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MERGED CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

The AFA Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) met with the Company this week in PHX to begin the process of merging the Collective Bargaining Agreements (contracts) of the flight attendants in the service of US Airways and America West.

Although the ink is not yet dry on our contract; the process of merging the two agreements is one of the steps necessary to fully integrate the two airlines. In order to merge the two airlines the Company must obtain a merged operating certificate; merged labor agreements and seniority lists. The process of obtaining a merged operating certificate is largely the responsibility of the Company and the FAA. The merged AFA seniority list is entirely within the Union's control. The process of merging the seniority lists is underway will be merged under the AFA Constitution and Bylaws date of hire process. Merging the two agreements will require the participation of AFA representatives from both US Airway and America West and Company representatives. 

The JNC for AFA is comprised of:

• Mike Flores, President, US Airways Master Executive Council
• Carol Austin, US Airways MEC Scheduling Chair 
• Gary Richardson, President, America West Master Executive Council
• Bill McGlashen, Vice President, America West Master Executive Council 
• Clare Burt, AFA International Manager of Collective Bargaining
• Joe Burns, AFA International Staff Negotiator and Attorney at Law.

The JNC will also be assisted by additional attorneys and financial experts.

The Company will be represented by:

• Claude Sullivan, Attorney, Ford and Harrison LLP
• Mike Minerva, Attorney, US Airways
• Cindi Simone, Director of Labor Relations, In Flight
• Sherri Shamblin, Managing Director of In Flight Services
• Linda Audorff, Manager Labor Relations In Flight

The Company will also bring other management personnel to the table as the process continues. 

The majority of the first meeting session focused on meeting dates, approach and the reciprocal jumpseat policy. A rather aggressive meeting schedule has been planned through September with bi monthly, 3-day sessions. The meetings will alternate between CLT and PHX. The JNC will be meeting internally on a monthly basis to prepare for the negotiating sessions. A meeting schedule will be published in a separate communication. 

The Company and the JNC agreed on a method to achieve a merged agreement. The various contract sessions have been broken down into three categories based on degree of difficulty, if you will (too much Olympics). The overall premise in this negotiation (as in most others) will be to begin working on the relatively "easy" sections of the agreements and then moving forward into the more complex sections. This structure will begin with relatively low cost Sections such as Probation, Association Activities, Seniority, Charters and move up the cost ladder into Sections such as Scheduling, Uniforms, and International Flying among others. The final stages of the negotiations will be Sections that deal with the highest cost items to the Company such as Reserve, Scheduling, Sick, Vacation and of course Compensation. While we have agreed on an overall method to blend the agreements the process will be fluid as changes in certain Sections will affect other Sections.

The results of this week's session resulted included the following: 

• The JNC and the Company did reach a Tentative Agreement this on Section 17 (USA), Period of Probation that incorporates the shorter period of Probation (180 days vs. 210) in the America West Contract.
• The JNC and the Company worked to insure the reciprocal jumpseat policy reflected contract language and protections in both contracts and the policy and procedures will be effectively communicated to the Flight Attendants and the Agents. 
• Agreed to an agenda for the next session that will include Union Security, Medical/Physical Examinations, Flight PAC and Pegasus check off. 

At this week's meeting the Company indicated a commitment to reaching an agreement that remains "competitive with the current cost structure of the Company". The joint negotiating remains committed to reaching an agreement that provides for the financial security and working conditions for our members. We expect improvements in both areas. There are differences in both contracts in many areas but the overall goal of the committee will be to secure the best of both contracts in order to providing improvements for all of our members. The JNC realizes that we have different constituencies with different needs and issues; but we are in complete agreement that improvements for both memberships are vital. 

This will be a long and difficult process. The recent history of negotiations at US Airways has been under threats of liquidation or contract abrogation. This negotiation will have a different tone as the Company is now financially stable and needs the merged agreement in order to move forward with the merger. Ultimately a final Merged Tentative Agreement will have to be approved by both Master Executive Councils and both memberships. 

We will continue to keep the membership informed of the progress in negotiations. The US Airways MEC agreed to revive the INFO REP program that existed during our 2000 Section 6 negotiations. The program will consist of Merger Info Reps and Merger Info Rep Coordinators at each base. The reps and coordinators will be given as much information as possible to disseminate to the membership. Combined with the MEC Eline, the reps should be able to help answer questions and provide membership feedback to the leadership.

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council

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AFA Local Numbers

Council 40 PIT 724-695-3329
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

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