12.30.19 – PHL Base Brief

Monday, December 30, 2019

It certainly has been a long road since the merger announcement in 2013.  We all had very high expectations. We are still dealing with the company’s IT issues that are affecting our quality of life. We are still battling this punitive and restrictive attendance policy that clearly does not reflect how we are scheduled to work, or the fact that we are exposed to hundreds of different germs on every flight. The arbitration wrapped up in September, and we are waiting for the arbitrator to render a decision.

In this past year, all crew bases moved to full JCBA compliance, which includes PBS and all related scheduling systems. Negotiations were opened last year in an early opener, and our contract became amendable on December 13, 2019. Contracts under the RLA (Railway Labor Act) do not expire; they become amendable, which means we continue to work under the contract until a new Tentative Agreement is sent out for ratification.

As I sit here and reflect on the last year, your Philadelphia base representatives to date have filed nearly ninety Notices of Disputes that includes Base, Individual and Group NODs. We represented nearly 400 Flight Attendants in meetings with their FSMs. We are being kept very busy at the base level.

Due to recent budget cuts across the board, we are taking a cut in pay and losing a full time representative with the reduction in our local budget. This means we will have the same amount of work with less people to represent our membership.  It also means we are going to have to fly to supplement our income. We are going to ask that you be patient and understand if your call cannot be answered immediately or if your meeting has to be rescheduled.

In an effort to reduce costs, we are downsizing our office and we have moved to a google voice phone system, which is a free service. Beginning January 1, 2020 our new office number will be 215-360-3115.

While our struggles are real, we are not going to allow recent events within our organization and this company to break us. Your base leadership is committed to representing our base with the highest level of integrity, professionalism, and respect for our membership. We are here to serve you, and you deserve nothing less. We thank you for your continued support as that keeps us motivated and gives us the power to continue the fight!

On behalf of myself, Tracy and all of the Flight Attendants who volunteer their time to serve our membership in Philadelphia, here is to a Happy and Healthy 2020.

In Unity and Solidarity,

Kim Kaswinkel
[email protected]

Tracey Montanari
[email protected]