1.14.00 – (LAA) – Negotiations Update, National Officer Election

This is Peter Kent from the APFA National Ballot Committee.

Today, January 19, 2000, the National Ballot Committee, in conjunction with Whitley, Penn and Associates, our outside election agency, certified the following results for the APFA National Officer election for the four-year term starting April 1, 2000.

For President:

• Dano Bosch: 896
• Judy Ladislaw: 826
• John Ward: 7365
• The elected APFA President is: John Ward

For APFA Vice President:

• Jeff Bott: 7743
• David Chambers: 1269
• The elected APFA Vice President is: Jeff Bott

For Secretary:

• Linda Lanning: 7610
• Kitty Solder: 1398
• The elected APFA Secretary is: Linda Lanning

For Treasurer:

• Juan Johnson: 7486
• Michael Parker: 1549
• The elected APFA Treasurer is: Juan Johnson

The total number of valid ballots cast was: 9172

Stay on the line for the remainder of the APFA HotLine.

APFA NEGOTIATIONS HOTLINE FOR FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2000

Hello, this is Liz Mallon, ORD Base Chair and APFA Board of Director with a negotiation’s update for Friday, January 14.

Your APFA TEAM 2000 Negotiators, in keeping with their pledge to conduct “Flight Attendant Driven Negotiations,” has just received the results of a telephone poll. The Kitchens Group, a well-respected Florida-based research firm, conducted the scientific poll.

The survey was conducted over a two-week period. Five hundred active Flight Attendants were randomly sampled and responded to the forty-seven questions. Confidential results were analyzed by the researchers and provided to Team 2000.

Many key themes came out of the poll. First, it is clear that the Flight Attendants want nothing less than a fair contract. Our new contract must address our need for excellent work rules, professional compensation, respectable benefits and retirement. Second, the overwhelming majority of those polled expect the carrier to show us that the company values the Flight Attendant workforce. The survey indicates that we deserve a contract with fair raises, humane scheduling rules, equitable profit sharing and a contract that addresses our many other key concerns.

Specific survey results, of course, are confidential because Team 2000 will be using the polling data received from our flight attendants to create our strategy. Nevertheless, there are some general survey results that we have already been implementing:

For starters, you said Membership Involvement is crucial this time around. Our initial phone survey is just the beginning of “Flight Attendant Driven Negotiations.” A full written survey of more than 22,000 Flight Attendants is underway. Please respond by the January 21st deadline, and don’t forget to add 55 cents postage. We are truly listening and will be engaged in many activities with our APFA members. In fact, all twelve APFA Negotiators have been in the Dallas Fort Worth Airport this week to meet flight attendants and listen to their concerns regarding negotiations.

You also asked us to carefully analyze the Tentative Agreement. Team 2000 is currently scrutinizing the entire T.A. in conjunction with telephone and written survey results and recommendations.

And you said to Do What It Takes to obtain a fair contract. Your responses have indicated that you are more than ready to fight to “protect our profession.”

Today, January 14, the Special Advisory Committee introduced APFA TEAM 2000 in its entirety to company negotiators. This was the first meeting between the full complement of APFA TEAM 2000 Negotiators and American Airlines Negotiators. Sue Oliver, VP of Employee Relations stated that the company has a “commitment to change,” and that commitment goes all the way up to Don Carty. Laura Glading, Chairperson of APFA TEAM 2000 Negotiations, emphatically responded to company negotiators , (quote) “Here is your opportunity! We have been in turbulent times too long. We cannot continue on this flight path. It is time to change altitudes and attitudes and show the Flight Attendants the appreciation you claim to have for them.” (End quote)

The next scheduled formal bargaining session between union and company negotiators will be on February 15, 2000. APFA TEAM 2000 Negotiators are meeting in subcommittees to developk proposals. Telephone Surveys, written surveys, comments to Negotiators and your other APFA representatives, are vital to us and imperative for a successful contract. This round of negotiations is membership driven.

We will stress once again: Fill out your survey, add 55cents postage, and make sure we receive it by January 21, 2000.

Thank you for calling the APFA hotline and now stay on the line for Marcus Gluth with more APFA and industry news.

APFA HotLine for January 14, 2000

Hello. This is Marcus Gluth, Miami International based Flight Attendant, with more APFA HotLine news for Friday, January 14th.

APFA offices will be closed on Monday, January 17th, in honor of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. In case of an emergency, an officer-on-duty will be available at the main headquarters phone number to provide assistance from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Keep this holiday in mind if you have not yet mailed in your ballot for the APFA National Officer election. Ballots are due in the designated Post Office box by 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 19th. Results of the balloting will be announced on this HotLine later that same day. Since Monday is a federal holiday and the Post Office will be closed, you have just a few more days to get your ballot in and make sure that your voice is heard in this important election.

