8.08.14b – In Memory of Bill McGlashen, AA.com Emails, Form for Drug/Alcohol Testing, Scheduling Q&As, Seniority List, Hotels, OTC Meds, FSA, New Hires 401(k), Inflight Cell Phones,

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APFA Hotline – August 8, 2014

 

In Memory of Bill McGlashen
Bill began his career as an America West Flight Attendant 25 years ago this week. He began doing union work soon thereafter and founded AFA America West Council 66. He went on to work in Washington, D.C. and became former AFA Int’l President Pat Friend’s assistant for many years. He eventually returned to flying, but was soon called upon by US Airways management to help with communications in the merger of AA and US Airways. Bill’s efforts throughout the merger and the DOJ case were relentless and proved invaluable. 
 
Bill is a longtime friend of APFA. Most recently, as our US Airways contact throughout the merger efforts, we relied heavily on his relationship and communication skills during the initial planning stages of the AA/US merger before it was announced in April 2012. Our friendship with Bill continued through the last days of his life. There isn’t another individual who rose so high in the ranks of both labor and management and did it with so much grace and integrity. He bridged the divide between these two sides and let us all see that the distance between us was far smaller than we may have thought. 
 
On August 5th, 2014, surrounded by his family, we said goodbye to a great advocate and a remarkable human being. 
 
Below are some of the online sites that honor Bill’s memory, including a tribute by CEO Doug Parker on Jetnet’s main page:
AFA66 link: http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4042/c/663/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=200981
Jetnet main page: https://newjetnet.aa.com/welcome
AA Arrivals: https://corpcomm.jetnet.aa.com/pdf/arrivals_080714.pdf
Forbes Tribute: http://www.forbes.com/sites/tedreed/2014/08/08/american-airlines-labor-leader-dies-suddenly-he-touched-many-lives/
Star-Telegram: http://blogs.star-telegram.com/sky_talk/2014/08/bill-mcglashen-communicating-with-a-smile.html
 
You’re Getting Mail
All 24,000 Flight Attendants at the new American will be receiving a mailing next week that helps explain the bargaining process going forward, as well as information about the newly-released integrated seniority list and an update on the status of Preferential Bidding at Legacy US Airways (LUS) and Legacy AA (LAA).

Next week we will be publishing the highlights of the T/As we have negotiated so far. Stay tuned to this hotline for details. 
 
Late Breaking News: NMB approves Single Carrier Status for American and US Airways pilots
 
Form for Drug/Alcohol Testing Problems – [email protected]
The APFA EAP Department monitors all DOT drug and alcohol testing problems and addresses these with the company on a regular basis. To make reporting drug and alcohol testing problems easier, we have created a form online. Please follow this link to report your drug/alcohol testing problem(s). Contact (817) 540-0108, ext 8701 or email us at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Q&As – [email protected]
Q. What is my monthly maximum on Reserve?
A. The maximum is 85 hours in the PROJECTION column for both Domestic and International Reserves.
Q. How could my PPROJ be higher than 85 hours on Reserve if my maximum is 85 hours PROJ?
A. The Pay Projection could include Deadhead time or P-time or other pay only time that is not credited, so not included in the Projection column.

Transfer/Proffer Requests Purged – [email protected]
Earlier this week on August 5^th transfer and proffer preferences were purged from Sabre.  You must reenter any request you are still interested in being awarded.  Please update your 3* record in your personal mode in Sabre if you wish to be considered for a future vacancy transfer or domestic mutual transfer or international proffer or international mutual transfer.  Keep in mind you cannot rescind a transfer, proffer or mutual once it has been awarded.
 
Seniority Integration List Update – [email protected]
On Thursday the LAA/LUS Combined Seniority List and a Q&A was posted to the APFA website. We encourage our members to review the list to see their adjusted seniority date and placement on the list. 
 
Please note each page of the list has two columns and is searchable using your AA employee number or last name. 
 
If you have a question about your position on the new integrated seniority list or believe there is a clerical error, please send an email to [email protected]. Include your name, employee number, Occupational Seniority Date as reflected on the new list, your date of birth, a clear explanation of what error you believe exists and what you think your Occupational Seniority Date should be. The deadline to send an email is September 9, 2014.
 
