2.04.14 – (LAA/LUS) Prepare For Arrival PA, Last 5 Days, LAX Retirement Briefing, Dues Obligation While In Unpaid Status, Combined Base WTS, Photos From the Plane, Human Trafficking

February 4, 2015

---

 

LAA 
‘Prepare For Gate Arrival’ PA Procedure – [email protected]
In American Airlines’ efforts to align LAA and LUS procedures in order to achieve a Single Carrier Operating Certificate (SOC), it put into place the long-standing LUS procedure that requires a Flight Attendant (instead of a pilot) make the ‘prepare for gate arrival’ PA.
 
As a result of the challenges LAA Flight Attendants have been facing with the revised PA responsibility combined with the newly-implemented door-closing procedure once boarding is complete, APFA has encouraged the company to consider revising this procedure and returning this responsibility to the cockpit. If the company does agree to a policy change, this would not occur prior to American Airlines receiving its SOC currently slated for April 2015.
 
APFA continues to meet with AA on all new procedural changes implemented for both LAA and LUS – as a direct result of the merger – to ensure all APFA members have the safest procedures in place. Members with questions or comments related to safety and/or security procedures should email [email protected].
 
Flight Attendants are encouraged to submit reports to the confidential Cabin ASAP program for any safety related issues of concern, deviation from company policies and inadvertent FAR violations. Questions about the Cabin ASAP program can be sent directly to [email protected].
 
LAA
Last Five Days Sequence Protection – [email protected]
Due to the expected extreme weather on the East Coast, many Flight Attendants are experiencing cancellations for the last trip within the last five days of the month. If contacted prior to sign in, Flight Attendants are only required to be on the Make Up list and to participate in the HISEND MU Round for each Day Originally Scheduled To Fly (DOSTF). 

Your Guarantee is NOT automatically protected. The Flight Attendant must participate in the applicable HISEND MU Rounds (and be on the MU list for all days originally scheduled to fly plus 8 hours which may require her/him to add their name to the MU list an additional day). The obligation window is indicated in the HI1 header after the cancellation. If s/he opts out of protecting the guarantee, the guarantee is incrementally reduced by the value of the sequence (if s/he is at or below guarantee in PPROJ). 
 
Also, a Flight Attendant is only obligated to participate in the HISEND MU rounds on DOSTF and to accept a single trip of any length that signs in within the obligation window until midnight of the last day of the month (originally scheduled trip plus eight (8) hours after scheduled arrival time). If the Flight Attendant does not participate or does not bid enough (and doesn’t state “plot to protect guarantee within obligation” on their HISEND message), the protection will be lost. If not plotted, s/he may choose to participate in subsequent MU/II/CC/AB proffer rounds and may decline proffered flying without losing protection. Refer to the scheduling page at www.apfa.org for a more detailed explanation including the Pay Protection Flow Chart for the last five days (L5D).
 
For trips that do not meet the parameters of L5D, please follow the regular Misconnect, Illegality, and Cancellation (MIC) guidelines which can be reviewed on the scheduling page of APFA.org or in the On Duty Contract, page 17-19.

LAA / LUS
LAX Retirement Briefing – [email protected]
The next APFA Retirement Briefing will be conducted by APFA Retirement Specialist, Patrick Hancock in LAX on Thursday February 26, from 1100-1300. the briefing will be held in Terminal 4, Level 1, FIS Area Conference room near baggage, pre-security, across from Starbucks. All Flight Attendants are invited to attend. Bring a copy of your pension estimate available from Jetnet. This very popular and informative briefing will cover many topics important to making the most of your retirement planning.

LAA / LUS
Dues Obligation While In Unpaid Status
Under the APFA Constitution, in order to exercise the rights of APFA membership – for example, voting in APFA elections, running for office, holding appointed and other union positions and attending union meetings – Flight Attendants must pay dues and be members in good standing (no more than 60 days in dues arrears). This applies to all Flight Attendants, including those in an unpaid status.
 
However, Flight Attendants in certain unpaid status categories for longer than 30 consecutive days can choose, instead, to be exempt from paying dues during the unpaid status (and not exercise membership rights).  This applies if the unpaid status is because of:
a.   unpaid sick/medical status;
b.   unpaid injury on duty (IOD, referred to as occupational injury (OIP, OIU) at US Airways);
c.   hardship as approved by the Executive Committee or by the Board of Directors;
d.   approved military leave of absence;
e.   furlough by the employer; and/or
f.   suspension/withhold by American Airlines and the member is seeking reinstatement;
g.   discharge by American Airlines and the member is seeking reinstatement as provided for in the collective bargaining agreement or through an administrative or judicial proceeding.
 
APFA continues to send dues invoices to Flight Attendants in an unpaid status listed above so that they will know the dues balance they will have to pay if they wish to be in good standing.  For those who choose to be dues exempt rather than exercise membership rights, the amounts billed for the period of the unpaid status (after 30 consecutive days) will be removed from the Flight Attendant’s dues balance when he or she returns to a non-exempt dues status.  
 
If you have any questions at all about these dues obligations, please contact the APFA Dues Department at [email protected], or (817) 540-0108, ext. 8151.
 
LAA
The APFA National Ballot Committee would like to remind LAA Flight Attendants that Willingness-To-Serves (WTS) have been posted for local base President, Vice President and Base Council Representatives for the combined Domestic and International LAA bases, including:
 
BOS/BOS-I
DFW/IDF
LAX/LAX-I
LGA/JFK
MIA/IMA
ORD/IOR
 
Willingness-To-Serves must be received in the APFA PO Box listed on the WTS form by 1000 Central Time on March 4, 2015.
 
LAA / LUS
Photos from the Plane – [email protected]
Do you have any photos from the plane you’d be willing to share with your coworkers? APFA Communications is always looking for great photos that represent our work group for the website, APFA publications and training materials.

Please remember that in order for the photos to be useable, they must include the names and employee numbers of all Flight Attendants shown in the photo, as well as contact information (if available). Otherwise, the photos are unusable.
 
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 and tasteful in content. By submitting photos, you are giving APFA permission to use these photos in APFA communications.

LAA / LUS
Human Trafficking Awareness Training – Chicago O’Hare International Airport
Airline Ambassadors International will be conducting training on how to identify the warning signs of and handle a suspected human trafficking situation. This training coordinates with the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security Blue Campaign and is supported by the U.S. Dept. of State and the DOT.
 
Where: Chicago O’Hare International Airport, ID Badging Office Training Room, Terminal Three, Lower Level
When: February 20, 2015
Time: Session 1 – 10:00 AM  Session 2 – 1:00 PM
 
Training is free of charge, however, an RSVP is requested. Email [email protected] and specify the session for which you would like to register.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways 
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair