10.11.14b – (LAA/LUS) T/A Q&As Sk Policy, LUS Profit Sharing, T/A Language, Call Center, Pay Estimator App

    

 

APFA Special Hotline – Tentative Agreement Q&As

October 11, 2014

---

 

LAA and LUS
Q: While LAA and LUS Flight Attendants at the Top of the Scale will see a wage increase of 9.1% and 12.3% , respectively on DOS, what’s the impact of the TA on the pay of Flight Attendants, who are in their first or second year?
A: Based on a comparison of the pay rates and wage increases of the current contracts at LAA and LUS with those of the T/A, the most junior Flight Attendants will see their wages increase significantly over the 5-year term of the T/A.  

• The wages of a first year Flight Attendant will increase annually by an average of 5.7% at LAA and 8% at LUS.
• The wages of a second-year Flight Attendant will increase annually by an average of 5.1% at LAA and 7.7% at LUS.  
• Under the T/A, in combination with the normal step increases, the wage rate of a current first year Flight Attendant after DOS +48 will be 51.5% higher than today’s pay at LAA ($32.70 v. $21.58), and 48.9% ($32.70 v. $21.96) higher at LUS.
• Under the T/A, in combination with the normal step increases the wage rate of a current second year Flight Attendant after DOS +48 will be higher than today’s pay by 62.7% ($38.14 v. $23.44) at LAA and 64.3% ($38.14 v. $23.21) at LUS.

 

LAA and LUS
Q: Did LAA maintain the current sick policy or is there now a sick policy in the T/A like LUS has?
A: Legacy AA’s sick policy is not incorporated into this T/A. Instead, several negotiated protections and improvements are included in the contract in this area.
For example:

• All sick time will now be paid and credited at 100%
• Sick Accrual in T/A is now 1,500 hours (LAA currently has a max accrual of 1,000 hours)
• The company is restricted from asking for a doctor’s note simply based on the number of times a Flight Attendant calls in sick
• There is no longer a monthly cap on the number of hours paid when a Flight Attendant calls in sick.

 

LUS
Q: Will LUS Flight Attendants receive Profit Sharing checks for 2014?
A: Yes. LUS Flight Attendants will receive their profit sharing check in 2015 based on the company’s profits for all 12 months of 2014.

NOTE: Profit sharing for LUS Flight Attendants is based on the earnings and ultimate profit of Legacy US Airways, not the combined carrier.

LUS
Q: In the Redbook, LUS has language that states PBS will be in effect no later than 24 months following ratification. We want PBS so we can realize all of the improvements of the contract immediately. Does the T/A change the 24-month implementation requirement?
A: No. PBS is to begin at LUS beginning February of 2015. The T/A does not interfere with that timetable.

LAA and LUS
Q: If the T/A is rejected, and therefore, sent to arbitration, how can we be certain we wouldn’t do even better than we did in negotiations?
A: Under the terms of the Negotiations Protocol Agreement (NPA), the arbitrator is not authorized to provide more than “market based in the aggregate.” To bring our contract to market rate (without profit sharing) means $61 million of improvements must be added to our current contracts (CLA and Red Book).

Adding the value for Profit Sharing (based on the company’s own published earnings reports and Profit Sharing potential), which brings our current contracts to true market rate, would mean another $50 million annually. Since the arbitrator cannot exceed Market Rate, this means $111 million of improvements to our current contracts is the cap at Arbitration.

Our T/A totals $193 million in negotiated improvements. We secured $82 million above Market Rate.

If the T/A is not ratified, the only things that are subject to change are the following six items:

• Wages
• Premium Pay
• Sick Accrual
• Vacation Accrual
• Medical Plan
• 401(k)

 

LAA and LUS
T/A LANGUAGE
APFA has posted an updated Tentative Agreement document, including an easier to read AFT/Galley Pay chart and Section 40 “Duration.” The updated T/A document also corrects formatting and paragraph references. It can be downloaded here.

APFA has set up a T/A Call Center to answer questions you might have about the T/A. Flight Attendants from both LAA and LUS are ready to respond!

T/A CALL CENTER – (682) 292-0244
M-F, through November 7th
9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Central Time

T/A Pay Estimator iPhone App
APFA has commissioned our very own Alex Rodriguez (IOR) to create a T/A pay estimator iPhone app for Flight Attendants. Currently, the app can only be downloaded via an iPhone. Alex is working on a web-based app with the same functionality. To download the iPhone app, visit:  www.www.apfa.org/taestimator.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair