9.05.14b – (LAA/LUS) Welcome LUS Flight Attendants! LUS Base Presidents and VPs Appointed, Seniority List Reminder, A/C Door Closing, APFA Flyer App, Door Closing, Open Time, eManual, Hotel Update, Vacation Deferral, Gov’t Affairs, Professional Standards

 

APFA Hotline – Welcome LUS Flight Attendants! LUS Base Presidents and VPs Appointed, Seniority List Reminder, A/C Door Closing, APFA Flyer App, Door Closing, Open Time, eManual, Hotel Update, Vacation Deferral, Gov’t Affairs, Professional Standards – September 5, 2014

 

APFA members will notice a slight difference in future hotlines as a result of APFA’s certification by the National Mediation Board (NMB) on Tuesday. Now that APFA represents all 24,500 Flight Attendants at the new American, and while still operating under separate contracts, each hotline item will be preceded by LAA (legacy AA Flight Attendants) and/or LUS (legacy US Airways Flight Attendants) to indicate its relevance to one or both legacy airline workgroups.
 
And to our newest members from legacy US Airways: WELCOME!
 
LUS Flight Attendants:

• If you’ve not already signed an APFA Membership Card in order to enjoy the benefits of membership and ensure your right to vote on the upcoming JCBA and future elections, click here.
• If you’ve already joined, print your APFA Membership Card here.
• Review the relevant documents surrounding bargaining, representation, the NMB certification of APFA as the bargaining representative for the combined workgroup, APFA’s structure, Q&As, etc, by clicking here.
• Subscribe to the APFA Hotline – http://eepurl.com/be8WM

 

LAA/LUS
LUS Base Presidents Appointed to the APFA Board of Directors
Yesterday, the APFA Executive Committee passed a resolution appointing the LUS LEC Base Presidents at the time of APFA’s certification to interim APFA Base President positions now that APFA is the bargaining representative for the combined workgroup. The resolution reads in part:
 
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Executive Committee hereby appoints the following individuals to serve as Interim Base Presidents pending completion of the election process:
CLT – Cathy Bossi 
DCA-US – Dianne Britton
PHL – Kim Kaswinkel 
PHX – Bill Lehman
and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that pursuant to the Maintenance Agreement each Interim Base President may appoint an Interim Base Vice President to serve until a Base Vice President election is completed.
 
All four LUS Base Presidents have made interim appointments to the position of Base Vice President and they are as follows:
 
CLT – Base VP: Katy O’Donoghue
DCA-US – Base VP: Christine Kolackovsky
PHL – Base VP: Brian Morgan   
PHX – Base VP: Chris Martinez
 
LAA/LUS
Integrated Seniority List – [email protected]
Tuesday, September 9^th is the deadline to submit an email with questions or challenges related to the integrated seniority list as published. Flight Attendants can view the Integrated Seniority List on the Seniority Integration page of the APFA website. Please check the list to review your adjusted seniority date and placement on the list. In addition you will find a Q&A and other documents to help with frequently asked questions regarding seniority integration. As a reminder, the relative seniority of LAA or LUS Flight Attendants has not changed. 
 
Emails should be sent to [email protected] and 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.
 
LAA current Occupational Seniority dates will continue to be reflected in our HI8 for the foreseeable future. The adjusted Occupational Seniority date from the integrated list will be incorporated into our HI8 at a later date.
 
LAA/LUS
Mailing Address – [email protected]
The APFA Communications Department has just completed a welcome booklet that will be mailed to LUS Flight Attendants’ homes over the next several weeks. 
 
All Flight Attendant who have recently had a change of address or who aren’t sure their address is correct in APFA’s system should log into www.apfa.org and select “Update Your Info” under the Member Resources menu. This will ensure that all ballots and other APFA mailings are sent to the proper address.
 
LAA
Aircraft Door Closing
The company recently announced its intent to change aircraft door closing procedures at LAA. The new procedure takes the task of closing the aircraft door from airport gate agents and gives it to Flight Attendants. APFA is opposed to this procedural change for several reasons and has informed the company of our concerns for the membership.
 
