6.13.14b – (LAA) – A Visit to Wall Street, NH Uniform Points, Summer Leaves, US Reciprocal, 401k, Hotels, Bid Rerun Info, FSA, WageWorks App, Safety, EAP

Speaking to a room of full of influential finance and investment types, many of whom were women, Laura explained how labor can help businesses succeed if given a seat at the table. She used the example of the American / US Airways merger to demonstrate that cooperation can yield positive results for everyone involved. Laura also fielded questions from Rich Handler and the audience about family, balancing work and home, and being part of a team – things every Flight Attendant knows about.
 
New Hire Uniform Points – [email protected]
Based on APFA’s ongoing discussions with Flight Service regarding uniform points for new hires, Flight Attendants in classes 13-01 thru 13-35 now have uniform points available. The points are issued on a prorated basis with one point credited for each full month of flying. These points are available through December 31, 2014. We hope this helps our members who are in need of replacing some of their uniform items.
 
Short-Term Leave Proffer – [email protected]
The deadline to proffer for the short-term two month leave for the months of August and September is Monday, June 16th at 1000 Central Time.  Please ensure you’ve read the Q&A posted on the Flight Service website if you plan to proffer for this leave of absence.
 
US Airways Reciprocal Jumpseat – [email protected]
We are continuing to make progress on the implementation of an interim reciprocal jumpseat agreement, which will allow for AA Flight Attendants to utilize the jumpseat on US flights and US Flight Attendants to utilize the jumpseat on AA flights. We are on track to have this agreement in place no later than June 30th and it appears we may even be able to implement before the end of the month. As soon as we have the full details and exact implementation date we will be sure to share with our members via this hotline.
 
Bid Reruns – [email protected]
Have you ever wondered why bids are rerun after the initial awards? It could be from a number of things that are completely outside of the Flight Attendant’s control. But there is one particular issue that may trigger a rerun that we can help improve.
 
As the bid sheet states, Flight Attendants must notify the Base Planner of any change to status that takes place between the 15th and the day prior to bid run. The most common changes include a new qualification, last minute enrollment, a change to recurrent training date in a grace month, or a revised sick clearance date. If the Flight Attendant does not notify Planning prior to the bid run, but the planner becomes aware of the change after preliminary awards are out, the planner may determine it is necessary to rerun bids to ensure proper bid awards.
 
As many of us build our schedules before bids are finalized, these reruns are creating issues when awards change. As a courtesy to our fellow Flight Attendants, make every effort to notify the planner of any information that could impact the bid run.
 
Increase Your 401(k) – [email protected]
Summer is an excellent time to increase your 401k contributions by 1%. The amount from each paycheck is so small, you will barely notice a change. Over time, that small amount can grow to a tremendous difference in your retirement income.  Do your future self a favor, and make that adjustment on www.retireonline.com today.

For more information on your contribution options and limits, please contact [email protected] or call 817.540.0108, ext. 8490.
 
[email protected]
LAX – Our two long layover hotels at LA are enforcing their room caps. Our numbers have dropped off slightly for long layovers. Please visit the July Allocation section once bids open to review hotel assignments. The company just received these allocations and should be sending them to the APFA Hotel Department shortly.
 
MAD – A resolution is in the works to address the unsecure drop off point at our new layover hotel. We’re now trying to determine if the bus is too big to fit in the cul-de-sac in front of the hotel where the security personnel are or if the driver is not aware of that entrance.
 
REC – The air conditioning issue has been reported to the company rep and we are awaiting a resolution from the GM.
 
Temporary Relocations are in place at LAX-Short, MXP and POA. Please visit the Hotel Page for more information.
 
Site inspections were done this week for ZRH and both SFO short- and long-layover hotels. APFA will make its recommendations to the company next week.
 
New Hire Benefit Elections – [email protected]
New Hire Flight Attendants have 21 days to make your benefits election? If you change your mind about your election after enrolling you retain the option to change your coverage provided it is within the 21-day window. You can do this by calling HR services at (800)477-2000. If you do not make any elections you will automatically be enrolled in the Core Option.

FSA Claims – [email protected]
Final reminder for your 2013 FSA claims deadline is June 15^th for eligible expenses incurred between January 1, 2013, and March 15, 2014.  Visit www.my.aa.com or call WageWorks at 877-924-3796.

WageWorks Mobile App – [email protected]
Download the free EZ Receipts mobile app to simplify your transactions with WageWorks. You can take pictures of your receipts or documentation and send them directly to Wageworks. All you need to do is launch the app, log in and click on “Healthcare Card Receipt.”  If you haven’t created a login, please visit www.wageworks.com to create your account today.
Download EZ Receipts® now for iPhone
Download EZ Receipts® Now for Android
Download EZ Receipts® Now for Blackberry

Safety Related Duties on Taxi – [email protected]
According to FAR 121.577 (Stowage of food, beverage, and passenger service equipment during airplane movement on the surface, take-off, and landing), once the aircraft boarding door has been closed in preparation for gate departure, all catering items provided by Flight Attendants to passengers must be collected, all carts stowed and the service of catered items must immediately cease until after take-off. Also, all galley compartments must be secured properly and all serving carts stowed in designated areas.  
 
