5.18.01 – (LAA) – NMB Declares Impasse on Contract Talks, NTSB Releases Preliminary Recommendations Regarding Accident Involving the Death of Jose Chiu, Pay Discrepancy for EPT Attendees from Jan through March 2001

This is APFA President, John Ward, with a special negotiations HotLine update for Wednesday, May 23.

Tonight at approximately 7:00 p.m. Central time in Kansas City the National Mediation Board declared an impasse in our contract talks with American and proffered binding arbitration to both parties. This means the process under the Railway Labor Act has been advanced. If either party rejects the proffer of arbitration then the 30-day cooling off period will begin. The APFA Board of Directors will meet next week to discuss these latest developments. The NMB declared an impasse after it was evident that the gap between the parties could not be bridged without moving to the next step of the process. It’s unfortunate that the Company refused to do what was necessary to conclude a contract. During these three days of intense negotiations some progress was made in other areas.

The following articles were tentatively agreed to:

• Article 7, hours of service;
• Article 9, scheduling;
• Article 10, reserve;
• Article 16, reduction in force;
• Article 34, purser; and
• Article 36, retirement.

The following articles remain open:

• Article 2, definitions;
• Article 3, compensation which includes holiday pay;
• Article 8, minimum paying credit;
• Article 11, language;
• Article 30, general;
• Article 35, group life and health benefits; and
• Article 38, duration.

Your negotiating team tried every approach and methodology to reach an agreement. After long hours and discussions the Company would not agree to the APFA’s offer. We had truly hoped that a deal could have been reached, obviously it was not in the Company’s game plan. Of course, we expect management to try, once again, to spin the facts and coerce the flight attendants into accepting its unacceptable offer. We will not be misled by corporate propaganda and divisive tactics. We’ll stay unified and strong as we move forward on our mission to obtain a contract that we all deserve. We believe a fair contract can still be reached, but in the meantime the process has begun.

Thank you for calling, please stay on the line. This HotLine will be updated as events warrant.

 

APFA HotLine for May 18, 2001

This is Leslie Mayo , National Communications Coordinator, with more APFA HotLine news for the week ending May 18th, 2001.

As we reported in the HotLine earlier this week, the NMB has called both parties back to the bargaining table for three days of talks in Kansas City beginning Monday, May 21st. This HotLine will be updated as events warrant.

We are all geared up and ready to go to Washington this Tuesday, May 22nd for our “visit to the Hill”. Thanks to all of you who signed up and volunteered your time to make this happen. Congress is in for quite a treat when hundreds of blue uniforms add to the diverse complexion of Capitol Hill.

As a reminder, the specifics are as follows: We will be sending groups of 4-5 flight attendants to each appointment. You will be briefed by APFA beforehand and armed with a packet which will contain the following:

1) how to address your congressperson;
2) map to your appointment;
3) talking points to cover with your congressperson; and
4) a debrief form

Sign-ins and briefings will be at the Hyatt Hotel at 400 New Jersey Avenue in Washington DC. Please check the web site at www.www.apfa.org for a map to this location as well as information about Metro service. Once you are briefed, you will proceed to your meeting with your Congressperson. When all the meetings are finished, we will be meeting on the East Steps of the Capitol Building for a rally at 3:00 p.m. Please wear your uniform to all of these events. If you don’t get the chance to meet with your elected representatives, don’t let that stop you from participating in the rally. All members are welcome to attend.

The propaganda is flying and AA Flight Service has been busy stuffing mailboxes with the latest letter-exchange between APFA President John Ward and Senior Vice President of Human Resources Sue Oliver – something that has been available on APFA’s web site for days, by the way. Please mark those “return to sender” and boardmail them to Don Carty at CP5.

Another AA ploy is the latest “Phone Survey” some of our flight attendants have had the pleasure of receiving from an outside company on behalf of American. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Let American Airlines know exactly what you think of their corporate culture.

In other news, the NTSB has released preliminary recommendations to the FAA regarding the accident in November involving the death of one of our valued members, Jose Chiu. All recommendations have been complied with by American Airlines prior to the release of these documents. The investigation is still ongoing and APFA is very much a part of this investigation. If you have any questions, please call our National Safety Coordinator, Kathy Lord-Jones at APFA Headquarters, ext. 8302

The Hotel Department would like to announce that the Park Central Hotel in New York City, located in mid-town Manhattan at 7th Avenue and 56th Street will take the place of the Milford Plaza as our new hotel for downtown, New York layovers. The Park Central Hotel is one block from Central Park and across the street from Carnegie Hall. It is also just around the corner from 5th Avenue shopping and walking distance to Times Square.

For those Flight Attendants who attended EPTs from January through March of 2001, your additional pay will appear on your May end of the month paycheck. The problem has since been corrected so the first three months of this year were the only months affected.

Reserve coverage is very tight so remember that if you are a regularly scheduled flight attendant who is low-on-time, the company can assign you a trip on your days off if they are able to reach you. Isn’t caller ID a wonderful thing.

That’s it for this week. Please continue to wear your union pin at all company training events, and only your union pin, wings and nametag on your uniform while at work. Your bag tag should read 4,3,2,1. Thank you for calling the APFA HotLine. See you in Washington.