7.14.19 – SBA Update

Sunday, July 14, 2019

 
SBA Update

Presidential Grievance Upcoming Arbitration:

A3 Deadhead Arbitration – July 16^th -17^th – this is the continuation of the May arbitration case which involves the Company’s failure to provide positive space travel in the form of A3 status, for those Flight Attendants who choose to deadhead to their commuter city versus returning to base. (JCBA Section 16.H.3.)

Embassy Suites DFW North
2401 Bass Pro Dr
Grapevine, TX  76051
July 16-17
9:00am to 5:00pm

Phased Approach to Pay Protection/Elimination of Available Days – July 24^th – July 25^th – this case involves the company’s unilateral decision to implement portions of pay protection in phases, instead of implementing it as a whole.  This phased approach also resulted in the company prematurely eliminated available days for the LAA Flight Attendants.

O’Melveny & Myers
7 Time Square
New York, NY  10036
July 24-25
9:00am to 5:00pm

All members in good standing are welcome and encouraged to attend.

Attendance & Performance Policy Update:

As was reported on June 16^th, the APFA and Company completed the first 3 scheduled days of arbitration on APFA’s Attendance & Performance Policy Presidential Grievance.  As a recap, the Union and the company started Day 1 with opening statements and the Union followed with witness testimony.  On Day 2 we continued with our 18 witnesses who provided compelling testimony to support the reasons for legally challenging the unreasonableness of this disrespectful policy.  On Day 3 the company began putting their witnesses on the stand. At the end of the third day, we were unable to finish the arbitration and agreed to schedule a date for the continuation. The continuation dates are scheduled for:

Attendance & Performance Arbitration
September 12-13, 2019
9:00am CDT
Westin DFW North
4545 W. John Carpenter Freeway
Irving, TX  75063

While it appears the company may only have 2 or 3 more witnesses to present, we scheduled an additional day to ensure the arbitration will be completed.

Again, we are so proud of all of our Flight Attendants who testified on behalf of our members, and also for those who attended to support our team. APFA has, so far, put forth a compelling case before the arbitrator. We can never predict the outcome of a legal case….but we can guarantee the fight!

Quarterly System Board Arbitrations:

APFA and American Airlines held Quarterly System Boards June 17-18 at company headquarters in DFW. At QSBs, each side presents their case to the panel in an expedited manner and an award is given at end of the hearing. The grievances heard were 1. Lack of transparency and inadequate details on Pay Sheets and, 2. Contract violation of Hotel/Transportation Information not included in Bid Packets Section 10.C.3.m.

Pay Sheets – The Union provided testimony and exhibits to show how difficult it is for our Flight Attendants to verify exactly what they flew and easily determine if a pay discrepancy existed. After hearing the Union and company arguments, the Arbitrator and panel agreed a contract violation did not exist; however, it was clear the company has not sufficiently trained the Flight Attendants how to access company pay sites and recommended that the company provide additional training and tools. APFA is to be involved in this process. The Arbitrator retained jurisdiction in the case for future related issues.

Hotel/Transportation Information not included in Bid Packets – The Union provided testimony and documentation to prove the company was violating the contract by not providing hotel and transportation details in the monthly bid sequence packet.  The company’s witnesses testified about complex FOI process and the intricacies of providing hotel and transportation information in the individual sequences. APFA witnesses testified about the contractual history of LUS Red Book, the importance of correct information prior to bidding and, most importantly, the contractual violation. The Arbitrator acknowledged frustrations by the Flight Attendants and encouraged the company to use due diligence in completing the project.

While these cases are not traditional grievances, they affect every Flight Attendant and affect our work life. We believe had the bid sheet case not been scheduled and presented, the company would have continued to delay implementation. These cases require countless hours of research and preparation.  I would like to extend a special thanks to APFA Regional Representatives Glenda Tally and Beth Carpenter for an outstanding job on preparing and presenting these 2 cases.

Resolutions to Outstanding Issues This Week:

Pay Protection for Direct Conflicts – In a direct conflict situation (first trip due to irregularity now arrives after the report time for the second trip) the company has been using the adjusted value on the first sequence, rather than protecting the Flight Attendant for the original scheduled value of both trips. Going forward the company is required to make the Flight Attendant whole, by paying the originally scheduled value of each trip minus time gained on the first trip.

VE Pay over 15 Hours – If a sequence has duty days originally scheduled with only domestic legs, the Flight Attendant will have an operational on-duty max of 15 hours. The Company is in the process of programming the computer to recognize International sequences that contain duty days consisting of only Domestic flying. Since the programming has not yet been automated, Flight Attendants will need to advise crew tracking if they are going to exceed the 15 hour Domestic duty day maximum since they will not receive illegality alerts until the programming is complete. At the point of contact, they will have the choice of being removed from the leg or have the opportunity to voluntarily extend (VE). If the crew is unaware of the illegality and the duty day exceeds 15 hours prior to push back, pay comp will retroactively add the VE credit to the duty day if it is discovered by the Flight Attendant at a later date.

Hotel Wait Time During IROPS – We finally have a resolution to this issue. The company will soon provide a self-booking link/App via CCI for our crew members who are in need of a hotel room during weather delays.  You will be able to secure a hotel room that will be direct billed to the company. This should eliminate hours on the phone waiting for Hotel-Limo. This option will be “turned on” during IROPs only.

Terminations –7 Flight Attendants returned to work in the last 1 ½ weeks.  Our Regional Representatives have successfully fought for our terminated members’ returns.  We welcome these members back to the line, and commend the Regional Representatives on a job well done!!

In Unity,

Liz Geiss
APFA National Vice President
[email protected]