3.19.15 – (LAA/LUS) Printed Contract, Attendance Policy, LUS LOD/O – Speaker Pay, LAA CQ Training Pay, PVDs on AVBL, Voluntary Transfer Travel Days

   

March 18, 2015

LAA / LUS
Printed Copy of the JCBA
The final Union- and Company-approved JCBA language was sent to the printer on March 10th and will be shipped to each crew base for distribution before the end of this month. This project took hundreds of hours to complete by members of both the JNC and the Company to ensure accuracy of language and paragraph references.
 
You can view the final language of the JCBA on your tablet as well as on the APFA website.
 
Additionally, a new On Duty Contract Guide (ODCG) for LAA Flight Attendants is in the works. A separate guide is also being prepared for LUS Flight Attendants. This guide is a new document for the LUS Flight Attendants and incorporates Red Book language as well. A single ODCG will be formulated for all members once both LAA and LUS Flight Attendants are working under the same scheduling platform in FOS.
 
LAA / LUS
Flight Attendant Attendance Policy
The LAA Flight Attendant Attendance Policy and the LUS Dependability Program are still in effect for each respective workgroup. The Company is having ongoing discussions on the formulation of a single attendance policy for LAA and LUS Flight Attendants. Although the Attendance Policy is a non-contractual item, it interacts with attendance-related contractual language on some levels.
 
Such interaction is evident in the provision of Section 9.B.2. of the JCBA. This provision consists of two main components: notification of sick absence and the presentation of medical documentation. These components are already in effect for LUS Flight Attendants—but not for LAA Flight Attendants.
 
The provision states that Flight Attendants will be required to notify their Flight Service Manager if their sick absence is twenty-one (21) or more consecutive days following the start date of their sick absence. In such cases, Flight Attendants may be required to provide medical documentation* (i.e., a doctor’s note that excludes personal health information) to substantiate their sick absence. Once this contractual language has been implemented for LAA Flight Attendants, it will interact with the attendance policy that is in effect at the time. We will keep you posted on the implementation date of Section 9.B.2. as well as provide more details on how both of these components work.
 
*Currently LAA Flight Attendants are required to submit a medical certificate to AA Medical if their sick absence is thirty (30) or more days, in accordance with the Company’s Attendance Policy.
 
LUS
LOD/O (Speaker) Pay for LUS Flight Attendants
We are pleased to report that the Company has agreed to pay the JCBA’s $2.00 language premium to all qualified LOD/Os working on the same flight, even if they are not working in the designated LOD/O position. Initially, the Company held the position that such additional LOD/Os would continue to be paid the Red Book’s $1.25 language premium until the elimination of the LIP program. But after several rounds of discussions with the Company on this issue, they have agreed that all Flight Attendants, who hold the language qualification required by the Company for a given flight, will receive the JCBA language premium, effective March 1, 2015.
 
LAA
JCBA Training Pay for CQ Training
The JCBA training pay (Section 29.E.) provision will be implemented for all training programs for LAA Flight Attendants beginning on May 2, 2015. However, since the annual CQ program runs from March through February each year, the Company has agreed to implement the JCBA’s $75 training pay for CQ training, effective March 2nd, 2015. This is status quo for LUS.
 
As a reminder, Flight Attendants will receive a total of $225 pay for CQ training:

• $75 for the online lesson; and
• $150 for the 2-day class

We will provide more information on this agreement as final details are worked out.
 
LAA
PVDs on an AVBL (RP) Line
Although the Company had initially held a firm position to eliminate PVDs beginning January 1, 2015, the JNC was successful in moving the Company off of their position. The Company agreed to preserve PVDs until they are replaced by a somewhat similar provision in the JCBA, called Vacation Filler Days. This new provision will be implemented concurrently with PBS.
 
PVDs are paid at a daily rate of three hours and thirty minutes (3:30), except for PVDs used in conjunction with a bereavement leave when used for a 4-day trip or for 2 consecutive 2-day trips, in which case the PVDs cover the full value of the sequence(s). Furthermore, each Flight Attendant can use up to six (6) PVDs per calendar year.
 
Additionally, a PVD could result in guarantee reduction in some cases. Click here to learn how a PVD impacts your guarantee (GUAR) on both a line month and a reserve month.
 
When Availability Flight Attendants with only AVBL days (pure RP line) are granted a PVD, their GUAR may be incrementally reduced by the amount of time lost.
 
For example: Flight Attendant Jane Smith is on a pure RP line. At the beginning of the month, she plots an 8 hour turn, the only trip on her line, and subsequently requests for a PVD for the turn. The day before the turn, Crew Schedule honors FA Smith’s request.   
 
Based on these conditions, the PVD causes FA Smith’s PPROJ to reduce from 8 hours to 3.5 hours, the daily rate for PVDs. This reduction means FA Smith loses 4.5 hours in her PPROJ (8 – 3.5). And, in turn, her GUAR incrementally reduces by this amount, resulting in an adjusted GUAR of 70 hours and 30 minutes (75 – 4.5).
 
PPROJ WAS: 8 hours                             GUAR WAS: 75 hrs
PPROJ NOW: 3 hours, 30 minutes          GUAR NOW: 70 hrs, 30 minutes
 
On the other hand, the GUAR is adjusted differently on a RP line with Company pre-plotted trips (mixed RP line).
 
Consider the previous example, but assume the 8-hour turn was plotted by the Company when bids were final. In other words, the 8-hour turn was part of the RP line. If FA Smith were granted a PVD for the turn, her GUAR would not adjust incrementally; rather, it would be reduced to correspond with the hours in her PPROJ.
 
PPROJ WAS: 8 hours                             GUAR WAS: 75 hrs
PPROJ NOW: 3 hours, 30 minutes          GUAR NOW: 3 hrs, 30 minutes
 
Of course, in either case (pure RP line or mixed RP line), your GUAR remains intact when your PPROJ is at (or exceeds) your GUAR after being granted a PVD.
 
For example: Let’s use the 8-hour turn scenario again, but this time start off with an 80-hour PPROJ.
 
PPROJ WAS: 80 hours                            GUAR WAS: 75 hrs
PPROJ NOW: 75 hours, 30 minutes         GUAR NOW: 75 hrs
 
APFA understands that the non-incremental adjustment of the GUAR on a mixed RP line is a problem. With regards to PVDs, the GUAR on both types of RP lines should be adjusted in the same manner. The JNC will continue to discuss this issue with the Company and keep you updated on these talks.

LAA
Travel Day Requests for a Voluntary Transfer
The JCBA’s travel preferences associated with voluntary transfers were implemented on January 1, 2015.

• Flight Attendants may request up to five (5) travel days;
• Travel days on a line month are unpaid and reduce guarantee;
• RSV and AVBL Flight Attendants may move their duty free periods (DFPs) to the end of the contractual month to avoid guarantee reduction; and,
• The moving of DFPs on Reserve cannot create a 7-day illegality issue, and a DFP must run consecutive with another DFP.

For more information, please refer to the Travel and Relocation Procedures webpage of the Crew Resources section of the Flight Service website.
 
Leslie Mayo
APFA National Communications Chair