August 8, 2005  

• Letter from your LEC Vice President
• Secondary Lines of Flying Overview

Dear Members,

In my role as LEC Vice President, I find myself in a quandary as to which mountain to climb first. Stated simply, there are so many issues that need to be addressed.

The amount of open time in Philadelphia is a recurring problem, and whenever it arises, it generates a flurry of angry phone calls to the Union office. The fact remains, however, that it is not the Scheduling Committee or anyone at AFA that allows USAirways to operate with significant amounts of open time in PHL or any other base. The company has the right to determine how many reserves are on duty per day, week, and month. 

John Petronzi is the Manager of F/A Scheduling and he requires a 20% reserve factor. Therefore, as soon as the secondary line building program detects that only 20% reserves would be left on "available status," the programmer stops building lines. There have been times when Mr. Petronzi has approved less than a 20% reserve, but it hasn't happened very often. 

The mechanism that is currently in place can be massaged, but the reserve factor is likely to remain in the 19%-20% range. As an organization, we need to hold the line. With the VFLR and Retirement in 2005, I hope that that there will be greater stability. Because the senior and junior elements have been working at cross-purposes, each group has expected the other to move over and make room for them. As LEC Vice President, I will never ask the impossible, but I will ask you to be PATIENT, because the issues we're dealing with can not be easily resolved. At the same time, though, it is perfectly obvious that we have to deal with these issues together, with a strong sense of unity. The landscape is changing - not as quickly as we would like perhaps, but it is changing just the same; and the prospect of a reinvented USAirways offers greater opportunity for all of us. Change is on the horizon and we have all paid dearly for it; that's why it is so important to see the changes through, and to keep working toward a better future.

Whenever I fly, the first comment I hear is that the company intends to fire everyone, and the stress of this is evident in all of you. I can tell you all that we are aware of the accelerated discipline as it applies to medical issues. There are many steps that need to be taken when an employee is terminated. We at the Union monitor and challenge the disciplinary measures and face ongoing grievances daily. Your record is a reflection of who you are; it is in your best interest that you take responsibility for what that record contains.

We all go through rough spells, whether they're personal or work-related. The smart person is the one who knows how to turn events around and make the most of their life. We have available to us EAP and EAS, and these are two tools that can help us through the tough times. We are currently looking for individuals who feel that they would be able to offer peer support through the confidentiality of the Employee Assistance Program.

As a final word - and necessary reminder - please remember that the company maintains a Zero-Tolerance policy on the property, and no one will be exempt from it. Comments regarding your fellow flight attendants that slander or offend will be prosecuted. At a time when we are ALL under so much stress, derogatory comments will not be tolerated. I realize I am being harsh but there is no way to correct unkindness.

The union is on your side - you are its reason for being - but we all share a responsibility. The well-being of the group as a whole depends on the actions of each and every one of us.

Terry Graf
LEC Vice President
Council 70
TGraf@afausairways.org

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OVERVIEW FOR THE SECONDARY LINES OF FLYING

The following is additional information relating to the building of lines for September.

PIT - remaining open time prohibited more construction because the trips that were left over did not make legal lines, were concentrated on the same days and there was a void of open time from 15th of the month to through the 22nd. 

PHL had 19.3 % open time remaining; however, the computer operator stopped building lines of flying when the amount of secondary lines would only leave 20% Reserve factor for the month. LGA has only one (1) line because there is only 15.7% projected Reserve coverage for September.