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PHL FA Questions:
I recently received an e-mail from a PHL FA who had several interesting & gutsy questions that most other missives have not addressed. Therefore, I thought it beneficial to share it with you through the PHL News Line. Below is her e-mail with my answers inserted in-between each of her questions.
PHL FA E-Mail:
AFTER RECEIVING THE E-MAIL FROM THE UNION, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT I FEEL THAT THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT GROUP AS A WHOLE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW.
1. SINCE THE AFA BOARD STATED THAT THEY DID NOT RECEIVE A RAISE, WHAT IS THE SALARY THEY RECEIVE?
Answer: The AFA Constitution and By Laws is specific in what an AFA leader can receive in the way of compensation for the work they do.
Each airline represented by AFA works under the "Guides Lines" found in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws. These "guide lines" are then applied to hourly wages within the individual carrier contracts.
As a US Airways FA & LEC President, I can only receive whatever my contract affords me at my seniority. This is based on my option, base pay and premiums. Union Rep's do not receive per diem per se, but can instead claim expenses (meals, travel, etc.)
Even though I can claim expenses to make up for the loss of per diem, I am also limited by a 'daily budget' that seldom covers what I personally spend to do business. The hours I work doing AFA business far exceed my option maximum. These additional hours are not compensated.
AFA International Officer Compensation:
The International officers are treated a little differently than the MEC and Local Officers. Their compensation is established by the AFA Board of Directors (all the LEC Presidents). Right now, the compensation formula for the International President (Pat Friend) is 2.25 times 68-hours annualized at the highest AFA Flight Attendant hourly pay and includes any negotiated overrides. Compensation for the International President for 2003
BEFORE she took a self-imposed pay cut was to be approximately $115,000. This amount may seem high, in comparison to what you and I make, but in reality it is much less than what most International Union Presidents make.
The one real benefit that the International officers do receive that they would
not receive if they were flying the line is a semi-matching 401K, which is in addition to their contractual retirement at their airline. If there were anything we can legitimately 'complain' about, that would be the thing I would focus on.
Contrary to popular opinion, most officers are not 'milking the system' or reaping a 'windfall'. However, like any other business, we do have those who are not doing the 'work' but still take maximum pay & expenses. When this happens, it is up to the members (you and I) to get these types out of office
2. WHERE CAN ONE GET A COMPLETE LIST OF THE EXPENSES AND EXPENDITURES ?
Answer: Any FA in good standing can see the budget and expenses. Detailed information is filed annually with the Department of Labor. They are open for inspection by the public. Plus, for members and officers, our books at the international are available for inspection, as part of our Constitution and Bylaws.
3. WHY DO THEY HOLD MEETINGS AT PLACES OTHER THAN WASHINGTON D.C. (WE HAVE BEEN TOLD HONG KONG, HAWAII AMONG THE PLACES THEY GO)
Answer: US Airways FA's are not the only Flight Attendants represented by AFA. AFA represents 26 different airlines. When the AFA International President is invited to a Local Council Meeting, she does not make the Flight Attendants come to her, she instead goes to the Flight Attendants. United, Aloha and Hawaiian airlines all belong to AFA just like we do. They
pay the same dues, have the same AFA Constitution and By Laws and are now
voting on the same CWA Merger that hopefully YOU have already voted
on.
When you look at the other airlines within AFA, you will see that they have FA's based in places like Hong Kong, Paris, Frankfurt, Honolulu, Narita, London, etc. When you hear that the AFA International President is traveling to those locations, believe me it is
not to shop or party down, but is instead for her to meet with Flight Attendants based at those locations.
4. WHAT PREVENTS US FROM VOTING OUT AFA AND FORMING A IN-HOUSE UNION SUCH AS THE ONE AT AMERICAN -IT CERTAINLY CAN'T GET WORSE.
Answer: Nothing. We have the power of the vote and we can decertify AFA and start a union of our own. However, I think there are a few things you should know before you start the process:
1. We would lose the protection of the AFA Constitution & By
Laws. Most FA's do not even know this document exists and even fewer have read it. This document, among other things, is where our "Merger Protections" for our seniority lives. The document belongs to AFA not the US Airways FA's, so if we leave AFA, we lose that document and the seniority merger protection within.
Remember when American bought TWA? Do you recall that the TWA FA's were 'stapled' to the bottom of the seniority list (and every single TWA flight attendant is now on furlough)? That would not have happened to us if we had merged with United. The AFA 'Merger Policy' states that when two AFA carriers merge, the system seniority list must be done by DOH (Date of Hire). So, unlike the TWA FA's, our seniority would have been protected strictly because we belong to AFA and are protected by the Merger Policy in the AFA Constitution and Bylaws.
2. We could lose our Contract. If not enough FA's vote in an election, we have NO UNION. No Union, No union contract.
Also, speak with a Northwest FA and ask them what has happened to them since they dumped the Teamsters. I believe you will find that their Management is not allowing them to have their union dues taken out of their paychecks. (Like any other entity, a Union cannot function without the finances needed to offset the cost of doing business.)
I cannot even begin to fathom what our new management would do if we were to decertify AFA, but I am certain, given their track record, that it would not be pretty!
FYI: In the 2002 Summer RA, the US Airways FA's voted to give management approximately $76 Million in pay cuts and benefits. In return, we received a short-term promise from management that they would not ask a bankruptcy judge to abrogate our contract. It would be a travesty to now give our contract away for free just because we are not happy with our union, especially since it is 'we' who are the union.
