11.24.07 – (LAA) – National Officer Election, Benefits Letter

This is Leatha Harding-Berry, Chairperson of the APFA National Ballot Committee. Today, November 29, 2007, was the deadline to submit a Willingness-to-Serve Notification for the National Officer Election.

The candidates for President are Steven Baumert, Laura Glading, Rock Salomon, and John Ward. For Vice President the candidates are Brett Durkin, Linda Luebs, Robert McIntyre and John Reinmiller. The candidates for Secretary are Liz Geiss, Kristina M. Kountz, Denise Pointer and Timothy L. Todd. For Treasurer the candidates are Chas Ashley, Juan Barrera, Robert Gunter and Anna Johnson.

Ballots will be mailed to all APFA members on December 19, 2007, and must be received in the designated post office box no later that 9:00 am Central Time on January 17, 2008.

If you have any questions concerning the National Officer election, please call the National Ballot Committee, at APFA Headquarters, Ext. 8311.

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

APFA members recalled on November 13th may now enroll for 2007 and 2008 benefits. You should have received a letter addressing benefits enrollment on JetNet from AA containing instructions. Once you have completed and confirmed your ’07 benefits enrollment, the annual enrollment window for í08 will then be available the following Wednesday. From that point, you will have 21 days to complete your í08 enrollment.

It is not necessary to make a selection to resume your prefunding for retiree medical benefits if you have already met your obligation by prefunding while on furlough. Prefunding will resume automatically assuming it has not been terminated. If you were under age 50 when you were furloughed and your prefunding was returned to you, you have 90 days from the date of your return to work to send the monies in the event you choose to reinstate prefunding. You must continue to prefund anytime you are on active status at AA even if you are over age 55. You can verify that your prefunding is intact by calling Employee Services at 800-447-2000.

If your prefunding has been terminated for any reason and you have not already sent details to APFA’s Contract Department, please do so immediately. Send an email with your individual circumstances leading to the termination of your prefunding to [email protected].

Legislation Update: After passing the House and Senate, the Transportation Appropriations bill went to conference. The Senate bill had a provision allocating $1 million for the continuation of a flight attendant fatigue study. That provision remained in the conference report, which is a merged House and Senate bill. The conference report was passed by the House last week and is expected to be passed by the Senate soon. Unfortunately, President Bush has threatened a veto because of a dispute over the bill’s funding appropriations, particularly the money needed for air traffic upgrades nationwide.

There is also a provision in the FAA Reauthorization bill that directs the FAA to continue the Flight Attendant Fatigue study. Even though the FAA bill identifies what the FAA’s program will be, in years past, the FAA has declined implementing many programs by claiming they cannot afford it. Having specific appropriations to continue the fatigue study is critical to ensuring that the FAA implements this study without fail.

Rumor Control:
Q: Is it true that Raleigh-based crewmembers will be laying over at a different hotel in London than other basesí crews?
A: No. All crews with long LHR layovers will stay at the same hotel.

Q: I’m hearing that the Marcoux lawsuit is about to be decided. Is this true?
A: As we have mentioned several times on this Hotline and APFA’s Website, when there is new information from the judge presiding over this lawsuit in New York’s District Court, we will report it immediately. Meanwhile, in answer to the above question: NO. This case, which was filed following the Restructuring Agreement, is awaiting the judge’s ruling over whether to dismiss the case (much of the complaint has already been dismissed) or to simply establish a trial date to decide the dispute in court. APFA hopes to have the judge’s ruling by year’s end, but there is no timeline established for a conclusion.

Q: Someone told me that the company will fight to AVOID bringing our furloughed members back to work.
A: Efforts to extend recall rights for AA’s furloughed members is not over. The two Missouri US Senators are co-sponsoring S. 1992 and their position is simple: 1) Airline workers were furloughed as a result of the terrorists attacks on 9/11; 2) AA took millions of taxpayers’ dollars within two years of 9/11 that did not need to be repaid; and 3) Airline workers affected by 1) and 2) should be given more time on the recall list so that they can return to their chosen profession.

We still have 1,454 furloughed APFA members and Flight Attendants awaiting recall.

Thank you for calling the APFA Hotline.