9.14.18 – New Base Reps and much more!

September 2018

 

Hello Miami! This is your base brief for September. In this edition, we will address reserve, ROTA, UBL, TTS, pay protection, schedule conflicts, and other topics.

Please continue to call us with your daily questions and base concerns. We are here for you. We have base reps on call after hours and on weekends.

 

NEW BASE REPS

 

Timothy Legeros and Kelly Hagan left the base and joined the new negotiating committee. We have two new full time reps replacing them; Heidi Kidwell and Frank Gentry.

You might remember Heidi as our former Regional Representative. Her specialty is Notices of Dispute, but she is capable of handling any of your issues.

Frank started flying in the fall of 2015 and has been working at headquarters on the contract and scheduling desks for the last year. Frank’s specialties are work rules, scheduling, and the new systems. We are very excited to have a new generation getting so involved and experienced in a short amount of time.

Welcome Heidi and Frank!

TTS-TRIP TRADE SYSTEM / UBL-UNSUCCESSFUL BIDDERS LIST

What is the difference between UBL Clean Up, Auto, and Manual runs? These terms refer to Crew Scheduling’s role regarding contacting Flight Attendants.

UBL Clean up Run: This refers to the computer automated run that occurs one time immediately following the nightly TTS run; completed prior to 0400 HBT. Any trips that were left over from the TTS run would be run through the late bidders list; Flight Attendants that added themselves or made changes to their ballots during the TTS run after 2300 HBT.

UBL Auto Run: This refers to any time Crew Scheduling processes trips in open time prior to the 1500 HBT ROTA run. This is referred to as “auto” because after these runs, Crew Scheduling is not required to make positive contact with you. The award will simply be placed on your schedule.

UBL Manual Run: This refers to any time Crew Scheduling processes trips in open time after the 1500 HBT ROTA run. Referred to as “manual” because after these runs, Crew Scheduling is required to make positive contact with you unless any of the following apply:

•  You have waived positive contact by deselecting the call option at the top of your ballot;
•  You are on a sequence;
•  You are on legal rest.

 

SCHEDULE CONFLICTS

 

The Company runs an automatic process -Overlap Report- to resolve schedule conflicts every month. Unfortunately at this time, when they run this program, the computer is only able to recognize contractual rest between the last trip of the current contractual month, and the first trip of the new month. This means that IPD sequences which originate in the current month must have 14.5 hours of contractual rest which is non-reducible.

In addition, NIPD sequences must have 12 hours of contractual rest, and domestic sequences must have 11 hours of rest. Both are non-reducible when a schedule conflict occurs. If you are scheduled to have less than the required contractual rest, you will be removed for your first trip of the new month and pay protections will not apply.

Once the overlap report runs you may, at your option, elect to reduce your home base rest to a minimum of eight hours for TTS or ETB transactions.

 

RED FLAG TRADES

If you are on a Red Flag sequence and do a seat swap before, or after sign in, the designation will transfer to the other Flight Attendant. You will need to call Crew Scheduling to have the Red Flag designation restored to your HI3.

If you trade for a different sequence that is not designated as Red Flag, you will lose the Red Flag pay. Red Flag pay is attached with the sequence.

 

PAY PROTECTION SETTLEMENT

Below is an example of a cancelled segment which will now be paid in accordance with the Pay Protection Presidential Grievance Settlement.

The sequence had an original value of 15.58. Due to a cancellation and reschedule, the sequence was reduced to 11.15. The company added 2.58 hours of pay protection, and backed out the cancelled leg worth 1.45. The Pay Protection Settlement pays cancelled legs when a reschedule occurs or a substitute crew flies any leg contained in the sequence.

The below example includes a cancelled leg and a reschedule. The crew is entitled to 1.45 hours of pay protection in accordance with the Pay Protection Settlement. Part of the Settlement was to give the Company a reasonable amount of time (no later than December) to incorporate a manual solution to pay cancelled legs that met the Settlement criteria which occur in August and September.

Please create a pay claim using Direct Connect in the Flight Service website and save all paperwork including the original value HI3 and final HI3.

