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On Wednesday, August 15, Lynn Lenosky, MEC President, along with the labor leaders at US Airways met with Rakesh Gangwal and other members of senior management for a briefing on US Airways new plan to be a "stand-alone carrier".

AFA’s leaders, the AFA International Office and its outside consultants are currently in the process of reviewing the Company’s plan and its effects on flight attendants.

Parts of the plan on which we are focusing are: 

• The addition of 60 regional jets into the mainline route system and it’s effect on current flying. These aircraft could have a seat capacity from 50 – 69 seats.
• Entrance into new or previously served cities that may affect any type of growth.
• The effects of replacing mainline jets with regional jets on point-to-point flights in DCA, LGA, and BOS.
• The consolidation of flights to/from Florida that will result in a decrease in the number of flights serving these destinations. 
• Possible discussions with AFA on achieving reduced costs on MetroJet. Effects on Metrojet flying if cost saving measures are not successful.
• Effect of ALPA negotiations to allow US Airways to replace Express turboprops with regional jets.
• Future contract negotiations

MEC Special Meeting
A special meeting of the MEC was called last week to meet with Rakesh Gangwal prior to the unveiling of the company’s plan for the future and to conduct the election to fill the vacancy of MEC Secretary/Treasurer. 

The meeting is currently in recess until Thursday, August 23rd having been reconvened on August 8, 9, and 15th. 

The reason for this continuation is to resolve a pending motion before the body, the 7 voting members of the MEC.

Unfortunately this motion cannot be acted upon unless a majority of the voting members are present at the meeting. 

This is known as a "quorum" and protects against a minority group from meeting and conducting business without a majority being present. However, in our case, a quorum is being denied so the pending motion or any other business cannot be conducted - so far only two voting members of the MEC in addition to the non-voting MEC officers have been present on the reconvened meeting dates. 

Finally, before 5 of the 7 voting members left the meeting room, they did pass a motion to begin talks with the company on two issues: a one time payout to filight attendants for a computer purchase and a monthly allowance for Internet access for flight attendants. AFA is in the process for preparing for these negotiations that are outside of "Section Six" negotiations.

After the DOJ announcement, US Airways stated they “will be moving forward with a plan to address the competitive environment”.  All of us eagerly await the details of that plan.  AFA will share with you any specific details of a Company plan once we have them.

What's Next For Us?
The Department of Justice ruling will hopefully force US Airways management to now focus on running this airline. AFA will continue to pressure US Airways senior management to live up to its word and not break-up our airline.  We will continue to remind them that their five-point business plan, presented during our negotiations for a new contract just last year, never said that management would sell, merge, or break up our airline for this airline to succeed.

AFA will continue to push US Airways management to focus its efforts on fixing the problems that would return our carrier to the profitable airline it was in the late 1990's.

The dedication of flight attendants and other employees has won this airline awards recently in on time performance, quality of service and baggage handling. The commitment of the employees to the long-term stability and success of this airline cannot be questioned.

We expect management to dedicate itself, like we have, to the continued success of this airline for the long-term.

AFA’s number one priority remains insuring the long-term job security of the US Airways flight attendants.

UAL Flight Attendants' Lawsuit
The UAL flight attendants filed a lawsuit last week to ensure that their contract would not be illegally changed if this merger were allowed to proceed.

The lawsuit sought to compel UAL to live up to the flight attendant contract and force the airline to negotiate for a waiver to the UAL flight attendants' "Scope" job security protections before proceeding with any merger.

SCOPE Background
The job security protections UAL flight attendants negotiated in their 1985 contract said that all UAL Corp flying had to be done with UAL flight attendants on the UAL flight attendant seniority list. 

In exchange for these protections, the flight attendants gave the airline the ability to use foreign nationals not on their seniority list for limited Asian flying.  This provision has saved UAL over $500 million. 

UAL management decided to ignore the "Scope" language in the flight attendant contract when it announced the merger plan with US Airways, even though UAL management had already negotiated a waiver to the UAL pilots' "Scope" language -- which is very similar to the language in the flight attendant contract.

