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10.02.19 – Weekly Scoop

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Join the ConversationAPFA National Officers, the Negotiating Committee, the Joint Scheduling Implementation Committee (JSIC), and the National Department Chairs & Specialists will host a Telephone Town Hall Thursday, October 10th from 12:00 to 1:00 pm CDT.

Click the image above or click here to register for the event.

 


Letters of Agreement for Hurricane Dorian

This week we were able to secure Letters of Agreement for those affected by Hurricane Dorian.  These agreements will mitigate all missed trips (TM) and personal days (PO) from August 26th, 2019 thru September 5th, 2019 that were hurricane related. View the LOA’s in their entirety by clicking the links:

Hurricane Dorian Letter of Agreement 1

Hurricane Dorian Letter of Agreement 2

 


Article III, Section 3, C. of the APFA Constitution

Annual Fall Board Meeting
October 15th & 16th

Hurst Conference Center
1601 Campus Drive
Hurst, TX 76054

Members in good standing are welcome to attend all open portions of the meeting.

 

Sign up Today For SMS Notifications

The SMS text message notification service will only be used to send out urgent and important reminders to APFA members. The SMS text message notifications is NOT the same as or connected to the Live Chat feature on the APFA website. Click the image for more info.

Fun Fact: During the month of September, APFA Headquarters received 2,613 calls from members. That’s about 131 calls a day!

 


Under the “Armor” of Our Uniform

This is a common phrase that we express to crews that have experienced a traumatic event and understanding the levels of stress that we experience.  Many of us feel that we can remain strong and steadfast and do our services as if our uniform was an armor protecting us.  We are told that when we take that uniform off after a critical incident that we will feel exhausted, we may be numb, we may feel sore in our joints from the adrenalin dump after an event, and we will be extremely tired.

But what if we haven’t experienced a critical incident?  What if we are just scheduling ourselves so many hours to make ends meet, to be able to afford being a caretaker for a parent, caring for a special needs child, going through a divorce, or experiencing the loss of a loved one?  We have a different type of job that many people think is a “dream job”.   The many places that we travel are glamorous to many, but in reality we face the same stress and anxiety as many people do, but we do it at 30,000 feet in the air in a safety sensitive environment, in different countries, different time zones, experiencing weather delays, mechanical delays, unruly passengers, and even unruly Flight Attendants.

Yet we continue to put that “armor” on, get back on that plane and continue to fly and we continue to compartmentalize our stress.  This then becomes chronic stress.

When the stress response fails to shut off and reset after a difficult situation has passed, this can then become depression. Loss of any type can also lead to major depression.

The connection between stress and depression is complex and circular, and after a prolonged period of chronic stress, it eventually can develop into depression.

Depression left untreated causes a loss of pleasure in life and can adversely impact our work life. Individuals with depression can fully recover with effective treatment but less than half seek treatment because they think it isn’t serious or don’t recognize the symptoms.

Learn to Recognize the Common Symptoms of Depression:

  • Persistent sad or anxious mood
  • Sleeping too much or too little
  • Change in appetite which cause weight loss or weight gain
  • Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment
  • Difficulty concentrating or remembering
  • Fatigue or loss of energy
  • Feeling guilty, hopeless or worthless
  • Thoughts of suicide or death

If you or someone you know has five or more of these symptoms for two weeks or more, it could be caused by depression.

Confidential help is available by calling your APFA EAP department at 1-817-540-0108 ext. 8701 or email us at [email protected]

 

Updates from Government Affairs

FAA Evacuation Study

The FAA has announced that it will conduct a live evacuation study this November. The study will take place over twelve days and test whether 720 volunteers are able to evacuate a plane in a simulated emergency situation. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required the agency to set minimum dimensions for aircraft seating and to conduct a study on how seat size relates to evacuation speeds. The agency has yet to issue a rule on seat size criteria and is only now conducting the evacuation study after pressure from APFA and others. We will be watching closely that the tests being conducted reflect real world situations that we face every day.

