• Transition Agreement Reached
• Accessing The Hub
• AFA Local Numbers

Dear Members,

TRANSITION AGREEMENT REACHED BETWEEN AFA AND US AIRWAYS

Last Friday, after several months of negotiations, the Association of Flight Attendants at US Airways and America West reached a tentative Transition Agreement with the Company. The US Airways AFA Master Executive Council ratified the agreement on January 16, 2005. The agreement will govern the activities of the two flight attendant workforces and the Company during the period of separate operations. As specified in the agreement the period of separate operations will be from the effective date of the agreement until no later than twelve (12) months following the later of (i) completion of the integrated flight attendant seniority list and (ii) negotiation of the Single Agreement (contract) provided that the airline has secured a single FAA operating certificate. Our current contract will remain in full force and effect during the duration of the Transition Agreement and/or until a merged contract is ratified. 

Throughout the transition negotiations the US Airways MEC and merger negotiating committee maintained the position this merger would be treated no differently than any previous merger at USAIR or US Airways. It was our goal to keep this merger consistent with respect to seniority integration and transition period fences.  The agreement also provides for reciprocal jump seat and the hiring of involuntarily furloughed US Airways into job opportunities at America West.

The agreement will keep the two workforces separate during the transition period. The separate flying, except as provided in the agreement, is largely governed by both the ratified ALPA Transition Agreement and our contractual provision that tie our flying to that of US Airways pilots. The agreement requires aircraft in the service of the individual airlines at the time of the merger announcement be flown by pilots of the respective carriers. In short US Airways pilots will fly US Airways aircraft and America West pilots will fly America West aircraft. Our contract and this agreement dictate that flying done by US Airways pilots on US Airways aircraft is flown only by US Airways flight attendants. 

This Transition Agreement took more time to reach than previous merger agreements for several reasons. One reason was the fact that during the period of separate operations America West will be hiring flight attendants. Rather than hire off the street the Company proposed involuntarily furloughed flight attendants on the US Airways seniority list be offered those job opportunities and allowed to utilize their US Airways longevity for pay and benefits. Negotiations over provisions of this proposal were difficult but in the end the joint merger committee representing America West and US Airways AFA agreed on the company proposal and job opportunities will be offered to US Airways flight attendants recognizing their US Airways longevity for pay and benefits. The company also contributed to the length of the process by creating unreasonable expectations among the America West membership about long term fence protections and seniority integration.

With the Transition Agreement in place the next step will be to negotiate a merged contract or "Single Agreement". That process has begun with internal meetings of the joint negotiating committee last week in PHX. The joint committee will meet several more times prior to beginning direct negotiations with the Company in late February. The negotiations will produce a merged collective bargaining agreement that will cover the merged flight attendant workforce. There are vast differences in the two agreements regarding scheduling, vacation, compensation and other contract sections. The company will no doubt try to co-opt the least desirable elements of each agreement into the merged agreement. We will be doing the opposite. A meeting schedule and negotiating committee participants will be published when they are finalized. 

One of the benefits of the Transition Agreement the agreement will now unite the two AFA leadership groups in the pursuit of better working conditions for all members. America West AFA had been in section 6 contract negotiations when the merger was announced and those talks have been put into recess by a federal mediator. The decision by the mediator was very disturbing to both the America West AFA leaders and members. We agreed with those sentiments and believed it was a slap in the face to our fellow AFA members. 

As I have said before we are no longer forced to negotiate in the shadow of the bankruptcy court and we expect improvements from a company no longer hanging by a financial thread. While our two contracts and experiences are different, the America West AFA leadership has demonstrated they are extremely capable with the skill and compassion necessary to jointly work for the betterment of all of our members. 

A further discussion of the key components of the Transition Agreement will be published in a subsequent MEC Eline and will be available on our website later this week. 

Thank you,

Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council

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

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 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

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