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Greetings Council
70 Flight Attendants,
AFA-CWA held their National Government
Affairs Convention in Washington, D.C. April 7-9, 2008, in
association with the national CWA Government Affairs Convention. As
the Council 70 Government Affairs Chair, I was unable to attend due
to prior commitments with the Delta Organizing Campaign. However,
Council 70 was well represented by committee member Brian Morgan.
Members of the AFA-CWA governmental committees converged on
Washington, D.C. April 07 with the goal to ensure flight attendant
issues had a voice and I assure you, we were heard. The AFA-CWA
contingent was the largest ever in attendance and represented the
second largest group at the conference. AFA-CWA represented council
members came from as far away as Germany, London, Hawaii, and
Alaska.
We were quickly introduced to the CWA mission Labor '08 four point
issues which were:
1) Employee Free Choice
Act
2) Health Care
3) Jobs/Fair Trade
4) Retirement Security
The conference members were addressed
by several AFA-CWA political heroes but were captivated by Mark
Stell of Delta Airlines. Mark addressed the conference on the
importance of Delta flight attendants efforts to organize under the
AFA-CWA umbrella and the uphill battle they are going through with
the management of Delta as well as the under-handed tactics that
they are combating. He went on to discuss their gratitude for the
support of AFA and CWA members for giving them an opportunity to
take control of their futures in this unstable time within our
industry. AFA-CWA proudly supports Delta flight attendants in their
efforts and asks that the next time an opportunity presents itself
to chat with a Delta flight attendant do so and let them know that
as an AFA-CWA member you support them.
The conference was treated to a wonderful opportunity that only
presents itself every four years. All three Presidential candidates
were invited to speak however, only Senators Clinton and Obama
(Senator McCain declined) choose to present their outlook for labor
if elected. Needless to say, they both received ample applause and
countless standing ovations. In addition to political star
sightings, we got down to the business at hand, lobbying. I was
honored to represent US Airways and Council 70 on the political map
called "the HILL." My group of lobbyists was assigned mostly
Senators and Congressman from the mid-Atlantic and northeast
regions, but with 80-plus flight attendants on a mission we covered
all fifty states and US territories.
AFA-CWA has two major bills in motion at this time. The first is
Senate S.2059 / House of Representatives H.R. 2744 FMLA bill. This
bill is a clarification to the original FMLA bill that allows for
eligible employees to take job-protected, unpaid leave, or to
substitute appropriate paid leave, for up to twelve work weeks in
any twelve month period, to care for a child, a family member or the
employees own health which makes the employee unable to perform the
functions of his or her job. The uniqueness of airline crews'
schedules was first brought to light by then Congressman Norman
Mineta (CA), whose wife was a flight attendant for United Airlines,
and followed up by Congressman Clay who in 1990, during hearings on
FMLA, stated "We certainly do not intend that dedicated workers in
unique circumstances should be excluded from the bill's protection
simply because of their industry's unusual time-keeping methods.
Flight Attendants and Pilots who work the number of hours
constituting half-time employment during the previous 12 months as
defined by a collective bargaining agreement or by industry standard
are fully entitled to family and medical leave." This basic legal
right should not be left to the whims of management and depend on
the strength of the union at the bargaining table. Flight
attendants, who meet the intended threshold of 60% of a full-time
flight attendants schedule, should automatically qualify for
coverage under the FMLA.
On Wednesday, April 09 US Airways DCA flight attendant Jennifer Hunt
testified at a Congressional hearing on the FMLA bill. Jennifer's
husband admirably served his country in Iraq and we are all thankful
for his safe return. However, this wasn't the last battle Officer
Calley would undertake. Officer Calley was diagnosed with cancer,
but do to our unique scheduling circumstances Jennifer was not
eligible for FMLA. Jennifer was prevented from being with her
husband once due to war. Neither she nor any of us should be
prevented from our loved ones during these circumstances by our
company do to a technical clarification. Does your Senator or
Congressman support the FMLA bill? If they don't, you should be
asking them why not. This is a fairness issue, not a rewrite of the
bill, a technical correction that has always been there.
