As you may know from the MEC and the Legislative Affairs Department there are several great opportunities coming up to better our career on Capitol Hill. We have the reintroduction of FMLA, we have new legislation in the house regarding national and international carryon bag laws, as well as air and water issues to name a few.

The entire Legislative Affairs Committee needs assistance from ALL flight attendants in our company. All flight attendants benefit from what our legislative affairs team accomplishes at meeting locally and nationally with congressmen and senators. Legislative Affairs volunteers spend endless hours making calls, visits, and mailings to those individuals in our government that we hope will make new laws to keep us safe, healthy, and SANE! To do that we need bodies willing to volunteer from where ever they live and we need money to pay for all the "campaigning" we do for the flight attendant group.

Those of us, who love to volunteer, we expect nothing for our services other than the joy of helping out where we chose to volunteer. Imagine what it might feel like to persuade your state officials that flight attendants need uncontaminated air or water, the right to care for loved ones or ourselves when we are ill, or that it should not be our job to police carry-on bags. Believe me it is easier than getting our company to agree.

Here are my requests: 1) I need volunteers to go to meetings with state and local officials to tell them your personal stories, be proactive in fighting for your career; and/or 2) Legislative Affairs needs money to pay for expenses in conducting those meetings. If you cannot spend personal time, can you contribute to Flight Pac? Legislative Affairs CANNOT access any union money. It is illegal. Legislative Affairs only can recoup expenses from member donations from Flight Pac. Flight Pac is money paid by members strictly to be used to better our jobs as flight attendants.

For those based in Charlotte, we currently have ONLY 61 flight attendants paying for Flight Pac that serves all of us based in Charlotte. The YTD total received from those 60 is $969.00. NOT Enough! All AFA airlines have Flight Pac as well as American Airlines which is an independent union. Each airline and each base has a legislative team doing the same thing. Unfortunately, the Charlotte base has the lowest number of contributors in the entire country.

As far as volunteers go... 2 of us represent the Charlotte base, Nancy Doyle and me. We cover several states, NC, SC, FL, GA, TN, KY, TX, AL, & Puerto Rico (just kidding on PR).

In closing, I am passionate about change. I personally do not like the fact that our contracts are strictly based on the National Labor Relations Act or The Railway Labor Act of the 1930’s. Times have changed as you well know but unless we can use the practices in 2009, PAC money for legislation to make change, we have no chance as flight attendants at bettering our working conditions or even our contracts.

My hope is that there are flight attendants out there willing to step up to the plate as volunteers and/or Flight Pac to the fight for their personal working conditions.

If you can volunteer your time or make a small contribution to Flight Pac please either email me or call me. My Contact info is below.

Respectfully,

Cathy Bossi
Legislative Affairs Chair
Council 89
cbossi@afausairways.org
704-622-0648