In this Issue...
- 35th Annual Board of Directors
Meeting
- LOCAL COUNCIL
CONTACT NUMBERS
I am
currently in Milwaukee, WI and the 35th
Annual Board of Directors Meeting for the
Association of Flight Attendants concluded
this evening. I would like to give you a
brief summary of the events that transpired
over the past three days.
We began on Tuesday evening with a call to
order from our International President, Pat
Friend. We were welcomed by, and heard
remarks from, Sheila Cochran of the
Milwaukee Central Labor Council and David
Newby, President, Wisconsin AFL-CIO State
Federation.
During the International President's report,
Ms. Friend spoke about many of the issues
we, as flight attendants, are currently
facing during these increasingly difficult
economic times. Specifically, she addressed
two AFA-represented airlines that shut down
earlier this year; ATA and Aloha. The board
also recognized Gail Kim-Moe, former MEC
President of Aloha and Rhonda Hogard, former
MEC President of ATA.
The board also recognized the 22 years of
service of our outgoing general counsel,
David Borer. Mr. Borer submitted his
resignation earlier this year and stayed on
with AFA until after the Board concluded its
meeting. The Board voted unanimously to make
Mr. Borer an honorary member of AFA and
bestow the title of General Counsel Emeritus
for his hard work and dedication over the
past two decades.
Late Tuesday night, we also walked to the
Midwest Airlines Center and held a candle
light vigil to protest Midwest Airlines'
threat of bankruptcy if flight attendants
refuse to accept drastic wage and benefit
cuts. Sound familiar? It should. Our old
buddy Dave "no plan B" Siegel, former CEO of
US Airways, sits on the Board of Directors
of Midwest Airlines.
International Vice President Veda Shook gave
an organizing committee report and the Board
recognized Toni Weinfurtner, Delta flight
attendant, for her efforts in the recent
campaign to organize the Delta flight
attendants.
During the International Secretary -
Treasurer's report, Kevin Creighan pointed
out that the union was working towards a
planned membership website as well as other
services to assist our members and also
pointed out enhancements made with the
election website and election help lines.
Day 2 - Wednesday:
We received a Legislative/Policy Committee
Report from Alin Boswell, LEC President of
US Airways Council 41/DCA. We were told that
time is running out regarding FMLA
legislation and that as of Wednesday
morning, there were 34 co-sponsors of Senate
S. 2059. You may recall it passed in the
house 402-9. If you have not done so, please
go to:
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/airline_flight_crew_FMLA_Senate/
To help get this important legislation
passed.
Day 2 also saw the passage of several
resolutions at the Board.
They were:
1- Resolution of Thanks and Honorary
Membership - David A. Borer, General
Counsel
2- Resolution - Senator Ted Kennedy:
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the delegates to
the 35th Annual Board of Directors Meeting
for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
bestow the title of Honorary Member to
Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts for
his unconditional support of working
families and members of the Association of
Flight Attendants-CWA.
3- California Marriage Act Resolution:
THEREFORE BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA Board
of Directors shall continue to support
marriage equality for all of its members in
every state, province, territory, and
country wherever they may reside.
4- ALO/ATA - Retiring Council Numbers:
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED the AFA-CWA Board of
Directors honors these members and
extraordinary leaders by retiring Council
Numbers 31 (MCO), 32 (NYC), 33 (CHI), 34 (DTW),
35 (IND), 36 (PHX/LAS), 37 (LAX/SFO/OAK), 54
(HNL) until or unless they can be used as
Councils for AFA members working at
reestablished ATA or Aloha Airlines.
5- Barack Obama for President:
The Board unanimously endorsed Barack Obama
for President and the resolution read, in
part, "In the coming years, many decisions
that could reshape the face of aviation will
be made while the chorus for unfettered
global aviation ownership and service grows
louder. Also, it is crucial that
policymakers in Washington realize that the
U.S. aviation system since deregulation has
failed airline employees, communities and
consumers. We are at a turning point and
need a President who recognizes this
struggle."
Day 3 - Thursday:
Today, the Board took action on the Agenda
items. There were 21 Agenda Items; 14 were
advance and 7 were late. As you may recall,
I held a PHL LEC Meeting this past Monday to
solicit input on how to vote for the 14
advance agenda items. Without going into
detail on all 21, I will review several key
agenda items:
Agenda Item #1:
Separate Membership Voting During
Ratification of a Combined Collective
Bargaining Agreement/Contract During
Mergers.
