11.01.14

---

JNC Hotline – T/A Info, T/A Reserve Details and Q&As

November 1, 2014

---

 

REMINDER: Daylight Savings Time ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, November 2, 2014, in all but two U.S. states: Arizona and Hawaii. Don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight for that extra hour of sleep!
 
TENTATIVE AGREEMENT INFO
This past week, the JNC conducted T/A Roadshows in Miami, St Louis, Pittsburgh and DC. Next week begins the final stretch of Roadshows – Monday and Tuesday in Phoenix, Wednesday and Thursday in Los Angeles and Friday in San Francisco. All Roadshows begin at 11:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 p.m. local time. Check the online schedule for the remaining dates. The team would like to thank the thousands of APFA members who’ve taken time out of their busy schedules to attend.
 
The Implementation Letter has been updated online. Take a few moments to download and review this important document. There are many other helpful tools on APFA’s website, such as:
T/A Pay Estimator (download the iPhone app or use the online tool)
T/A Roadshow Videos
T/A Highlights
T/A Language
LAA Reserve Comparison Chart
Q&As
 
Balloting information is available at the bottom of this email including details on how to become dues current, as well as where to vote and what to do if you’ve lost your VIN and PIN. Remember, you can vote as many times as you like, but only your last vote counts.
 
VOTE HERE! – Ballots due November 9, 2014 – 10:00 a.m. Central Time
Sample Ballot
Balloting Instructions
 
FACTS ABOUT RESERVE
LAA Reserve Comparison Chart
Under the T/A, both LUS and LAA Reserves will have 12 days off. Eight (8) days off will be designated as “Golden Days” (GD) and four (4) days off will be considered “Flex Days” (FD). Crew Schedule may not schedule a Reserve to fly into a GD, however, Reserves may bid to fly into one or more GDs and/or pick up trips on a GD(s) for pay above guarantee.
 
The remaining four days off are called “Flex Days.” Crew Schedule must follow strict parameters before assigning a trip that flies into an FD. LAA Reserves may currently be flown into 11 of the 12 DFPs without any parameters to prevent assignment. In the T/A, the full FD must be rescheduled rather than ‘pushed,’ therefore, there is no incentive for Crew Schedule to fly a Reserve into an FD. Reserves may bid to fly into or on an FD(s) for pay and credit.

CONTROL OF SCHEDULE/SELECTION OF TRIPS
The current AA Reserve language states: “Reserve Flight Attendants have no choice in assignment to specific trips.” Under the T/A’s Reserve system, a Reserve will be able to bid for the types of trips s/he desires and will be awarded/assigned trips in seniority order. Eight pages of language detailing how trip assignments will be made is contained in the T/A. Reserves will have access to detailed information on trip assignments showing not only the status of other available Reserves, but also Reserve assignments made, ensuring transparency in trip assignments. Reserves will be able to bid for specific trips, and Reserves who are not assigned trips will be able to bid for specific Reserve Availability Periods (RAP) and/or specific Standby Reserve shifts.

ELIMINATES THE ‘MOVEABLE DAY’ AT COMPANY OPTION FOR LAA RESERVES 
Under the current LAA reserve system, one of the 12 days off may be moved by Crew Schedule. Under the T/A, neither GDs or FDs can be moved in advance by the Company. Also, there is a strict order of processing trips to ensure that any assignment into a FD occurs only when absolutely necessary. Again, Crew Schedule cannot fly Reserves into Golden Days.

ALLOWS RESERVES TO BUILD THEIR OWN LINES    
Currently, Reserves must bid lines created by the company. Under PBS, Reserves will be able to bid their own combination of Reserve days and days off based on what works for their schedule.

ALLOWS FOR GREATER EARNING POTENTIAL
Under the T/A, Reserves who want to fly and be paid above guarantee will be able to bid for trips and be awarded bids in seniority order the day before a Reserve day. Reserves who want to fly can designate themselves “Aggressive Reserves” and be called first for trips. Additionally, the rules for working on days off have been modified to allow Reserves to pick up more trips, fly into their FDs or GDs and fly on top of their vacation for additional paid hours.

RESERVE Q&As
Q: WILL LAA FLIGHT ATTENDANTS BE FORCED TO SERVE AN EXTRA YEAR OF ONE ON/ONE OFF RESERVE ROTATION DUE TO THE LANGUAGE IN THE T/A THAT CALLS FOR STRAIGHT RESERVE FOLLOWED BY THREE OFF/ONE ON?
A: No. APFA received clarification from the company that all LAA Flight Attendants on the property as of November 9, 2014, will be grandfathered into the current Reserve rotation. This means Flight Attendants will serve Reserve one on/one off for a period of three years from their first Reserve month based on operational necessity. After three years of one month on/one month off (provided seniority warrants), those Flight Attendants whose seniority is still subject to Reserve based on operational necessity will serve one month on/three months off.

Q: WHAT IS A ‘SPLIT TRIP?’ HOW WILL A RESERVE BE PAID IF ASSIGNED OR AWARDED A SPLIT TRIP?
A: A ‘split trip’ is a portion of a sequence that was originally part of a published sequence. See Section 10.M for more information on split trips. For LAA Flight Attendants, nothing changes the way Reserves are paid for assigned trips/sequences. For LUS Reserves who are assigned a split trip under the T/A, the five (5) hour minimum day will apply to all trips/sequences as well as the five (5) hour average for multi-day sequences with a three (3) hour minimum. In other words, a single duty-period will pay no less than 5 hours, a two-day trip, no less than 10 hours, a three-day trip, no less than 15 hours and a four-day trip, no less than 20 hours.
While split trips will still exist under the T/A , LUS reserves will no longer be called to the airport for a 2-hour/1-day trip or 4-hour/2-day trip as is often the case today.

Q: HOW ARE DAILY ASSIGNMENTS PROCESSED?
A: For Reserves, daily assignments from Crew Schedule will be processed in reverse seniority order, unless a Reserve has requested “Aggressive Reserve Status.” Reserve assignments will be awarded as follows:

• ·Groupings based on the number of Reserve days available;
• RAP Shift (Reserves not on a RAP, will not be called);
• Least to most previous Daily Assignments (tracked by the “ASG indicator”) which are the total number of calendar days a Reserve has been assigned and reports for a sequence/s as awarded/assigned by Daily Crew Schedule (vs. Future Crew Schedule), except for trips assigned while on Aggressive Reserve status).

Q: WHAT IS “AGGRESSIVE RESERVE STATUS?”
A: Aggressive Reserve Status is a voluntary election by a Reserve indicating a “call me first” for daily assignments on Reserve days, FDs and/or GDs regardless of hours flown and days available. Once an aggressive Reserve accrues 40 hours, all other hours picked up as an Aggressive Reserve are pay only, no credit.

Q: WHAT ARE THE RESPONSIBILITIES FOR A RESERVE WHO ELECTS AGGRESSIVE STATUS?
A: When a Reserve chooses Aggressive status, a list of preferences can be sent to Crew Schedule. Preferences can include specific sequences, length of trip/sequence, report times, Standby or specific RAP. When a sequence meeting the preferences opens, the Reserve is obligated to fly the sequence. In other words, the Reserve who says, “call me first” is obligated to answer that call and fly the trip that meets her/his preferences. Reserves may change their “aggressive” status on a daily basis.

Q: IS THERE A “CALLING OUT OF TIME” or MAX HOURS FOR RESERVES?
A: Yes. The monthly maximum for Reserves is the same as the monthly maximum for Lineholders. The Lineholder maximum is ninety (90) credited hours. This may be increased by up to five (5) hours per month in a Flex month. The total number of flex hours cannot exceed twenty-five (25) hours per calendar year.

A Reserve will able to “call out of time” once they are within the 5-hour minimum day of the monthly maximum. A Reserve will not be required to accept an assignment that would result in her/him exceeding the monthly maximum. Importantly, a Reserve shall not be required to be available to the Company once s/he has reached the monthly maximum, e.g., 90 hours – less the minimum day (5 hours) – and will be released from any obligation to be on call for the remainder of the month.

For example, in a month where the maximum is 90 hours, the “Call Out Time” is the difference between the monthly maximum and the value of a minimum day (5 hours). Therefore in such a month, a Reserve may call out of time for the month when such Reserve reaches 85.01. In a month where the maximum is 92 hours, the “Call Out Time” is 92 hours less 5 hours. Once the Reserve meets the requirement of 87.01, s/he may elect to “Call Out Time” or exercise her/his contractual rights found in Section 12.L of the T/A.

Q: DOES ‘TIME PICKED UP’ IN AGGRESSIVE RESERVE STATUS COUNT TOWARD THE “CALL OUT TIME”?
A: The first 40 hours of time (pay and credit) will count toward the call out time. Time picked up by a Reserve beyond the 40 hours while in Aggressive Reserve Status will not count toward the call out time/max Reserve hours.

Q: WHY?
A: A Reserve in “Aggressive” status is telling the Company s/he desires to be called first (in seniority order) to fly during Daily processing to accrue maximum pay. Crew Schedule will still need Reserves available throughout the month. The Aggressive Reserve provisions achieve a balance between Reserves wishing to maximize their pay while remaining under maximum hours for assignments from Crew Schedule.

Q: WILL THE COMPANY FORCE A RESERVE WHO ELECTS “AGGRESSIVE STATUS” AT ANY POINT IN THE MONTH TO FLY”?
A: Yes. A Reserve who places herself/himself in “Aggressive Status” election will be responsible for the trip s/he indicated a preference for if such trip becomes available. “Aggressive Status” is voluntary and may be changed by the Reserve Flight Attendant throughout the month.

Q: CAN CREW SCHEDULE MOVE THE FLEX DAYS AT WILL?
A: No. A Reserve will only be assigned a trip that conflicts with a FD ONLY if no other Reserve is legal and available for the trip. Crew Schedule is now required to adhere to the contractual order of assigning trips to Reserves. The Reserve section of the T/A outlines a strict order of assignment to ensure Reserves are not routinely scheduled into their FDs.

Q: IF A RESERVE IS ASSIGNED A TRIP INTO HER/HIS FLEX DAY(S), HOW IS THE DAY RESTORED?
A: The FD is restored at a date later in the bid month by mutual consent of the Reserve and Scheduling. If no agreement can be reached or there are no available days left in the bid month the Reserve will be paid above guarantee for the value of the Reserve day on a pay-no credit basis.

Q: WILL A RESERVE HAVE AN UNINTERRUPTED CREW BASE REST PERIOD?
A: Yes. The 8 hours and 30 minutes (8.30) uninterrupted Crew Base Rest Period for LUS will remain intact. Crew Scheduling may contact a Flight Attendant should there be an operational need to notify the Reserve of a schedule change to her/his next flying assignment during those 8.30, but a Flight Attendant never has to be available at any point during any scheduled rest period.

Q: DOES THE RESERVE SECTION CONTAIN RESERVE AVAILABILITY PERIODS (RAP)?
A: Yes. Rather than keeping a Reserve on call 24 hours a day, the RAP means that Reserves are only available for assignment 12 hours a day. The Company will determine the start time for each RAP on a Crew Base by Crew Base basis with each RAP beginning on the hour. No more than four (Section 12.G.1.) RAPs will be allowed per Crew Base. RAPS will be pre-determined and published for the entire bid period based on the flying schedule for the Crew Base(s).

Q: WHAT ARE THE COVERAGE TIMES FOR RAPS?
A: The 12-hour RAP periods will vary by Crew Domicile based on the flight schedules. The RAP shifts will remain consistent throughout the bid month and will be published in the bid package prior to bidding.

Q: WHEN ARE RAPS BID?
A: RAPS are bid for the following day after all of the trips and Standby shifts have been awarded. Crew Schedule will begin processing Reserve assignments at 1700 Home Base Time and will conclude next day assignments by 1800 Home Base Time.

Q: WHEN ARE RAPS AWARDED?
A: RAPS are awarded/assigned after all trips and Standby shifts are awarded. Any Reserve not awarded a trip or Standby shift will be awarded/assigned a specific RAP.

Q: CAN A RESERVE BE CALLED OUTSIDE OF HER/HIS RAP PERIOD?
A: A Reserve can never be extended outside of her/his RAP involuntarily (Section 12.G.5). A Reserve will not be required to remain contactable outside of her/his RAP period.

For example:
A Reserve has a RAP from 0800 to 2000. The Reserve will not be required to be contactable before 0800 and after 2000.

Q: WILL RESERVES ON A RAP WHO RECEIVE AN AWARD OR ASSIGNMENT FOR THE NEXT DAY BE AUTOMATICALLY RELEASED UNTIL THE CHECK IN TIME FOR THE TRIP?
A: Release will occur at the end of the RAP or earlier upon Crew Schedule consent with a next day assignment. In a system based on RAPs, only a percentage of Reserves will be on call at any given time, and no Reserve will be on call 24 hours a day. A Reserve on a RAP when next-day assignments are released remains obligated for that RAP unless released by Crew Schedule. If release were to occur automatically upon the awarding of a trip, there could be a situation where no Reserves are available.

Q: HOW WILL A RESERVE BE NOTIFIED OF AN ASSIGNMENT?
A: Reserves will have the option of electronically inputting bids for trips, Standby and RAPS. Reserves can also input “Standing Bids” for sequence preferences, Standby shifts and RAPs. Awards will continue to occur at the same time they do now and Reserves will be required to acknowledge through voice response or another automated system. If a Reserve fails to follow the confirmation procedures as required, s/he will be removed from the assignment. If a Reserve is not assigned a next day sequence, s/he must be notified no later than 2 hours before sign-in (3 hours for a co-terminal) of any same day assignment.

Q: THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF STANDBY SHIFTS – A FOUR HOUR SHIFT AND A SIX HOUR SHIFT. CAN A RESERVE BE EXTENDED FROM A FOUR- TO A SIX-HOUR SHIFT?
A: No. A Reserve cannot have their Standby shift extended except to accommodate Boarding Duty. If a Reserve is required to remain beyond her/his Standby end time to complete boarding duty, the Reserve will be paid minute for minute pay/credit for the additional time plus the appropriate Standby. In addition, a Reserve may not be assigned a sequence scheduled to depart later than two (2) hours after the Standby scheduled release time.

Q: DOES A RESERVE HAVE TO CONTACT CREW SCHEDULE UPON THE COMPLETION OF A TRIP OR STANDBY SHIFT?
A: In no case will a Reserve have to contact Scheduling upon the completion of a trip or Standby. A Reserve on a sequence and, therefore, unavailable to contact the automated system prior to 2100 HBT will be responsible for reviewing and acknowledging her/his future assignment through the automated system (which may include a voice response system) no later than one (1) hour after release.

Q: CAN A STANDBY BE ASSIGNED BOARDING DUTY THAT IS BEYOND THE SCHEDULED END TIME?
A: In the T/A, a Standby will not be assigned boarding duty unless the estimated time of arrival (ETA) of the inbound crew is prior to the end of her/his Standby shift. In actual operations if the crew does not arrive before the end of the Standby shift, such Standby will be replaced by an oncoming Standby if available. If no other Standbys are available and, as a result, the Standby is not released as scheduled due to the boarding assignment, s/he will be paid for the additional time at a rate of one minute pay/credit for each one minute beyond the end of the scheduled Standby. A Standby may volunteer to board outside her/his scheduled Standby duty and would receive pay/credit on a minute-by-minute basis.

A Standby will NOT be required to board a flight if the expected departure time is projected to be after the end of the scheduled Standby time. A Standby may volunteer to do so and would receive pay/credit on a minute-by-minute basis.

Q: HOW WILL THE PREFERENTIAL BIDDING SYSTEM (PBS) HELP RESERVES?
A: With PBS, both Lineholders and Reserves bid their schedules at the same time. PBS does two things; it creates more lines and provides greater flexibility for Reserves when bidding Reserve lines.
PBS does not allow “conflict bidding”. In other words, PBS does not allow a Lineholder to bid lines in the next bid month that conflict with carryover trips in the current month. By not allowing this type of conflict, Reserve coverage does not have to be piled up at the end of and the beginning of every month. Days off can be spread out more evenly and mathematically awarded unlike the current Reserve line generation process.

Q: WILL PBS ALLOW RESERVES TO BID MORE THAN SIX RESERVE DAYS IN A ROW EITHER DURING THE MONTH OR DURING A MONTH-TO-MONTH TRANSITION?
A: No. Reserves cannot bid for more than 6 days on in a row. This will mean the end of the company-controlled placement of “Not Legal to Fly” (NFL) days. NFL days will only be required as the result of irregular operations.

Q: WILL PBS ALLOW RESERVES THE ABILITY TO BID FOR A LINE AND, IF NOT SENIOR ENOUGH TO HOLD A LINE, BID FOR RESERVES DAYS OFF?
A: Yes. Reserves will be able to bid for lines followed by Reserve day-off choices. 

In Unity,
Your Joint Negotiating Committee

BALLOTING INFORMATION
Balloting on the T/A continues and votes will be counted on Sunday, November 9, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. Central. 
 
If you are not an APFA member, to have your vote counted you must become a member no later than 5:00 p.m. Central Time on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. Sign up now, by clicking here. If you are a member in bad standing (more than 60 days in dues arrears), to have your vote counted you must become in good standing by 5:00 p.m. Central on November 4, 2014. To do that, contact the APFA Dues Department by emailing [email protected].
 
To vote by phone: 800-698-3789
To vote by Internet: https://ballotpoint.com/apfa
 
If you do not have your 16-digit activation code, VIN or PIN, please contact the National Ballot Committee by emailing [email protected] or by calling (817) 540-0108, ext. 8311. The National Balloting Committee does not resend ballot packets.
 
Remember, you may vote as many times as you like, but only your last vote counts.