New U.S. Secretary of Labor Confirmed

Eugene Scalia, son of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was confirmed by the Senate last week as the Trump Administration’s second Secretary of Labor. Rather than a champion for labor rights, Scalia has spent most of his career as a corporate lawyer defending his clients from charges of labor law violations. Scalia once defended Boeing in a case in which it threatened to move a manufacturing plant to undermine a union’s collective bargaining negotiations. As Scalia assumes office, his top priority will likely be to defend the myriad of anti-labor regulations pushed through by the Trump Administration.

PRO Act (H.R. 2474)

The Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act was approved by the Democrat-led House Education and Labor Committee last week and appears to be headed for passage by the full House of Representatives. The Act is a comprehensive rewrite of the nation’s labor laws. It would, among other provisions, outlaw state “right to work” laws, increase fines for employers who violate rules, and require companies to treat “independent contractors” like full employees, including granting them the right to organize. With a power imbalance between workers and CEOs as wide as its been in decades, the PRO Act would go a long way toward balancing the scales. While its future in the Senate will be tough, it is important to go on the record in support of fair labor laws.

 


It’s That Time of Year

Annual Benefit Enrollment

Annual Benefit enrollment for 2020 benefits is October 21 – November 1, 2019. The brochure is on its way to your home for review.

Annual Enrollment is a once a year opportunity to select medical, dental, life insurance and other benefits for your and your eligible family member for 2020.  If you experience a life event during the year you can elect changes.

Qualifying Life Events

  • You and/or your dependents lose eligibility for other medical coverage for reasons that include legal separation, divorce, death, termination of employment or reduced work hours  (but not due to failure to pay premiums on a timely basis, voluntary dis-enrollment or termination for cause).
  • The employer contributions to the other coverage have stopped.
  • The other coverage was COBRA and the maximum COBRA coverage period ends.
  • You and/or one of your dependents exhaust a lifetime maximum in another employer’s health plan or other health insurance coverage, where permitted by law.
  • You and/or one of your dependents’ employers cease to offer benefits to the class of employees through which you (or one of your dependents) had coverage.
  • You and/or one of your dependents were enrolled under an HMO or other group or individual plan or arrangement that will no longer cover you (and/or one of your dependents) because you and/or one or your dependents no longer reside, live or work in its service area.

In addition, you may enroll yourself and/or your dependents in the Medical Benefit Option if one of the following events occurs:

You have a new dependent as a result of your marriage, common law marriage, or declaration of a Company-Recognized Domestic Partnership (for the CORE Option), your child’s birth, adoption or placement for adoption with you.

 


Why Can’t I See My Hotel in HIHTL?

Effective October 1st, hotels will no longer display in HIHTL, but will display in Crew Portal and a new location in mobileCCI.

Where in Crew Portal can I see my hotel?

  1. Go to faportal.aa.com
  2. Under the monthly calendar you will see three tabs
  3. Click “Hotels/Shuttle”
  4. Click the “v” arrow to the left of sequence number
  5. Hotel/Shuttle information will be displayed via a drop down

Where in mobileCCI can I see my hotel?

  1. Go to Calendar icon at bottom of page
  2. Touch day of sequence for that night’s layover information
  3. Touch last leg of day, which will direct you to flight information page
  4. Scroll to bottom of page to find Hotel and Transportation
  5. For pickup information, touch Pre-Flight Documents
  6. Scroll to and touch HIDIR/HTL

Please Note:

  • ODAN hotels will now reflect in Crew Portal, previously only available in HIHTL
  • “Hotel Vouchers” are no longer needed or issued

 

Section 27 – Injury on Duty (IOD)

A.  A Flight Attendant who becomes ill or injured as a result of an occupational incident shall receive Workers’ Compensation benefits in accordance with individual state laws.

B.  The Company shall pay protect a Flight Attendant who suffers an occupational illness or injury for the greater of her/his scheduled or actual credit hours per Compensation, Section 3, for the duty period in which the illness or injury occurs provided such occupational illness or injury claim is approved by the designated Worker’s Compensation insurance provider.

 


UBL Mis-award?

“I was misawarded a UBL trip.  I was in CQ and CS said it was because I didn’t return their call.  Shouldn’t they have just put it on my schedule?”