The adjusted seniority dates shown on the Combined Seniority List will not be reflected in Sabre for our bidding until a later date.   
 
Hotel Update – [email protected]
BNA
Our short layover hotel has decided that they are no longer interested in crew business and has cancelled our contract with another year left.  A site inspection was just completed in this market for another hotel for the short layovers and it looks like we’ll possibly need , as no one hotel wanted the whole crew allotment. Our recommendations have been given to the company representative and the information for the new hotel(s) will be updated as soon as possible since the start date is August 29.
 
CUN
This market is currently being sourced for our short layover needs.  More information to follow.
 
Temporary Relocations
Relocations are listed for the following markets: LHR-Long, SAT-Long, MCI-Short, MCO-Short and DFW-Long. 
 
OTC Meds and FSA – [email protected]
Did you know there have been changes in federal law regarding the use of FSA funds to pay for OTC medication? In order to use your FSA account to pay for your OTC medications you will need the required detailed receipt and you will need to submit an actual prescription written by your doctor (on a prescription pad or form) dated on or before the date you incurred this expense. The doctor must also verify on the prescription that the over-the-counter medicine is prescribed for a known medical condition. 
 
First Year Anniversary? – [email protected]
If you recently had your one-year anniversary as an AA Flight Attendant, and you have not adjusted your 401k contribution, you could be losing money.
 
On your one-year anniversary, American Airlines deposits an extra 3% of your eligible wages into your 401k, even if you do nothing. This is called the “company contribution.” AA  offers to deposit another 2.5% of your income into your 401k, but they will only do so if you are also putting in at least 2.5% of your paycheck. This is called the “matching contribution.” 
 
The company contributions and the matching contributions are yours to keep after you “vest” in your 401k account.  Your contributions are always your money to keep and use in your retirement, regardless of when you leave the company.
 
If you have any questions, contact the APFA Retirement Department at [email protected] or 817-540-0108 ext. 8490
 
Letters from APFA Safety & Security – [email protected]
The Safety & Security Department receives notifications from the company on all safety and security events such as medical emergencies, mechanical failures, passenger misconduct and employee injuries. The APFA Safety & Security Department will then notify the local base representatives of the events and other relevant APFA departments for follow up. 
 
The initial notification from the company on these events may, on occasion, contain limited details. Therefore, in order to assist with follow up, you may receive a letter from the APFA Safety & Security Chair requesting further information. Your reports play a critical role in the investigation and assist APFA with the necessary follow-up with the crew and management. You may email your response to [email protected] or mail to APFA Headquarters at 1004 W. Euless Blvd., Euless, TX 76040.
 
Inflight Cell Phones / Congress in Recess – [email protected]
Inflight Cell Phones Under DOT Consideration 
This week, we learned that the Department of Transportation (DOT) plans to pursue a ban on inflight cell phones. A notice of proposed rulemaking is expected in December with an opportunity for public comment. In recent months, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed overturning the current restrictions believing that inflight interference is no longer an issue. While the FCC has not issued a final ruling, public comment was overwhelming in opposition to permitting in flight calls. Airlines are not eager to introduce in flight calls but they believe the decision should be up to individual carriers. The general counsel for the airline trade association was quoted as saying that some airlines may want to “explore passenger-friendly ways to introduce calls, such as inflight phone booths or quiet zones.”
 
In the meantime, legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate to ban inflight cell phones.  
 
Congress in Recess
Congress started their five-week recess and will be returning after Labor Day although little legislative activity is expected. All attention will be on the races in the states with the most attention on the Senate Races. As you know APFA is following the races carefully and supporting candidates who have stood with Flight Attendants on issues that matter to us. APFA Government Affairs will be updating you throughout the election season.
 
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REMINDERS!

Vacation Trade Bulletin Board at APFA.org
If you would like to trade your 2014-2015 vacation, APFA offers an electronic bulletin board at www.apfa.org to post your trade requests. Click here and follow instructions to post your requested VC trades.

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.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways 
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair