3.12.04

Hello. This is Liz Geiss, DFW InfoRep Captain, with the InfoRep Hotline for Friday, March 12th, 2004.

The APFA National Ballot Committee in conjunction with the accounting firm of Whitely Penn and Associates has certified the results of the APFA National Officer Runoff Election. Per Article VI, Section 5.m. of the APFA Constitution, should the margin of victory in a ballot count be ten percent (10%) or less and in the event a Candidate challenges the accuracy of such ballot count in writing to the Secretary within fourteen (14) days following the Canvassing Date, a recount shall occur and the APFA shall assume all related costs. Since a 10% margin of victory was not achieved in any of the National Officer positions, a recount was conducted by hand in the presence of the candidates and their designated observers by members of the APFA National Ballot Committee and Whitley, Penn & Associates. The recount has been completed, and the results are as follows:

For President: Tommie Hutto-Blake received 7,393 John Ward received 7,398 There were 27 blanks and 5 voids. For Vice President: Ted Bedwell received 6,784 votes. Brett Durkin received 7,827 votes. There were 210 blanks and 2 voids. For Secretary: Greg Hildreth received 7,729 votes. Linda Lanning received 6,864 votes. There were 228 blanks and 2 voids. For Treasurer: Juan Johnson received 6,897 votes. Cathy Hermann Lukensmeyer received 7,718 votes.

There were 207 blanks and 1 void.

The total number of valid votes cast was 14,823. John Ward was elected President; Brett Durkin, Vice President; Greg Hildreth, Secretary; and, Cathy Lukensmeyer, Treasurer.

We would like to thank all of the national officer candidates who participated in both the primary and runoff election. It takes a lot of energy and courage to take part in an election process. We congratulate the newly elected APFA National Officers, who will assume office on April 1, 2004 for a four-year term.

A series of bombings occurred on commuter trains in Madrid earlier this week. Neither the American Airlines crew hotel or the Madrid Airport were targets in this attack. Crewmembers will be advised should we receive any new or additional security intelligence. Flight Attendants should access the information on the SSI Web site at www.aaflightservice.com for the very latest safety and security information. Crewmembers should always remain vigilant whether on a layover or while on-duty. Report anything suspicious to the Captain, gate agent, or nearest law enforcement personnel.

The APFA Safety Department has received inquiries about an e-mail that is making its way through the system regarding a number of passengers on a flight between San Juan and JFK. Earlier this week, the Company put out an HI6 message regarding the concerns relayed in this e-mail and the actions taken by the Company to address them. Due to the nature of the information, Flight Attendants should refer to this e-mail for more information and clarification on this issue.

During the APFA Board of Directors Convention last week, the Board passed Resolution #2. In accordance with this resolution, APFA will soon be sending to each member a letter outlining what APFA has done to address the issue of reduced layover rest, and what the union will be doing as an added component to our existing campaign on this issue. A very important part of this letter will be an explanation of what part the membership will play in future events. The members will be asked to participate in several ways in our campaign on not only the issue of reduced layover rest, but also Flight Attendant safety and security training. APFA Members will be encouraged to contact their members in Congress to urge their support. As an InfoRep, your role will also be to spread the word to your fellow Flight Attendants. Please watch your mail and the APFA Web site for details. Meanwhile, make sure that you and your fellow crewmembers complete the Fatigue Survey being conducted by the University of Denver and the Reduced Layover Rest Survey currently posted on the APFA Web site. We must have as much documentation as possible in order to effectively address these issues with members of Congress and regulatory agencies. The more information we have, the stronger our arguments will be.

Mark your calendar and bid accordingly! APFA will conduct lobbying in Washington, D.C. in April and May. On April 21st, APFA will lobby members of Congress and their staff on the issue of Reduced Layover Rest. On May 12th, APFA will join other Flight Attendant unions to lobby Congress on Flight Attendant safety and security training. If you are interested in participating in either of these lobby events, please contact IMA Vice Chair Rick Musica via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 1-800-395-2732, extension 8462. Please leave your name, base, employee number, phone number, and your nine-digit Zip Code in order to determine your Congressional District.

