1.20.12 – (LAA) – Bankruptcy Update, National Officer Run-Off Election Ballots, AD Hoc WTS, Reserve Tentative Agreement, Article 10/Reserve TA, EC Meeting

Weekly Hotline

For the week ending Friday, January 20, 2012

BANKRUPTCY UPDATE

Earlier today APFA bankruptcy counsel filed our first two objections in the case. The first objection was against the fees American requested the court grant it permission to pay its financial advisers during the rest of the bankruptcy. Specifically, we opposed two requests for lump-sum completion or ‘success’ fees — $15 Million for financial adviser Rothschild Inc. and $6.5 Million for one of the company’s several labor-relations advisers as well as Perella Weinberg Partners – which were neither capped at a dollar amount nor tied to a successful reorganization. We also opposed the fees of Rothschild and another firm, SkyWorks, which had no upper limit whatsoever. We asked the bankruptcy court not to preapprove either type of fee and to instead let the firms apply for their compensation at the end of the case, so the court can determine then what amounts the firms actually earned.† Our attorneys emphasized the accumulating sacrifices of Flight Attendants and the injustice of giving the company essentially blank checks to pay their bankruptcy advisers. Hopefully the court will agree, and will adopt the limits on these applications which we proposed.

The other document filed today with the bankruptcy court was aimed at laying some groundwork for the inevitable battle to change our collective bargaining agreement and to end our pension plans. The Pension Benefit Guarantee Commission (PBGC) filed a motion previously asking the bankruptcy court to order American to provide information about the pension funds as well as information regarding financial projection and budgets. We filed a ‘Joinder’ asking to participate in the information exchange.

FROM THE BALLOT COMMITTEE

Ballots for the National Officer Run-Off Election will be sent by January 26, 2012 and votes must be cast by February 24, 2012.

You must be dues current by 5:00 p.m. CST on February 21, 2012, and any dues promissory note/payment plan must be active by January 26, 2012 in order to have your vote counted for the APFA National Officer Run-Off election ballot count on February 24, 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 PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The APFA is sponsoring the Presidential Debate, between Liz Geiss and Laura Glading, on Monday, January 23, 2012 at†11am at APFA Headquarters.  Per the APFA Policy Manual Section 14.O.11-12, the debate will be a closed debate.  The only individuals allowed to attend shall be the Presidential Candidates and members of their respective slates, Debate Liaisons, the videographer, the Moderator and two (2) members of the National Ballot Committee (NBC).

Immediately following the Presidential Debate, the videographer shall provide recordings of the Presidential Debate to an NBC member, who will then arrange for the video to be uploaded to APFA.org within twelve (12) hours of receipt of the recording. An identical, unedited copy of the Presidential Debate will be give to both liaisons so they may upload the recorded debate to their respective websites.

AD HOC WTS

The Willingness to Serve for Executive Committee Member Ad Hoc Place #5 can be found on the Elections and Balloting page of the APFA website. The term of office for this position will commence on April 1, 2012 and ends March 31, 2015. If interested, please return your WTS to the APFA Secretary, 1004 West Euless Blvd, Euless, TX 76040, anytime prior the Annual Convention that convenes on February 27, 2012.

APFA OUTRAGED

APFA issued a Press Release yesterday in response to AMR failing to make its obligatory payment to the employee pension plans this month. “I am outraged,” said APFA President Laura Glading. “This is further evidence that Tom Horton and his team have their priorities upside down. For years, they awarded themselves millions in bonuses even while they destroyed the company we Flight Attendants worked so hard to build. Now, with a well-publicized $4 billion in cash on hand, they are forgoing their legal obligations to our pension plans. It seems they would rather spend the company’s cash on the lawyers and advisers that will help them try to scuttle our benefits packages. Weíve seen some changes at the top since the Chapter 11 filing, but there has been no change in direction whatsoever.”

Click here to read the full Release.

RESERVE TENTATIVE AGREEMENT

Reserve is a hardship. Period. We’ve all served it – many of us are still serving it 20+ years later. That was not what we signed up for. Sure we knew we would be on Reserve for a while, but never did we imagine for over 20 years – yet it has become the norm. We’ve heard it from the onset of Negotiations – through surveys, e-mails, phone-calls, while on the line and most recently via petition – “Fix Reserve!” Your APFA Negotiating Team includes both junior and senior Flight Attendants serving Reserve who understand first hand the financial, physical and even emotional hardship Reserve brings. Improving Reserve became a top priority for the Team – and we’ve done just that.

Although it has never been APFA’s practice to release details on individual tentatively agreed to articles until a full Tentative Agreement (TA) has been accomplished, we are now in unprecedented times for our union. With AMR’s Chapter 11 filing and American notifying the APFA of their intent to file the 1113 motion, we felt it necessary to provide more information on the Reserve TA.†It is APFA’s position that all TAed Articles remain in effect for the 1113 Negotiations.†

In today’s Hotline we’ll highlight achievements for the Reserve TA. The APFA Negotiating Team is writing an article for Skywordonline with more details on how this TA came about. The article will be completed soon and we’ll notify you via this hotline once it’s published.

APFA Article 10/Reserve Tentative Agreement

• Opportunity to relinquish four Duty Free Periods to fly Limited Option II and OE which will be paid on top of guarantee.
• Increased flexibility for bidding blocks of reserve days available to create schedules more like a line holder
• Reserve assignment/award system that allows reserves with same days availability to bid for standby, sequences, release or AM/PM
• Requires transparent reporting of daily scheduling requirements and how awards/assignments are made, as well as continuous monitoring of implementation by APFA
• Requires that at least 50% of FAs on ready reserve (minus the required number of FAs for the largest aircraft flown out of the base) be awarded AM or PM period of availability
• Creates 15 hour AM/PM window of assignment for Readys
• Provides opportunity for Reserve FAs to request PVDs/Mini Leaves prior to reserve assignment
• Option for variable days of reserve availability selections with pro-rated guarantees in months that the operation permits
• Incorporates Reserve Trip Trade Letter of Agreement, allowing reserve FAs to trade with regularly scheduled FAs.
• Provides voluntary option for FA to fly in both Domestic and International Operations with the requirement that the FA qualify for all applicable equipment in both operations

 

EC MEETING

The 2011 Fourth Quarter Meeting of the APFA Executive Committee is scheduled to begin on Tuesday February 7, 2012 at APFA Headquarters. The meeting is open to all members in good standing.

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Please remember there are currently 218 Members on furlough and awaiting recall.
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