4.12.02 – (LAA) – Passing of Steve Sternig (LGA Base Chair), Political Unrest in Caracas, Recall of Furloughees

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA HotLine. Today is Friday, April 12, 2002.

As we regretfully informed you on Wednesday, Steve Sternig, the LGA Base Chair died at his home on April 10th following a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer.

He was a spirited Union Rep who had a passion for his encounters with the company and a wonderful, dry sense of humor. He will be missed.

Condolences may be sent to Michael Kelley and the Sternig Family at 38 Poppy Court in Brick, NJ. The zip code is 08723. Funeral arrangements have been made – the service will be held on Sunday, April 14th at the Weatherhead Young Funeral Home located at 885 Mantoloking Road in Brick, New Jersey. The phone number there is 732-920-1811. You may arrive as early as 1:00 p.m. – the service will begin at 2:00.This will be followed by a cemetery service.

Flight Attendants are welcome to wear their uniforms. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to your local Wings chapter in memory of Steve.

Due to the political unrest in Caracas, Venezuela, AA Crewmembers may be laying over at a hotel near the airport as opposed to the regular layover hotel downtown. This situation appears to be under control as of today; however, the APFA Safety and Hotel Departments are closely monitoring this situation and are in close contact with the appropriate AA personnel. Should you have any concerns, please leave a VM for the Safety Department at ext. 8302 or for your Base Chair.

On a brighter note, APFA is in receipt of the details for the additional recall of 40 furloughees. In accordance with a Letter of Agreement between APFA and the company, AA sent the 40 additional furlough-recall letters today via certified mail. The effective recall date will be May 23, 2002 with a report-to-base date of May 22nd. The 40 furloughees who will be returning to the line have an Occupational Date of May 3, 2001. Flight Attendants with seniority 22,115 and higher will be included on this recall list. Please stay tuned to the end of this message for more details on the additional recall.

APFA is conducting both a telephone and website survey of International flight attendants regarding the 777 Atlantic configuration aircraft. A group of flight attendants has been randomly selected for the telephone interview. A similar survey is also available on the website for any 777 qualified flight attendant to fill out and offer their input. This survey will be completed next week.

APFA has received many calls from flight attendants regarding the Company’s April 1 letter to all flight attendants regarding grooming compliance and the Updated Uniform and Appearance Standards Booklet. Unfortunately, the decision at this time by the Company to focus its efforts on grooming was not an April Fool’s joke. After what the flight attendants at American Airlines have experienced since September 11, it is particularly offensive that Flight Service feels it necessary to deploy the “fashion police” focusing on a decades-old management mind set that flight attendants are on board for decoration. As we know, the key word is “safety”and the APFA firmly believes that, during an evacuation, your passengers really don’t care whether you are guilty of wearing two earrings per ear as opposed to one.

Flight attendants have inquired whether it is necessary to sign the acknowledgment indicating receipt and understanding of the Appearance Booklet. Article 31 of the contract grants Management the right to manage and supervise the work force and also grants flight attendants the right to Union representation. Although you are required to sign this acknowledgment, please contact the APFA Contract Desk at Headquarters extension #8171 or your Base Chair or Vice Chair if you are approached by management regarding any alleged grooming infraction.

Ballots for the dues increase are due in the designated Post Office Box by 9:00 a.m. Central Time on Thursday, April 18th. We expect to announce the results of this balloting the following day.

As a reminder, APFA is pursuing the collection of all dues arrears. Names of those flight attendants in dues arrears will be published in Skyword Volume 5, Issue 4, on the website and on Base Bulletin Boards. Contact the APFA Dues Department, ext. 8151 if you wish to become dues current.

The National Mediation Board is expected to designate APFA as the bargaining unit for TWA-LLC flight attendants on or around April 18th. In anticipation of this decision, APFA has established a TWA Transition Team to conduct meetings in St. Louis for TWA flight attendants soon after APFA becomes the bargaining rep for the TWA-LLC flight attendants. Times and locations of these meetings will be announced on the APFA HotLine and the public area of the website. There will be a great deal of useful information provided regarding contract and scheduling issues and other aspects of APFA.

APFA, APA, ALPA, TWU and AFA, which represent all five unions on AMR’s property, met this week for a labor summit in order to maintain an open line of communication. These meetings should prove valuable in the future by fostering a greater sense of unity among all of AMR’s unionized employees.

Now for further information on the 40 additional recalled furloughees:

Acceptance or rejection letters must be postmarked no later than Monday, April 22, 2002 and received by the company no later than Wednesday, April 24, 2002. Please review your recall packet carefully, especially the accept/reject re-employment letter and base preference form. There is a prepaid Fed Ex label included to assist all Furloughed flight attendants in complying with the April 24th deadline.

AA will hold a mandatory training class beginning May 1, 2002. This will be a two-day class and you will receive training pay at $9.50 per hour for the two Ω-day sessions. AA will provide you with the necessary transportation to and from the Learning Center. Be sure to bring a government-issued photo ID. The training support desk phone number is (800) 999-3632 and will be open from 0500 – 2030 CDT April 25-26th. You must call this number in order to enroll in Refresher Training and to arrange travel for the training.

If you do not receive your recall packet by Monday, April 22nd, and you believe you are one of the 40 furloughed flight attendants to be recalled according to the seniority number mentioned above, you should follow these instructions:

Write on a piece of paper either ‘I accept’ or ‘I reject the offer of reemployment’. Clearly print your name and employee number. Sign the document and mail it to:

American Airlines MD 5142
People Selection Center
4333 Amon Carter Blvd
Ft Worth, TX 76155

This signed document can also be faxed to 817-963-3305.

If you need additional clarification on these mailing instructions, representatives will be available at 1-888-565-5431 between the hours of 0830 and 1730 CDT to assist you.

You will hold an Availability schedule for the end of May when you return to the line. You will then be assigned reserve for June and your award will be posted with the normal bid award schedule.

According to the newly mandated Federal Aviation Regulation 14 C.F.R. 108.228, all employees with unescorted Airport Operating Area (AOA) access or Security Identification Display Area (SIDA) access must submit to a fingerprint-based Criminal History Records Check (CHRC). This fingerprinting will be done during your training session. For more information, please go to www.www.apfa.org and click on the “Fingerprinting” link under the heading SAFETY.

In-flight manuals, company keys and ID’s will be provided at refresher training. You will not need to bring your uniform to training. There will be representatives at training to accept new uniform orders. You will receive 18 points to purchase new uniform items, as well. Your uniform expense balance will be reestablished upon your return as payroll deductions.

Regarding seniority, the packet you receive will contain your original date of hire, Company Seniority for purposes of vacation/retirement, Classification Seniority for purposes of pay, and Occupational Seniority for purposes of bidding. APFA has asked that the company agree to extend Occupational Seniority accrual to those flight attendants furloughed while on probation. APFA is pleased that an agreement has been reached with the company on this issue. As a result, probationary flight attendants will not be docked Occupational Seniority due to the furlough.

Benefit information will be enclosed in your recall packet and you will be able to enroll at training. A Benefits Representative will be on hand during Refresher Training to assist you. You will be required to complete your remaining probationary period before travel privileges will begin.

Please refer to Article 16 in your APFA/AA contract for details on the recall process. The company has provided an e-mail address in your packet to answer your questions. Any further questions regarding your return to work will be answered at your training class beginning May 1st.

Thank you for calling the APFA HotLine. We will update this HotLine on Friday, April 19, 2002.