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New
York Times Editorial Letter
December
16, 2003
To
the Editor:
Micheline
Maynard's Dec. 12 article on US Airways' Southwest problem in
Philadelphia let US Airways CEO Dave Siegel get away with
saying, "We're no different than retailers who have to
deal with Wal-Mart."
While
Southwest and Wal-Mart both are known for their low prices,
that's where the similarities end.
Southwest
Airlines, the most unionized carrier in the U.S., achieves its
low prices through what was a revolutionary scheduling plan -
point-to-point flying - and through streamlined operations
that rely on good relationships between management and
workers, suppliers, vendors, lessors and everyone else who
supplies a service to the airline.
Wal-Mart,
"a nonunion, low-wage employer," (according to a NYT
Editorial, 11-15-03), achieves its low prices by not only
paying poverty level wages and charging workers for benefits,
but also by driving down the wages of the people who provide
goods and services to the company.
Over
70,000 grocery store workers in California are on strike
because their employer says it has to cut wages and health
benefits to compete with Wal-Mart.
But
labor costs are not US Airways' problem in competing with
Southwest. And allowing Siegel to make the Wal-Mart
analogy plays directly to the false premise that US Airways
must now cut labor costs a third time just to compete.
If
you compare US Airways' labor costs as a percentage of its
revenue to Southwest's, US Airways actually has lower labor
costs than its new competitor in Philadelphia.
Where
Southwest trumps US Airways is in costs related to poor
management decisions. US Airways was able to
significantly lower many costs during a recent stint in
bankruptcy. But airline management failed to fix
operational and scheduling problems that make up the cost
disadvantage US Airways suffers in fuel expense, aircraft
rentals and landing fees - all a product of poor management
decisions.
If
Siegel actually wants to solve his airline's problems, he
needs to look in a mirror, rather than pinching his employees
a third time. Workers can and will only give so much, so this
approach leads to a failed airline. We will not agree to
become the Wal-Mart workers of the airline industry.
Sincerely,
Patricia Friend
<><><><><>
The
sick policy letter, referred to by the MEC President in the
latest HotLine. This policy letter was placed in the Flight
Attendant mail boxes the week of December 15th, 2003. The
Policy will take affect December 19, 2003.
December
12, 2003
To
All Flight Attendants:
The
future success of US Airways is dependent upon a reliable
schedule and reliable service for our customers. Our ability
to maintain dependable service is profoundly jeopardized if we
are unable to meet our schedule and service demands 365 days a
year. In order for the Company to meet such competitive
demands, the regular attendance of it flight attendants is
critical.
Unfortunately,
the difficulties crew scheduling continues to face while
covering trips due to unexpected and excessive sick calls as
well as reserves failing to be in base while on duty often
contribute to an unreliable schedule for our customers. We
believe it is important to emphasize that we fully recognize
that the majority of our hard-working flight attendants report
to work regularly and properly and that they are also impacted
when they are required to cover trips left open by those who
are excessively absent.
We
would like to share a few recent situations with you to
illustrate the impact that late sick calls, sick calls
received when reserves are assigned a trip or reserves
positioned out of base while on duty can have on our
operation:
*On
October 31, 2003, crew scheduling was forced to contact five
flight attendants to cover just one position on a trip
departing the following day. After the line holder called in
sick, the first four reserves that were contacted claimed they
were too ill to fly. These were reserves that were scheduled
to be available and crew scheduling had counted on as being
available.
*You
may have also heard of a recent situation in which crew
scheduling was forced to replace a transatlantic crew who had
become illegal due to a maintenance delay. When crew
scheduling began the process of contacting replacement flight
attendants, they were severely thwarted in their efforts due
to reserves either being positioned out of base or alleging
they were too ill to fly. After an unsuccessful attempt to
fully staff the flight with in-base flight attendants, the
decision was made to staff it with out of base flight
attendants. The problem continued, however, when reserves in
the alternate base alleged they were unavailable to fly for
similar reasons. The flight was eventually staffed and
departed over six hours after crew scheduling was notified of
the need to re-crew the flight, further inconveniencing our
valued customers.
*
Most recently, on December 5, 2003, crew scheduling was once
again faced with the need to replace an entire transatlantic
crew. They were eventually successful in filling the nine
positions necessary to avoid canceling the flight. However, of
the nine flight attendants who fulfilled their obligations,
nine additional reserves were unavailable for reasons similar
to those in the previous example.
Similar
scenarios are occurring with more frequency and increasingly
impacting our operation. As a result, we wanted to take some
time to review the Company's expectations of you by
reiterating current requirements and defining the parameters
regarding notifications of absence for both line holders and
reserves. Please familiarize yourselves with the following
definitions, requirements and action that will be taken should
a flight attendant fail to follow the parameters as outlined
below:
Excessive
Sick Calls- Sick calls
are intended to be used for the employee's own illness. Any
sick occurrence in excess of five (5) is considered excessive.
Unless there are mitigating circumstances surrounding a sick
call, flight attendants will be progressed in the
Dependability Control Program (DCP) for any occurrence above
five.
Late
Sick Calls- All flight
attendants are required to report their legitimate
illness/injury as soon as practicable after realizing they are
unable to report to work. Effective December 19, 2003, a sick
call received by crew scheduling less then two hours prior to
check in time will be documented as a Late Sick Call and will
be considered a dependability event in the Dependability
Control Program (DCP).
Sick
On Contact- A reserve
flight attendant who is unavailable due to his/her own
legitimate illness/injury is required to report his/her sick
status prior to becoming available to crew scheduling.
Effective December 19, 2003, a flight attendant who fails to
notify crew scheduling that he/she is sick prior to being
contacted will incur a Sick On Contact. The Sick On contact
may be considered both a dependability event in the
Dependability Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event
wherein the flight attendant will be put on notice that any
future misconduct event of the same or similar nature may
result in his/her termination.
Reserve
Out of Base- A flight
attendant is considered to be out of base is he/she is not
positioned within one (1) hour of traveling time by surface
transportation of the check-in point when he/she is on reserve
duty. Effective December 19, 2003, a Reserve Out of Base may
be considered both a dependability event in the Dependability
Control Program (DCP) and a conduct event wherein the flight
attendant will be put on notice that any future misconduct
event of the same or similar nature will result in his/her
termination.
A
flight attendant may be required to speak to a supervisor, a
duty manager and/or a medical professional depending on the
circumstances surrounding a sick call and, in some cases,
he/she may be required to seek medical treatment.
While
the above reminders and definitions may be considered extreme
by the majority of flight attendants who are dependable and
report to work regularly and with the utmost professionalism,
the Company finds it necessary and appropriate to address
those few individuals who do not meet their obligations as
employees. We thank you in advance for your understanding of
the need to put the measures in place to ensure we do our part
to maintain a reliable operation.
Sincerely,
Sherry Groff
Vice President, In-flight Services
<><><><><>
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? Call 800-327-0117 and listen for the catcrew help
desk prompts.
AFA Local Numbers
- Council 40 PIT 724-695-3329
- Council 41 DCA 703-690-6859
- Council 69 BOS 978-352-7401
- Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
- Council 82 LGA 201-803-6141
- Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325
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US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780
--
New Hotline Number 12/17/03 Toll Free: 866-USA-AFA2
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