11.26.08 – (LAA) – Last 5 Days of the Month, EC Meeting, Wings Foundation

You have reached the APFA weekly HotLine update for Wednesday, November 26, 2008. This is Frank Bastien, National Communications Coordinator.

LAST FIVE DAYS OF THE MONTH

Thanksgiving Day, November 27, begins the last five days of the contractual month of November, which runs through December 1. Flight Attendants who experience an Illegality or Cancellation during this period should review page 23 of the On Duty Contract Guide to determine if the Last Five Days of the Month Cancellation/Illegality Protection applies in their case and, if so, the precise steps to follow. Text from the guide is also reprinted at end of the emailed and online version of this HotLine.

NEGOTIATIONS NEWS

The APFA Negotiating Team reports that scheduling committee discussions continued with management last week. On Thursday, November 20, APFA presented the company with a comprehensive overview of APFAís ideas for addressing the specific troubled areas of Article 10 – Reserve.

Earlier in the week, the two teams exchanged proposals on Article 11 – Language. In addition, APFA presented the company with our proposals on: Article 16 – Reduction in Force, Article 32 – Health and Safety, and Article 34 – Purser. APFA also proposed moving Safety and Security from Article 32 to its own article.

During the week, there were numerous counter proposals exchanged with the company. Other articles included: Article 12 – Filling of Vacancies, Article 19 – Leaves of Absence, Article 27 – Bereavement/Personal Emergency Leave, and Article 24 – Copies of Agreement.

As the week drew to a close, APFA and AA were able to reach tentative agreements on: Article 12 – Filling of Vacancies, Article 22 – Joint Scheduling Committee and Article 23 – Emergency Assignments.

Meetings with the company are set to resume on Tuesday, December 2.

Remember that you can email your Negotiating Team directly with your questions and comments on issues that concern you. Their address is: [email protected].

APFA REMEMBER NOVEMBER VIDEO AND PHOTO GALLERIES

Our Remember November – 15th Strike Anniversary – streaming video and base-by-base 1993 picketing photo galleries remain available for viewing on the Remember November page of the APFA website. Click on the Remember November slide at the top of the page.

( Or go to: images/remember_november)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

The APFA Executive Committee will hold its 3rd Quarter 2008 meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, December 2 and 3, in the Unity Pays room at APFA Headquarters in Euless, TX. All members in good standing are invited to attend the open portions of the meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. each morning.

WINGS FOUNDATION

As we approach the year-end holiday season, the Wings Foundation is busy at many bases selling holiday goods to raise funds, all to help your fellow Flight Attendants in need. Go to their web site at: www.wingsfoundation.com to find your local base contact information and learn how you can apply for aid or contribute to their efforts, whether through craft bazaars, can recycling, monetary or PVD donations, or any of the myriad ways the Wings Foundation works for our Flight Attendants around the system.

OFFICE HOLIDAY HOURS

The APFA office will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving Day Holiday on Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28. Regular hours will resume at 9 a.m. on Monday, December 1. You may leave a message for the After Hours Rep on Duty over the holiday, the weekend or whenever the office is closed by calling 817.540.0108 and following the prompts.

Regardless of how you are spending your holiday this year, working or at home, with friends, family or fellow crewmembers, please keep in mind the 1,180 of our fellow APFA members still on furlough and awaiting recall.

Happy Thanksgiving from all your APFA Representatives, and thank you for calling the APFA HotLine.

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RESEARCH STUDY OPPORTUNITY

APFAís Safety and Security Coordinator has been notified of a volunteer research study on activity, sleep, and mental fatigue in U.S. Flight Attendants. The FAAís Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI), in cooperation with the Institutes for Behavior Resources (IBR), is seeking a limited number of volunteers to join in a week-long preliminary test of the research equipment and procedures. If you may be interested in participating, go to the Safety and Security Department page of the APFA web site and click on the link: ìFlight Attendant Work/Rest Patterns, Alertness, and Performance Assessmentî for details.

UPDATE ON LHR CUSTOMS CLEARANCE

APFAís Safety and Security Coordinator has this update on crew bag searches on arrivals into London ñ Heathrow (LHR). LHR Customs has explained to us that those crew members who elect to bring alcoholic beverages into LHR (which is allowed and needs to be claimed on the C909) need a receipt to prove the item was purchased at home.

British Customs assumes that, unless you can prove otherwise, the alcoholic beverages are bonded items taken off the aircraft. All bonded items that leave the aircraft and do not return to the states are subject to taxes/penalties. It does not matter that you purchased a six-pack of beer, box of wine or transport wine in your own carrier/container. If British Customs or Police ask where the items came from and you indicate “home”, you should carry a receipt to back it up. Doing so will be to your benefit.

HEALTH DEPARTMENT BENEFITS REMINDER

As of November 12, 2008, all 2009 benefits enrollment information is available on JetNet. It is the recommendation of the APFA Health Department that all members review their selections carefully and print a copy for their records. If there are any errors, notify HR Services immediately at 800.447.2000.

MEMBER INFORMATION UPDATE

Does APFA have your most recent contact information? Have you moved recently? Changed phone numbers or email address? The Company does not pass along changes to your personal information to the Union. You may call or email the APFA Membership Department: [email protected] or 800-395-2732 ext. 8153, to let us know your new contact info. Or log on to the APFA web site and click on Member Services to change your information directly.

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from the On Duty Contract Guide

LAST FIVE (5) DAYS OF THE MONTH
CANCELLATION/ILLEGALITY PROTECTION:

1. Pay protection and obligation limited to contractual month in which the sequence was scheduled to originate.

2. Applies only at origination of Flight Attendantís last trip of the month, including Make-Up, Option II and Optional Exchange.

3. Last trip of the month must originate in last five days of the month.

4. If Flight Attendant is at or above guarantee and wants to protect her/his hours, s/he must:

a. Place her/his name on the make-up list for all days originally scheduled to fly, including the eight (8) hour period after the scheduled termination of the trip sequence lost or until midnight of the last day of the contractual month.

b. Accept any trip offered that that originates up to eight (8) hours after the scheduled termination of the trip sequence lost. Flight Attendant must be legal and available for assignment.

1) If not offered such a trip on make-up, s/he is pay protected for lost time.

2) If offered and actually flies a trip worth less than trip lost, s/he is pay protected for the greater time.

5. If Flight Attendant is at or below guarantee:

a. No further obligation.

b. Only guarantee is protected.