7.03.09 – (LAA) – Pins and Wings Campaign, Proffers for Overage Leaves, Modified Partnership Flying, New Membership Quick Poll, Retirement Seminars in DFW, Unfounded Rumors

This is Frank Bastien, National Communications Coordinator with the APFA weekly HotLine update for Friday, July 3.

QUICK ALERTS

• Pins and Wings campaign is in full swing! Participate and spread the word.
• Proffers for Overage Leaves and Modified Partnership Flying (Part Time) now open. Read below and online for details.
• New Membership Quick Poll on Onboard Sales. Will YOU volunteer? (click here)
• Retirement Seminars at DFW, July 17 and 20. Read below for details.
• Unfounded rumors abound – again! See commentary below.

PINS and WINGS – PINS and WINGS – PINS and WINGS

By now everyone should be wearing only your APFA pin and wings on your uniform. It is imperative that we send a clear message to management that we are unified in our effort to obtain the contract we deserve. Remove all company and personal pins from your uniform and place them on your serving garment. Expect nothing less from your coworkers and remind them to comply if you see anything other than an APFA pin and wings on their uniform. Management believes you are content with the status quo. We need to show them differently. Should you need additional pins, please send an e-mail to: [email protected] .

MEMBERS EXPRESS INTEREST IN NEW OFFERINGS

With the opening last week of the latest Overage Leave, Modified Partnership and Travel Separation proffers to mitigate a planned manning overage at the end of the summer, members have called and emailed showing special interest in some of the announced enhancements. Those interested in taking some time off have four new auxiliary Overage Leave blocks they may proffer. They are: a two-month block for the months of October and November 2009, the single months of October or November 2009, and a two-month block next spring, April and May 2010.

Of particular note for the fall blocks: those holding either the two-month block or one of the single months of October and/or November and whose reserve rotation falls on one of the months held, will fulfill their reserve requirement with the Overage Leave, just as they would with full-month bid leaves. This means that those who previously would have waited for a bid leave for just this reason can now serve the same purpose with one of these fall auxiliary blocks.

The modifications in the Partnership Flying for this round have also drawn positive attention. Those who want to reduce their flying in the months October through December but who would not have been interested in Partnership Flying due to the requirement to locate a suitable partner with whom to share a line can now proffer Modified Partnership Flying for the three-month period under the same system as our former Part-Time flying. This means ìno partner needed.î You proffer to fly an A or B portion for October and November, plus a B portion only for December. The sequences outside of your awarded portion go to fill relief lines or into open time.

Details on these measures for expanded Overage Leave options, Modified Partnership Flying, along with the reoffering of the Travel Separation Programsóall aimed at reducing as much as possible the eventual number of members facing furlough on October 1óare found on the Reduction in Force page of APFA.org.

The proffers for Overage Leaves of Absence and for Modified Partnership Flying will close at 10am (1000) central on July 31. The proffer forms are available through the Flight Service website.

The election of a Travel Separation Program, available to eligible Flight Attendants, both active and on the recall list, will close at 11pm (2300) central on July 30.

(Update: The Travel Separation Program for Flight Attendants on the recall list will have a separate election window. Planned dates are July 15 to open and August 14 to close. Watch future HotLines, and an invitation letter to be mailed by the company, for details.)

THOSE SUBJECT TO FURLOUGH MAY PROFFER

Those among the 1,200 subject to furlough may proffer an Overage Leave and/or Modified Partnership Flying. As in the past, the number of proffers to be awarded to these Flight Attendants will be based on the number of Leaves, Modified Partnership Flying and Travel Separation Packages to those not originally subject to the furlough.

NEGOTIATE IT!

Returning the ëNEGOTIATE IT! HI6 Messageí has begun to pay off. The company has decided not to unilaterally implement the SkyMall program. They have not backed down completely as they are now asking for volunteers. APFA DOES NOT EXPECT YOU TO PARTICIPATE. Go to the newest of our Membership Quick Polls and tell us, will YOU play along?

