6.27.14 – (LAA) – JNC Update – JNC Visits

This week, members of the Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) visited PHX, DCA, CLT, STL and ORD Flight Service Operations. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and share your comments, suggestions and concerns.
 
As the JNC wraps up this round of visits, the remaining two base visits are as follows:
 
PHL – Monday, June 30th 
RDU – Monday, June 30th
 
The JNC will continue negotiating with the Company the week of July 7, 2014, in Philadelphia. Negotiations are moving quickly and the team has begun discussions with the Company on the sections of Scheduling, Hours of Service and Deadheading.
 
Board of Directors/Master Executive Council Progress Report
The week of June 30^th, the JNC will be meeting in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area to present a progress report to the APFA Board of Directors and the AFA Master Executive Council. The JNC will present an outline of each contractual section and review the process under the Negotiations Protocol Agreement.
 
Tentative Agreement (T/A) Information Coming Soon!
This summer, the JNC will produce a comparison chart for the membership containing already-T/A’d sections. The chart will compare the former AA language, the former US language, and the agreed upon language for your review.
 
As we continue down the path towards a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA), the JNC will announce additional sections where T/As have been reached during our weekly hotline/e-line updates.
 
Your Team continues to receive the following questions:

• How long will these negotiations take?
• What happens if we don’t reach an agreement?
• What is adopt and go?
• Why arbitration?

Therefore, it is important to review the Negotiating Protocol Agreement reached between the three parties.
 
REVIEW: The Path to a Joint Contract – An Update on the Process
 
AFA, APFA, and New American management entered into a Negotiating Protocol Agreement (NPA) that governs talks for a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) for US Airways and American Airlines Flight Attendants at the New American. The collective bargaining process governed by Section 6 of the Railway Labor Act (RLA), otherwise known as “Section 6 Bargaining”, is the method of bargaining we are most familiar with in this industry. These joint negotiations do not fall under Section 6 bargaining.
 
The NPA governs the current bargaining process for the JCBA and contains a number of unique terms distinguishable from the RLA.
 
First, the NPA provides for an “adopt and go” process. “Adopt and go” means that, to the extent possible, the goal of the parties will be to adopt entire contractual articles/sections from either the AA or US Agreements.
The Company has agreed to utilize the “adopt and go” methodology but is not obligated to accept all the provisions we have adopted in our opening proposal.
 
Second, the NPA allows for 150 days of negotiations, providing an end time for bargaining. This five-month period gives us ample time to bargain through our differences and to reach a T/A. Negotiations began on April 24, 2014, and end on or about September 26, 2014.
 
Third, the NPA provides that if an agreement is not reached and/or ratified, a panel of arbitrators will decide the outstanding disputes.
 
Fourth, the arbitration must begin 90 days after the disputes are submitted to the panel and an award must be issued no later than 30 days after the first day of the hearing.
 
Finally, the arbitrators’ decision must provide a Joint Contract that is (1) “market based in the aggregate;’ with the “market” defined as United, Continental and Delta; and (2) greater in aggregate value than the existing AA Agreement as applied to pre-merger American Flight Attendants and greater than the US Agreement as applied to pre-merger US Airways Flight Attendants.
 
Although your JNC is at the forefront of the process, this is a contract for all 24,000 Flight Attendants at the New American. It should be important enough that you read the APFA Hotline and access information at APFA.org. If you are not already accessing this information, we strongly urge you to do so.
 
In Unity,
Your Joint Negotiating Committee