LEGISLATION UPDATE

On March 17th, 18th, and 19th, members of the Council 70 Legislative Affairs Committee, Brian Morgan and I had the opportunity to go Washington DC and lobby with other US Airways flight attendants on behalf of our membership.   We met with the staff of many Congressional leaders in both the House of Representatives and the Senate concerning two legislative priorities on behalf of the membership of AFA-CWA.

FMLA-Family Medical Leave Act - On February 9, 2009 - The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA-CWA) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives for passing the Airline Flight Crew Family and Medical Leave Act by a unanimous voice vote.  Congressmen Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Thad McCotter (R-MI) sponsored the legislation that will clarify the intent of the original Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and finally provide all flight attendants equal coverage under this statute.  The bill is currently waiting to be introduced in the Senate.  We met with key Senate offices, over the three day period, to lobby the importance of this bill.  We were very pleased with the support from the Senate offices we visited on this issue and once the bill is introduced into the Senate, members of our Legislative Affairs Committee will be calling on all of you for your help in getting this very important legislation passed.  You will be asked to call your Senators to tell them you want them to cosponsor the Airline Flight Crew FMLA Bill.  Cosponsoring a bill means they sign their name to the bill declaring they support it and will vote for it.
  
CARRY-ON BAG LIMITATIONS - This bill is currently being drafted by Congressman Daniel Lipinski (D-IL).  This bill would limit passengers to one carry-on item with a loaded size limit of 56cm x 45 cm x 25 cm (rounded to 22 in x 18 in x 10 in), plus one personal item dimensions to be determined.  This bill, if passed into law, will cover all the airlines in the United States.  The days of each airline creating their own carry on guidelines will cease.  These dimensions include wheels, handles, side pockets, etc.  Mandating the size and shape will eliminate many issues and problems we as flight attendants currently face, starting with the most obvious which is the boarding process.  We all know how much the carry-on bags are out of control.   Reducing the size and number of carry-on bags would ultimately enhance security screening by reducing the number of bags that need to be screened and reduce the volume of the individual bags, both of which would allow for a better, clearer, uncomplicated x-ray to improve screening efficiency.  AFA will continue to fight for clear and concise limits on the number and size of carry-on bags to ensure continued enhancement of security and safety for the traveling public and you.  This would make the domestic standard consistent with the current EU (European Union) standard.

Those are the two primary bills that we lobbied for during this past week.   Your AFA-CWA MEC and LEC Legislative Affairs Committees continue to work on so many other industry enhancing items on behalf of the membership.  Some of the other legislation currently being pursed is, The FAA Reauthorization Bill, the Flight Attendant Fatigue Study, Cabin Air Quality, and OSHA protections.  In order to maintain and continue our battles on Capitol Hill we really need the support of our members.  In 2008 US Airways alone spent $2,088,858.00 to lobby members of Congress; the combined domestic carriers spent nearly $41 million in 2008 lobbing for their issues.  We cannot compete with that in terms of dollars and cents.  By law, none of our dues dollars can be spent on political action campaigns.  However we can donate to our FlightPAC fund which is used for political action campaigns.  We realize in today’s economy we all need each and every dollar we make, but the issues AFA-CWA are fighting for affect our careers immensely.  You can donate as little as a $1 a week or $5 a month, that’s just one less magazine or Starbucks coffee.  You can even make a one-time donation for the year.   Your donation can be payroll deducted on your 15th paycheck.  Below is a link that will take you to the enrollment form that you can print and mail in.   If every member of AFA-CWA at US Airways gave $1 per week we would raise roughly $234,000 per year.  Imagine what that figure would be if everyone gave $5 per month.  If you have any questions about FlightPAC please give the local Council 70 office a call at 215-492-0840.  Your generous donations will be greatly appreciated and are much needed.

In closing, I would like to thank Council 70 and its members for giving us the opportunity to go to Washington and lobby on your behalf for issues that will directly benefit you and our profession. FlightPAC enrollment link: http://afanet.org/legislative/default.asp?nc=4168&id=35

In Solidarity,