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1.27.14 – Flight Attendants, Management at New American Reach Agreement on Bargaining

 

Flight Attendants, Management at New American Reach Agreement on Bargaining

Deal Paves the Way for a Post-Merger Contract

 

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MEDIA CONTACTS
APFA
Leslie Mayo

(858) 859-2732
[email protected]

AFA-CWA
Corey Caldwell
(202) 434-0586
[email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORT WORTH, TEXAS and WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 27, 2014) – The unions representing each pre-merger Flight Attendant group at the new American Airlines reached an unprecedented agreement with Company management last week on bargaining for a joint contract. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA represents the pre-merger US Airways workgroup while the Association of Professional Flight Attendants represents the pre-merger American workgroup.

“Flight Attendants have proven once again that hard work and cooperation pay big dividends,” said APFA President Laura Glading. “Throughout American’s bankruptcy and this merger, Flight Attendants worked together to blaze our own trail. At the end of the trail is the joint contract that represents how hard we’ve worked and how successful the new American will be. Today, that end is in sight.”

“Flight Attendants at the new American Airlines deserve a contract which reflects our contributions in making this merger possible,” said Roger Holmin, MEC President, AFA-CWA. “We look forward to joining with our flying partners at American and fighting for the contract we deserve.”

The final agreement is based on the deal AFA-CWA and APFA reached in December. The unions will be negotiating with the Company to finally achieve the great contract we deserve. Under the accelerated timeline in the agreement, all of the Flight Attendants at the new American will be reaping the merger’s benefits by February 2015 at the latest – an unprecedented timetable in airline mergers.

The agreement between AFA-CWA and APFA also provides that pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants will become APFA members. Therefore, that agreement will need to be ratified by a vote of the pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants. In that same balloting, those Flight Attendants also will be voting to approve the negotiations procedures that AFA-CWA, APFA and the Company have agreed upon. Balloting will begin within 10 days and conclude within 40 days.

Following ratification, negotiations with management will follow an expedited timeline and the combined flight attendant group will have a new joint agreement within a year.

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APFA Special Hotline

APFA, AFA-CWA and AA Reach Unprecedented Deal On Bargaining Process

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APFA, AFA-CWA and American Airlines have reached an unprecedented agreement with Company management this week on bargaining for a joint contract. The final agreement is based on the deal AFA-CWA and APFA reached in December. The unions will be negotiating with the Company to finally achieve the great contract we deserve. Under the accelerated timeline in the agreement, all of the Flight Attendants at the new American will be reaping the merger’s benefits by February 2015 at the latest – an unprecedented timetable in airline mergers.

Further information will be posted on Monday.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Coordinator


 
 
APFA Special Hotline

AA Flight 77 Flight Attendant Wings and APFA Pin Ceremony

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Thursday, January 30, 2014
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
CR Smith Museum
American Airlines Flight Academy
Dallas, Ft. Worth
RSVP: [email protected]

Flight Attendants are invited to attend a ceremony next Thursday, January 30, 2014, at the CR Smith Museum. During the ceremony, a pair of Flight Attendant wings and an APFA union pin found among the Flight 77 wreckage will be temporarily placed in the CR Smith Museum. There are a limited number of seats available for this event – therefore, the first 70 Flight Attendants that respond via email to [email protected] requesting attendance will receive an email invitation on Monday, January 27, 2014. Please include your full name, email address and contact phone number. If you need hotel accommodations, the Westin Hotel DFW (972) 929-4500 is offering a discounted rate to those able to attend.

A Brief History
On October 4, 2013, Ms. Joan Cote, Director of the USO in Dover, Delaware, presented to American Airlines CEO Tom Horton, a set of American Airlines Flight Attendant Wings and an APFA Pin recovered from the wreckage of Flight 77, tragically lost at the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.

The wings were recovered by the Joint Personal Effects Depot (JPED) a military unit formed with the purpose of processing and returning the personal effects of our fallen military to their families. The wings and pin from Flight 77 do not have any personal markings on them. Because there was no way to identify to whom they belonged, the JPED retained possession of the items at their Headquarters.

In a letter to JPED, AA requested the return of the wings and pin to American Airlines. The request did not receive any traction until mid-summer 2013 when Joan Cote was invited to attend the annual American Airlines Sky Ball event held in October. Joan was determined to bring the wings and pin to present to American Airlines during her visit to Dallas, so she reengaged the senior leadership at the JPED and was successful in obtaining the release for the items; hence the presentation to Tom Horton on 4 October.

AmericanAirlines US Airways 
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Coordinator


 

APFA Hotline

APFA Hotline – January 24, 2014 – Non Rev Travel Policy Update, LTD Coverage Error, VEOP 2, CD Days, The EAP, Reminders

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Non Rev Travel Policy
Representatives of both APFA and AFA-US Airways met with American management to discuss the newly-announced Non Rev pass travel policy. Management gave some explanation about how they arrived at the new policy and we expressed our concerns with the effect these changes will have. The Company has committed to considering our concerns. Once we receive further information, we will let you know via this Hotline.

VEOP-2
As a provision of the Conditional Labor Agreement (CLA), AA will be offering another Voluntary Early Out Program (VEOP) to eligible legacy-AA Flight Attendants. More information will be available next week.

Long Term Disability Coverage Error
The computer glitch still affecting some employees’ LTD coverage is taking longer than expected to correct. According to AA’s Human Resources, the system will be updated today, January 24th, and we should see the actual corrections in the system by the middle of next week.