Thus, as the DOJ decision on the merger neared, the UAL flight attendants filed suit to protect their contract.  The flight attendants went straight to court, rather than through the grievance/arbitration procedures, because UAL had already violated the very same "Scope" provision, with an identical merger transaction in 1993.  The UAL flight attendants won a clear victory in that case. 

If the situation was reversed, and US Airways was threatening to break our contract, we too would have gone to all lengths to protect our rights.  In fact, at the beginning of this year, your US Airways AFA Master Executive Council did just that by having US Airways management obtain the UAL Board of Directors’ guarantee that the US Airways contract would continue in force even after the merger, as is required in the "Scope" language in our contract. (This language was won in our most recent contract negotiations.)

A321 Pay Rates and Staffing
AFA and the Company finally agreed on the senior rate of pay and staffing for the A321. This agreement was approved by a majority of the voting members of the MEC.  A copy of the agreement was provided to your LEC President for posting on the AFA bulletin board in your crew room. 

Highlights include: 

• A321 senior pay: $2.50/hour increasing to $2.75/hour in May 2003.
• Retroactive A321 Senior pay to February 2001 for actual block hours flown. 
• Effective August 1, 2001 $2.50 per hour for soft time associated with block hours actually flown. 
• A321 senior pay for sick, vacation, OJI, leveling, jury duty, bereavement, AFA or Company business will be paid on a monthly, weighted average of the A321, A319/320 as a percentage of scheduled A321 flying in the domicile for the month. To be automated no later than December 1 2002 but as soon as possible. 
• As an interim measure, effective November 1, 2001 a blended rate will be paid for all Airbus senior premium pay items described above.  The rate will be calculated on the monthly, system wide weighted average of scheduled A319/320 flying at $2.25 per hour, and scheduled A321 flying, at $2.50 per hour.  If the process for paying these items is not automated by December 1, 2002, the Senior premium for all of these items for the A319, A320 and A321 will all be paid at the A321 rate, provided there is A321 flying in that domicile for that month. 
• Five bid-block positions and an Additional Flight Attendant when the bookings reach 140 passengers. 

Difficulties in Completing Your Service?
Please report to your LEC President any difficulties you experience in completing your inflight service on any aircraft. You may also use this Electronic Form.

Be sure to include, in writing, all details:

• Staffing level
• Number of passengers aboard
• Type of service
• Date
• Flight number 

• The 21-day notice will take us to August 1, 2001 deadline after which either party can back out of the deal. 
• This is a request for a “formal response” from the DOJ. There are no assurances that the transaction will be consummated. 
• The Company would not elaborate on which “deal” they are asking DOJ to respond to (the original one from 5/24/00 or the modified one), any definitive course of action or options he will present to Board of Directors, or the fate of DC Air. 

SAP Delayed Again
SAP will not be implemented for the September bid month due to technical problems with the program.  As in the past, both Lineholders and Reserves will bid at the same time. 

September Bidding Timeline:

• Bidding opens  July 15th for Lineholders and Reserves. 
• Bidding closes July 30th at 18:00 for BOS, PIT/PIW, and PHL/PHW. 
• Bidding closes July 31st at 18:00 for DCA, CLT/CLW, LGA, and BWI. 


Reserve lines will be available in crewrooms no later than July 23rd.

Global Bid

The annual Global Bid for options and ITD is open and closes August 1.

US Airways Labor Coalition Presses for Company’s Future
The US Airways Labor Coalition consisting of the leadership of all the unions at US Airways, including AFA, has spent the past seven days discussing the future of US Airways with local, state, and federal government officials. Additionally, the Coalition told President and CEO Rakesh Gangwal at a meeting last Friday that the workers at US Airways expect management to lead this Company to a return to profitability and growth and provide for job security and stability for its employees. 

A break-up and sell-off of Company assets is NOT an option to AFA.

Consequently, in a major reversal of past statements, Rakesh Gangwal told MEC President Lynn Lenosky in a conference call Tuesday afternoon that Wolf and Gangwal will not recommend such action at the pivotal July 18th US Airways Board of Directors meeting which is closed to the public.

AFA considers this encouraging news and is committed to keeping you informed. 

Important Dates for Bidding
Global Bid - Now open and closes August 1.

Bidding for September opens July 16
Bidding for September closes July 22.

SAP (Schedule Adjustment Period)
SAP for September opens July 23.
SAP for September closes July 29.

SAP trainers will be deployed in crew rooms starting July 15 or 16th depending on your base. They will be available daily, through August, to answer your questions on SAP. Be sure you take advantage of this resource.

MEC Vacancy: MEC Secretary -Treasurer
The MEC is considering filling the vacancy in the MEC Secretary-Treasurer office. Please check the AFA crew room bulletin board for more information on this position. In light of the short notice for this opening please forward your resume to the MEC office in Pittsburgh as soon as possible.

United Airlines & US Airways Statement on the Merger
United and US Airways have issued this statement: “US Airways Group, Inc. and UAL Corporation have confirmed that they are in discussions regarding the possibility of terminating the proposed merger between the two companies prior to the August 1 termination date.” 

While US Airways has not made an official announcement that the proposed merger has been terminated, speculation about the looming cancellation of the merger is not a surprise. Since January, media reports and Wall Street analysts have been predicting that the merger would not happen, or that it would at least be significantly restructured.

Since the merger was announced over a year ago, AFA-US Airways has been concerned about the long-term job security of US Airways flight attendants. In light of the prospect of a termination of the merger we are even more concerned about our long-term future. 

We think it’s time for US Airways management to focus its efforts on fixing our Company’s problems and returning our carrier to the profitable airline it was in the late 1990’s.

We think it’s time for management to show that they are dedicated to the long-term success of this airline, just as we are.

We think it’s time for management to match the dedication of the flight attendants and other employees, which has resulted in recent airline awards for quality of service, on-time performance, and baggage handling.

We believe it’s time to stop threatening to break this airline into pieces and sell it off; this is not the answer. US Airways controls a number of very profitable routes and valuable assets. This airline must concentrate on fine-tuning its operation to run successfully for years to come.

Your MEC is sending management this reminder: “It’s time to get back to the business of running US Airways.”

As more information becomes available we will update this Hotline.

Of the twenty agenda items submitted for consideration, the LEC Presidents passed fourteen in either their original form or as amended, two failed to pass, 3 were withdrawn by the maker (sponsor) and one was tabled to the next MEC meeting. 

Highlights of the meeting included:

• Digitizing the grievance report/book
• Creating and maintaining a Grievance Manual
• Filling of the two AFA positions on the Managed Care Review Board
• Investigating insurance and Workers' Compensation problems
• Removal of the MEC Secretary/Treasurer from office

AFA Victory – Alcohol Testing Pay
AFA was recently successful in securing the ability for flight attendants who are required to undergo random alcohol testing after release from duty to receive $15.00 per test. Since the company has been applying this to other flight crew members for some time now, AFA has ensured that alcohol testing pay will be extended to our members as well. If you have been required to submit to an alcohol test at any time since January 1995 and have not been paid, please contact your LEC office as soon as possible.

AIL Awareness – Trips Arriving After Midnight
Please be aware when leaving a list for Crew Scheduling that some trips arrive back in base after midnight and this may result in unintended consequences. For example, a trip with two duty periods, arriving back to domicile at 12:45am may look like a two day in the pairings, but it actually touches 3 calendar days and is considered a 3-day trip by Scheduling. 

The best way to avoid being awarded a trip you don’t really want is to leave Scheduling specific trip numbers after researching the trips ahead of time.

Remember: a trip returning to base after midnight with 2 duty periods, for example, is considered a 3 day trip by Scheduling.
 

Local Executive Council Elections

BOS Council 69 & Council BWI 87 Regular Elections

Flight Attendants based in both Council 69 – BOS and Council 87 – BWI can expect to receive nomination ballots towards the end of July for regular LEC elections. The three-year terms of office for LEC Officers begin January 1, 2002. The nomination process is the first of two phases in the regular election process of LEC Officers. 

Due to the resignation of the recently elected CLT LEC Vice President a special election for this position must be conducted according to AFA’s Constitution and Bylaws.  Election ballots have been mailed. If you have not received a ballot, please contact the CLT Local union office at 704-527-0325 for a duplicate. 

Keep in mind that any flight attendant who has completed probation is both eligible to run for and/or vote in these elections. Please look for these ballots and participate fully in your Union’s democratic process. You have a voice, make it heard.

MD-80 Aircraft Retirements Means Fewer New Hire Classes
The last new hire class for this year will begin June 25 and graduate August 3.  All remaining classes for this year have been cancelled, according to Rob Fuhr, Senior Director-Inflight because the MD-80s will be retired at a faster rate than anticipated. The Company may plan additional hiring for next year if attrition rates warrant it.

Call to Action for Better Cabin Air Quality
Last week, legislation crucial to AFA was introduced in Congress: A bill dealing with cabin air quality, an issue that poses a serious health risk to flight attendants. 

The legislation would require the FAA to accept written requests for pertinent air quality records and then forward those requests to the airlines. The legislation also establishes a study on cabin pressurization. These two bills, S.1019 in the US Senate and H.R.2158, in the House of Representatives, are known as the "Aircraft Clean Air Act of 2001". 

Flight attendants need aircraft air quality records to obtain critical information that may help characterize their illnesses due to poor cabin air quality. 

Please ask both US Senators from your state to cosponsor S.1019 introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and ask your Representative to co-sponsor H.R.2158 by Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). 

Help improve your working conditions today. Get involved in the legislative process. Phone your US Senators or Representatives by calling the U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. 

To e-mail your Members of Congress, go to www.senate.gov or www.house.gov. 

Also, sample letters to Congress can be found on our website: http://www.afausairways.org/legislative/airquality.htm

If you have any questions concerning AFA's Government Affairs Department's activities or Congressional activities, please call the Government Affairs Department at 1-800-424-2401.

As a result of the mid term wage arbitration mandated by their contract, the UAL Flight Attendants will see no increase in their wages.  That’s right – their parity review yielded no pay raise. United management was able to convince a neutral arbitrator that “United’s overall flight attendant costs continue to exceed an index of flight attendant costs at peer carriers in the U.S. airline industry. Therefore United’s flight attendants are not entitled to an increase in compensation…”

Meanwhile the arbitrator for the Parity Review Board at US Airways ruled that the US Airways’ pilots should receive an adjustment in the form of a 16.99% pay raise. This was the result of the United pilot agreement which yielded an initial weighted average increase in wages of 23.8% in their contract last summer. The new Delta pay scales were not taken into account, as they were not even agreed upon then. The US Airways pilots have not had a raise since 1996.

Transition to SAP Begins
The much-anticipated Scheduling Adjustment Period (SAP) is scheduled to become reality in September. Shortly, the Company will distribute a general timeline for SAP training and other information.

Main points to know for now:

• Implementation of SAP is scheduled for the September bid month.
• With SAP, Primary Lineholders will bid 2 months in advance of the bid month.
• In June, two complete bidding cycles must be completed in order to transition to the new bidding system. 
• In early June we will bid for the July bid month.
• Later in June, a second bid will take place for the August bid month.
• Watch for Company postings and CBS messages.

Sheraton Columbia Hotel
10207 Winicopin Circle
410-730-3900

All members in good standing are welcome to attend.

AFA Goings On (Part 2)
Legislative Affairs Seminar in June
The AFA Legislative Affairs Department will hold its annual Legislative Affairs Seminar, June 10-13, in Washington, DC. Virtually every AFA Council from all AFA carriers will be represented. 

AFA Legislative Representatives will attend workshops on grass roots political activism, political briefings on safety and health issues, and discuss pending legislation beneficial to flight attendants. One morning will be dedicated to lobbying Congress on cabin air quality. 