While you cannot answer your phone while in CQ (nor while deadheading to or from CQ), Crew Scheduling is still required to call prior to awarding a UBL sequence during the manual run.  The exceptions to this are when you have waived the call, are operating a sequence containing a live flight or are on legal rest.  Below is the information provided in the FOI Guide.

UBL Manual run:  This UBL run happens after 1500 the day before or the same day a sequence starts.  During this type of run Crew Scheduling will make positive contact with you unless you are one of three situations

  • You have waived positive contact by unselecting the call option at the top of the ballot
  • You are out on a sequence
  • You are on legal rest**

If you have a bid in UBL and will be in CQ (or JD or SA), be sure to waive a phone call during the times you are unavailable for phone contact.** This is not contractual.  This exception is scheduled to be removed on 6 Nov, pending successful testing.  Following that update, you will receive a call, even when on legal rest if you have not waived the call.

 

Retirement Seminars – Are You Ready?

The Retirement Department will be conducting the following seminars in October:

  • October 9th – ORD – 1100-1400 K19 Conference Room
  • October 10th – PHL – 1100-1400 Tour Room (inside security between Concourses C & D)
  • October 22nd – CLT – 1100-1400  Auditorium above the Food Court
  • October 23rd – STL – 1100-1400  Flight Attendant Operations

The Retirement seminars cover a wide range of topics including: Retiree Travel, 401(K), Pensions, COBRA, and Medicare.

Legacy American Airlines Flight Attendants: Download a pension estimate from the Pension Service Center page on Jetnet.

Legacy US Airways Flight Attendants: Request a copy of their pension estimate from the PBGC by calling 800-400-7242.

Members unable to attend the seminars are always welcome to watch the retirement webinar series available on the APFA Retirement Page, as well as download the Good Slide! retirement handout.

Everyone is welcome regardless of base or seniority – no need to RSVP.

Remember – it’s never too early to start planning for retirement

 

Reserve Roundtable Wrap-Up
 
Last Thursday, the Negotiating Committee hosted a reserve roundtable at APFA Headquarters. Twenty Flight Attendants participated from across the system, with bidding seniorities ranging from 1986 to 2019.The event began at 1200 CDT with opening statements from National President Lori Bassani and Professional Negotiator Susan French. The room was set up with four tables-each with five Flight Attendant participants and one negotiator. Each negotiator had designated topics to discuss, and each negotiator moved between the tables in thirty- minute intervals to ensure each Flight Attendant attending the roundtable had a chance to weigh-in on every topic.Topics were broken down as follows:Topic 1:
  • Rotation/ Straight/ Hybrid
  • Vacation/ Proration
Topic 2:
  • Reserve Crew Base Rest
  • Flex Days/ Golden Days
  • VLOA
  • Month-to-Month Transition
Topic 3:
  • Standby Reserve
  • ROTA/ D
Topic 4:
  • ROTA
  • RAPs

Thank you to everyone who participated. We received a lot of great ideas and feedback from the members who took the time to attend on a day off, and we appreciated the open discussions and different perspectives that were shared between members at the tables.

The Negotiating Committee will take all of your feedback from road shows, listening tours, the reserve survey and roundtable, as well as all of your personal e-mails, and work to craft a reserve system that best reflects the needs of the Flight Attendants across the system.

 


I heard that once the DOT finally implements the new minimum rest regulation, crew tracking can still reduce our layover to 8 hours.

FICTION: The 10 hour rest will not be reducible under any circumstances. 10 hours will be calculated from debrief to report, just as the FAR is currently calculated. This is NOT 10 hours “behind the door.”

“Behind the door” is a contractual protection, not part of the FAR. It assures that there are no logistical issues, such as van or room delays, post-debrief that prevent you from receiving 8 full hours in your hotel room.

JCBA Language:
Domestic 11.J.1
International 14.I.1


As of today, there have been Flight Attendants who have filed uniform reaction reports.

Please continue to utilize the Uniform Reaction Report Form on the APFA website if you experience a suspected reaction to your uniform.

* This week’s update unavailable.

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

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

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
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