PHL News - January 16, 2004

PHL News-Line 70

"VF8 Information and US Airways Management"

In This Issue - "PHL NewsLine for February 4, 2004"

Issue #2-04-04

As you should know by now, US Airways Management knowingly elected to ignore both our contract and a previous arbitration ruling when they announced they would initiate an Involuntarily Furlough of 552 of our fellow Flight Attendant due to commence on January 15, 2004, without first offering a Voluntary Furlough (VF).

On January 14, 2004, just hours before 552 fellow Flight Attendants were to be Involuntary Furloughed, AFA was triumphant again in the arbitration process against management's arrogant abuse of the clearly defined VF contractual language.

On January 16, 2004, management offer the required VF. Awards for the VF8 will be posted later today but for now please know that a total of 200 active line Flight Attendants have been awarded the Voluntary Furlough-Eight (8) which will commence on February 16, 2004.

The most junior Flight Attendant 'System Wide' to receive the VF8 award was a DCA FA with a hire training date of May 5, 1997.

Out of the 200 VF8 awards, 77 of those awards were PHL FA's and 13 were PHW FA's:

Most Senior PHL Flight Attendant awarded the VF8: June of 1973
Most Junior PHL Flight Attendant awarded the VF8: May of 1997

Most Senior PHW Flight Attendant awarded the VF8: June of 1969
Most Junior PHW Flight Attendant awarded the VF8: July of 1989

I will hopefully send out a PHL News Line in the next few days where I will attempt to explain what happened and why it has taken so long for the 'Furlough Fiasco' to be rectified. Please know that the 'hold up' was NOT on the side of AFA.

In case you have not already receive it, below you will find a copy of today's AFA's Hotline which includes the particulars of how the 552 Flight Attendants who were improperly furloughed on January 15, 2004, will be returned to their original status of January 14, 2004.

To all 552 of the improperly furloughed Flight Attendants, I want you to know that your Union Rep's looked at each individual scenario along with both the short and long term repercussions, of which there were several. It is my belief that the best 'all-around' solution, considering the management we deal with, was the one we finally got them to agree to.

To the 200 'Active' line Flight Attendants who were improperly furloughed (of which 117 are based here in PHL), let me say that I am aware of the hell you have been put through. Please try to enjoy the time you have off before you are due to return, make sure you let management know how to contact you and from my heart, welcome home.

Take Care and Fly Safe,

Mollie McCarthy
LEC President
Council 70 - PHL/PHW

Please sign up for future PHL News Lines by submitting your Name, Payroll #, E-Mail Address and Base HERE

"...I am aware of the hell you have been put through."

Mollie

Past Newslines

Now to today's AFA Hotline!

The Company will award VF8’s to the 200 most senior flight attendants who applied for VF8. The effective start date of the VF8 will be February 16, 2004. We expect the award today and results will post on theHub soon.

The Company will send notices (certified mail, return-receipt requested and regular U.S. mail) to the 552 flight attendants who were involuntarily furloughed on January 15, 2004. Such notice shall advise these flight attendants that the involuntary furloughs were rescinded and that the flight attendants will be returned to their status as of January 14, 2004 (i.e., a flight attendant who was active on January 14, 2004 will be returned to active status at his/her base of record on that date; a flight attendant on any other leave, including voluntary furlough, on January 14, 2004 will be returned to that leave status at his/her base of record on that date.) Each flight attendant will have seven (7) days from receipt of said notice to contact the Company acknowledging his/her understanding of the requirement to return to active status on February 16, 2004. If any affected flight attendant through no fault of his/her own does not receive the letter, he/she will be placed on an unpaid status and the Company will continue to attempt contact at the address of record for up to thirty (30) days. The flight attendant will be deemed to have resigned his/her position with US Airways if after thirty (30) days the Company still cannot contact the flight attendant.

-- Those flight attendants who were active January 14, 2004 shall be considered to have been active for the entire period from January 15, 2004 through their return on February 16, 2004 and their records will not reflect any break in service for this time period.

-- Those flight attendants who were active January 14, 2004 will be pay protected to their guarantee for the time period from January 15, 2004 through January 31, 2004. Furthermore, these flight attendants will receive their prorated guarantee for the period of February 1, 2004 through February 15, 2004 based on the prorated guarantee chart set forth in Section 3.B.3 of the US Airways Flight Attendant Agreement. Such prorated guarantee for the period of February 1, 2002 through February 15, 2004 shall be "pay and credit" and shall not be offset by any flying these flight attendants perform in excess of thirty-five and one-half hours during the period of February 16, 2004 through March 1, 2004.

-- These flight attendants will be slotted in least time order (LTO) based on their option with the thirty-five and one-half credit upon their return on February 16, 2004.

-- These flight attendants will be assigned the same work schedule for the remainder of February 2004 and will be given an opportunity to bid for a reserve schedule for the month of March 2004 if they are on reserve status, or will be a "free spirit" if they would have held a lineholder status.

The terms of this letter are agreed to on a non-precedent, non-referral basis, and do not apply to any flight attendant other than those 552 flight attendants who were furloughed on January 15, 2004 or who were awarded a VF8.

Any flight attendant who was involuntarily furloughed from active status on January 15, 2004, may apply to the Company for reimbursement of actual and reasonable expenses associated with a move which would not have been incurred but for the involuntary furlough. Such flight attendants who moved as a result of the furlough announcement, and who returns, may also apply for expenses incurred to re-establish their residence in the domicile of record. See Rules Governing Reimbursement of Moving Expenses

Rules Governing Reimbursement of Moving Expenses

The following rules shall govern any application for reimbursement of moving expenses:

1. The type of expenses that will generally be considered reasonable are expenses incurred in terminating a lease, rental of a moving van for a self-move or other expenses. (e.g.; loss of utility or telephone deposit, mileage, shipping expenses).

2. The type of expenses that will not be considered reasonable, and will not be reimbursed, include costs associated with the sale or purchase of a home, use of a commercial moving company rather than a self-move, off-line airfare, gasoline, or other expenses incurred in traveling to or from the new residence.

3. Any expenses incurred by a flight attendant in returning to his or her domicile of record will not be reimbursed if the new residence is more than 200 miles from the domicile of record, or if such expenses exceed those incurred in moving from the domicile following the furlough.

4. Application must be made by March 8, 2004 (21 days from return date), and must be accompanied by documentation satisfactory to the Company establishing that the expense was reasonably and necessarily incurred.

5. A form will be distributed to all affected flight attendants with instructions for application for reimbursement.