• EMERGENCY MANUAL AND HOME STUDY WORKBOOKS
• VACATION INFORMATION
• VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH AND DUES OBLIGATION
• Accessing The Hub

• AFA Local Numbers

EMERGENCY MANUAL AND HOME STUDY WORKBOOKS

Recently the FAA has conducted several audits of the CLT Training Center during Recurrent Training. The FAA has discovered several cases of Flight Attendants attending Recurrent Training with either an out of date Inflight Emergency Manual (IEM) and/or an incomplete Home Study workbook.

Each Flight Attendant is responsible for carrying an up to date IEM. The FAA can levy a fine to a Flight Attendant not in possession of an up to date IEM. The FAA is drawing the conclusion that the completion of the Home Study workbook using an out of date IEM invalidates the Home Study portion of Recurrent Training.

The Company is currently reviewing the manual violations and developing a plan to properly notify Flight Attendants of the most current revisions to the IEM and any Alert Bulletins.

The most recent revision to the IEM is:

Revision 2 dated May 5, 2008

The Alert Bulletins required at this time are:

Alert Bulletins #6, #5, #4 and #2.

You can check the status of your IEM and all other manuals via the following link:

http://www.afausairways.org/Eline/CB_AB_06_2008.pdf

In addition, the Home Study workbook must be completed in its entirety by every Flight Attendant regardless of your base or aircraft qualification(s).

The Company will be publishing additional information shortly.

***please note - the above information is for informational purposes only and is meant solely for the education of the Union's members. The Union Reserves the right to address any Company actions regarding the IEM and Home Study workbook either collectively or individually in the future.

VACATION INFORMATION

Bidding for 2009 vacation is now open. Please remember that your 2009 vacation accrual is based on the number full months of employment (15 or more days of active service) as a Flight Attendant in the preceding calendar year). If you were on a Medical, Maternity, Adoption, Personal, Educational, In Lieu of Furlough leave you will not accrue vacation for the months spent on the leave. A Flight Attendant participating in the upcoming Voluntary Furlough Programs (three or eight month) will not accrue vacation for the months spent on Voluntary Furlough.

Flight Attendants who are awarded a Voluntary Personal Leave of Absence (VPLOA) will accrue vacation for the next calendar year during the time spent on a VPLOA as VPLOA participants are considered active for all purposes (other than receiving a paycheck).

Round one and two bidding dates and additional information are copied below:

US AIRWAYS 2009 ANNUAL VACATION

*** Vacation will be awarded based on your JAN 1, 2009 domicile. ***

Round 1 of the 2009 Annual Vacation Bid is scheduled to open on Friday, August 22nd, 2008 at 1800 ET. To view the number of vacation days you have to bid in Round 1, access CATCREW Option 13. If you believe there is a discrepancy with your 2009 Accrual, please contact InFlight Vacations.

NOTE: Your 2009 accrual includes all remaining days from your Excess Days Bank, if applicable. You must bid in increments of four (4) or more days; however, you are permitted to have one 2-day OR one 3-day period. One (1) day vacation periods will not be allowed. (Exception: Filler Days). The maximum number of Fillers Days allowable is 6.

IMPORTANT: PAPER BIDS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. ALL vacation bids must be entered via CATCREW, which can be accessed in the Crew Lounge or via Flightline. You may also authorize a Bid Service to input your bids. The Company is NOT responsible if the bid service enters your bids incorrectly. Only Flight Attendants on a Leave of Absence (LOA) may submit bids via theHUB.

Understanding the correct use of CATCREW for computerized bidding is very important. Detailed bidding instructions are noted in this memo. Should you have a question or a problem entering your bids, please contact your Supervisor or InFlight Vacations.

Bids will open, close and be awarded on the following schedule:

Friday, August 22nd, 2008: Catcrew Vacation Screens 13 and 14 open at 1800 ET.

Wednesday, September, 24th 2008: Round 1 Vacation Bidding closes at 1800 ET.

Tuesday, September 30th, 2008: Round 1 Awards Posted in CBS by 1800 ET.

A CBS message will be sent when the awards are officially posted. Print your CBS notification for your records.

Monday, October 6th, 2008: Round 2 opens at 1800 ET.

Monday, October 20th, 2008: Round 2 Bidding closes at 1800 ET.

Thursday, October 23rd, 2008: Final Results Posted in CBS by 1800 ET.

A CBS message will be sent when the awards are officially posted. Print your CBS notification for your records.

REMINDERS

NOTE: Your 2009 accrual includes three (3) days from your Excess Days Bank, if applicable. You must bid in increments of four (4) or more days; however, you are permitted to have one 2-day OR one 3-day period. One (1) day vacation periods will not be allowed. (Exception: Filler Days). The maximum number of Fillers Days allowable is 6.

Bids can begin or end on any calendar day from 01 January 2009 to 31 December 2009.

Days not awarded in Round 1 must be bid in the Round 2. Days not awarded in Round 2 WILL BE ASSIGNED.

To enter your vacation bids, use CATCREW OPTION 14. Once you get to the Option 14 screen, you must press the [ENTER] key BEFORE you begin to bid. This will bring up your bid grid which will display the number of days that you have to bid, the year - 2009 and the Number of each bid box. Now begin entering bids.

