• NEW COMPANY POLICY REGARDING EMPLOYEE USE OF COMPANY MAIL FILES
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NEW COMPANY POLICY REGARDING EMPLOYEE USE OF COMPANY MAIL FILES

Since the merger was announced we have seen a systematic approach by the Company to institute "policy" changes as a way to impose changes to Flight Attendant duties and your contract.

The Company has added seats to aircraft, increased Flight Attendant service duties in Coach, First Class and Envoy, eliminated customer support tools such as coat closets and reduced the seat pitch for our customers. The Company has steadfastly refused to add additional Flight Attendant staffing to compensate for the additional duties. The Company has refused to constructively acknowledge the concerns of Flight Attendants and customers regarding the intolerable condition of the aircraft fleet and degradation of the basic amenities that used to be provided-such has no place to hang a First Class customer's coat.

Many of the changes we have seen in the last three years are not governed under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the Company and the Flight Attendants in the service of US Airways. Although the Union has demonstrated to the Company that many of their decisions either won't work, or are bad for our customers, the Union's legal ability to reverse the changes has been limited at best.

The Company is set to implement a new policy regarding the use of Flight Attendant mail files that will directly affect the Union's ability to conduct our duties and maintain the decades of past practice at US Airways to communicate with our members.

The new policy is quoted below:

Solicitation

Solicitation by employees (including soliciting and collecting of funds) is not permitted during work times.

Distribution of written, printed, or electronic materials by employees is permitted only during non-working time and in non-working areas, provided that the materials are not offensive or inflammatory.

In addition, Posting on bulletin boards of written, printed, or electronic materials associated with solicitation is permitted only on boards where employees are permitted to post personal materials. The Company reserves the right to remove material from employee bulletin boards which are deemed offensive or inflammatory.

Only business-related materials disseminated by the Company are to be distributed in employee mailboxes provided by the Company.

Solicitation by non-employees is not permitted on Company property at any time. Non-employees are not permitted to solicit or distribute literature or materials on Company property at any time.

The bolded paragraph is a direct assault against the Union's ability to maintain, as stated above, a decades old practice of the Union's ability to communicate information to our members. The policy would not allow Union information-be it newsletters, meeting notices or election information or campaign letters to be placed in your mail files. The past practice of allowing the Union to disseminate information to you is being trampled upon in a clear message by the Company to you and the Union. That message is - the Company wants to make it has hard as possible for the Union to inform and educate their members.

The message comes at a time when there is clearly labor unrest on the property and during the negotiation of a merged Flight Attendant contract. The Union will use every avenue possible to force the Company to adhere to the CBA and the past practice on this and all matters the Company tries to change by creating new "policies" in an attempt to subvert the CBA and/or the past practice.

This new policy also comes at a time when two of our Councils (PHL and DCA) -representing almost half of our membership- are going to be electing a new slate of officers in March and April.

One has to wonder what the true motive of the Company really is with the creation of this new policy.

Thank You,

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

www.afausairways.org

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AFA Local Numbers

Council 40 PIT 412-245-1214
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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