2.13.19 – The Weekly Scoop

 – Bellia Peckson, APFA National IOD Chair, [email protected]

ROTD Assignment

If you are called for a ROTD assignment and believe you were assigned out of order, first contact Crew Scheduling to inquire.  If they are unable to assist you, screen shot the Daily Call Out Report at the time of the assignment.  If you were assigned a sequence, attach the Assignment Sequence list. If you were assigned Standby, attach the Assignment Standby list.  Submit this with a Scheduling Systems Issue Report. This form is located on the APFA homepage.

Scheduling System Issues Report Form

Bargaining Session #2 – Feb 18th & 19th

The Negotiating Committee returns to the table February 18th and 19th.

Cabin Discrepancy Worksheet

The CDW (Cabin Discrepancy Worksheet) is supplied in the Flight Attendant Service Kit and should be used to report any cabin items that are missing, or need attention. Smoke/Odor/Fume events must also be reported via the CDW. Please ensure to use the CDW forms to properly relay necessary information to the flight deck.

– Jeffrey Ewing, APFA National  Safety & Security Chair, [email protected]

Additional Information on Cease & Desist Ruling

As you may have read in yesterday’s Vice President’s Hotline regarding the Vacancy Transfer Arbitration, Arbitrator Gold issued a “Cease and Desist for making such errors under similar circumstances in the future”.   While the arbitrator agreed the company violated our contract language by not providing a “reason” for the vacancy transfers, which was necessary to our members as we believe no such vacancies exists, Arbitrator Gold believed there was no cause and effect for damages.  Therefore, they must Cease and Desist from withholding this information in the future.

Stay Open

APFA continues to advocate that the government should remain open and that aviation safety should never be compromised or held hostage to political agendas.

Late Monday night, the Joint Conference Committee agreed upon a long-term bipartisan compromise that would keep the government open and operating by funding border security. Majority Leader McConnell says he will fast track it through the Senate and Speaker Pelosi has also indicated fast track support. It is expected to pass both chambers in the next two days. It still remains to be seen whether President Trump will support the bipartisan proposal or veto it.

As safety professionals, APFA strongly urges all lawmakers to avert another government shutdown and support the bipartisan compromise. We urge the President to sign it.

In addition, APFA strongly supports the Aviation Funding Stability Act of 2019 introduced by Chairman DeFazio that, in the event of another government shutdown, would provide a funding path for federal aviation workers to continue to be paid for their work. The bill allows for money to be drawn from an existing aviation fund which collects money through passenger fees that are already included in every ticket sale.

– Allie Malis, APFA National Government Affairs Representative, [email protected]

787?  A320?

PBS Aircraft Data Issue
On February 11^th APFA was informed that there was an aircraft data code issue involving the Airbus 320 and the 787. In FOS both aircraft were initially sharing the same code that potentially impacted some pairing pools depending on your individual bids. On the evening of February 11^th there was a correction to the data in FOS. While this should have no impact on your pairing pools, we are advising Flight Attendants to recheck their bids if you completed them prior to the evening of February 11^th.

– Alin Boswell, Julie Hedrick, Linda Haertling, Vicki Balistreri, APFA Joint Scheduling Implementation Committee, [email protected]

Are You Ready?

Upcoming Retirement Seminars- MIA and DFW
The APFA Retirement Department will be conducting seminars at the MIA and DFW crew bases in March.

• March 19th – MIA – 1100-1400 LBT in the 4^th Floor Auditorium, South end of Terminal D (by the old Credit Union)
• March 22nd – DFW – 1100-1400 LBT in the Yandry Center in Terminal C across from Gate C2.

These seminars cover a wide range of topics including: Retiree travel, Pensions, 401(k), COBRA, and Medicare.

Legacy American Flight Attendants can download a pension estimate from the Pension Service Center page on jetnet.  Legacy US Airways can request a copy of their pension estimate from the PBGC by calling 800-400-7242.

Members unable to attend the seminars are always welcome to watch the retirement webinar series available on the APFA Retirement Page, as well as download the Good Slide! retirement handout.

Everyone is welcome regardless of base or seniority – no need to RSVP.

– Kim Coats Tuck, APFA National Retirement Specialist, [email protected]

Q: Is the company closing PHX and STL?

A: No. The company has stated they anticipate reducing the head count in PHX by 700 Flight Attendants and STL by 75.  They have also made it clear that these changes will NOT result in ANY job losses.  Furthermore, they have already announced plans for approximately 1000+ new hires in 2019.

While we are disappointed with the manner in which the company chose to handle this, we have been assured they have NO plans to close ANY bases nor are they anticipating any job losses.