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The MEC is publishing
the information below for informational purposes only. Publishing this
information on this Eline does not indicate that the MEC is agreeing
or disagreeing with the information contained herein. |
Dear Members,
Below, is a CBS posting regarding the Electronic Trade Board.
Please read it carefully, print it up and keep this with you for reference.
Teddy
MEC President, AFA-CWA
To: CBS Listing
The following CBS was sent to all flight attendants.
Date: Wednesday, 16 March 2005 18:23 ET
As part of our new Flight Attendant Agreement, the Electronic Trade Board (ETB) will be debuting very soon. The ETB will be available via Flightline or a link that will be available on theHub. It is scheduled to be available for input on a TESTING/TRAINING BASIS "ONLY" on April 11, 2005. The goal of this test period is for flight attendants to become comfortable with the screens by allowing them to use the ETB training in a testing environment for the remainder of the month of April when the system is not yet "live". This process will in turn prepare you to use it for the May bid month, when the options will be eliminated. Again, ETB use between April 11 and April 22 is for testing and training purpose only. During this time, you may practice posting April trips that you want to give up on the ETB, practice searching for April trips that you would like to pick up on the ETB, or practice posting an April trip that you would like to trade for a trip held by another flight attendant. Additionally, the ETB April training/testing screen will allow you to practice trading vacation day trades and reserve flight attendants will be able to practice trading INV or OFF days. Remember, nothing you do in the test environment for the April bid month is for real.
The ETB will go "LIVE" for May on April 23, 2005, after the reserve lines have been awarded. All flight attendants will have an equal opportunity to pick up and drop trips, since the ETB is processed on a "first-come, first-served" basis. Reserves will have the same opportunity as lineholders to pick up trips on their days off. One very important aspect for Reserves to remember is that all time picked up via the ETB will be in addition to pay received for the applicable monthly reserve duty. For example, if a reserve flight attendant picks up a 3-day trip worth 15 hours on his/her INV days and doesn't break guarantee during that month, he/she would be paid his/her 71 hour guarantee plus 15 hours, which equals a total of 86 pay hours. Further, if a reserve flight attendant picks up a 3-day trip worth 15 hours on his/her INV days and accumulates 80 hours for his/her applicable month's reserve duty, his/her total pay for the month would be 80 hours plus 15 hours, which equals a total of 95 pay hours.
Vacation trades must be completed in the month prior to the actual vacation. For example, if a flight attendant has a May vacation period that he/she would like to trade for some month later in the year, he/she may post such vacation as early as April 23. If no one trades with such flight attendant via the ETB by the close of business on April 29th (Friday) he/she may no longer attempt to trade his/her May vacation via the ETB. Vacation trades may still be accomplished via Inflight Administration.
Another provision of the new Agreement that coincides with the implementation of the ETB is that the reserve least time order (LTO) system will be modified. All reserve flight attendants in a domicile will be placed in 5-hour groups. In such groupings, the reserves will be ranked in system seniority order. For example, if there are 5 reserve flight attendants who, on a given day, have 5+01 hours, 6+00 hours, 7+00 hours, 9+00 hours, and 10+00 hours, they would all be placed in the grouping of 5+01-10+00 and ranked in seniority order. This new "ranking" can be viewed in CATCREW on Option 18. The column that currently shows percentages and is titled "LTO" will be the column where the 5 hour groupings will appear. The groupings will be 0+00, 5+01, 10+01, 15+01, 20+01, 25+01, 30+01, 35+01, 40+01, 45+01, 50+01, 55+01, 60+01, 65+01, and 71+01 (or greater.)
As stated above, flight attendants in each grouping will be ranked in system seniority order for the purpose of trip selection. TDY flight attendants will be placed below the in-base flight attendants. All flight attendants in the 71+01 and above grouping, regardless of hours, will be ranked in system seniority order.
On April 23, 2005, after the reserve lines of flying have been awarded, the ETB will be available for the posting of requests relating to the May bid month. The line you are awarded for the month starting in May (primary and secondary) will be your responsibility. If you utilize SAP, your monthly obligation will be your primary line value or post-SAP line value, whichever is greater, but in no case more than the monthly maximum. If you are awarded a secondary line and you utilize the new secondary line augmentation process, your obligation will be your secondary line value or post-augmentation secondary line value, whichever is greater, but in no case more than the monthly maximum. Primary lineholders will be required to drop trips for overprojection during the SAP window either by participating in SAP or by calling crew scheduling during the SAP window. If you are a secondary lineholder and are overprojected for any reason, you may drop your trip by calling crew scheduling prior to the first day of May. If you do not do so, you will be required to "trip-improve down" just as you have in the past using the AIL.
Beginning in May, options will no longer exist. Therefore, you may post your trips on the ETB for other flight attendants to take. In CATCREW those who elected the "high option" will be noted as 105 hours and all others will be noted as 85 hours (non-option). If you place a trip on the ETB and it has not been taken by another flight attendant by noon on the day prior to trip origination, you will be responsible for that trip. You may choose to fly the trip, or you may go on the AIL to trip improve, back-end trip improve, or request TWOP (Time Off Without Pay). Your ability to drop a trip (TWOP) will be based on staffing, and if you are allowed to drop a trip via the TWOP process, you cannot fly back the value of the trip that was dropped (TWOP) from AIL during the remainder of the month, unless allowed to make up the time at your request and with the permission of Crew Scheduling.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
- April 11 - ETB opens for Testing/Training purposes only (April Bid Month)
- April 23 -ETB goes "LIVE" for the May bid month
- April 23 - May 30 (noon) ETB is available for transactions relating to trips in the May bid month.
- April 23 - April 29th May-December vacation trades
- April 23 - May 31st June-December vacation trades
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