ROTA-RESERVE OPEN TIME ASSIGNMENT

 

Is October a Reserve month?

If you….

-Place a future bid into ROTA prior to 1500 HBT, you can participate in the ROTA run for the next day’s awards or assignments, and up to 7 days prior. Your bid can consist of:
Specific sequences that are in open time, generic sequences (example: IPD trip), standby, ROC (Remain on Call) and/or RAP (Reserve Availability Period) preferences.

-Are on Reserve, you must check ROTA by 2100 HBT to acknowledge your next day’s award or assignment.

-Want to ROC? You are telling ROTA you prefer not to be assigned a sequence or a standby and to hold you for a RAP assignment. If you bid ROC, you must bid RAPs.

-Place a Future Bid for preferences, you are telling ROTA you want this ballot over your Standing Future Ballot.

-Are assigned a RAP, you are only required to be contactable during your RAP.

-Are on a RAP and Crew Scheduling attempts to contact, you have 15 minutes to return the phone call or electronically acknowledge through CCI or Crew Portal.

-Are on a RAP, you can be scheduled to report for an assignment up to, but no more than, two hours after the RAP ends. Example: RAP 1500-0300. An assignment report time has to be no later than 0500 for an NIPD departure of 0600 or and IPD departure of 0615.

-Are on standby, you may be assigned a sequence that departs up to two hours after the standby is scheduled to end. You assume the duty limitations of the trip you are assigned; ie, domestic or international.

-Have reached 40 hours of pay and credit and are awarded an “Aggressive” trip on ROTA/ROTD, those hours will not count towards RSVCOT “Calling Out of Time.”

-Want to Call Out of Time (previously known as “Maxing Out”)? If your “RSVCOT” reflects 85.01 hours or greater, call Crew Scheduling to be released for the remainder of your reserve days.

-If you do not call to be released, you could be assigned a trip which could project you up to 90 hours and fly you into the next month; and you have a Future Bid or Standing Bid in that would schedule you over 90 hours, you could be awarded a trip over the monthly maximum.

-Are on a RAP and tomorrow is a day off, your RAP must end no later than 23:59.

-Were illegally assigned a modified RAP, and did not place a Future Bid, call Crew Scheduling to be removed from that RAP.

-A Standing Bid will not be considered for a modified RAP.

-Have experienced scheduling errors, please fill out APFA’s reporting form:

Scheduling System Issues Report Form >>

ROTA BIDS TIMELINE

ROTA starts to run at 1500 HBT. We have received numerous complaints about the system being slow or locking up in the last half hour or so before the deadline. It is advised that you have your daily bid in well before 1500, if possible.

 

RESERVE CALL OUT TO THE AIRPORT

If you are called to the airport for an assignment that you don’t make, you may be required to go back home and resume your RAP for another/multiple call out assignment(s). Your original call out time designates the beginning of your duty day for legality purposes.

 

RESERVE CARRYOVER TIME

If you have a carryover trip that overlaps with your days off, you can choose to move those days only if the trip was on your schedule before September’s bids finalized. Bid awards are final at 1200 DFW on the 20th each month.

To adjust your days off to begin on the day following the termination of your carryover trip, you must call Crew Scheduling no earlier than the report time of your carryover trip and no later than 1400 HBT on the last day of the carryover trip.

If you do not make contact with Crew Scheduling, your days off will be pay, no credit and paid above your reserve guarantee.

RESERVE TRANSPORTATION FROM MIA TO WEST PALM BEACH (PBI)

It is approximately 70 miles from Miami Airport (MIA) to West Palm Beach Airport (PBI). The only public transportation available is on Tri-Rail, the commuter rail system that links the metropolitan areas of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Service on this system is directed primarily to commuter work hours and can be inadequate for early morning, late night and weekend time periods. Many commuters are on reserve and have no viable way to travel to PBI. Miami Flight Service agrees to provide ground transportation to/from MIA Airport and PBI Airport under the following conditions:

1. Transportation will only be provided for MIA reserve Flight Attendants assigned a PBI trip sequence.
2. Transportation will be provided between MIA and PBI only.
3. Transportation must be requested through the hotel/limo desk at the time of assignment.