APFA believes that not only is the procedural change a major change to our practices and policies, it could result in unnecessary injuries to Flight Attendants and subject Flight Attendants to discipline for boarding delays. The company has stated it is a vital component to obtaining its “Single Operating Certificate” with all work groups using the same procedures, since LUS Flight Attendants close the aircraft door today. 
 
LAA/LUS
Voluntary Citibank Application Program
As many LAA Flight Attendants know, LUS Flight Attendants have a voluntary credit card application distribution program in place. The credit card company pays $50 per approved application to the LUS Flight Attendant who provided the application. The program is very popular at LUS. Many LUS Flight Attendants supplement their income with thousands of dollars. Last year, 88% of the LUS Flight Attendant workgroup participated.

Last week, American SVP of Flight Service Hector Adler announced that this voluntary program would begin at LAA on September 29th. Flight Attendants who wish to participate will receive additional instructions from the company.

This program is not contractual. Commissions are paid out by the bank that issues the credit cards, not by American. Potential payouts will not factor into contract negotiations. The program is strictly an opportunity for interested Flight Attendants to take home extra income.

APFA reps negotiated the design of the program with Citibank (the issuing bank of the AAdvantage card) and AAdvantage frequent flyer program executives. As a result, the new application program will include additional bonus incentives (above the current $50 per approved application payout at LUS). Further details will be announced as the program start date approaches.

LAA/LUS
9/11 Memorial in San Diego – [email protected]
Calling all Flight Attendants who plan to be in San Diego on 9/11: The USS Midway 9/11 memorial ceremony is in need of Flight Attendants to read out names of those who perished on September 11, 2001. This event is a beautiful tribute to our fallen coworkers and is always well attended by first responders. Please contact the APFA communications department at [email protected] if you are interested. Uniforms are requested – and free entry to the Midway is granted beginning at 1:00 p.m.

The company acknowledged our concerns. They informed APFA they were moving ahead with the procedural change and all Flight Attendants would be required to complete the online training regarding aircraft door closings by the deadline. APFA requested a three-month grievance time limit extension to better monitor the new practice and will evaluate if a Presidential Grievance is warranted.

LAA/LUS
APFA “Flyer” iPhone App
APFA’s Flyer iPhone app, version 5 is available for free download from APFA’s website. To download the app, click here. While this app does not contain the current LUS contract, it has many features that are helpful on the line to both legacy carriers.
 
LAA
Bid Leaves for October – [email protected]
With Bid Leaves readily available, it is important to remember that consecutive leaves are treated as one continuous leave. Therefore, if the total time you are on personal or bid leaves exceeds 180 days you will see an adjustment to your Occupational (bidding) Seniority for the number of days in excess of 180. In addition travel privileges cease on the 180th day of a leave or consecutive leaves. These provisions do not apply for the short-term leave currently available for August and September, which will be designated as an Overage Leave.  Please be sure to thoroughly review the Q&A posted on the Flight Service website if you plan to take the short-term leave consecutively to other leaves.
 
LAA
Access to Open Time, Art 9.K – [email protected] 
Flight Attendants with schedule conflicts/involuntary loss of time whose pay projection drops below their monthly guarantee are eligible to “pre-plot” a trip from open time up to the applicable monthly maximum. Article 9.K. allows for those affected Flight Attendants to contact Crew Scheduling prior to the start of the contractual month until 0001 local base time one day prior to the scheduled departure of the open sequence for “pre-plotting.”  Hours will be credited to the Flight Attendants PROJ for determining a Flight Attendant’s eligibility to plot the sequence.  This is not applicable to a Flight Attendant who has voluntarily reduced their pay projection. 
 
For applicable monthly maximum please refer to ODCG page 6.
 
LAA
eManual – [email protected]
On Monday September 1st, American Airlines Flight Attendants made history by becoming the first major airline Flight Attendant workgroup to carry an electronic inflight manual. APFA Safety & Security Reps monitored the transition from the paper manual to our eManual this week and will continue to watch the program carefully. If you are experiencing problems with your tablet you can call the F/A Tablet Help Desk at (800) 343-0343.
 
