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Dear Council 41 Member,
My attempts to write this newsletter over the past few weeks have been very difficult due to the ever-changing environment. As soon as a problem arises it is corrected or changes into something more.
For example the personal days that DCA flight attendants were charged due to the snowstorm was an on going battle. It has been corrected. If you called scheduling during the month of February to advise them that you were unable to make it to work due to the snow
you will not be charged with a personal day that takes a vacation day from your 2004
bank.
Another ongoing ever-evolving problem is CRAF. The Company has not offered enough initial training for the 767. AFA has taken the position that if you are not trained on the 767 and CRAF trips are being flown junior to you that you are entitled to a claim. Please fill out claim and submit them to your supervisor. If/when they are denied please put them in my mailbox. CRAF training in itself is not required to fly the current CRAF Charters. If/when the aeromedical segments of CRAF are operated then only those with specific CRAF training will be allowed to bid and fly those trips. CRAF Specific training is being conducted in seniority order.
During the month of February the local officers conducted 2 special roundtable meetings with the International President Pat Friend and members of Council 41 concerning the future of our union. As of August 2001 AFA has lost more than 8700 members or $4 million per year. We are not talking about nickels and dimes we are talking about millions. There are difficult decisions to make over the next few months. Should AFA affiliate with another larger union? Should AFA dismantle all departments (i.e. Safety, Legislative Affairs…)? These are decisions that will impact everyone. Let's face it US Airways looks like a survivor, surviving on the backs of the employees. We will still have safety and security issues to deal with, members of Congress are trying to rewrite the Railway Labor Act (read below) that we must fight, and members will still need our EAP services. I believe that we should look at long term benefits of an affiliation. The Executive Board of AFA has already made a determination that a dues increase is not a possibility given the current situation most members are facing.
The other officers and I would like to thank the members who attended the meetings. More of these meetings will take place in the coming months along with a general membership meeting.
When contacting a local officer please be aware that we fly too. If our voice mail message says we are out and to contact another officer please do. My cell phone is left as an alternate number when I am on a trip.
In solidarity,
Bob Kenia
Will We Have Any Bargaining Power?
We have made great sacrifices for our Company over the past 7 months. We did this under the threat of bankruptcy and then liquidation. I supported some of those changes with the idea that in the future we could fight to improve our agreement and improve our profession.
With the possibility of legislation moving forward that would forever give management the upper hand (much like what happened to us over the past 7 months) we need everyone to step up to the plate to defeat the legislation that will change the Railway Labor Act forever..
Please read the information below very carefully concerning legislation Senators McCain and Lott have vowed to pass.
Airline management is buying high-priced lobbyists in Washington, D.C., in an attempt to:
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Take away our right to strike if management refuses to agree to a reasonable contract or stonewall in negotiations
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Allow management to refuse to negotiate in good faith with us
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Eliminate your democratic right to vote on new contracts
Management intends to accomplish this by getting Congress
to change the Railway Labor Act -- the law that governs airline labor negotiations.
The airlines have begun a very expensive campaign to sell their plan in Washington. Under this scheme, if contract negotiations break down and it is determined that no agreement can be reached, our right to strike would be eliminated. Instead, an arbitrator would be appointed by the government to pick either the airline's last offer or the union's last offer as the contract that is implemented. The arbitrator will be forced to consider the airline's profitability and needs of its shareholders in making his decision. The needs of workers will come last.
The airlines' plan is being pitched by a front group called CESTA (Communities for Economic Strength Through Aviation). Their plan eliminates all incentive for management to negotiate with us. Management will wait to get to the end of the process, declare an impasse, and present its low-ball offer to the arbitrator, who will then compare it to the union's last offer. Since the arbitrator must consider the needs of the shareholders and the airline's profitability, this all but ensures the arbitrator will pick management's contract to be implemented. Workers will not get to vote on whether or not the deal picked by the arbitrator is satisfactory.
Although the Railway Labor Act is not perfect, and even though collective bargaining under the law can be drawn-out and frustrating for everyone involved, good-faith collective bargaining and compliance with existing contract language on management's part would significantly improve airline labor relations. Changing existing laws would make negotiations virtually meaningless since management wouldn't have any motivation to reach an agreement.
Q The proposed changes would take away our right to strike and to vote on an agreement. As a result, the changes proposed would make bad worker/management relationships worse because employees would no longer have any means to protect themselves against a vicious management that fails to negotiate in good
faith.
AFA has begun the task of defeating this measure but we will need all of you to join us. Over the next several months we will be asking you to write to your Congressmen and Senators. We may even begin a campaign with our own management. WE HAVE HELPED THEM now it is time for them TO HELP US!
Understaffing
The parameters for understaffing pay are as follows. If you are not paid automatically file a claim, if it is denied let one of the local officers know.
