10.29.10 – (LAA) – Negotiations Update, Tell the NMB Capwiz, Recall Update, New Passenger and Crew member Screening Procedures, Benefits Enrollment, Continental FAs Reject TA, FAA in SFO, AA Wins Battle for Domain Names

Hello, this is APFA National Communications Coordinator, Jeff Pharr, with the weekly Hotline Update for Friday, October 29, 2010.

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE

Earlier this week APFA President Laura Glading issued a Call To Action for all APFA members.

“I have been expressing your hardships, and frustrations with American, since the onset of mediation, but perhaps it is time the NMB hears it directly from you.

I am asking every American Airlines Flight Attendant to respectfully tell your story by sending a letter directly to the three members of the NMB.

We have exhausted our options at the table and without intervention from the NMB, the company has not incentive to negotiate. It’s time for the Railway Labor Act to work as it was intended.

Write the NMB and make sure you voice and story is heard.”

Harry Hoglander, Chairman
Elizabeth Dougherty, Member
Linda Puchala, Member

National Mediation Board
1301 K Street NW, Suite 250 East
Washington, DC 20005-7001

We will post some letters on APFA.org and Facebook. Please send a copy of your letter to us here at APFA Headquarters:

APFA
Attn: Communications Department
1004 West Euless Blvd
Euless, TX 76040

e-mail: [email protected]

“Tell The NMB” via CAPWIZ NOW AVAILABLE

Although a letter is the most effective form of communication to the NMB, we have activated Capwiz, which will have an e-mail option available.

Please visit our Capwiz page for a link to “Tell the NMB Your Story”, or click the “Take Action” tab at the top of our Facebook page.

RECALL UPDATE

A total of 221 of the 227 Flight Attendants offered recall have accepted – only six declined. We look forward to seeing you on the line in December!

Recall for the next group should go out the end of November or early December, to be recalled in the first quarter 2011.

We will continue to update the Recall page of the APFA.org website as information becomes available.

FROM THE SAFETY AND SECRITY DEPARTMENT

TSA has initiated new passenger and crew member screening procedures. This will include new Advanced Image Technology (AIT) scanners and secondary screening. The enhanced scanners are being used to detect hidden explosives.

Crew members may elect not to go through the new scanners. However, they will be subject to a pat down. This will be much more physical with hands run around the collar, inside the belt area and up into the thigh/groin area. No airline crew member will be exempt from these pat downs if they choose not to go through the scanner. A pat down will also be used for those with unresolved Explosives Trace Detection or AIT alarms. These searches will be conducted in private with a witness. The search can take up to 20 minutes.

APFA feels that crew members should be exempt from these scans and searches. We have yet to get the TSA or Government to agree to any exemption. We will continue to fight for those exemptions.

Please submit an “AMR Event Report” online under “Security or Operational Issue” and provide accurate details of the search. These reports will be used to provide information to the TSA and Government to argue that airline employees need to be afforded and exemption.

Please don’t hesitate to contact the APFA Safety & Security Office at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns.

For more information on the AIT Scanners, including a “Fact Sheet” and sample images from the scanner, visit the TSA website.

ONLY TWO DAYS LEFT

Sunday, October 31, 2010 marks the deadline for 2011 Benefits Enrollment and to update the information for your guest traveler(s) in JetNet.

Open enrollment for 2011 benefits is available on Jetnet now through midnight central time on October 31, 2010. The passage of the Healthcare Reform Act brought much needed changes to health benefits. Please carefully read the information on the Benefits section of Jetnet in order to make the best decisions for you and your family.

Beginning, November 1, 2010, the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) new Secure Flight Program will begin. More information about the program can be found on TSA’s website.

What does this mean for employees? Travelers listed in your Non Revenue Trip Planer may need to be updated. With the launch of the program, TSA will require that the passenger name listed on the boarding pass match their government issued identification.

Employees have until October 31, 2010 to update their name and their guest traveler’s names in Jetnet’s Traveler Information. More detailed information can be found on the Flight Service website via the “Secure Flight Ready” link.

Here is an excerpt from the Flight Service website:

Get Secure Flight Ready – What Do I Do?

Verify that your name, and your guest traveler’s names, in Jetnet’s Traveler Information matches the valid government-issued ID used for travel. If they do not match, you can update them via these steps:

• From Jetnet’s Travel page, select “Traveler Information”
• Click “Edit” beside your name
• Match the government issued ID you use for travel by updating your: Gather full name details for your guest travelers and repeat the above steps.
  • a. First Name
  • b. Middle Name (If you have one and is on ID)
  • c. Add Redress Number if applicable
• Contact HR Services via the “HR Assistant” on Jetnet’s Travel page to chat live with an HR Services Representative 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday or to send a secure e-mail 24 hours a day.

CONTINENTAL FLIGHT ATTENDANTS REJECT TA

Flight Attendants for Continental rejected a Tentative Agreement (TA) this Wednesday. The proposed agreement was a 26-month contract that would have raised pay and provide job protection as the carrier combines operations with United Airlines. 61% of the membership participated and 55% voted to reject the TA.

In a statement issued by the President of the International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District Lodge 142 said, “Although we acknowledged from the outset that the Tentative Interim Agreement did not contain everything the membership – or the committee – wanted, in light of the merger with United Airlines it would have been irresponsible of the committee not to allow the Flight Attendants an opportunity to view and vote on the wages, fence agreement and no furlough clause we had achieved in the company’s last proposal.

“As the Negotiating Committee indicated before voting began, we would be guided by the membership’s direction, and that direction is clear.”

IAM has notified Continental that it is ready to resume bargaining immediately.

More information can be read on the IAM website.

FAA in SFO

The FAA will be in SFO on November 9 and 10. Base manual audits will be conducted at SFO on Tuesday, November 9 and Wednesday, November 10, 2010. Flight Attendants flying in and out of SFO should expect to have their manuals audited by both the FAA and local Flight Service.

As always, please make sure your manuals are up to date. The latest manual revision and bulletins can be found on the Flight Service website via the “Manuals & Guides” link.

Anytime you encounter an FAA inspector, please send an e-mail including the date and flight number to [email protected].

AA WINS BATTLE FOR DOMAIN NAMES

DomainNews.com reported this week that the National Arbitration Forum announced that two rulings have been issued in favor of American Airlines regarding rights to two Internet domain names: AmericanAirlinesRewards.com and AmericanAirlinesJobs.com.

American argued that the owners of the two domains were using them in “bad faith”.

Bad faith. Really?

How about fighting for:

AmericanAirlinesGivesTheFlightAttendantsWhatItPromisedIn2003.com