2.11.15 – (LAA/LUS) JCBA Q&A Index, IOD Chair Position, Equity and Taxes, Code 59, LAA VC Bidding, Bid Leave Travel Beyond 180 Days, Makeup, LTD Premiums, CQ, EAP

February 11, 2015

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LAA / LUS
JCBA Q&A Index – [email protected]
The JCBA Q&As are posted online by topic and will continue to be a work in progress. This format provides a quick and easy way to find answers to JCBA questions, for example: “What is Diversion Pay?” “How does sick accrual work?,” “Explain Code 59,” and “If I take a voluntary bid leave, how much do I pay for insurance?” To review the Q&As, click here.

LAA / LUS
IOD Department National Chair/Regional Representative Positions – [email protected]
The APFA Board of Directors has created a new National Injury On Duty (IOD) Chair position. Also, with the addition of 8,500 new members, APFA is adding two additional Regional Representatives. Members who are interested in being considered may email a résumé to the APFA National Secretary at [email protected] or mail to:

APFA Headquarters
ATTN: APFA Secretary
1004 W. Euless Blvd.
Euless, TX 76050.

Résumés must be received no later than April 13, 2015.

LAA
EQUITY SHARES – [email protected]
Did you sell some of your AAL Equity Stock in 2014? If so, you will be receiving a 1099-B form from Computershare for filing with your Federal Income taxes. This form must be mailed to you by February 16, 2015. If you held your AAL shares on any of the dates that AAL declared a dividend, you should have already received a 1099-Div for that dividend distribution. Those forms had a mailing deadline of January 31, 2015.

Please confer with your income tax advisor on the most efficient way to declare your dividends and sale proceeds.

LUS
Code 59 – [email protected]
Code 59 has been implemented as of January 31, 2015 (first contractual month of February). In the following situations, Flight Attendants will receive flight time pay and credit prior to the actual time out from the point at which the aircraft was ready for immediate departure.

• Delay at the gate awaiting pushback, power back or taxi out due to airport and deicing congestion.
• Deicing.
• Maintenance performed after departure from the gate but prior to take-off.

LAA
2015-2016 Vacation Bidding – [email protected]
The primary vacation (VC) bidding window will open on Friday, February 13^th for the fiscal year beginning May 2, 2015 through May 1, 2016. We will be bidding for the vacation we accrued in calendar year 2014. There are no changes to our accrual for 2014 or the way in which we will bid for this vacation as a result of the JCBA.

The only change for the upcoming vacation bid is that the Domestic and International bases will be combined.  Therefore, we will be bidding with the combined group of Flight Attendants at cities where there is currently both a Domestic and International base.

All other aspects of vacation bidding remain the same for LAA Flight Attendants, including the fact that we will have two rounds of bidding. The first round is for primary or selected vacation (VC) and the second round is for secondary or unselected vacation (VX). In addition, you still need to have accrued at least 19 days of vacation in order to be eligible to split your vacation. Until PBS is implemented, LAA Flight Attendants will continue to bid on a trips-missed basis. Please refer to the vacation bidding letter which will be posted to the Crew Resources page of Jetnet later this week.

LAA
Consecutive Bid Leave Travel Beyond 180 Days – [email protected]
As mentioned on last week’s JCBA Q&A Hotline, LAA Flight Attendants will continue to take Bid Leaves (BL) until January 1, 2016, when they will become Voluntary Leaves of Absence (VLOA). APFA continues to push for an earlier implementation of the benefits of VLOA for LAA Bid Leaves.

One aspect that remains status quo is the current non-rev travel policy as it relates to Bid Leaves. That means if your BL is 17 days or more, you will no longer have D1 or OA travel available for the period of time you are on Leave. In addition, if you take consecutive Leaves and exceed 180 days on Leave, ALL travel privileges expire. Therefore, if you have been able to hold consecutive Bid Leaves and are near or exceeded 180 days (6 months) off duty, and wish to retain travel benefits, you should not request another full month’s Leave.

For example, if you have been taking consecutive Bid Leaves since September 2014 or earlier you will have reached your 180^th day of consecutive leave by the end of February. You should not request a full month BL for March if you want to retain travel privileges. Instead, you should request a March Bid Leave that begins no earlier than March 3, which is the second contractual day of March. 
 
LAA
Makeup Refresher – [email protected]
Each day at noon local time, the HISEND Make-Up round is processed. Flight Attendants who are on the Make-Up (MU) list and have submitted HISEND forms with either specific trip requests or generic specific trip parameters are awarded trips in seniority order. After 1330, MU is run again for trips that have opened after the MU HISEND round or that remain unassigned. HISEND requests submitted during the HISEND round continue to be valid and can be awarded prior to 1700 without first party contact if the Flight Attendant remains on the MU list.
  
Flight Attendants interested in being called for Make-Up (MU) after 1330 and who sent a HISEND for the HISEND MU round with specific sequences/requests also need to include “Call for other trips.” If Flight Attendants do not include a request to be called on their HISEND, Crew Schedule will only award a sequence that matches the HISEND request up to 1700 in day before coverage and isn’t obligated to call for other trips that become available during the day. At approximately 0600 the following morning, Crew Schedule will discard the HISEND and will call Flight Attendants on the MU list for same day make-up flying. At any time, If Crew Schedule calls and the Flight Attendant does not answer or return the call, Crew Schedule is not obligated to call again. Crew Schedule is only obligated to call the phone number under “H” for MU flying.

LAA
LTD Premiums – [email protected]
The Health Department has received questions from Flight Attendants regarding the LTD premium increases reflected in your pay stub. We have not had an increase in LTD premiums for more than 10 years. While the LTD percentage rate has not changed, what has changed is that we are now making more money. The JCBA rates plus the 4% raise caused an increased deduction. 

For example, if your September 30, 2014, deduction was $8.87, then it’s possible that your January 15, 2015, deduction was $12.42, and your January 30, 2015 was $15.87. These are all a result of our recent pay raises, not an increased premium percentage. If you look on Jetnet > Benefits Service Center for the rate and deductions per pay check, you will find the amount that was previously paid (prior to the JCBA and 4% increases).

If you still have questions, please contact Met Life to confirm your deduction amount. If that doesn’t help, please contact [email protected].

LAA
2015-16 Continuing Qualification (CQ) Recurrent Training – [email protected]
With the onset of the 2015-2016 CQ Recurrent Training program, Flight Attendants may notice a change in the way online training is recorded. Upon completion of the required online training lessons, Flight Attendants will no longer receive a confirmation code. Each lesson will disappear from your training as you complete it and Flight Service Training will pull a verification report prior to check in on Day One of CQ. This format that has been used successfully at LUS (since the switch to Learning Path) and at LAA (with Airbus and 787 line training classes.)

There is a way to verify training. Once you have completed an online training course, click on My Learning > My Transcripts. Under the column “Completion Status,” you should see the word “Successful.”
 
Contact the APFA Safety & Security Department if you have questions or experience any problems with the online training lessons for the 2015-16 CQ Recurrent Training Program.
 
LAA / LUS
APFA EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (EAP), PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, AND DRUG AND ALCHOHOL TESTING – SECTION 33 – [email protected]
Your APFA Professional Standards committee is available to help you find solutions to potential conflicts with a co-worker. Our goal is to restore and maintain professional conduct, ensure safety in the workplace and promote sound problem solving. It is a voluntary program that provides effective assistance where there is no management involvement. Make a confidential call for assistance at 817-540-8701, Ext. 8701 or email [email protected].

LAA / LUS
Justice for Victims Trafficking Act – [email protected]
APFA is proud to lend our support to Senate Bill 187, the Justice for Victims Trafficking Act. This bipartisan legislation has already passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate. The bill creates a “Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund” that will be used to support programs for survivors of human trafficking and child pornography. Considered deficit neutral, the fund will be financed through fines on persons convicted of child pornography, human trafficking, child prostitution, sexual exploitation, and human smuggling offenses.

If approved and signed into law by President Obama, the fund will increase the federal resources available for human trafficking victim support by up to $30 million a year. APFA Retired Flight Attendant Nancy Rivard, Airline Ambassadors’ International President, has been a leader in the area of bringing awareness and training to those who work in the aviation industry.

The next Human Trafficking Awareness Training will be held in Chicago on February 20, 2015. For more information, visit airlineamb.org.

AmericanAirlines + US Airways 
“On Our Way”

Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair