| 1.21.03 |
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Hello. This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator with an APFA Hotline Update for Tuesday, January 21, 2003.
Now please stay on the line for the latest edition of the APFA HotLine. On Thursday, American sent a letter to the leaders of all three unions on property asking that they begin attending weekly meetings with management in a spirit of what management is calling "active engagement." In the letter, Mr. Carty said "As we have stated to you and to your financial advisors in the past, the restructuring of our labor agreements is inevitable." The company has already identified $2 billion of the $4 billion in cost savings. They are now seeking the remainder from labor. A copy of the letter can be found on the APFA Web site. APFA is always willing to meet with management to discuss the state of the company and has proffered a meeting date of Tuesday, January 21st. The APFA National Officers have met with members of senior management on numerous occasions in recent months. APFA has always believed that an atmosphere of trust and open lines of communication are essential to an effective working relationship between labor and management. We are glad that management has suddenly seen the merits in this philosophy. Once APFA's financial analysis is complete, President Ward will convene the APFA Board of Directors to review the findings and prepare an appropriate response to the company's request that APFA "forgo" the 3% pay raise that went into effect January 1, 2003. It is anticipated this process will be complete in a matter of weeks. The membership will be kept updated through hotline updates and the web site. Willingness-to-serves for APFA Base Chair, Vice Chair, and Operational Council Representatives are due in the designated Post Office Box by 1000 Central Time on January 21st. If you are interested in running for any of these positions, please be sure to include the position desired in the area designated for "slate information." Ballots for Base Chair, Vice Chair, and Operational Council Representatives will be mailed on February 8th and will be due on March 11th at 0900 Central Time. Willingness-to Serve for Ad Hoc Member of the Executive Committee are due by 1000 Central Time on February 11, 2003. Questions should be directed to the APFA National Ballot Committee at extension 8311 at APFA Headquarters. From the Scheduling Desk: Crew Planning has notified the APFA that there will be a number of changes to the master bidsheet. These changes will be posted on Friday evening. The changes mainly affect Caribbean flying. Please check the Flight Service Web site or published RF flies for changes to the master bidsheet. Due to an error in the processing of Overage Leave requests, American has awarded additional leaves in bases outside of STL. The initial results of the Overage Leave and Partnership Flying Proffer, which closed on January 7th, are now posted on the APFA Web site under "Reduction in Force." We will update the results with these additional awards soon. American will furlough 343 Flight Attendants from the STL base effective January 31, 2003. APFA will be sending each Flight Attendant affected by this reduction in force a packet of information that will include importance information. We encourage those facing furlough to visit the "Furlough" page of the APFA Web site for additional information and job opportunities. In addition, if you know of additional job opportunities and/or resources that may be of interest to those facing furlough or who are already on furlough, please e-mail the information to Communications@apfa.org. APFA will soon send all InfoReps a mailer containing information on the APFA Political Action Committee or PAC along with ten PAC cards to be distributed t o Flight Attendants on the line. Membership in the PAC is strictly voluntary. PAC funds are separate and apart from union dues and are used to contribute to members of Congress who support Flight Attendant issues. APFA must have a well-funded PAC in order to strengthen our presence in Washington, D.C. Flight Attendants can join the APFA PAC by completing the PAC card in the center section of Skyword. There is no need to provide a Social Security Number although a space is provided for one. More information on the APFA PAC can be found on the "Government Affairs" page of the APFA Web site. APFA Legislative Affairs Representative Joan Wages and several APFA members will be in Washington, D.C. next week talking to key members of Congress regarding proposed legislation that would force resolution of aviation labor contracts through "baseball style" arbitration. This type of one-on-one lobbying is very effective. APFA will continue to meet with members of Congress and their staff and work with other labor unions to defeat any legislation aimed at modifying the Railway Labor Act. Capwiz, APFA's new legislative Internet service, is now active on the APFA Web site. The link can be found on the "Government Affairs" page. Members can access a great deal of information on the site such as voting records, proposed legislation, the Congressional agenda, and direct links to their members of Congress. Whenever APFA wishes to respond to certain legislation affecting Flight Attendants, a prepared message will be posted on Capwiz. Members will then be able to send the message to their members of Congress by providing their Zip Code in the appropriate place. Stay Tuned. The APFA Hotel Department would like to remind everyone that the deadline for submission of the 2002 Hotel Survey is Tuesday, January 21, 2003. If you have not already taken the time to complete the survey, please do so. It can be found on the "Hotel" page of the web site or in the center section of Skyword. In rumor control: The APFA has received no information from American Airlines regarding future reductions in force. The company has also not provided the union with any information regarding base closures. In Industry News: American announced this week that it would increase service between Boston and London Heathrow on April 6th using Boeing 777 aircraft. The addition will be American's third daily departure to London from Boston. In the same announcement, American said that it would begin codeshare service to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific Airways. American will place its code on flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York to Hong Kong and Asian cities beyond. Cathay will place its code on 20 cities served by American through Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. Employee ownership of United Airlines may soon end due to the sale of employee stock. This could result in the loss of the 55% voting stake employees currently have and seats on the Board of Directors. Flight Attendants at United represented by AFA this week voiced their opposition to an employee-retention plan. This plan would provide certain upper management with significant improvements in compensation and benefits while front line employees are being forced to give up substantial percentages of their compensation. Most major airlines are beginning to report fourth quarter and year-ending earnings for 2002. This week Delta reported a fourth quarter loss of $363 million. The airline reported a loss of $958 million for the year. Continental reported a $109 million loss for the fourth quarter and a $451 million loss for the full year of 2002. American is scheduled to release their results on Wednesday, January 22. Flight Attendants and Passenger Service Workers have joined three other unions at US Airways in approving cost-cutting contracts, which are designed to help the carrier restructure. AFA representing Flight Attendants at US Airways said that they ratified this latest concession agreement in the face of threats by management to shut the airline down. For more information on American Airlines and the airline industry, please visit the "Aviation Industry News" page of the APFA web site. The APFA offices will be closed on Monday, January 20th in observance of Martin Luther King Day. An officer on duty will be available to take emergency calls. All calls of a non-emergency nature will be routed to the appropriate representative or department for response the next business day. That's it for this edition of the APFA Hotline. Please visit the web site for the latest information. |
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