9.09.20 – PHX Base Brief – October 2020 Allocations

Wednesday, September 9, 2020

October 2020 Allocations

On September 1st, the Company asked the APFA leadership to join them on a conference call to solicit our input on “quality of life/sequence construction.”  The Company made it clear that without an extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP), they had to move forward and build their trips accordingly. They believe that productive trips are the way to cut costs. They have programmed the optimizer to create trips with maximum productivity. That means we will see higher credit pairings, longer duty days, shorter layovers, and an increase in four-day pairings.

At the end of this call, we let them know all the ways this would backfire. Things such as longer days mean more exposure for our Flight Attendants to the virus. Longer days mean more opportunities for our Flight Attendants to be yelled at or shamed- we are now mask enforcers on top of being safety professionals. There will be exhaustion and more sick calls due to long days and not enough rest. And wait until there is one weather event.

What we had to say fell on deaf ears. This became glaringly obvious when we received the sequences a couple of days before Tuesday’s allocations call, and we saw what was planned.

So, what does all this mean?

It means you will see a lot more legs per day with much longer duty days and long sit times where you may or may not be changing aircraft. They have built duty days almost right up to the limits in the JCBA. You will have a 13-hour day and 10-hour layovers. As we encounter weather or maintenance delays, these trips will tend to fall apart. It is essential that you familiarize yourself with rescheduling language in JCBA Section 10.J. to ensure they are not treating Flight Attendants on long sits as extra reserves. If a trip falls apart, they need to be assigning reserves to replace the crew.

We will continue to voice concerns regarding the construction of trips for future months. We want to assure you we know what you face out there every day, and thank you for giving it all you’ve got. Sadly, the Company doesn’t seem to care or get that!

As always, fly safe and fly contract!

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• There was a system-wide reduction of 35,000 man-hours- this didn’t affect the PHX base. We increased our hours in PHX from September by over 11,000 hours to 52,079 in October.
• We know that there is a small demand for 4-day trips and are happy the Company could bring some back to the base.
• Unfortunately, the Company added the optimizer’s productivity requirement, which has reduced rest on our pairings. They are now creating long duty periods followed by shorter rest.

 

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October 2020 Staffing vs. October 2019 Staffing

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Remaining October Bidding Timelines

Note: The Vacation Monthly Rebid (MRB) Award, and Vacation Filler Day Bid timelines remain on their normal JCBA bidding and award dates. Click Here for those remaining timelines.

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Save Our Jobs!

Contact your representatives and tell them to get back to the negotiating table!

Time is running out, but it is not too late! The Payroll Support Program has kept hundreds of thousands of aviation workers employed and airplanes in our skies. More than 75,000 US jobs could disappear on October 1. Stop the political games. Tell your leaders they must get back to the negotiating table immediately. Write, call, and tweet Congress every day! Fight for our jobs!

CLICK HERE

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October Unpaid VLOA Bidding is Open

We are projected to have 53 Voluntary Leaves of Absence (VLOAs) offered to our base.

Bidding for the October unpaid VLOA (JCBA Section 25.B.) will close Friday, September 11th at 1200 (CDT). You may access the ballot via Jetnet > Flight Service > Crew Resources > Manning > Voluntary Leave of Absence > October 2020 Voluntary Leave Request Form.

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Covid-19 Exposure Report Form

As cities begin to reopen, please continue to use health precautions to ensure you stay healthy. APFA wants your help tracking COVID-19 exposure among our workgroup. If you tested positive, are symptomatic or awaiting test results, in self-quarantine, or had any other exposure issue, please fill out this COVID-19 Exposure Report Form.

For more information about the virus and a list of resources, be sure to check the APFA Corona Virus Updates page regularly.

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Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

The challenges we face as Flight Attendants are unique, and even when everything is going right, it can be challenging to navigate a path through it all. Remember that EAP is there for you. This CONFIDENTIAL support is there for you and can provide support for issues you face in both your work and personal life.

You can reach EAP at 817-540-0108 ext. 8701 or by filling out the EAP Contact form at the following link:

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Webpage on APFA.org

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We are here for you. Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

In Solidarity,

Mischel Babi
APFA PHX Base President
480-737-6487
[email protected]

Robin Agee
APFA PHX Base Vice President
480-238-2303
[email protected]

Alana Billingsley
APFA PHX Base Council Representative
[email protected]