NOTE: Once you have finished inputting your bids on the first page, press the [ENTER] key. The system will automatically update.

ALWAYS READ THE MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN.

***PRINT YOUR BIDS FROM OPTION 13; THIS IS YOUR PROTECTIVE BID.
Screen prints from Option 14 will not be accepted as a protective bid. ***

BIDDING

Each bid box consists of one (1) Primary bid and seven (7) Alternates. Each bid box will be read as a separate bid. There can be no more than eight (8) choices for any bid group.

The "DAYS" column must show the number of consecutive days you are bidding. The "START" and "END" dates must be a four-digit number where the first two digits indicate the calendar month and the second two digits indicate calendar day:

Jan 1, 2009 would be entered as 0101 Jun 1, 2009 would be entered as 0601
Dec 31, 2009 would be entered as 1231

The system will also recognize reverse date ranges: 0131-0101 7 days

Note: A bid such as 1224 - 0105 for 7 days means "begin on December 24th 2009, moving backwards through the year an end on January 5th, 2009 looking for 7 days".

To delete all bids enter "Y" after DEL ALL and press [ENTER].
In bidding each bid group, list as many alternates as possible. Latter alternates should express as wide a range of acceptable days as possible. If you are unsure of how to enter a specific bid, please contact your Supervisor or InFlight Administration - Vacations.

FILLER DAYS

20% of the days you have accrued for 2009 can be bid as Filler Days up to a maximum of 6 days.

Bid filler days in a separate bid box by specifying the number of filler days in the
"DAYS" column and a "Y" in the "FL" column on the CATCREW screen. A "Y" in the "FL" column only indicates a Filler bid - NOT the number of days you want. It is necessary to note the number of Filler Days in the "DAYS" column. Do NOT bid filler days as an alternate bid in a bid group.

You do not have to bid multiple numbers of filler days depending upon the number of days you may have left over. If you want to bid 5 filler days, and depending upon how your bid is processed, you only have 3 days left, the system will automatically award you the 3 filler days.

CARRY FORWARD DAYS

Days awarded in 2008, but not taken due to a leave of absence, become Carry Forward days for 2009. These days will be available for Round 2 Bidding Only. In addition, all remaining days in your 2004 C/F Bank will available for bidding in Round 2.

DROP SENIORITY BIDS (BUDDY BIDDING)

To drop seniority to a junior flight attendant, each flight attendant must put the other's employee number in the "DROP EMP NBR" field in each bid group that s/he is buddy bidding. If the employee numbers are not matched, the bid will be awarded as a regular bid.

Buddy Bids must be in the first bid group(s) on the screen. Bids can be entered only if Buddy Bids are specified first.

Each drop bid group must specify the same date ranges and number of days. If ranges do not match, the bid will be awarded as a regular bid.

Buddy Bids noted correctly but not awarded due to availability will be rebid in Round 2.


RANGE BIDS

You can bid a minimum and maximum number of consecutive days within a specified date range. For example, a bid of 1231 - 1215 for 10 days with a Range of 7 will result in a search for 10 consecutive days within the specified date range. If 10 days are not available, the computer will search for 9 consecutive days then 8 consecutive days and so on down to the range (or minimum) number specified for an award.

Range days are noted in the "RG" column on the CATCREW screen. By using Range Bidding, you can avoid having to rebid any days during the rebid process or having days assigned.

VOLUNTARY FURLOUGH AND DUES OBLIGATION

Voluntary Furloughs were negotiated by the Union for two reasons. The first was of course, to reduce or eliminate any involuntary furloughs. The second was because over the years it became apparent that for whatever reason, a Voluntary Furlough is something that is desired by some Flight Attendants. Please remember that according to the Association of Flight Attendants Constitution a member on a voluntary furlough status has a regular dues obligation for the first ninety (90) days. You will be mailed an invoice monthly to your address of record with the AFA International Office. If necessary, you can update your address by clicking on the following link:

http://afanet.org.master.com/texis/master/search/+/form/AFA-CWA Change of Address Form.html  or here:
http://www.afausairways.org/EForms/addresschange.html

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AFA US Airways Website

www.afausairways.org

Accessing The Hub:

http://thehub.usairways.com 
Logging in the first time your user name is u0(zero) and your five digit employee number. Your initial password is the first five digits of your social security number. Questions about the Hub? Please contact the EDS Help Desk at 336-744-6000 for assistance. More information can also be found HERE.

AFA Local Numbers
 
Council 41 DCA 703-212-8090
Council 69 BOS 781-289-8454
Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
Council 82 LGA 315-736-3483
Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325

New Hotline Number Toll Free: 866-USA-AFA2
US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780

Reply to Inflight: askinflight@usairways.com

Got Questions? Get Answers

The *E-Line* is now in a new and improved format. By updating your profile at unionvoice.org you will be able to enjoy improved services in the near future! Visit your subscription management page at: http://www.unionvoice.org/

Got questions about This *E-Line* from AFA - US Airways or any other Union matter? Do NOT REPLY to the *E-Line*. PLEASE contact your local AFA officers or committee chairs directly: http://www.afausairways.org/emailaddresses2.htm

Your MEC Officers
Association of Flight Attendants
Hotline & *E-Line* - US Airways