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One Hurdle Cleared! Recap of a Successful Week in Congress The week of May 14, 2007, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee took up the issue of the FAA Reauthorization Bill. Congress must pass this bill every 3 or 4 years and is AFA's primary tool to address our legislative issues. In the weeks prior to the committee taking up the issue, congressional staff consulted with Shane Larson (Executive Director, Government Affairs for AFA-CWA) on our legislative agenda. Earlier in the year the Legislative Policy Committee for AFA-CWA held meetings with the MEC Government Affairs leaders to identify and prioritize the issues that needed to and could be addressed on Capitol Hill and not at the negotiating table. The weeks prior to the committee hearing there were many drafts of the bill. During this process many of our issues were added and deleted. Our government affairs department would here "we can give you this but we can not give you that". One of the primary issues identified by the Legislative Policy Committee was OSHA protection for flight attendants. Congressional staff representatives initially told AFA that OSHA protection would be part of the draft bill. When Republicans and airline management caught wind of this it looked like it would become all out war. This is were AFA members became their own lobbyist. AFA members began calling their Senators and telling them they wanted and deserved OSHA protection. Both Republican and Democrats heard this loud and clear and a compromise was reached to provide these important and long overdue protections. AFA issues in the FAA Reauthorization Bill: HIMS or "Return to the Cabin" Program for flight attendants - The HIMS program allows a pilot to go through the necessary drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation if testing positive. This has been a byproduct of the pilot certification. Now that flight attendants have similar certification it should be the same on both sides of the flight deck door. Flight attendants will now (once the bill is passed and the program is in place) be able to take advantage of the same program. This is not a "get out of jail free card". Each AFA carrier has different language concerning this issue. For many of our carriers a positive test is the equivalent to a death sentence. This is yet another issue removed from the negotiating table for each of our air carriers. Comprehensive Fatigue Study - There is language in the bill to mandate a more detailed Crew member fatigue study. One of the primary issues for all flight attendants from the smallest regional airline to the largest legacy carrier is the long days and short nights. The initial study identified that fatigue was a serious issue and that a much larger study was needed. This bill will mandate that the FAA carry out this study. It is important to note that this is not the end of the fight. We will still need to obtain the funding needed for this study. English Language Proficiency - English is the official language of the International aviation system for all air traffic controllers, pilots, dispatcher and even TSA screeners. With current trends toward a more global society and economy, at least one US carrier has (Northwest) already attempted to outsource flight attendant positions to foreign nationals. The bill contains language that requires that all flight attendants certified by the FAA would have to pass an English language proficiency standard. AFA believes that this standard would help improve aviation safety as well as making it much more difficult to outsource flight attendant jobs. OSHA - AFA was able to, almost at the last minute, get language into the bill requiring forward movement on the adoption of OSHA standards for flight attendants. While the language is not the ideal language it forces the FAA to move forward on adopting OSHA standards for flight attendants. In the end, the Republicans on the Committee caved and accepted language. With the Republicans accepting the language it effectively silenced the lobbyist for the airlines. As one airline lobbyist said "How did you do this"? The answer was simple; it was the flight attendants speaking with one voice. Every Senate office said they had been hearing from the flight attendants in their state. This has been a 30 years fight but it is not over until the bill is signed into law. Thanks to all of you for making this a reality with your calls and mobilization. This is a major victory for the flight attendant community. This is the type of victory that only can happen when flight attendants mobilize and demand action by their elected representatives. Merger Protections for Airline Workers - Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) offered an amendment to address airline workers concerns during mergers. Aviation workers currently have limited protection and none if they are not represented by a union. First, it would require that when merging two contracts into one after a merger, those negotiations would fall under a section of the Railway Labor Act which would give us the right to strike. It also brings back provisions that existed prior to deregulation that would require the airlines to provide a number of protections such as moving and relocation expenses, disruption expenses if domiciles are closed and most importantly it mandates that if two carriers are merging that the groups negotiate a "fair and equitable" way to merge the two seniority lists. This would help prevent what happened to the former TWA flight attendants when they were stapled to the bottom of the American Seniority list when TWA was bought by American. AFA was able to score this major victory during the Committee vote on a provision that no one expected to get out of committee. The Committee accepted this amendment on a unanimous voice vote that shocked even the most seasoned of AFA lobbyist. Transportation Workers Rally in Washington, DC Thousands of transportation workers and hundreds of AFA-CWA members held a rally on the Mall in Washington, DC on May 17, 2007. With a loud and collective voice, labor leaders and leading congressional leaders said "Enough is Enough". Calling for an end to the war that has been waged by the Bush Administration on transportation workers and the anti-labor agenda promoted by President Bush, transportations workers put the administration on notice that it was time to turn back the clock and to begin to restore the benefits and dignity that our profession deserves. It was also a call to the newly elected Democratic majority to get to work and deliver on the promises that were made during the recent 2006 elections. Pat Friend, AFA-CWA International President, delivered a passionate speech outlining the devastation to our industry. Airline management has abused the bankruptcy laws to gut our contracts at the same time they pad their golden parachutes. Several presidential candidates including Senator Joe Biden and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton rallied the crowd to continue our fight against the attacks on the middle class. Thank you to all the AFA-CWA members who attended the rally. Now is the time to take the message back to our flying partners and encourage each to be an active participate in our legislative agenda. In Solidarity, Alin Boswell Chairperson, Legislative Policy Committee LEC President, DCA Association of Flight Attendants-CWA

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