3.29.19 – Negotiating Committee Update

Friday, March 29, 2019

Negotiating Committee Update

Bargaining SessionsThe APFA Negotiating Committee was scheduled to meet with the Company this week in Dallas for our second bargaining session. In preparation for this session, we had requested several sets of data from the company which would have allowed us to examine different aspects of the operation, including how our Reserves are currently being utilized. As of Monday afternoon, this data had not been received from the company, and the decision was made to postpone the bargaining session until such time the APFA has received and analyzed the requested data. We have since received most of the requested data and have been assured the remainder of the data will be received soon.

The time was not lost, however, as the Negotiating Committee was able to meet with the President and Vice President of the Allied Pilots Association (APA) for an informative discussion on Negotiations and relevant issues currently affecting both of our work groups. The Committee also had their first meeting with our Financial Analyst, Dan Akins, who will be tasked with reviewing the financial data used throughout Negotiations.

The next few rounds of negotiations with the Company are currently scheduled on:

•  April 17-18, 2019
•  May 15-16, 2019
•  June 18-19, 2019

Reserve 

We have received many emails from Flight Attendants around the system concerned about reserve – more specifically, regarding changing the current reserve rotation language. Some of the emails are a direct result of the recent Crew News sessions where Doug Parker attempted to “explain” the reserve numbers. To make his point, he used an overly simplified chart which showed every reserve Flight Attendant across the system on the same 1 on / 3 off rotation, which significantly inflated the seniority of those needed on reserve. For example, there was no consideration in the slides for the fact we have Flight Attendants under one year currently serving straight reserve, and those from years 1-4 that are on a 1 on / 1 off rotation. Two of the largest bases (DFW and MIA) are not scheduled to have any Flight Attendants on straight reserve until they move to PBS, which occurs in May. Also, absent from the presentation was any justification for the 20% figure they reportedly need to serve reserve across the system.

We realize how important reserve is to our members, and we want to make sure our Flight Attendants have ample opportunity to share their thoughts about this section of the JCBA. To reach as many Flight Attendants as possible, we are working on a Negotiations Reserve Survey which we plan on releasing in mid- April. The survey will be accessible via the APFA website with your user name and password and will be able to be taken only once.

If you haven’t already done so, please make sure your contact information and email address are up-to-date and on file with the APFA. As a reminder, if you changed your address with the company, this change is NOT forwarded to APFA. Please click here to update your contact information online and ensure you receive the latest updates and communications.

The Negotiating Committee remains committed to hearing your concerns and appreciates the feedback already received. Please contact us by using this form on the APFA website or email us at [email protected] with any comments or questions.

In Unity,

The Negotiating Committee
Lori L. Bassani, National President
Sara Corrigan
Kelly J. Hagan
Timothy Legeros
Brian Morgan
Mario St. Michel