3. If we left the protection of AFA, we would also be leaving the protection of the AFL-CIO. AFA, ALPA, IAM & CWA are all under the umbrella of the AFL-CIO. The AFL-CIO has a lot of clout in Washington. Only one FA union can hold a charter under the AFL-CIO umbrella and that FA Union just happens to be AFA. And the AFL-CIO has committed to not give another FA charter out for at least the four years of the "opt-out" period in the merger with CWA.
So you really need to think this through before you start the process. We have THREE VERY VALUABLE DOCUMENTS that we could lose if we were to leave the protection of AFA. This is just what our present Management would love to see us do. We may not think too much of our presently 'sliced and diced' contract, or of our Merger Protection Policy or even of our AFL-CIO Charter, but believe me THEY sure do!
There is one more thing we all need to consider before we decide to chuck AFA and go it on our own. There are no guarantees that even if we could get this present management to recognize a new union and contract that our members would even take the time to vote FOR it. Heck, the voter turn out for the critical, life altering, Restructuring Agreements were abysmal!
I think a better question would be what would we gain if we pulled out of AFA? This is where I really see a problem. We would still have the same folks running for office and the same folks as members. The only real change would be the name.
If you do not like your union, it might behoove us to first try TWO things before we go down the decertification road: First, change your leadership (if they are weak or are not doing the job they were elected to do) and then change yourselves. YOU are the union.
5. IF THE AGENTS ARE NOT HAPPY WITH CWA, WHY WOULD WE BE HAPPY WITH THEM?
Answer: To compare the U Gate Agents with the U FA's would be a lot like comparing U
Mainline FA's with U Express FA's. Both wear the same uniform & both belong to AFA, but that is pretty much were the similarities end. Mainline FA's have a much stronger contract, which includes better work rules, pay scales and benefits. It would be like comparing an A-330 with a Dash 8 Commuter.
When U management recently went after their employees not once but twice, they asked for comparable $$ concessions from each employee group. The CWA Gate agents, who had only recently ratified their FIRST contract, did not have much to offer to meet management's required "Target." We on the other hand had approximately 40+years of negotiations and good things in our contract that we could 'cherry pick' from.
CWA was not the problem; the problem was that for many years the gate agents had voted down joining a union and getting a contract. Thus, their contract did not have the job protections ours did and it really was not 'seasoned' enough to offset the 'huge hit' management was demanding. Truth be known, I believe the CWA did a hell of a job for the gate agents. And if the gate agents had voted to unionize BEFORE management eliminated their pensions, cut pay significantly and cut work rules, they may have more now.
A union, any union is only as good as it's membership solidarity. A union is what 'we' make it.
If you were to ask Alaska FA's what they think of AFA, I believe the majority would tell you it is the best FA union in the world! Why? Their membership supports each other & their leadership making it a strong and viable force to be reckoned with.
FYI: To date approximately 60% of the Alaska FA's have already cast their vote on the CWA merger. In contrast, only 13% of the PHL/PHW FA's have done the same. Maybe this is one of the reasons why Alaska FA's have yet to take any major cuts.
FACT: The claims that CWA is having financial difficulties and that CWA has instituted a hiring freeze and its staff had to take a pay cut are made
up.
The staff at CWA did not take pay cuts. And while CWA recently implemented a hiring freeze, they did it in anticipation of the proposed merger with us, which would give them 70+ new employees.
To say a union with 700,000 members, a quarter of a billion dollar strike fund and a
multi-million dollar Member Defense Fund is having financial difficulties is wrong and a deliberate attempt to mislead you.
6. WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD THE AFA SEND OUT A " BLACKMAIL" LETTER LIKE THE ONE THEY SENT? WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE TALKING TO? THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ON OUR SIDE...
NOT SENDING THESE KIND OF MESSAGES. MAKES A PERSON WONDER WHO THEY ARE LOOKING OUT FOR? CERTAINLY NOT THE
USAIRWAYS FLIGHT ATTENDANTS.
Answer: Even though I do not believe that was their intent, I must agree, the wording could have been better.
In order to protect our Constitution and Bylaws, our respective Contracts and our AFL-CIO affiliation, the AFA BOD voted to increase the dues by $6 to keep AFA financially solvent. However, AFA had also approached the CWA who in turn offered to put us under their umbrella. If we elect to go with CWA, part of the negotiated deal includes a freeze on any increase in our dues for at least 4-years. It also includes CWA's financial help to offset the difference in our budget and the cost of services needed. If we later find that the CWA is not a good fit for us, we have a 4-year opt out clause. We now have a choice to make. The vote before you is to either FOR or AGAINST merging with CWA.
One last thing I believe you should know before you vote on the merger with CWA:
Management does not want this merger between AFA and CWA to
happen. Why would management oppose the merger? It's simple: First, I believe this would foil any plans Management may have to bust the union and capture our contract. In addition, Management is well aware of CWA's clout in Washington, and the extraordinary resources they bring to contract campaigns and other battles. They'd prefer to deal with an AFA that is handicapped by perpetual financial problems.
PLEASE VOTE. (FYI: You can change your vote as many times as you wish up to the close out of the balloting process.)
Visit www.afanet.org and click on
"VOTE NOW" or call 1-877-AFA-VOTE.
Take Care and Fly Safe,
Mollie McCarthy
LEC President
Council 70, PHL/PHW
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