 

RESERVE BACKUP LIST

When your name appears on the reserve backup list, you are a line holder. The backup list subjects you to being pulled onto reserve if during the bid run they need more reserves than are published on the reserve list. You have to tell the system that you want to be on reserve. By only putting in reserve bids, it does not make the system understand.

If you want to exercise senior bump and be on reserve for that month, you must use the Options section of your bid ballot and change ONTO RSV to Y.

ALCOHOL/PRESCRIPTION DRUG TESTING

We have recently seen an alarming increase in Flight Attendants testing positive for alcohol. We understand the multitude of changes is causing many of you a great deal of angst and stress.

A DOT positive test is a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .04 or higher. A Company positive is between .02 and .04. The 8 hour rule of abstinence before reporting for duty may not be enough time for everyone. There are many factors that affect the rate at which your body processes alcohol; such as what you drink, the amount, body size, food intake, and others. It can take many, many hours for your BAC to get into the proper range so be mindful of the rule and be careful.

There are medications that can be obtained over the counter or from a pharmacist in foreign countries that will cause you to test positive on a random DOT drug test. The DOT began testing for synthetic opiates, such as Vicodin, in January of this year. DOT rules are not flexible in these scenarios, it is a positive test. This will cause your termination and start the process of conditional reinstatement, if eligible. It is a real hardship to go through this process and one to avoid if possible.

The most prevalent drugs are codeine/synthetic opiates and amphetamines. Many diet pills contain amphetamines, so you need to be very careful what products you might purchase outside of the United States. There are a number of popular diet pills, and cough syrups especially from Brazil and Central America that are problematic and could produce a positive DOT test.

If you test positive for a drug you have a prescription for; a valid prescription is one that is current and you must be taking the medication as prescribed, for the condition prescribed. For example, if you test positive in November for pain medication with a prescription from February for tooth surgery, it might not be deemed a valid prescription. The Medical Review Officer (MRO) will ask you to provide the prescription to determine if the test will be deemed negative or positive under DOT regulations.

REPORT TO THE AIRPORT/CALL OUT PAY

 

If you leave your residence or report to the airport for a specific flight assignment and you end up not flying, you must make contact with Crew Scheduling to receive Call Out pay. Failure to make to contact with Crew Scheduling may negate Call Out pay. If the purser/lead speaks to them for the crew, make sure that each crew member is accounted for on the call before you leave.

If you are at the airport for more than six hours, you are entitled to more than three hours of pay, so it is important to get a release time from Crew Scheduling. Don’t leave any pay behind!

 

ATTENDANCE RECORD, HI10M

In October, the Company is implementing a new attendance policy that is quite different than what we have now. In response, APFA filed a Presidential Grievance that disputes the punitive changes to the policy. The Company will be assigning points for more issues than today. So it is more important than ever to pay close attention to your attendance record.

Be sure to check your HI10M once a month for discrepancies such as late sign-ins (LR). Now, a seat swap after sign-in requires the purser/lead to use the new app on the tablet. If you receive a short call out for a trip and the scheduler says she/he will waive sign-in, make sure the LR does not show on your HI10M. Sometimes the scheduler forgets to send the message.

If you get a TM and there are extenuating circumstances such as traffic jams, train delays, etc, speak to your manager right away. She/he can investigate and usually there are several people who also had a problem that day. You may be able to have the TM excused. Also, check for LRs that should have been excused.

If you find any issues with your record, address them with your manager while they are fresh in your mind. Be proactive with your attendance to prevent problems later. Let us know if you need our assistance.

APFA HOTLINE AND WEBSITE

 

If you do not already receive the APFA Hotline, subscribe today! It contains valuable and timely information. Visit www.www.apfa.org and click on the graphic on the right side of the main APFA webpage that reads SUBSCRIBE TO THE HOTLINE!

If you know anyone who isn’t getting the Base Briefs from us and would like to stay informed from/about Miami, please have them send us an email with their name and email address and we will get them added to the list!

 

Until next time, fly safely!