LAA
Hotel Department – [email protected]
Bed Bug Reports-Please follow up with the APFA Hotel Department as soon as possible so we can ensure the room is removed from inventory and the pest control company called to inspect the room.  Reporting to social media outlets doesn’t get this taken care of and will delay in getting the room checked.  If you actually see the bugs, please take a picture and forward with your report to [email protected].  Also, just because you have bite marks on you doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve been bitten at that hotel or that they’re bed bug bites.  Some people can take up to two weeks to see the bite marks from bed bugs.  Please make sure to include all specific information when reporting.
 
COS – Effective September 29^th, we will have a new hotel in this market.  Please visit the System List and Amenities Pages for more information.
 
MXP – AA 206 will return to our regular crew hotel for September 6 and 7 only and will not be subject to the Temporary Relocation. Please visit APFA’s Hotel page for more information.
 
YUL – The site inspection for this market has been postponed.
 
LAA
Vacation Deferral while on Sick or IOD – [email protected]
Vacations can be deferred while you are on the sick list using sick time, on maternity coded M2 and M3 and Family leave coded FL or FS.
You may also defer your vacation while on an IOD coded as ID, IU, UI, IH, HI, IO, TU, or UT.

For example, if you have a vacation in September and are out sick for that month, you must contact the planner at your base prior to the bid run in September so the vacation can be moved to a new month.
Keep in mind that your vacation will not be deferred unless you are out sick the entire month.

You may also request the vacation deferral by notifying your Flight Service Manager who will send the request to Crew Manning.

Vacations cannot be deferred for unpaid absences such as Unpaid Sick, Maternity M4, PLOA, BLOA or ELOA.

LAA/LUS
Government Affairs – [email protected]
Congress returns from their August recess next week and will only be in session for 12 days before the midterm elections. Elections will be held for all 435 Congressional House seats. The U.S. Senate will fill 33 of the 100 seats with additional special elections to be held to fill vacancies that occurred during the 113th United States Congress. Currently, there are a total of 36 Senate seats to be decided in November 2014.
 
Election Day is Tuesday November 4th. To find out about absentee and early voting in your state, or to register to vote, go to the APFA main page or follow this link to the non-partisan League of Women Voters.  www.vote411.org. Your voice is your vote.
 
APFA was quoted this week in Politico, the preeminent daily transportation industry report, applauding the DOT’s rejection of Norwegian Air International’s (NAI’s) bid to temporarily operate in the U.S. This was a big, albeit temporary/first step win for workers and the preservation of American jobs. 
 
“The United States and the European Union have clearly defined agreements on how the transatlantic market is serviced. NAI is blatantly trying to circumvent those rules at the expense of American and European airline workers alike.” – Laura Glading, APFA President
 
We encourage APFA members to continue to use Capwiz to contact DOT Secretary Foxx and ask him to permanently reject NAI’s application.
 
LAA/LUS
APFA Retirement Briefings a Big Success – [email protected]
On Wednesday, dozens of APFA members attended the APFA Retirement Briefing in DFW at the Yandry Center. The next Retirement Briefing in DFW will be in December. If you would like an APFA Retirement Briefing conducted at your base, please let your APFA Base President know, and they will make arrangements with the Retirement Department for that Briefing.
 
On Thursday of this week, 34 new APFA Base Retirement Reps received advanced training in DFW. They are an enthusiastic and intelligent group, and their addition to the roster returns the number of base retirement reps to pre-VEOP levels.
 
LAA/LUS
Professional Standards – [email protected]
APFA Professional Standards provides you the opportunity to resolve conflicts/concerns about co-workers without management involvement. APFA EAP is an informal process to help effectively resolve problems. Our goal is to restore professional conduct, ensure safety in the workplace and promote sound problem solving.
 
If you have a conflict with a co-worker and would like to discuss your concerns with a knowledgeable APFA representative make a confidential call to your APFA EAP department at 817-540-0108, ext. 8701 or email [email protected]. 

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REMINDERS:

LAA
Vacation-Trade Bulletin Board at APFA.org
LAA Flight Attendants who would like to trade your 2014-2015 vacation can take advantage of the electronic bulletin board at www.apfa.org to post your trade requests. Simply click here and follow the instructions.

LAA/LUS
APFA Website Update
If you’re an APFA member, 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!

LAA
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].

LAA/LUS
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, and our APFA New Hire guide. 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