8.24.07 – (LAA) – IVRS Drug Testing Procedures/Changes to AMR Reporting/and Off-Schedule Operations Presidential Grievances Filed, Deadline for Receipt of Recall Acceptances

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Friday, August 24, 2007.

APFA has filed three Presidential Grievances in the last 30 days against various actions by the Company. These include the Company’s recent changes to the IVRS Drug Testing Procedures, changes to AMR Events Reporting, and Off-Schedule Operations resulting in contractual rest violations, extended on-duty times of up to 24 hours, and other violations. You can view the language of these filed Presidentials as well as the Company’s response on APFA’s Web site under Presidential Grievances – Grievances Filed.

From the APFA Contract Department: This is an important reminder to the 460 APFA members who recently received recall notices that the deadline for receipt of recall acceptances is Tuesday, August 28, 2007. This means that your notice of acceptance must be sent via the FED EX envelope in your recall packet no later than Monday, August 27, 2007. Failure to respond by the deadline will result in the forfeiture of your recall rights. If you have not received your recall notice, (to confirm you have been recalled, review the Furlough Recall List on APFAís Web site by clicking on Recall, then Recall List and Report Dates), please contact AMR Talent Services on Monday, August 27th to arrange an alternate method for accepting recall at 800.447.2000

Domestic transfers and International proffer requests were purged from SABRE on August 1, 2007. APFA urges our members to add your name to a Domestic transfer list only if you are willing to accept a regular or mutual transfer. Occasionally reviewing your 3* record and removing requests you are no longer interested in will help a fellow FA receive their desired transfer at a time when opportunities to transfer are minimal.

APFA and the Company have agreed to begin processing Domestic Mutual transfers every other month rather than quarterly. Therefore, the next round of Domestic Mutual transfers will be effective October 1, 2007. For this next round, preliminary pairings will be based on the transfer requests on file as of Tuesday, September 4th at 0830 Central Time. In order to be eligible for this pairing, you must be in a ìflying statusî (ie, not on the sick list) between 0001 and 2359 on September 4, 2007.

APFA has received many questions about transfers following the recent recall announcement to take effect in November and December. Before awarding recalled FAs with a base, management must clear the transfer list for any base in which a recalled FA will be assigned. The Company anticipates the recalled FAs will be based at BOS, DCA, LGA and ORD. Transfers resulting from clearing the list will be effective November 1st and December 2nd. Those recalled FAs that reported to base last month are also eligible for this transfer.

A reminder for our recalled members who reported to base in July: If your prefunding payments were refunded when you were furloughed, you have 90 days from the date you returned to AA payroll to return that amount in order to pre-fund your retiree medical. Send your check for the total amount to:

Employee Services
Attn: Mary Ann Johnson
PO Box 619616, MD 5141
DFW Airport, TX 75261-9619

If you are unsure of the amount refunded by the Company, contact JP Morgan at 800.345.2345. If you fail to return this amount within 90 days and you later decide you want to enroll in the pre-funding plan, you will be required to pay a re-enrollment fee and higher age-based premiums, and you will be required to prefund for a minimum of 10 years in order to receive retiree medical.

From the APFA Scheduling Department: With so many of our extremely short layovers being reduced even more, it is important to know your rights so that you are not disturbed on your layover. Crew Tracking will not call you to advise you of a delayed departure time. Also, deadheading FAs should call Tracking before leaving the hotel for the airport. Review page 15 of the On-Duty Contract Guide for more information.

The minimum layover for Domestic FAs is 8:20 (eight hours + twenty minutes), which is calculated from the end of your duty period to your next dutyís sign-in time. If you need additional time to achieve ì8 behind the doorî due to transportation issues, etc., you must call Crew Tracking to request more time once you arrive at the hotel. Tracking may further delay your departure to accommodate your contractual rest or you may be subject to a reschedule due to the illegality.

On the International side, for all IFS and AIFS, the minimum rest is 10:00 (ten hours). The ten hours is meant to result in “8 behind the door.” For non-IFS/AIFS flying, the layover rest may not be reduced below eight hours plus travel time to and from the layover hotel (as posted in HIDIR). Review the 737 Staffing Settlement by visiting APFA.org – Presidential Grievances – Grievances Settled for full details.

It is imperative that FAs understand what their minimum layover rest requirement is in order to avoid arriving at the airport with less than the contractual legal rest. Contact Crew Tracking before departing for the airport if you are not legal for your originally scheduled departure and are unsure of how you (may) have been rescheduled.

The following is clarification for the last-five-days-of-the-month pay protection: Are you trying to protect your guarantee? Or are you above guarantee and want to protect the value of your trip? Regardless of the HI1 header showing an obligation, provided you are happy with your current “guarantee,” you need do nothing. Don’t go on MU, don’t fly MU; you are finished for the month.

If you desire sequence pay-protection, follow all the rules that apply to satisfy the obligation. Refer to the On-Duty Contract Guide, page 23. Remember to be on the MU list for ALL days within the obligation period, even if itís only for a few minutes of the day.

Donít forget that Reserve FAs may trade trips with Regularly-Scheduled or other Reserve FAs through December 31, 2007. Once a Reserve FA confirms their assignment, the trip may be posted on HIBOARD for trading or dropping. Trips must be for the same number of days and the TT must be completed before sign-in. Trip trades will not be allowed for standby assignments or trips assigned while serving standby.

From the APFA Health Department: The FA Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) is sponsoring a five-year study and clinical program to enhance early detection and treatment related to second-hand smoke. FAs who flew prior to the smoking ban onboard the airplane as well as those FAs who began flying since the ban was brought but have been exposed to significant amounts of secondhand smoke in another environment may be eligible to participate. Other qualifiers include:

Over 40 years of age
Smoked less than 100 cigarettes in your lifetime
History of significant exposure to secondhand smoke
Never had lung cancer
Not pregnant
Have not had a chest CT within the past three years

This project is being conducted by the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) at Weill Cornell Medical College in Manhattan and will expand to institutions throughout the country as time progresses. Among the highest priorities with this project is to offer CT chest scans free of charge and other non-invasive testing to flight attendants who flew before the smoking ban onboard began.

For more information about the FAMRI-IELCAP Collaborative Network, call 212-746-1325 or email [email protected].

We still have 1,609 furloughed American Airlines Flight Attendants waiting to be recalled!

Thatís it for this week. Thank you for calling the APFA Hotline.