If you are interested in pursuing your interest in the political process and would like to effect change to benefit your fellow flight attendants, please contact your LEC President or Shane Larson at AFA, 800-424-2401 x 801. 

AFA Goings On (Part 3) 
AFA Scholarship Winners
The winners of the 2001 AFA Scholarships are:
$2,500 -    Christopher Kupec, son of AFA member Vicki Kupec, UAL Council 21 DCA
$1,000 –    Gabriel Neer, son of AFA member Lori Neer, AMW Council 66 PHX
Alternate – Katie Marie Bonnette, daughter - AFA member Marilyn Bonnette, UAL Council 9 DEN 

Memorial Day - Holiday Pay
If you work a trip operating on Memorial Day you will be compensated with holiday pay. To calculate how much Holiday Pay a trip will be pay this weekend, see the formula on page 3-8 of the Contract.

Memorial Day is also a “Protected Holiday” which means certain trip drop restrictions apply (see page 9-2 of the Contract).

Longevity Pay Begins
Effective May 1, 2001, our Contract provides for Longevity Pay. This pay compensates flight attendants who have completed at least 14 years of service. For more information see page 3-9 of the Contract. Longevity pay for May will appear in June paychecks.

Pilot Bid 2001-04 & Seasonal Flying
In our last hotline we reported the results of the Pilot Bid 01-04 and the forecast for Pilot Bid 01-05.  AFA provides this information in an effort to keep our members informed on the increase and decrease in flying opportunities for flight attendants associated with the "me too" with the pilots. 

During a future Pilot Bid one aircraft that provides ITD flying on the PHL - LGW route will revert to domestic flying due to seasonal flying. The schedule change in seasonal flying and subsequent decrease in time is taken into account in the global bid process.

AFL-CIO “Stop the Pain” Campaign
Fight for an OSHA Ergonomics Standard
Repetitive strain injuries and back injuries caused by ergonomic hazards are the biggest job safety and health problem in the workplace today. Each year, more than 1.8 million workers suffer painful injuries on the job; some 600,000 are serious enough to require time off from work. These injuries are disabling and expensive. 

After 10 years of struggle, workers finally won an ergonomics standard in November 2000 to protect them from these crippling injuries. But in March 2001, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress overturned the ergonomics standard. Now workers have NO protection from ergonomic injuries. This action foretells the difficulty that faces us as we look forward to finalizing OSHA coverage for flight attendants. 

Workers and unions continue to mobilize to stop the pain associated with repetitive strain and crippling back injuries. Tell President Bush and your Members of Congress to issue a new ergonomics standard to protect workers now.

Call President Bush at 202-456-1414 and Congress at 202-224-3121 

CLT LEC Vice President Election

Because of a resignation, there will be another election for CLT LEC Vice President. Here’s the timeline:

Nomination Ballots Counted       June 4

Election Ballots Mailed          June 18
Election Ballots Postmarked by   July 9
Election Ballots Counted         July 18

If you do not receive your Election ballot, contact your local AFA office for a duplicate. 
Exercise your right to vote. Your Union works best when you participate.

International Youth Exchange Program
The International Youth Exchange Program (IYE) for families of airline employees has extended the deadline until June 15th for accepting applications to the summer 2001 program. 

Youths, 12-18, have an opportunity to spend two weeks during the summer with an airline family in another country. At a later date during the summer, the other youth visits the student and their airline family for two weeks. Matches are based on families with students close in age. 

Begun in 1994, The International Youth Exchange Program (IYE) has facilitated the exchanges of more than 600 youth, worldwide. An airline employee coordinates the program.

Who is eligible?

• Youth ages 12-18 with an interest in learning about a new culture
• Youth with an open and flexible attitude that will enable them to adapt to the host family life
• Youth with a parent who works for an airline
• Knowledge of a foreign language is NOT necessary

For an application form:
Write to:  Camille Wheeler, Coordinator, IYE 
           P.O. Box 11625, St. Paul MN 55111
Email: cwhee23773@AOL.COM, Voicemail: 651-405-9773