Per FAR 121.391 (d) Flight Attendants are only permitted to perform safety-related duties during the taxi out phase of a flight. Serving beverages, food items and/or other service items to passengers or taking meal preferences in premium cabins during the taxi out phase are viewed by the FAA as a violation of FAR 121.391 and could result in a personal civil penalty issued by the FAA. All service-related duties should cease once the aircraft boarding door has closed and until a safe altitude has been reached. Any questions about FAR 121.577 and 121.391 should be sent to the Safety & Security Department.
 
Passenger In-Flight Disturbance Report (PIDR)
Flight Attendants will issue the PIDR when they have encountered a level one or above non-compliant passenger misconduct incident during a flight. The following are examples of incidents where a PIDR would be issued to a passenger:

• Threatening Behavior toward crewmembers and/or other passengers
• Interfering with a crewmember
• Smoking in the lavatory
• Drinking alcohol not served by a crewmember
• Alcohol related disturbance

Flight Attendants and the Captain will communicate and coordinate when a PIDR is issued – copy of the report should be provided to the Captain once it has been completed. The PIDR is a vital tool in both the company’s and the FAA’s investigation of reported passenger non-compliant and disturbance events. For more information, refer to the In-Flight Manual / Safety & Security page 2.1.

Joint Security Committee (JSC)
At the request of the APFA Safety & Security Department (JSC), the JSC has agreed to make available – through the Crew Security web site –  access to a video regarding recommendations of best practices and tips on how to respond and protect oneself in a random active shooting situation. As we all know too well, shooting events can occur at anytime in various public venues. The video link is currently being made available for viewing via the Crew Security web site.

A Stunning Upset – [email protected]
In what many have called the biggest political upset in more than 20 years, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) lost to Tea Party challenger Dave Brat in Tuesday’s primary. Eric Cantor became the first Majority Leader incumbent in American history to lose a primary election. Considered the most conservative member in the House leadership, Cantor had been widely touted as most likely to succeed Speaker John Boehner.
 
This election may have a profound effect on the 2016 presidential race. It would appear that Republicans will need to take hard right or even extreme positions to make it through the primary contests, making it more difficult to move towards the center for the general election.
 
Only 66,000 people voted in Virginia’s 7th district (less than 10%). Immigration was the central issue with Cantor being accused of supporting an amnesty policy. For his part, Brat won after having raised just over $200,000 for his campaign. An effective grass roots campaign and the support of some conservative media personalities proved successful in spite of the fact that Brat was outspent more than 25:1. In addition to immigration reform, Cantor was criticized for being out of touch with his constituents, too driven by ambition and spending too much time at expensive restaurants. The May 21 Federal Election Commission (FEC) financial data report showed that Cantor’s campaign had spent $168,637 at steakhouses, nearly as much as Brat spent on his entire campaign.
 
Cantor has announced that he will resign from his leadership post at the end of July. Leadership elections for House Majority Leader and House Majority Whip are slated for June 19.
 
Drug and Alcohol Testing – [email protected]
Random drug and alcohol testing is an inconvenient but required part of the work life of a Flight Attendant. For 2014, the FAA requires that twenty-five percent (25%) of our Flight Attendants be randomly tested.  Your APFA EAP desk often receives calls from Flight Attendants with concerns about their recent random test experience.  If you have questions or wish to discuss your drug testing concerns, make a confidential call to your APFA EAP desk at 817-540-0108, extension 8701.
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REMINDERS!

APFA “Flyer” iPhone App
APFA’s Flyer App, Version 5 is available for download from APFA’s website. To download the app, click here.

APFA Website Update
If you’re an APFA member / pre-merger AA Flight Attendant, and don’t yet have access to APFA’s website, go to www.www.apfa.org and click on “Create An Account” under the Log In Form from the main page. Once you fill out the form, a verification email will be sent to you. Click on the specified link within the email, and you will gain immediate access to the members-only portion of APFA.org. Get to know it!

Staffing
Do you have a report concerning staffing-related issue and would like to submit data to APFA? Please email all details to [email protected]. This email is a no-response email. It is strictly used to collect data. If you have a scheduling or staffing question or issue, please email [email protected].

Share Your Photos
We continue to receive some great pictures from our members both on and off the plane. Please remember that in order for the photos to be useable, they must include the names and employee numbers of all Flight Attendants, as well as contact information (if available). Otherwise, the photos are unusable.

Photos may be incorporated in future APFA web and print projects, including upcoming issues of Skyword, press releases, our APFA New Hire guide and a welcome booklet for our future members from pre-merger US Airways. Please email your hi-res photos to: [email protected].

If you are emailing several high-resolution photos, please limit your photos to 3 per email as our server will block files over a certain size.

If you prefer to mail a hard copy, send to:
APFA Communications
1004 W. Euless Blvd.
Euless, TX, 76040

Photos must:

• Be the sole property of the sender. By sending in photos, you are giving APFA permission to use them in APFA communications.
• Contain the name(s), employee number(s) (if you can obtain your coworker’s employee number easily), email and phone number of each person in the photo in order to obtain permission to publish.
• Be tasteful in content.