Other important dates to remember for January: the 21st is the deadline for the Negotiations 2000 written membership survey. Put at least 55 cents postage on the envelope provided before dropping your completed survey in the mail. And on January 24th, willingness-to-serve notices are due for the position of Vice Chair at DCA (domestic).

The proffer forms for Leaves of Absence and Part Time for the fiscal year beginning May 2000 should be available at all bases beginning this weekend. If you are interested in proffering a Leave and/or Part Time, read the information and follow the instructions very carefully. An article by National Contract Coordinator Terry Skinner regarding LOA and Part Time will appear in the January issue of Skyword, which will be mailed shortly to your home. After reading this article and the information included with the proffer forms, please contact the APFA Contract Department at headquarters extension 8171 with any questions.

Good news for those of you investing in the $uper$aver 401(k) program at American. More options for investing your savings should be available sometime mid-year 2000. Added options are expected to include several “outside” funds, such as Fidelity. Details from the $uper$aver Department will be forthcoming this spring.

In other company news, American Airlines announced Wednesday that on April 2nd, nonstop service between Orlando and Sao Paulo, Brazil, continuing on to Rio de Janeiro, will begin operating four times a week. On the same date, a second DFW to Sao Paulo and Rio flight will begin, operating three times weekly.

In a report last week, the FAA announced a proposal to require certification of the companies which run the security screening checkpoints at U.S. airports. Though the airlines themselves hire and pay for security screening services, the FAA proposal would give government regulators direct control over the screeners, and make the screening companies and airlines jointly responsible for screener performance and training. Passengers and employees alike have long complained of the sometimes lackadaisical attitude often displayed at checkpoints. Advocates for the traveling public say that increased government oversight and control is welcome. Reports are that the certification proposal would establish uniform standards of performance and encourage the hiring of qualified, skilled employees and effective training.

In the continuing saga of the Northwest Flight Attendants comes a temporary restraining order issued by a U.S. District Court in Minnesota which bars the Flight Attendants from engaging in what the court termed an illegal sickout. Northwest management had sought the restraining order, accusing Teamsters Local 2000, which represents the Northwest Flight Attendants, of willfully disrupting the Company’s operations over the holiday period starting December 30th, resulting in over 300 flight cancellations. The union blamed any action on “renegades.” The text of the restraining order has been posted on the Local 2000 web site and its contract education seminars, which go by the name HAVOC (Having A Voice in Our Contract), have been canceled. The NMB recently called a halt to all further talks between the Teamsters and Northwest management, calling the union’s proposals unrealistic.

Talks are continuing over at US Airways with the help of a federal mediator. The AFA, representing the US Airways Flight Attendants, reports that progress has been made in resolving issues within open sections of their contract. Meantime, US Airways management has begun forming contingency plans to put in place in the event Flight Attendants walk off the job. The company reports that threats of a CHAOS campaign by cabin crew have already affected bookings, even though no legal action can yet be taken by the Flight Attendants. The National Mediation Board has thus far refused to release the parties into the mandatory 30-day cooling-off period, which must expire before either side can engage in self-help. Talks are scheduled to continue throughout this month.

By now you should have received your phone card from D.C. Enterprises offering 15 minutes of free domestic calling. Many Flight Attendants have called to enquire about the status of the previous calling plan, offered through Eclipse Communications. We are pleased to inform you that both the previous card and the new official APFA phone card through D.C. Enterprises, rebate a portion of their revenues from your calls to the APFA Negotiations Fund. However, we have arranged for higher rebate from the new calling plan. Please call the plan coordinator, D.C. Enterprises, at 1-800-944-2544 for complete details and answers to your questions.

Hotel reviews for the month of January will be: Seattle, Barbados, Portland, Austin, Guadalajara, and Tulsa. Please direct your comments regarding your layover facilities to the APFA Hotel Department at headquarters extension 8306, use the hotel debrief form in operations, or go online at www.www.apfa.org’s hotel section.

A base meeting is scheduled for SFO and SFO-I on January 26th. Check your base bulletin boards to verify the place and time.

That’s it for this week. For those of you on the Internet, be sure to check out the various links attached to this HotLine on our web site at: www.www.apfa.org. Remember that APFA 2000 means Unity for 20,000! Wear your APFA pin proudly as a sign of our independence, unity and strength. Thank-you for calling the APFA HotLine.