1.15.04

Hello. Today is Thursday, January 15th, 2004. This is Liz Geiss, DFW InfoRep Captain, with the InfoRep Hotline.

Ballots for APFA National Officers were mailed on December 30, 2003 and are due in the designated Post Office Box by 0900 Central Time on January 29, 2004. All members in good standing, including those on furlough, are eligible to vote. Members must be dues current no later than five days prior to the ballot count to cast a valid ballot. To make arrangements for dues owed, please contact the APFA Dues Department at 1-800-395-2732, extension 8151. If you are a furloughed Flight Attendant and have not received a ballot, please contact the National Balloting Committee at 1-800-395-2732 ext. 8311 for a duplicate ballot, then make sure you update your address with the APFA Membership Department at ext. 8153. Please remember, all ballots must be submitted using the U.S. Postal Service. Ballots should not be left in APFA Lockboxes. They will be considered invalid. The APFA National Ballot Committee reminds all members that the return ballot envelopes are two different colors for sorting purposes. Domestic Flight Attendants have white return envelopes and International Flight Attendants were sent blue envelopes. Exercise your right and vote!

The APFA will soon make available on the APFA Web site a survey on workplace fatigue. This survey, which was introduced by APFA Health Coordinator Emily Carter in the November/December 2003 issue of Skyword, will be conducted in conjunction with the University of Denver. The APFA has received a number of calls of support from members anxious to complete the survey. Once the link to the survey has been provided to the APFA, we will post it on the opening page and the Safety and Health pages of the web site for access by the membership and announce the posting on the APFA Hotline. The information that is collected through this survey will allow us to compare the fatigue level of Flight Attendants with other work groups governed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, and will be very useful in addressing other issues such as reduced layover rest. More information on the fatigue survey can be found in the Health article in the current issue of Skyword, which can be access through the opening page of the APFA Web site.

Flight Attendants are no longer required to contact their Flight Service Manager to request a Family and Medical Leave. You must now submit this request through the Flight Service web site at www.aaflightservice.com. Just click on "Resources" on the far left side, then "Medical" and the link pertaining to your individual need. Please remember, you must still obtain the FMLA Application forms, which consist of the Employee Information Letter and FMLA Certification Forms and fax the completed forms to AA Medical at 817-931-7584. Please be sure to keep a copy of all correspondence and verification of fax transmission of all documents. Due to the current volume of calls, Flight Attendants may have to make several attempts to reach AA Medical.

In accordance with "Attachment N" of the Restructuring Agreement, the new Satellite Base Test will begin in SAN on January 31, 2004. LAX will be the crew base to which SAN satellite flying is linked. There will be approximately 50 F/A bid positions on the February LAX domestic bid sheet. Additional information is available on the APFA web site which addresses such questions as: open time trips, trip trades, relief selections, low bid lines, and responsibilities of Flight Attendants flying out of SAN.

The APFA has extended to all InfoReps a special invitation to attend the 11th Annual APFA Board of Directors Convention. The invitation, which contains all details such as dates, times, and locations, was e-mailed to each InfoRep and posted on the InfoRep page of the APFA Web site. We look forward to seeing you in Boston the week of March 1, 2004.

As a reminder, all InfoReps should update any changes to their e-mail address with our APFA Membership Department at [email protected], and CC: in their Base InfoRep Captain. A list of Base InfoRep Captains can be found on the InfoRep page of the APFA web site. If you had previously signed up to receive the APFA or InfoRep Hotline automatically via e-mail, this update must be made through the APFA Web site by clicking on "Hotline" at the top of the opening page or "InfoRep" on the left hand side of the opening page, and then "Change E-Mail Address". If you would like to have the hotline e-mailed to you, click on the "hotline" icon at the top of the opening page and then click on the "subscribe" link. Complete the field and submit the information.

That’s it for this edition of the InfoRep hotline. Please call the regular hotline at 1-800-399-2732 or visit the APFA web site at www.www.apfa.org for more information.

Thanks for calling.