5.10.16 – June Bidding/APFA PHL Base Meeting/Uniform Ordering/UNICEF/PBS WBT/EAP & Professional Standards

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

June 2016 Bidding
APFA PHL Base Council Meeting – Wednesday, May 25
Uniform Orders Due Friday, May 13
UNICEF’s Change for Good Program in PHL
PBS Refresher WBT Due Tuesday, May 31
APFA EAP and Professional Standards

June 2016 Bidding

PBS bidding for the June 2016 bid month opens today at Noon EDT. The line average for PHL for June 2016 will be 81.1 hours, with 344 Reserve Flight Attendants requested by the Company.

There will be no domicile transfers for the July 2016 bid month. There will be no VLOAs offered for the July 2016 bid month.

I would like to take a moment to address the elephant in the room — the “cartels.” PBS has added an entirely new element to this issue that has been ongoing since the ETB was created in 2005. The large amount of premium flying that PHL has lost over the past year has not helped either.

Contractually, our seniority allows us to bid up to 110 hours, and drop via ETB and/or ISAP to 40 hours a month. However, in a PBS world, when someone bids a high time line for the sole purpose of giving it away to friends, it causes many problems. This caps 30+ year Flight Attendants at 78 hours, creates higher Reserve numbers, and also causes financial hardship on our co-workers and friends. Seniority is being circumvented and violated. When enough Flight Attendants bid high time that only fly enough to be considered a low bidder, time is being stolen from the rest of the bidding pool.

Financial stress kills people. It is a stress like no other. It affects how we parent, our relationships, our friendships, and our jobs. I am asking everyone to think about this when preparing to bid. If you are someone who only flies half a month, but are bidding a full month, please consider only bidding the hours you want to fly and allow others to hold the trips their seniority allows. This will help spread more time out to more people.

PBS trainers are still available in the crew room, and they will be happy to assist you with your bidding, and answer any questions you may have.

June 2016 PHL Pairing Percentages:

June 2016 Flight Attendant Timeline:

Flight Attendant Bidding Resource Center (FABRC):

Representatives are ready to assist! Call 480-693-8232 or 800-327-0117, option 2 then option 8.

APFA PHL Base Council Meeting – Wednesday, May 25

PHL will be hosting a base meeting Wednesday, May 25th from 12 PM until 4 PM at the Hampton Inn PHL Airport. We will be discussing current base specific issues. Our Air Quality Specialist Mary Lynn Gardner will be there to talk about AQ/cabin odor events. Our newly elected National Officers will also be here, so please come out and welcome them.

Uniform Orders Due Friday, May 13

The deadline is quickly approaching for ordering your new uniform. Orders must be placed by Friday, May 13, 2016. Place your uniform order with Twin Hill, by clicking here.

First Time Users:
To login, use your US Airways 6-digit ID preceded by the letters “US” as your username. For example: US111111
The temporary password is: welcome1

You also have the option of being measured at any Men’s Wearhouse stores. Please note that uniform pieces will not be available at these locations.

The new uniform rolls out on Tuesday, September 20, 2016.

UNICEF’s Change for Good Program in PHL

Since 1994, American Airlines has helped to raise more than $10 million for UNICEF’s programs worldwide as the U.S. partner airline in UNICEF’s global Change for Good program. This employee-led volunteer effort has helped save and improve the lives of millions of children around the world.

Through UNICEF’s Change for Good program on American Airlines, passengers can make donations of foreign and domestic currency on select American Airlines international flights (including flights to/from Canada and Mexico) and at the Admirals Club (except Latin America).

The UNICEF Change for Good program is recruiting PHL Champions in the crewroom on May 17 & 18.

Learn more about the Change for Good program:

PBS Refresher WBT Due May 31

A mandatory Preferential Bidding System (PBS) refresher Web-Based Training (WBT) module is available in the Learning Hub on Jetnet. This training clarifies top PBS questions often asked of PBS trainers and the Flight Attendant Bidding Resource Center (FABRC).

The WBT must be completed by Tuesday, May 31, 2016. You will receive $25 training pay upon completion. As a reminder, with the exception of CQ, any WBT offered, will be processed through a pay report outside of CATCREW. You will not see your pay for WBT completion in CATCREW.

To access the WBT module,Click Here or click on the Learning shortcut under ‘Find it Fast’ on Jetnet. From there, select Visit Learning Hub. This required training will be listed in your ‘To Do’ list. Click on the Start button to launch the lesson.

APFA EAP and Professional Standards

The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) of the APFA is here to enhance the health, welfare and safety of all APFA Members by providing quality peer support services. The Members of the EAP Committee are a group of trained Flight Attendants that not only value and understand the professional job we all do every day, the committee also specializes in providing you and your family with a number of workplace resources and the guidance for the concerns that may impair your ability to function at your best.

APFA’s EAP provides the following services and is here for you!

Assessment, information and resource referral support for confidential assistance call (817) 540-0180, ext. 8701
The promotion of professional standards through effective conflict resolution for confidential assistance from a PHL Based Rep. call (817) 540-0108, ext. 8619
Offer response and support to critical or traumatic incidents for confidential assistance call (800) 998-8194

Each department provides information on how EAP directly relates to your Flight Attendant career. For further details and contact information, please visit the APFA EAP webpage by clicking HERE or call (817) 540-0108, ext. 8701 for confidential assistance.

The APFA EAP Professional Standards is a voluntary, confidential service offering members the opportunity to resolve conflicts or concerns with co-workers without management involvement. It is the lowest level of informal intervention possible. APFA encourages the use of Professional Standards rather than engaging the formal involvement of the Company. By utilizing Professional Standards, it offers the involved parties confidentiality and the ability to maintain control over the outcome of a conflict.

For more detailed information on the APFA Professional Standards Department and to learn more, click here.

In Unity,

Kim Kaswinkel
APFA PHL Base President
[email protected]

Brian Morgan
APFA PHL Base Vice President
[email protected]