If you had LTD coverage prior to open enrollment in November, check your pay stub next week to confirm your disability coverage is correct. We have been told that Mercer fixed the coverage errors last week, but the eligibility file is only submitted to MetLife once a week – today. The following week, FAs should again be able to verify their coverage. Members in this situation did not need to submit a disability enrollment form/Statement of Health (SOH).

If you did not have LTD coverage prior to, but selected it during the November open enrollment, you did need to fill out a disability enrollment form. If you were subsequently sent a SOH from MetLife to fill out, you should complete the form and return it to the appropriate address.

We are hopeful that HR will have the issue resolved shortly, once and for all. If you would like to contact HR, call (800) 447-2000.

From the APFA Scheduling Department
Q. Why do I have a “CD” on my schedule?
A. When a Flight Attendant experiences a Misconnect/Illegality/Cancellation (MIC) at origination for a sequence that carries into an additional day but doesn’t display that way on the HI1, a “CD” day will appear on her/his schedule. The CD indicates that the Flight Attendant has an obligation on the “Day Originally Scheduled to Fly” (DOSTF) due to the sequence flying into the following day. If the FA has been released and chooses to protect the applicable Bid Line Guarantee, s/he needs to add her/his name to the MU list for all DOSTF including the “CD” day.

See example below of a CD on the 24th due to flight 974 flying into the 24th:
20 71 DO
21 71 XR *594 C973
22 71 XR RON
23 71 XR -974 10.35 20.35 0.00
24 71 CD

From The APFA EAP Specialist
As professional Flight Attendants, we are trained to handle a wide range of inflight emergencies. During emergencies, we do an excellent job of staying calm and focused. Whether it’s smoke in the cabin, a medical emergency or a bomb threat, we act professionally and do what needs to be done. After the event, though, we may experience a delayed stress reaction. This may happen hours, days or weeks after the actual event.
If you have been involved in an emergency situation and are experiencing symptoms such as flashbacks, depression or anxiety, we encourage you to get in touch with APFA’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP). The EAP offers confidential assistance to help you understand what’s going on and direct you to qualified professionals who can help you understand and get through these challenges. We’d like you to know that the EAP resources are free and available to you in complete confidence and no matter whether the situation which triggered your stress reaction was work related or personal. To get the help you need, please call us at (817) 540-0108, ext. 8701.

REMINDERS:
___________________________________________________________________________

Cell Phones in the Cabin
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) comment period remains open to weigh in on the use of cell phones on planes. Please take a moment and provide your comments to the FCC on this important issue.

Follow this link http://www.fcc.gov/comments, then select: 13-301 – Expanding Access to Mobile Wireless Services Onboard Aircraft

Staffing
As a reminder, if you have reports concerning staffing related issues, please email details to [email protected]. In order to evaluate any potential violation of our contract language, which states that APFA has the right to grieve an unreasonable workload, we must have detailed reports in order to build a successful case to present to an arbitrator. In the past, when the company violated this provision, it was the initial detailed reports from our members that helped us develop a successful case. Generic or non specific reports are not helpful in this instance. Necessary details include city pair, cabin worked, loads, booking and final numbers, specific galley and catering challenges, etc.

We thank you in advance for your email to [email protected]. Should you require a representative to contact you to discuss further, please indicate as much in the email subject line, as this email box is used for feedback and research purposes only.

Prefunding Refund
APFA continues discussions with the company regarding the refund of our prefunding. We will let you know as soon as we have more information.

Executive Committee Willingness-to-Serve
The National Ballot Committee would like to advise all members in good standing that a Willingness-to-Serve (WTS) has been posted on the APFA website for Ad Hoc Positions 1 and 2 of the Executive Committee. If you are interested in serving on the Executive Committee, you are asked to return the WTS to Jeff Pharr, APFA Secretary, by March 10, 2014. Jeff’s email address is [email protected]. For more information, visit www.apfa.org. Please direct any questions to the National Ballot Committee at [email protected] or 817-540-0108, ext. 8311.

Administrative and Committee Positions
APFA is now accepting resumés for the positions of Division Representatives (5), National Coordinators (6) – Communications, Contract, Health, Hotel, Safety/Security, Scheduling), the National Balloting Committee (5), and the National Budget Committee (4). Resumés must be submitted to APFA Secretary Jeff Pharr by March 12, 2014.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Coordinator

APFA Headquarters
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APFA Headquarters
1004 West Euless Boulevard
Euless, Texas 76040

M-F: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)
Phone: (817) 540-0108

Call APFA

Contract & Scheduling Desk
M-F: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)
Phone: (817) 540-0108

Chat APFA

After-Hours Live Chat
Weekends / Holidays: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)

APFA Events

2024 APFA Board of Directors Fall Meeting

October 16 @ 8:00 am - October 17 @ 5:00 pm

Safety/Security Virtual Town Hall

November 7 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

APFA Headquarters
1004 West Euless Boulevard
Euless, Texas 76040

M-F: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)
Phone: (817) 540-0108

Call APFA

Contract & Scheduling Desk
M-F: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)
Phone: (817) 540-0108

Chat APFA

After-Hours Live Chat
Weekends / Holidays: 9:00AM - 5:00PM (CT)

APFA Events

2024 APFA Board of Directors Fall Meeting

October 16 @ 8:00 am - October 17 @ 5:00 pm

Safety/Security Virtual Town Hall

November 7 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
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