Essentially, what this means is this: When
we finally get a tentative agreement to vote
on, if all five East bases vote 'FOR' and
the west base, PHX, were to vote against,
the tentative would fail. I voted AGAINST
this resolution, which was also the wishes
of the members who attended the LEC meeting
on Monday. The resolution FAILED.
Agenda Item #2:
Increase the Allowable Meal Expense Amount.
This resolution called for an increase of
the allowable meal expense as follows:
Breakfast up to $10. (increase of $2.75)
Lunch up to $15. (increase of $5.00)
Dinner up to $23. (increase of $2.00)
I voted FOR this resolution, which was also
the wishes of the members who attended the
LEC meeting on Monday. This resolution
PASSED. Keep in mind the following: this was
an increase for out of pocket expenses
actually incurred while conducting union
business and was not intended as an
increase in per diem. In fact, neither I nor
anyone else from Council 70/PHL will claim
this amount unless we are conducting union
business and actually incur these actual
expenses. Also, neither I nor anyone else
from Council 70/PHL claim per diem on days
we work from home.
Agenda Item #6
Lease Agreements.
This was submitted by the United MEC and
basically, it called for a change in the
Constitution and Bylaws to allow MECs and
LECs to enter into lease agreements without
consultation of the International Office. At
the LEC meeting on Monday, I was told to
vote for this agenda item but to also use my
best judgment. Needless to say, the
discussion today was lengthy, to say the
least. After hearing both sides of this
argument as well as taking into
consideration the remarks and concerns of
the AFA attorney, I voted AGAINST this
agenda item. However, I considered those FOR
votes at the LEC meeting this past Monday
and voted as follows: 15 votes FOR; 1,927
AGAINST.
A roll-call was requested and for this to
pass, it would require two-thirds of the
vote, which meant that in order for the
agenda item to be adopted, it would require
24,044 votes. The roll-call went as follows:
18,785 FOR
18,791 AGAINST
The agenda item FAILED.
Agenda Item #11
Local Council Election Campaign Procedures
and Oversight
I served as Chairperson on Committee #6 and
this was one of three Agenda Items we
considered. What this agenda item called for
was a modification to the Constitution and
Bylaws that would read as follows: At all
meetings of the Local Executive Council,
each Officer shall have one (1) vote and all
questions coming before such Council shall
be decided by a majority of the Council
Officers in attendance. In the event of a
tie, the LEC President shall be the deciding
vote.
This would essentially take the final
authority away from the Local Council
President. In other words, if adopted, the
Local Vice President and Secretary could
overrule the Local President. I voted
AGAINST this resolution, which was also the
wishes of those who attended the LEC meeting
this past Monday. The resolution FAILED and
was not adopted.
Agenda Item #19
Ultra Long Range Operations Protections
This called for amended language in the AFA
Constitution and Bylaws, section VI.C.7. to
read as follows:
c. Requirements that sufficient on-board
rest facilities for ultra-long range
operations include bunks/beds for flight
attendants in addition to the items listed
in 7.b. above.
Section VII.A.2.b would be amended to read
as follows:
b. Flight Time Limitations: The flight
attendant's flight time, duty time, and rest
periods shall be better than, or equal to
the Federal Aviation Regulation's
requirements and operations specifications
for flight deck crew members including any
pre-duty; on-board and post-duty rest
standards. Flight attendants shall promote
and support all efforts to promulgate flight
time/duty time regulations for flight
attendants through federal regulations.
This was not an advance agenda item. I voted
FOR the resolution and it PASSED.
Finally tonight, we closed the meeting by
adopting the Budget Committee's
recommendation for the 2008-2009 Budget. The
adopted budget calls for slight increases to
both the Local and Master Executive Councils
to better meet the needs of their members. I
voted FOR the 2008-2009 budget and it
PASSED.
I will remain in Milwaukee through the
weekend. I will be attending the US Airways
MEC meeting beginning Friday morning. I will
return to the PHL office on Monday. If you
need assistance, please call the office at:
215-492-0840. Or, you can visit our website
at:
http://www.afausairways.org/phl.htm and
get the cell phone numbers of Council 70
Officers, Council Rep, or Committee members
if you need to reach them after hours or
over the weekend.
Regards,
John
John McCorkle - President
Association of Flight Attendants
Philadelphia Council #70
US Airways
OFFICE: 215-492-0840
MOBILE: 215-300-4742
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