1.06.12 – (LAA) – Bankruptcy Update, National Officer Election Ballots Mailed, Seat Belt Fines, Obama Appoints 3 to NLRB

Weekly Hotline

For the week ending Friday, January 6, 2011

BANKRUPTCY UPDATE

APFA President Laura Glading continues to meet or conference weekly with the Unsecured Creditors’ Committee along with Rob Clayman, a member of APFA’s legal counsel. Many of you have met Rob during our Base Visits. We briefly touched on his background in an earlier Hotline and will go into a bit more detail today.

Rob Clayman, currently a partner with the firm Guerrieri, Clayman, Bartos & Parcelli, P.C., has been representing labor unions and employees for more than thirty years, beginning his career as an attorney for the migrant farm-workers division of Georgia Legal Services. Since 1983 he has represented unions in the airline industry in a broad range of matters including federal and state litigation, arbitrations, and negotiations. He served as APFAís negotiations counsel in 1992-1993 and as a member of the interest arbitration panel that was created at the behest of President Clinton following the 1993 strike. From 1999 to 2001 he was counsel to the Delta pilots during their negotiations, which resulted in an industry leading collective bargaining agreement. Rob has represented labor unions in fifteen airline bankruptcies including TWA, USAirways, United, Mesaba, Aloha, and Northwest. In fact he has represented Flight Attendants in more bankruptcies than any other attorney in the country. As counsel he has defended against debtors’ attempts to reject labor agreements, reduce retiree health benefits and terminate pension plans. In the several cases where his clients have been appointed to the Creditors Committee, he has attended and participated in all meetings of the Committee. In 2009 the International Brotherhood of Teamsters retained Rob to advise the union regarding the possible bankruptcy of YRC, one of the country’s largest trucking companies. He has lectured at various conferences sponsored by the ABA Section of Labor and Employment, the ALI-ABA Airline and Railroad Labor and Employment Committee, the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, and the Pensions Rights Center. He has also taught collective bargaining at the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University. Rob graduated from Tufts University, and earned his law degree from Emory University School of Law.

Below are the Bankruptcy Information Base Visits currently scheduled:

Monday, January 9 – MIA
Miami International Airport Hotel (Hotel MIA)
Outside Terminal E Security Checkpoint
1100-1400

Monday, January 16 – LAX
Ayres Hotel Manhattan Beach/Hawthorne
14400 Hindry Ave.
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Renaissance Ballroom
1100-1400

Tuesday, January 17 – SFO
Embassy Suites SFO – South
1000-1300

Meetings are open to all members in good standing. Retirees wishing to attend one of the Base Meetings, and were dues current at the time of retirement, please send an e-mail to [email protected] so that eligibility can be verified in advance. Only Retired Flight Attendants need to contact APFA prior to the meeting.

During these meetings, we will share what we know now and what to expect; we will address your concerns and answer your questions. Iíll be joining members of the APFA Negotiating Team, Retirement Department, Legal Counsel and your Local Base Leadership. As some of the bankruptcy proceedings may be scheduled suddenly and we can expect last minute changes, additional Bankruptcy Information Base Visits will most likely be announced on short notice.

FROM THE BALLOT COMMITTEE
[email protected]

Ballots for the APFA National Officer Election have been mailed to all Flight Attendants. Balloting opened 10:00am CST on Monday December 19, 2011 and all ballots must be cast by 10:00am CST on Wednesday January 18, 2012.

Should you have any questions, please contact the National Ballot Committee at 817-540-0108 ext 8311 or via email – [email protected].

You must be dues current by 5:00 p.m. CST on January 13, 2012, and any dues promissory note/payment plan must have been active by December 19, 2011 in order to have your vote counted for the APFA National Officer election ballot count on January 18, 2012.

For any questions concerning your dues status, please contact the APFA Dues Department at 817-540-0108 ext 8151 or email – [email protected].

—

APFA National Ballot Committee

SEAT BELT FINES

Recently while en route from the Barcelona (BCN) hotel to the airport, the crew bus was pulled over at a random police stop. The police entered the bus and imposed a fine on the passenger in the front row for not wearing a seat belt.

The Police Officer took the crewmember’s passport and credit card and levied a 100 Euro fine.

The Officer went on to state that he could have charged each of the crewmembers not using a seat belt.

Additionally, if the fine had not been paid on the spot, the crew would have been detained.

Please be vigilant about wearing your seat belt, when available, in any city – not only to avoid a potential personal fine, but most importantly for your safety.

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS UPDATE
Julie Frederick, APFA Government Affairs Representative
[email protected]

On Wednesday of this week, January 4th,President Obama made three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

Senate Republicans have strongly opposed what they believed was any expansion of labor rights. The NLRB lacked a quorum to conduct business and by blocking any new appointments, Republicans would have rendered the agency unable to function.

As previously reported, Congress remained in pro forma session, in an effort to block Presidents Obamaís ability to make recess appointments.

Read the full story: http://www.nationaljournal.com//whitehouse/obama-makes-three-more-recess-appointments-all-nlrb-20120104

What is a recess appointment?
The Constitution allows the President to make appointments when Congress is out of session to “ensure the continuity of government”.

You may be hearing a great deal about this in the next few days but recess appointments are more common than you think. Bill Clinton made 139 recess appointments; George Bush made 171 recess appointments and President Obama, 32 appointments as of Wednesday. The Senate has been gaveling under pro forma session every three days to avoid a recess.

With the President’s appointments, he has essentially declared the Senate pro forma session a “sham”. Under the last administration, Sen. Harry Reid kept the Senate in pro forma session to prevent President Bush the ability to make recess appointments. The practice has continued under Obama when a 22 second pro forma session was gaveled from across the street from the Capitol last summer when it was evacuated due to an earthquake. Look for legal challenge to Obama’s most recent appointments.