The bill is sponsored in the House of Representatives by Rep. Tim
Bishop-D (NY 1st) and Rep. Thaddeus McCotter-R (MI 11th). There are
currently 219 congressmen co-sponsoring the bill. The bill is being
sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Hillary Rodham-Clinton-D (NY) and
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy-D (MA). There are 17 Senators co-sponsoring
the bill. Where does your Senator or Congressman stand? Find out by
going to www.thomas.gov enter
the bill number (Senate) S2059 or (House of Rep.) HR2744. Click on
bill summary/status. The list of respective cosponsors will appear.
If yours isn't there, you can use the same web page to locate their
DCA office phone number, local office numbers, mailing address and
email. Take the opportunity to catch up and say hi.
We are grateful to Senator Arlen Specter-R (PA) who has signed on as
a co-sponsor. Surprisingly, Senator Robert P. Casey-D (PA) has not
signed on as a co-sponsor. We met with his legislative staff member
to request his support as Philadelphia is home to the second largest
HUB for US Airways and is now home to 2200-plus flight attendants.
As of my last check he has not signed onto the bill. I have been in
contact via email with his office however; the response I received
was that the Senator will review the bill when he has a chance. If
you would like to speed that up you may contact him through his web
site www.casey.senate.gov
or by phone at 202-224-6324 and let him know that you are a
PHL-BASED flight attendant and you would like his support for S2059
the FMLA technical clarification bill.
The second legislative goal for AFA-CWA is the FAA Reauthorization
Bill. The aviation industry's role in our economy represents 5.4 %
of the gross domestic product, contributes more than $600 billion to
the annual economy and provides more than nine million jobs. This
bill has already passed the House of Representatives, but is
currently stuck in the Senate. There are four provisions in this
bill that are very important to flight attendants. They are...
1) On board OSHA Protections
2) Pesticides Notification
3) HIMS (alcohol and drug rehabilitation)
4) Cabin Air Quality
The bill also includes other items
that will benefit our industry. A couple of those are . . . air
traffic control updates and the prevention of foreign ownership.
This bill makes great strides for our industry now and in the
future. However, two Senators are preventing it from being heard and
having the opportunity to be voted on by the committee and the full
Senate. They are Senators John D. Rockefeller IV-D West Virginia
(Chairman of Transportation and Infrastructure) DCA office number
202-224-6472
senator@rockefeller.senate.gov and Max Baucus-D Montana DCA
office number 202-224-2651
www.baucus.senate.gov. The stalemate issue has come down too
predominantly one item and that is small aircraft fees. Senator
Rockefeller feels that all aircraft (corporate jets as well as
commercial jets) should pay a fee for using the airspace for which
it travels in and Senator Baucus feels that the status quo should
remain that only the commercial airlines should foot the bill. This
bill deserves a vote and AFA-CWA along with 34 other members of the
aviation community as well as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce asks you
to contact your Senators, Congressman and especially Senators
Rockefeller and Baucus and tell them to start doing their jobs and
vote on this important legislation.
The 110th Congress will conclude this session in September and
without a vote on these two very important industry changing
legislative bills they will die. That means when the Congress
returns in January 2009 we will have to start all over again. In
rebuilding either of these bills we stand to lose all of the
positive ground achieved by the very hard working legislative
personnel at AFA-CWA. Don't let that happen. Contact your Senators
and Congressmen and put them to work for you causes. They represent
you, not the other way around.
The year 2008 is one of those years that provide us the opportunity
to affect change. It doesn't matter if you are a Republican,
Democrat, Independent or the Green Party -- make your voice heard.
VOTE! Keep in mind that the person who will call themselves
President will be the one to select the next Secretary of
Transportation, next FAA Administrator, 2 of the 3 National
Mediation Board Members (who could decide your right to strike) and
the next Secretary of State (who will advise Open Skies/ Foreign
Ownership). We know that there are many things that each of us
thinks about when choosing a candidate besides our jobs, but it
should be in the top five. The year 2008 has the opportunity to make
history be a part of it.
Our industry is changing fast and we may not recognize it in a few
years, but if we can get these two very important legislative bills
passed we can have a hand in guiding it in the right direction.
Thank you for taking the time to be informed.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of your
PHL Council 70 Legislative Affairs Committee members.
Brian Morgan
bmorgan@afausairways.org
Kim Kaswinkel - Chair
kkaswinkel@afausairways.org
Sherri Petrich
SPetrich@afausairways.org
Ginger George
GGeorge@afausairways.org
In Solidarity,
Kim Kaswinkel
PHL Government Affairs Chair
KKaswinkel@afausairways.org
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