AFA-CWA JOINS CONGRESSIONAL LEADER IN
INTRODUCING FLIGHT ATTENDANT FRIENDLY FMLA LANGUAGE
Congressman Bishop Holds Press Conference to Introduce New FMLA Language
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Time: 12:00 pm
Rayburn House Office Building Room 2261
Washington, DC - Association of Flight
Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) International President Patricia Friend will join
Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY) on Thursday in introducing new Family and Medical
Leave Act (FMLA) language that will clarify the intent of the original law and
finally provide all flight attendants equal coverage under this legislation.
"We are extremely pleased to support
Representative Bishop's bill that finally addresses the current FMLA language
that has repeatedly denied many flight attendants from qualifying for coverage
for years," said Friend. "AFA-CWA has worked hard to ensure that no flight
attendant is left behind when it comes to FMLA coverage. We feel that Rep.
Bishop's language will ensure that all flight attendants are eligible to take
part in this very important legislation."
Currently, flight attendants face many hurdles
in order to qualify for FMLA benefits. These hurdles are particular to airline
employees since current FMLA language has been narrowly interpreted and has
failed to take into account "the unique way in which the airline industry counts
its workers hours." Congressman Bishop’s Airline Flight Crew Family and Medical
Leave Act will clarify the original 1993 FMLA law and ensure that flight crews
are treated fairly and qualify for benefits.
"FMLA has been a great program for working
families in this country. No one can question the benefit it has provided for
working women and men by being able to take time off from work to care for
themselves or family members," said Bishop. "This bill will clarify the intent
of the law in order to provide a fair and well-deserved benefit to the
hard-working airline crewmembers."
The FMLA requires most employers to provide
job-protected unpaid leave to employees who have worked 60 percent of a
full-time schedule over the course of a year. However, the courts and federal
agencies disregarded that original intent and narrowly defined the "full time
schedule" as that of a traditional 40 hour work week, thereby excluding any
employee that does not fall with the traditional 9-5 work day. The Airline
Flight Crew FMLA will correct this misinterpretation of the original
legislation.
For over 60 years, the Association of Flight
Attendants has been serving as the voice for flight attendants in the workplace,
in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill. More than 55,000
flight attendants at 20 airlines come together to form AFA-CWA, the world’s
largest flight attendant union. AFA is part of the 700,000-member strong
Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afanet.org.
Thank you,
Mike Flores, President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA
~~~~~~~~
AFA Issues Continue to Draw Attention
in 110th Congress
The week of June 4, 2007 saw AFA issues front
and center in the United States Congress. The Senate version of the FAA
Reauthorization Bill is awaiting a final vote on the floor of the US Senate. In
the House of Representatives, the final draft version of the same bill is being
written as we speak. The Aviation Subcommittee is expected to take up the issue
before the end of the month. According to sources it is expected to mirror the
language passed by the Senate. One issue that is drawing the fire of airline
management is the amendment offered by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) addressing
merger protection for airline employees should two airlines merge. The Air
Transport Association (ATA), the lobby group for airline management, has raised
a major objection to this issue and is actively looking to strip it out of the
final Bill. This amendment was passed by a unanimous voice vote in committee
during the Senate hearing on the FAA Reauthorization Bill. AFA members made
their voices heard in Senate and the same will be needed for the House version
of this bill as well. Please stay tuned for more information on this important
piece of legislation as it heads to committee and a final vote on the floor of
both chambers of Congress.
On June 6, 2007, AFA-CWA International President
Pat Friend testified before the House Committee on Transportation and
Infrastructure regarding the National Transportation Safety Board’s Most Wanted
Aviation Safety Improvements. President Friend focused her testimony on flight
attendant fatigue and the safety concerns that fatigue my play in the event of
an on board emergency or possible evacuation of the aircraft.
Here is the link of the written testimony
provided to the committee by AFA-CWA. http://www.afausairways.org/DCA/testimony_pfriend.doc.
Also on June 6, 2007, AFA-CWA provided written
testimony before the Homeland Security Committee concerning the recent
Tuberculosis event that swept the media’s attention the past couple of weeks
when a passenger knowingly traveled on several international flights and
possibly exposed passengers to this drug-resistant disease. Below is the link to
the testimony provided to the Committee.
http://www.afausairways.org/DCA/statement_pfriend.doc.
Another important issue that will come before
Congress in the coming weeks is a Bill that will be offered by Rep. Tim Bishop
(D-NY) concerning Family Medical Leave for airline crew members. As the law was
written in 1993, an employee who works 60% of a full time schedule (1250 hours
in a 12 month period) would automatically qualify for FMLA coverage. The Bill
offered by Rep. Bishop would be a technical correction to the current law. Since
aviation crew members are paid in a very different fashion then those not in the
industry, from time to time a technical correction is needed to make sure that
the rights of all employees are respected. Since FMLA became the law, this has
largely become a function of our contract negotiations and varies from carrier
to carrier. The Legislative Policy Committee for AFA-CWA has focused on issues
that can be removed from the agenda of our negotiations committees. When
possible it is important to “legislate it, not negotiate it”.
Currently Rep. Bishop is seeking original
co-sponsors for his Bill. Please call your representatives and ask them to be a
co-sponsor to this important piece of legislation. Below is the link to a copy
of the "Dear Colleague" letter from Rep. Bishop’s office. If you have any
questions, please feel free to contact our AFA Government Affairs Department.
http://www.afausairways.org/DCA/fmla.pdf.
The next couple of weeks look to be very
exciting for our members. Thank you all for your continued support of our
legislative agenda.
In Solidarity,
Alin Boswell
Chairperson, Legislative Policy Committee
LEC President, DCA
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
