11.30.12 – (LAA) – FAA and OSHA Announced a Policy Proposal to Establish Workplace Protections, Samsum Tablets, WTS, Mutual Pairings, First 50 VEOP Flight Attendants

APFA Hotline – November 30, 2012

Important FAA Announcement

Today, the FAA and OSHA announced a policy proposal to establish workplace protections in the aircraft cabin. As you know, APFA has been working for many years to achieve OSHA protections and we can now look forward to seeing some of these protections enacted and incorporated into our safety culture. Though long overdue, this development represents a huge step forward for our profession and it is directly attributable to the hard and relentless work of the APFA Government Affairs team, led by Julie Frederick Tandy. Click here to read APFA’s press release on this issue.
 

The Latest from Bankruptcy Court

Today, management and the UCC filed a motion to extend American’s period of exclusivity by six weeks. The document cited their collaborative review of strategic alternatives (potential merger) as one of the reasons more time is necessary. The motion also referenced the good faith American has shown by exchanging confidential information with US Airways as that particular strategic alternative is evaluated. Once the motion is granted, American will have the exclusive right to submit a plan of reorganization until March 11, 2013.

In other news related to AMR’s bankruptcy, a group of AMR Bondholders possessing nearly $1 billion in debt outlined its position on how a standalone company post-bankruptcy would look. The bondholders stated in no uncertain terms that a standalone company would include the appointment of a new AMR Board of Directors. Read here for more.

AMR Shut Down By Supreme Court in Efforts to Stop Union Election For Agents

Nice to see some good news for the labor movement, and today we had more than one item from government. Supreme Court Justice Scalia denied AMR’s request to stop the union representation election for AA’s passenger service this week. CWA has been actively trying to organize the agents for a year, however, management filed motion upon motion claiming CWA did not obtain enough authorization cards to generate an election. To clarify: The law prior to February 2012 required that 35% of a workgroup must sign authorization cards. The current law is now a minimum of 50% submission of cards to trigger an election. Both the NMB and the CWA argued that the cards were received prior to the rule change and to date, their position has been upheld. Click here to read more.

Prefunding Refunds

The company is attempting to issue prefunding refunds sooner than January 12, 2013. Since refunds will be issued via check, all FAs should verify your address on JetNet by clicking “Resources” then “Update My Information” on the homepage no later than December 5, 2012.

Reduced Block Times?

APFA is aware of, and has been in contact with the company today regarding the reduction in block time for some flights in December. APFA is currently working toward a resolution and as soon as we have more details we will pass them along.

MetLife Cancellations and Discrepancies

APFA and AA Human Resources are aware that there have been some auto cancellations of medical insurance and/or discrepancies with Metlife deductions. Please contact HR first with any issues and obtain a case number. If the issue hasn’t been resolved within 5 business days, please contact the APFA Health Department and include your case number. Remember, you must contact HR first to obtain a case number BEFORE contacting APFA.

Samsung Tablets

APFA has issued a memo to Lauri Curtis and Cathy Scheu addressing the technical issues, liability and privacy concerns over the Samsung Tablets that Flight Service intends to issue to all FAs. To read the memo, click here.

Quarterly Executive Committee Meeting
APFA’s Executive Committee will have their quarterly meeting on Thursday, December 6th beginning at 9:00 a.m. All members in good standing are welcome to attend the open portion of the meeting. The meeting will be held at APFA Headquarters in the Unity Pays Conference Room.

Willingness to Serve Notifications

Willingness to Serve Notifications for Base Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Occupational Council Representatives (OCR) for all bases will be mailed to APFA members on December 5, 2012.  If you are interested in further serving your union, these forms are due back in the designated PO Box no later than Friday, January 4, 2013.  Ballots will be mailed on January 23rd and counted on Friday February 22nd.

Domestic and International Mutual Pairings

Final reminder: the next round of domestic and international mutual pairing awards will be made at the beginning of December for an effective date of January 1, 2013.  Both domestic and international mutuals are paired in seniority order from the standing transfer list for domestic and the standing proffer list for international. As a reminder you are no longer able to decline a transfer or a mutual pairing award. Therefore if you do not want to be awarded a mutual pairing you must remove your name from the standing list by the time mutual pairings are captured. International mutual pairings will be captured at 0830 Central on December 3 and domestic mutual pairings will be captured at 0830 Central on December 4. In addition, in order to be eligible for pairing you must be in a flying status the entire day that pairings are captured.

Congratulations to the First 50 VEOP Flight Attendants!

APFA would like to congratulate the first 50 Flight Attendants who are set to retire under the VEOP effective December 2, 2012. These FAs are the first of over 2,200 flight attendants who are set to depart American Airlines under the Voluntary Early Out Program (VEOP) over the next ten months.

Known Crew Member Update

We have received many emails and phone calls regarding the Known Crew Member (KCM) Portal Access. Please understand use of the KCM portals is completely voluntary. The significant benefit of KCM portal is the ability to show the requested ID’s to the TSA agent and walk thru without having you or your belongings scanned. There may be access denial and if this occurs the crew members should not get into an altercation or question the methods but proceed to other nearest security screening portals to clear.
 
Important points to know about KCM:

1.       You do not need to register to use KCM (Crew information has been provided to KCM database allowing you
          access)
2.       You must be in uniform to access the KCM portals
3.       You need to show your valid AA Crew ID to the TSA Screener
4.       You must also show them some other valid government-issued photo ID (Driver’s License or passport)
5.       AA does not yet have the KCM barcode scan cards. When they receive them, they will distribute them to the
          bases, who will then distribute them to those who want them
     a.  The scan card is completely optional
     b.  Once you receive the scan card, you must register it on the KCM web site for future use.
     c.   The sole purpose of the scan card is to keep the TSA from having to type your employee number into their
          computer
6.       The main Known Crew Member website is www.knowncrewmember.org.

APFA played a significant role in getting our members accepted and allowed participation into this program. Please feel free to share this information with other AA FAs and encourage them to use the KCM portals as well.
 

AmericanAirlines + US Airways
“Our Future Depends On It”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Coordinator