• COUNCIL 66 MEC PRESIDENT AND MEC SECRETARY/TREASURER FOUND GUILTY
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Dear Members,

AFA HEARING BOARD RENDERS DECISION - COUNCIL 66 MEC PRESIDENT AND MEC SECRETARY/TREASURER FOUND GUILTY

This week the AFA Hearing Board rendered their decision related to the charges filed against Council 66 MEC President, Lisa LeCarre and Council 66 MEC Secretary/Treasurer, Jeff Albers.

The Hearing Board is comprised of three members of our peers. The Hearing Board found Ms. LeCarre and Mr. Albers guilty of violating Article X.1.(j):

j. Doing any act contrary to the best interests of the Union or its members.

The board clearly found Ms. LeCarre and Mr. Albers guilty of theft, lying, and breaching the trust of the joint negotiations committee. Although the Hearing Board did not sanction Ms. LeCarre or Mr. Albers, the board did find the charged parties in violation of the above charge and deferred any punishment to the members of Council 66.

In a recent communication to her members, Ms. LeCarre referred to the charges and subsequent hearing as "an unfortunate situation". It is far more than that.

Since this incident and the resulting charges came to light, East negotiators have continued to work professionally to reach a single agreement. Even with the board's decision, East negotiators have a duty to continue negotiating. We will do so.

The East negotiators commitment to our members is to reach a single agreement that meets your needs- even if it has to be with committee members that are guilty of, "doing any act contrary to the best interest of the Union and its members".

The Hearing Boards Decision and Order is copied below:

Decision and Order of the Hearing Board

Based upon the facts presented to the Hearing Board, the Board finds that LeCarre and Albers knowingly copied the confidential USAPA proposal that was kept in Flores' suitcase. In doing so they deliberately violated the explicit conditions established by USAPA for its use by the JNT. Though Albers and LeCarre deny that the document was removed from Flores' bag, the evidence adduced at the hearing supports a different conclusion.

Flores, as is his normal practice, had left his suitcase at the Council 66 office on the previous evening after the JNT's meeting had ended. Because of his involvement in arranging the publicity tour for the Flight 1549 crew, Flores did not participate in any meetings or caucus at the Council 66 office on January 29. His sole purpose for stopping at the Council 66 office about 1 pm on January 29, was to inform LeCarre that he was leaving his bag in the conference room until negotiations commenced the following week. There was no evidence presented supporting Albers claim that Flores, or anyone else, had taken contract proposals or files from Flores' bag and placed them on the conference table and had left then their either before or after Flores showed up at the Council 66 office on January 29. For that reason, the Board finds that the record supports Flores' contention that Albers removed the USAPA proposal from Flores' bag without permission.

While this conduct represents a serious breach of trust between colleagues on the JNT, the Board does not believe that LeCarre and Albers should be expelled from AFA. As elected officers, LeCarre and Albers have been charged with the responsibility to act in the best interest of the membership, and to work with their colleagues and fellow officers on the JNT in negotiating a single contract for the US Airways flight attendants- both East and West. The unauthorized copying of the USAPA proposal is inconsistent with that duty.

On the other hand, there was no evidence presented, nor any allegation made by Flores, indicating that either LeCarre or Albers, breached their obligation to keep the USAPA proposal confidential. In addition, despite the mutual lack of trust between the East and West members of the JNT, they have continued to meet with the Company in collective bargaining negotiations-which should be their sole priority after over three years of negotiations. Expulsion of LeCarre and is simply not warranted based upon the facts presented, and most importantly, would do nothing but further hinder and delay the negotiation of a single contract for the US Airways flight attendants.

To be clear, the Hearing Board does find that LeCarre and Albers violated Article X.1. (j) of the AFA C&B by removing the USAPA proposal from Flores' suitcase without permission and making copies. Those actions were clearly, "contrary to the best interest of the Union and its members, and negatively impacted the progress of negotiations. The Board is particularly disturbed by the complete lack of remorse shown by LeCarre and Albers at the hearing. Even though Albers admitted that he lied to Flores at their March 11 meeting, Albers insists that he would copy the proposal again for the "best interests" of the West flight attendants. LeCarre also failed to acknowledge any wrongdoing and told the Board that she would do it again since she believes the East members of the JNT would have done the same thing if they had been in their position.

In conclusion the Board regrets that this dispute was not resolved before the June 24 hearing. But it wasn't, and as a result the Board is charged with enforcing the provisions of the AFA C&B. Therefore having heard testimony and evidence from both parties, the Board finds that LeCarre and Albers violated Article X.1.(j) and they are directed to refrain from any similar conduct in the future. Furthermore the Board directs the parties to make every reasonable effort to rebuild their mutual trust on the JNT and to continue to negotiate a single contract for the US Airways flight attendants.

The events that led to the hearing were clearly preventable. Unfortunately, once the events occurred and there was never any acknowledgment, admission or apology, a hearing had to be held. In a previous communication, I indicated that I would not be the one to judge the conduct of Ms. LeCarre or Mr. Albers.

The Hearing Board has spoken.

Thank you,

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

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Council 82 LGA 315-736-3483
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