FRH – 11.08.15
FACT Rep Update –
Flight Attendant Communications Team
Sunday, November 8, 2015
- Holiday Pay – LAA/LUS
- Telephone Town Hall Meeting – Tuesday, November 17 – LAA/LUS
- Notification of Willingness-to-Serve – National Officer Elections – LAA/LUS
- Relief Bidding During the Holidays – LAA
- Breach of Implementation for Jumpseat Weight Restriction – LUS
- Dues Forgiveness Amendment Deadline – LAA
- Prefunding Arbitration – LAA
- Hotel & Transportation Debrief/Irregularity Forms – LAA/LUS
- Vacation & Sick Accrual Thresholds – LAA
Holiday Pay – LAA/LUS
JCBA Section 3.J provides for a flat rate of $75 dollars for any sequence that touches the compensated holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. If a sequence touches a compensated holiday by one minute, from sign-in to debrief, the Holiday Pay will be the full $75.00. Also, if you have two sequences that touch the compensated holiday, you will be paid holiday pay of $75 for each sequence. You will receive $75 holiday pay for a Standby assignment on reserve. If you are assigned to fly a sequence during your standby, you will still only receive $75 for that duty day.
Telephone Town Hall Meeting – Tuesday, November 17 – LAA/LUS
APFA National President Marcus Gluth, National Officers & Department Chairs, along with members Joint Scheduling Implementation Committee (JSIC) will be hosting a Telephone Town Hall Conference on Tuesday, November 17th at 4pm EST (3pm CST/1pm PST). The telephone conference will consist of a short presentation followed by a live Questions and Answers session, focusing on Contract implementation of the 2014 Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA).
All members are welcome to join the call. The Town Hall Conference call-in number is 855-269-4484.
Notification of Willingness-to-Serve – National Officer Elections – LAA/LUS
The National Ballot Committee (NBC) has posted the Willingness-to-Serve for the positions of National President, National Vice President, National Secretary and National Treasurer on the APFA website. All Willingness-to-Serves must be in the designated PO Box, found at the bottom of the form, by 1000 CT, November 20, 2015. Ballots for the National Officer election will be mailed to members on December 10, 2015 and votes must be cast by 1000 CT, January 9, 2016.
Willingness-to-Serve – National Officer Elections
If you have any questions, please contact the National Ballot Committee at [email protected] or 817-540-0108 ext. 8311.
Relief Bidding During the Holidays – LAA
As we approach the holiday months of November and December, it’s a good time for a refresher on Relief Bidding. The most frequently asked question is, “Why did they plot a trip in the vacation period of a relief line?” The answer surprises a lot of Flight Attendants. Only the Duty Free Periods in the vacation period are protected. That means you can be plotted on any Days Off scheduled that fall on the line during the vacation. Additionally, “No Pre plot” and “Duty Free” requests are NOT honored for relief lines.
It’s also the first Winter holiday season with combined operations. We recommend you back yourself up by bidding more than normal, as Flight Attendants tend to bid differently in these months. It’s better to hold a line of your choosing rather than being assigned a bid if you are not able to hold anything in your ballot.
Finally, Reserves should back themselves up with Regular selections, as some Flight Attendants bid onto reserve in November to avoid the possibility of December reserve and could force a more junior Flight Attendant off of reserve by exercising senior bump.
Second Request to Cease and Desist
Breach of Implementation for Jumpseat Weight Restriction – LUS
On October 2, APFA National President Marcus Gluth sent a letter to Paul Jones, Senior Vice-President and General Counsel, demanding that the Company cease and desist from the change to the weight and balance restriction prior to Flight Attendant Operational Integration (FOI).
On October 28, the LUS Presidents of CLT, DCA, PHL and PHX sent a second request to cease and desist to Paul Jones. This is an additional request for the Company to adhere to their original agreement of not removing the restriction until FOI. We will continue to update you with any progress or should we need to proceed with a different action.
Second Request to Cease and Desist – Breach of Implementation for Jumpseat – LUS Weight Restriction
Dues Forgiveness Amendment Deadline – LAA
The APFA membership recently approved an amendment to the APFA Constitution that affects dues owed while on unpaid status for some or all of the period between January 8, 2010 and June 18, 2014. Dues forgiveness will be given if a member makes a one-time payment to APFA of $123.00 or the unpaid dues balance accrued during the period from January 8, 201 to June 18, 2014, whichever is smaller. The form mailed to your homes and the payment must be received by APFA no later than Thursday, December 10, 2015. If you have any questions, please contact the APFA Dues Department at 817-540-0108, ext. 8151 or at [email protected].
Click here for the text of the Board resolution, which explains the reasoning behind the proposal. For Q&A’s about the referendum, click here.
Prefunding Arbitration – LAA
As previously announced the case is now closed. The final briefs were made by the parties involved and it is in Arbitrator’s court. We will update the membership as soon as we have a final timeline for a decision. Depending on the award, it could be another 60 days before we have information to share.
Hotel & Transportation Debrief/Irregularity Forms – LAA/LUS
The Hotel & Transportation Debrief/Irregularity Form can now be accessed from the APFA Website Home Page. This makes it easier for you to find the form in order to send in a report. These reports, and your feedback, are very important when addressing concerns with AA Management. Make sure to fill in all the information on the form and send them in a timely manner. I’m asking that you no longer fill out the “pink” hotel debrief forms as this department doesn’t receive those in a timely manner and it makes it difficult for follow-up.
Vacation & Sick Accrual Thresholds – LAA
Now is the time of year to ensure you are on track to accrue your eligible vacation and sick for 2015. You can view your year-to-date hours and threshold using the HISK entry in DECS. Remember you must be paid 420 hours during the calendar year, or an average of 35 hours per active month, in order to accrue vacation and sick hours for the year. Also keep in mind that only paid hours in an active month (Y reflected under ACC column) count towards meeting your threshold. Each year Flight Attendants miss accruing their vacation and sick by just a few hours. Now is the time to plan on flying any extra trips you may need to make sure your meet your threshold.
Steve Chen
APFA Fact Rep. Coordinator
[email protected]
Brian Clark
APFA National Communications Interim Chair
[email protected]