flight attendant with less than seven CUMULATIVE days will be paid out at 3:30 per day.

--As of this morning the Company had received 460 VFLR bids.

ETB TRAINING AND IMPLEMENTATION

The Electronic Trade Board will go “live” on April 23, 2005. Please reference the following link for more ETB information: http://www.afausairways.org/ETB/etb1.htm

Beginning tomorrow morning there will be trainers in the CLT crew room to train flight attendants on the ETB. The ETB will be available for viewing and practice on thehub beginning tomorrow as well. The ETB is a FLIGHTLINE product and will contain help menus and screens. The crew room trainers will be available from 0630-17:00 April 13-19 and from 0630-1900 April 20-30. Additional training sessions will be scheduled for May.

MY THOUGHTS

The ongoing restructuring of the airline industry and US Airways has led to the restructuring of our careers and our lives. As I have said previously this contract changes almost everything we have grown accustomed to. From the top of the seniority list to the bottom there is change. AFA has tried to not disadvantage any particular seniority level with this contract. I believe we have succeeded as we are ALL affected by the terms of this agreement. In short everyone will sacrifice in one way or another. We faced the daunting task of trying to negotiate an agreement while under the threat of bankruptcy court abrogation. The result is certainly not a good deal for any of us but I believe is better than the alternative. Our decisions, while painful, helped to give this company a competitive contract that provides a basis for our survival.  While we were unable to eliminate the LTO system there are several changes to the agreement that should benefit reserves. I believe we are making strides towards improving the relationship between the Company and our members. There are many things that need to be accomplished in order to improve that relationship. The new order this contract imposes will place many challenges on each of us. Some of us will be able to make the changes work and some of us will not. As the contract moves from paper to practice there are going to be hardships and unhappiness. I believe the various components of this contract will eventually fall into place providing a workable alternative to what we once had. While not as good as what we had in the past the goal was to preserve as much as we could. The charge of any union or organization is to protect as many members as possible in as many ways as possible. No one at AFA ever makes a conscious decision to sacrifice one group for another. I believe this contract reflects that effort. There is no doubt that we face a company that seeks to take advantage of our contract and exploit it.  It is our job to see that does not happen. There are things we agree on and things we don’t. We will continue our effort to give you the best representation we can in the face of this challenge. I completely understand everyone’s frustration. Please continue to let me know your thoughts.

Thank You,

Mike Flores
LEC President CLT
AFA-CWA AFL-CIO
704-527-0325 OFFICE
704-576-3174 CELL

© Copyright 2005. Council 89 CLT AFA -CWA US Airways - Council89@afausairways.org