11.07.19 – November Update from National President Lori Bassani

Thursday, November 7, 2019

November Update from President Lori Bassani

Dear Fellow APFA Members,

It’s hard to believe that we’re on the back end of 2019 and quickly approaching the end of a decade, isn’t it? It’s been a very eventful year and November is no different. We hit the ground running this month with visits to Philly and Pittsburgh on Nov. 5th and 6th. Negotiators and Department Chairs joined me on a quick tour to visit and talk to our members regarding their biggest issues. Our members showed up interested and well-prepared with lists of questions along with suggestions and ideas for improvements needed in our next contract.

Early this month, I conducted an interview on CNBC regarding the anticipated 737 MAX return to service. As you know, the Boeing aircraft has missed a couple of dates to return to service and is currently estimated by AA to return to the skies in mid-January. While AA is keeping us updated of progress, APFA has taken a strong stance and continues to monitor and assess all the variables regarding the safety of the 737 MAX. Click here to read the letter I sent to Boeing’s CEO and click here to view the CNBC interview. Trust has been broken and the confidence of our Flight Attendants is paramount.

On the negotiations front, we are fortunate that we exercised our contractual provision to “open early” as the first tier of bargaining will be completed very soon. The next phase will include scheduling sections. Today, our negotiators are meeting with the JSIC team in a page-by-page turn of all things scheduling-related in our contract. The APFA Negotiating Committee is preparing a scheduling survey that will go out to all members in the near future. Our next table negotiations session with the company is November 20 through the 22nd. Check out the Negotiating Committee web page on www.apfa.org for the status of contract bargaining.

I want to provide some history on the NNRF (Negotiations & Negotiations Related Fund). In 1994, the Board of Directors passed a resolution directing 25% of any dues increase to be allocated to the NNRF for future negotiations. The resolution can be found here. Our Executive Committee will intermittently convene to transfer funds from our NNRF to our general fund. This is a customary practice by our Union during negotiations and is long-standing past practice. There have been a few concerns from our members that I’d like to address: We have a healthy negotiations fund, used solely for negotiations. No, we do not borrow money from the company and no, we are not going bankrupt. As stated earlier, it is a standing practice to transfer from the NNRF fund during negotiations by either the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors. (Just a reminder to be wary of rumors.)

The Power of Unity and Collaboration is alive this month with two important coalition meetings taking place. The Coalition of Flight Attendant Unions, made up of all U.S. unions representing Flight Attendants, was formed some time ago and has been defunct for a few years. I believe in the power of collective collaboration when it comes to advocating for our members and our profession, and am proud to announce that APFA is hosting the coalition on November 13 with an emphasis on health, safety, and legislative affairs. Later in November, the All Union Summit, a coalition of all Unions on AA’s property will meet to discuss negotiations. This annual meeting is hosted by APA this year.

Oh, and don’t miss our first ever Retirement Town Hall Thursday November 14th from 12:00 – 1:00 CST. As you can see, APFA is buzzing in November. Wear your APFA union pin to show our Solidarity. Remember November and remember that Unity Pays!

Fly Safe,