UNDERSTAFFING PARAMETERS
(BAG SNACK Codes C42/S42 C42-307/S42-308
| A/C Type |
Passenger Count |
Block Time |
Required flight attendants |
| A-320 |
Over 129 |
Over 3:15 |
4 |
| A-321 |
Over 153 |
Over 3:15 |
5 |
| 757 |
Over 166 |
Over 3:15 |
5 |
Personal Days
As negotiated during the summer restructuring agreement the personal day policy has taken effect January of this year. However the Company has taken there own "poetic license" in administering the policy. For instance, during the storm in February flight attendants who called scheduling Sunday morning (2-26-03) to advise scheduling that they could not make it to work due to the snow were given two personal days for Sunday and Monday even though the airport was closed.
The Company has reversed their decision and will not deduct a vacation day from
2004. Please let an officer know if your record was not changed. This is not how the policy was supposed to be implemented. The flight attendants have sacrificed enough and this new policy was designed to be a benefit not a burden as the management has made it. I'll keep you updated on any changes.
Flight Attendant Cleaning Stations
There have been many questions and complaints concerning the current list of flight attendant cleaning stations. Sideletter 21 allows the Company to have a set amount of flight attendant cleaning stations (34). This has been a part of our agreement for many, many years.
What has happened over the past few months is a decrease in service to the smaller cities (ITH, ELM etc.). Therefore the Company is giving us cities like MSY, IAH, SRQ and RSW. The sideletter addresses station size not about the length of the flight from the nearest hub. Unfortunately this language is here and will not go away anytime soon.
The MEC President wrote a letter to the VP of Inflight, Sherry Hendry to reiterate AFA's position on the cleaning stations. We are only supposed to "tidy" the aircraft. This means we do not clean out seat pockets, cross seatbelts, or clean/stock lavatories. We only pick up loose trash on the floor and seats and put the pillows and blankets in the overheads. If the Company wants dirty (actually dirtier) aircraft then be prepared to pass out the Company address in the back of the Attaché magazine.
As of January 2003 the current stations include:
ABE, ALB, BNA, BUF, CHS, CLE, CMH, DFW, DTW, IAD, IAH, ILM, MDT, MHT, MKE, MSP, MSY, MYR, PNS, PWM, ROC, RSW, SAV, SRQ, SYR.
PINK Slips
No, not termination notices. Please be advised that a new liquor "crack down" is on its way. The Company policy states that a flight attendant must keep their pink slips for 120 days. It is not known if this initiative will breed an entire new system or just revamp the old one. Keep your eyes and ears open.
Recurrent Training
Recurrent training for DCA flight attendants begins at 11:30am. You are scheduled to take the flight departing just before 10am (times vary month to month). This is supposed to give you just enough time to get to the training center barring any unforeseen traffic problems. However, there is a grace period. If they know you are on the flight they will wait for you within a reasonable amount of time. If you do not make it to training or are significantly late through no fault of your own you will be paid for the day.
vv Starting in May the new recurrent program begins. This program will run from 9-5, therefore you will be able to take the early flight and be on a flight home just after training. If you have already been notified that you cannot take this class this is a mistake, please contact training to
reschedule. vv
AFA scholarship applications available
Applications are now available for the 2003 AFA Scholarship Fund. To be considered for the award, completed applications must be postmarked by April 10, 2003. Winners will be selected in early May.
The scholarship, established in 1994 by former AFA President and US Airways Flight attendant Dee Maki, helps AFA members with the financial burdens of educating their dependents while recognizing accomplishments in education and community service.
NEW Sick Policy
Be advised that the NEW sick policy has not taken effect yet. The Company stated the new claim process would begin in April ignoring protests from AFA and ALPA.
WAR Contingency
As this newsletter is being written the nation is set to go to war with in 24 hours. During the winter restructuring agreement a "War Contingency" was shoved down our throats that would immediately reduce your hourly wage by 5%. This 5% pay cut would last for 18 months and payback of the 5% reduction would begin immediately after the 18-month period. Unless the Company turns a pretax quarterly profit (within the 18 months) then the reduction would stop immediately and payback would begin the month immediately following the profit. Please refer to page 7-8 of the winter restructuring agreement.
This newsletter was sent via e-mail and placed in all flight attendant mailboxes.
Sign up HERE
or www.afausairways.org
and Click on the Washington page.
Bob Kenia, LEC President
703-690-6859 office
703-690-9350 Fax
bkenia@afasuairways.org
Alin Boswell, LEC VP
703-212-8090 office
703-212-8089 fax
alin@afausairways.org
Katie Whitney, LEC Secretary
703-719-6940 office
703-719-6935 fax
kwhitney@afausiarways.org
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