The Board also passed Resolution #5. This resolution requires that the APFA membership be balloted no later than June 1, 2004, on proposed changes to the APFA Constitution including a decrease in dues of no less than $2.00 per month. The APFA Constitution Committee has been working on proposed changes to the Constitution, which they plan to submit to the Board of Directors for consideration in April. Changes approved by the Board will be submitted to the membership for ratification. Any change to the APFA Constitution will include a comprehensive education program using the APFA Communication Network. Stay tuned!

Minutes of the APFA Board of Directors meeting held in Boston the week of March 1st along with all resolutions considered by the Board will be posted next week on the APFA Web site. All Board and Executive Committee meeting minutes and resolutions can be found under "Resource Center" on the APFA Web site.

This week in Washington, D.C., a bill was introduced in the House of Representatives that would benefit Flight Attendants in many areas:

• The FAA Reauthorization bill that passed last fall does not make it mandatory that TSA write the rules for Flight Attendant security training. This bill mandates that TSA in fact write the rules.
• The bill mandates a wireless communication system between the cabin and cockpit be established within one year after the bill becomes law.
•  The bill also requires that all ground personnel enter secured airport areas through security checkpoints.
• The Secure Existing Aviation Loopholes Act or H.R. 3798 is a piece of legislation that APFA strongly supports. APFA members are encouraged to contact their members in Congress to urge support of this bill. This can be done easily using Capwiz on the Government Affairs page of the APFA Web site. Members need only click on the bill number, provide their Zip Code, and compose their message urging co-sponsorship of this bill. Remember, some Congressional districts are split. You may have to know your last four digits of your Zip Code to access your U.S. Representative. The text of the legislation can be accessed by clicking on the bill number.

APFA has received some questions regarding Flight Attendant Certification. This week additional information on certification and the actual language of the legislation that mandated it has been posted on the APFA Web site under Hot Topics. More information on certification was included in the Washington Report in the February 2003, Volume 6, Issue 2 of Skyword, which can be found on the Skyword Archive page on the APFA Web site.

From the APFA Health Department: Flight Attendants are being denied benefits that they are entitled to when injured due to turbulence due to terminology used in Pilot’s OF25 reports. It is very important for our Pilots to use proper verbiage when completing an OF25 when a Flight Attendant is injured on their flight due to turbulence. It would be advantageous to our injured Flight Attendants if the Pilots, in completing the OF25, use the words "Rough Air" as opposed to "clear air turbulence," "moderate chop" and/or "moderate turbulence." We certainly understand why Pilots shy away from using terminology such as "severe turbulence" in cases where the aircraft does not need to be inspected and in some cases removed from service. However, if they write up the experience as "clear air turbulence" or use the word "moderate" in their description, the Flight Attendant will be denied contractual full pay continuance for a work related injury.

Many Flight Attendants have expressed their concerns when their already short layover rest period is interrupted by a call from Crew Tracking or Crew Schedule. In order to minimize interruptions to your layover rest periods, the AA-APFA Joint Scheduling Committee have agreed to the following:

If you arrive at your layover station and are projected for less than 8 hours between duty periods, you may use the following formula to determine your new sign-in time: Block-in time of last leg of current duty period plus 8:15 domestic or 8:30 international will equal your new sign-in time for your next duty period. Crew tracking will not call you to advise of the delayed departure time in order to prevent an interruption of your layover. This only pertains to delayed departures for required rest. If your limo is provided by the hotel, please coordinate with the hotel directly as to your new pickup time the next morning. If it is a contract limo service, please contact the Hotel/Limo desk via VIP Crew to establish your new pick up time. If you are unable to quickly resolve any transportation issues via the Hotel/Limo desk, contact Crew Tracking for immediate resolution. Please continue to write up any problem associated with hotel/limo transportation issues.

That’s it for this edition of the InfoRep Hotline. Please call the APFA Hotline and visit the APFA web site at www.www.apfa.org for more information.

Thanks for calling.