3.11.26 – 2026 Annual BOD Convention Recap

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

In this hotline: 

• National Officers’ Update
• Annual Board Training
• Contract Implementation Committee (CIC) Update
• Election for Executive Committee Ad Hocs #1 and #2
• Celebrating Women’s History Month

The 2026 APFA Annual Board of Directors Convention took place last week at the Westin Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas. The final agenda may be found here.

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National Officers’ Update

The National Officers’ Update was an interactive discussion focused on hearing directly from Members and APFA Representatives observing from the gallery about the direction of our Union. A central question guided the conversation: Are the decisions we are making truly reflecting the voice of our Members?

Input, engagement, and feedback are critical in shaping our priorities and guiding our leadership. The discussion reinforced the importance of maintaining a Member-driven and more democratic Union, where leadership listens, members participate, and decisions reflect the priorities of the Flight Attendants.

A strong and effective Union must continue building involvement and communication between contract cycles, ensuring members remain informed and active in shaping the direction of our Union.

Strengths of Our Union Today

Members highlighted several areas where our Union has grown stronger:

• Emerging and next-generation leaders stepping forward across the organization.
• Strong advocacy for Flight Attendants and our profession.
• Improved use of technology to communicate and organize.
• A commitment to continued progress and reform.

Our Union has undergone meaningful reform in recent years, moving away from “business as usual” and toward a culture focused on transparency, accountability, and democracy.

Areas for Improvement

Members and Representatives also discussed opportunities to improve how we connect with and serve our Membership.

One idea raised was the potential development of a mobile app to enhance member engagement. An app could provide easier access to information such as:

• Contract and Scheduling resources (this APFA resource was rated most important in the 2025 APFA Membership Survey).
• Pay tools and calculators
• Chat or communication integration

While an app would require significant financial investment, our current website already provides a strong foundation for answering many questions and accessing Union resources. The discussion focused on how technology can continue evolving to make information easier and faster for Members to access.

Holding Management Accountable

Another key theme of the discussion was the importance of maintaining accountability for management. Members emphasized that holding management accountable is a critical responsibility of our Union, something we have faced before and must continue to do when the future of our airline is at stake.

No Confidence in Isom! Protest at Skyview 8
February 12, 2026

This commitment to accountability is reflected in the recent vote of no confidence issued by the APFA Board of Directors in CEO Robert Isom. That action was not taken lightly. It reflects the growing concern that under the current leadership, American Airlines is falling behind its competitors and that the consequences of those failures are increasingly being felt by frontline employees. Our Union will continue to speak out and demand the leadership necessary to protect our careers and restore this airline’s competitive standing.

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Annual Board Training

On Tuesday, March 3rd, 2026, your APFA Leadership participated in the annual board training in accordance with APFA Policy Manual Section 4.B.6.

2026 APFA Leadership Training 

This year’s training focused on modernizing the Notice of Dispute (NOD) filing process within the SBA Department to improve visibility, consistency, and effectiveness. These updates will create greater continuity between APFA Representatives and provide cleaner, more reliable data when advocating for members and addressing contractual violations with management. Representatives in attendance spent the day becoming familiar with the new systems designed to streamline and strengthen the NOD process.

A key part of this effort is the modernization of the MemberLink system, which APFA Representatives use to document interactions with Members. The upgraded system will allow for better trend analysis, volume tracking, and clearer case continuity throughout the NOD process. MemberLink will now be used to log all Member interactions, from phone calls and inquiries to formal NOD filings.

This investment in programming strengthens the infrastructure needed to support contract enforcement now and into the future. By improving how information is documented and preserved, APFA will be better equipped to identify patterns, build stronger cases, and ensure that critical data remains available for future disputes with management.

💡DID YOU KNOW?💡

Click here for more SBA Department information, including Base NOD cases, open cases at the SBA Department (HQ), settled cases, Presidential Grievances, and more.

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Contract Implementation Committee (CIC) Update

Implemented Improvements

The Contract Implementation Committee provided an update on provisions that have already been implemented and those currently in progress. Many of the improvements secured in our 2024 Collective Bargaining Agreement are now in place, including enhancements to Scheduling, Reserve, and several operational provisions that impact our day-to-day work.

Reserve Use of TTS/UBL on Days Off

Implementation of Reserve use of TTS/UBL on days off  (CBA 10.E.5) is on schedule. Reserves will be able to enter TTS/UBL ballots starting March 20th for the April bid month. Stay tuned for more information on this new contractual enhancement.

Prefer Positions Order Per Aircraft

A new PBS property, Prefer Positions Order Per Aircraft, is on schedule for the October 2026 bid month. This new property allows you to bid position order on different aircraft within the same layer. For example, if you bid IPD sequences on the 787-8, 787-9, and 787-9P in the same layer, you will be able to choose your position order on each separate aircraft within that layer. Stay tuned for mock bidding details later this month to try out this new property!

Coming Soon!

Click here for more information on upcoming implementation items and for CIC hotlines #1- #52. Click here to contact the Contract Implementation Committee.

💡DID YOU KNOW?💡

UBL Trip Improvement Now Processing Same-Day Origination Trades!

UBL is now processing same-day origination trades for the next day up until 1500 HBT. You are now able to trade your sequence for the next day for any other sequence originating on the same day as long as it is the same number of days or greater. UBL will consider this trade request in any UBL run up until 1500 HBT the day prior. There are no restrictions of daily or monthly open time limits for these trades since you are trading for same or greater days.

For more information and examples of UBL Trip Improvement, read the CIC hotline here.

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Executive Committee Updates/ Election for Executive Committee Ad Hocs #1 and #2

The meeting concluded with an election for Executive Committee Ad Hocs #1 and #2. These committee members are anonymously elected by the voting Board of Directors, consisting of your Base Presidents. According to the APFA Constitution, the Executive Committee shall act as the agent for and on behalf of the Voting Board of Directors. More information on the responsibilities of the APFA Executive Committee may be found in Article III Section 4 of the APFA Constitution.

Marcus Gluth (MIA) and Kelly Hagan (LGA) were elected as Ad Hocs #1 and #2, respectively. The complete list of Executive Committee Ad Hocs and the bases they represent are as follows:

Ad Hoc #1 – Marcus Gluth: LGA/MIA
Ad Hoc #2 – Kelly Hagan: ORD/LAX
Ad Hoc #3 – Kerstin Michael: DFW
Ad Hoc #4 – Joseph Seeyle: CLT/PHX
Ad Hoc #5 – Ankit Patel: BOS/DCA/PHL

Executive Committee Q and A

Q1: What is the APFA Executive Committee?
The Members of the Executive Committee act as agents for and on behalf of the Voting Board of Directors (your Base Presidents), and interpret the APFA Constitution, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors.

Q2: Who sits on the APFA Executive Committee?
The Executive Committee consists of the National President, National Vice President, National Secretary, National Treasurer and five (5) Ad Hoc Members.

Q3: Where can I read more about the Executive Committee and their responsibilities?
Duties and responsibilities of the Executive Committee may be found in the APFA Constitution Article III  Section 4.

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Women’s History Month

APFA recognizes and honors the Women who make Unions run, always fighting for equality and improved working conditions.

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Minutes for this meeting will be published to the APFA website no later than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the meeting per Policy Manual Section 4.A.7.b.(3).