The company has distributed a SkyMall Briefing in every Flight Attendantís mailbox. Continuing the momentum of our message, we are asking you to write ëNEGOTIATE IT!í across the briefing and return it to your Flight Service Manager and/or your Regional and Base Managers.

MEMBERSHIP OUTREACH MEETINGS CONCLUDE

APFA President Laura Glading and members of the APFA Negotiating Team wrapped up the final two of ten Membership Outreach meetings with visits on Tuesday in STL and Wednesday in JFK. Members turned out in impressive numbers to hear news on negotiations and upcoming membership actions, to voice their concerns and have their questions addressed. Meetings in several cities were recorded and will be compiled into a video viewable to members on the APFA site. Watch this HotLine for notice of when it is available.

QUICK REMINDER FROM THE SCHEDULING DESK

Here is a quick reminder from the Scheduling Coordinator and Reps-on-Duty. If you should encounter a MIC (Misconnect, Illegality or Cancellation) at sequence origination ALL Flight Attendants must make contact with Crew Schedule as soon as possible and before leaving the airport for assignment or release.

WEBSITE REDESIGN COMING

Next Thursday morning, July 9, there is a planned brief shut down of the APFA website while we implement a newly designed home page and menu structure. Once the new site is up and running, members will see a few changes, one of the most noticeable being that the login screen will be relocated to the right hand side of the page. Also, though most menu items will remain unchanged, several will now appear under new graphic links and many will be regrouped under newly named topics. As we move forward with the new design, items may shift around as we find the most convenient spot for the news and information our members seek out most.

DALLAS/FT WORTH RETIREMENT SEMINARS

On July 17 and July 20, Flight Attendant Retirement Seminars will be held at DFW. The July 17 sessions are at 1pm and 3pm; the July 20 sessions are at 10am and 2pm. All sessions are held in the Yandry Center across from gate C2, DFW terminal C. Flight Attendants from all bases are welcome to attend. No reservations are required. Representatives from both APFA (Patrick Hancock and Jackie Phillips) and AA will be present. Discussions include pension selections and retirement benefits, including insurance and travel. To get the most out of these helpful seminars, print out and bring your personal pension estimate and plan calculation formulas from Jetnet.

STOP ME IF YOU’VE HEARD THIS ONE – RUMOR REARS ITS HEAD AGAIN

Your Union Officers, local and headquarters reps have this request for some due consideration toward your fellow members facing some real concerns Ö

Just when we should be concentrating on getting the word out to Flight Attendants who may be desirous of, and able to opt for, an Overage Leave, Modified Partnership Flying or a Travel Separation and thereby save a job, the focus seems to have turned again to unfounded rumors and rampant speculation about future manning issues, even beyond the 1,200 potential furloughs our members are currently grappling with.

It has been repeated enough times in the past but bears repeating once again: Flight Attendant manning depends on the company’s management of AA’s resources. Reducing flights can result in reduced manning, as it is presently. AA is in control – be that good or bad – of this scenario. In all circumstances, your Union leadership will always work to maximize the options available to protect our members’ jobs and the status and security of our careers.

Concern over job security in this industry is on everyone’s mind, especially in an uncertain national economy, but groundless rumor serves no purpose except to cause unwarranted worry. What we all need from each other now is support, not this needless game of passing along baseless gossip for no other reason than to sound informed. The end result is only to spread anxiety and fear.

Despite rumors floating about, usually purported to be from someone who swears to know the inside story, who heard it from a reliable source, who even purports the Union knows it but just isn’t talking, the fact is that beyond the 1,200 potential job cuts we are facing October 1, APFA has not been advised of any future plans by AA. Anyone who says otherwise-or claims some insider’s knowledge-is simply not telling the truth.

HOLIDAY OFFICE CLOSURE

The APFA Headquarters office will be closed on Friday, July 3, in observance of the Independence Day (4th of July) holiday. Regular office hours will resume at 9:00 AM on Monday, July 6.

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Remember that there are now 1,258 members on furlough and awaiting recall.

The Wings Foundation – run by AA Flight Attendants, for AA Flight Attendants – has representatives at each base to coordinate donations and applications for assistance. Visit their website for details on local activities and contact information.