1.07.20 – DFW Base Brief – January 2020

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

DFW Base Brief – January 2020

In This Brief

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Happy New Year, DFW!
DECS/FOS and Jetnet passwords
Is your tablet work ready?
Meetings with your Flight Service Managers
Do you have your JCBA?
Is my Sequence pay protected?
When do I go illegal?
Annual Vacation Buyback (JCBA Section 8.F)
Bereavement Days (BR)
Emergency Travel (A9) (JCBA Section 25.L.1.f)
What is Professional Standards?

 

Happy New Year, DFW!

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It’s a new decade filled with changes, challenges, and new beginnings. It has been a pleasure to serve as your Base Vice President since elected in April, and I’m honored and excited to assume the new role as your Base President. My work ethics, morals, and loyalty to you drive my desires for our base. I am not alone in this venture, as I have appointed Maureen Walsh-Martin as my interim Base Vice President. I know she will work hard for the membership with her veracity, devotion, and upstanding dedication. Her years of service as a prior DFW Base President will be invaluable to our forward progress and future success. We wish Michael Truan well in his future endeavors!

I encourage each and every one of you to look within yourselves to decide if you have the heart, determination, and passion to serve your peers. A special election for the DFW Base Vice President will be published soon. If this is something that you desire to do, keep an eye out on future communications regarding the willingness-to-serve.

I am excited to embark upon this endeavor as we venture towards attaining excellence for the largest base of the greatest Flight Attendants in American!

 

DECS/FOS and Jetnet passwords

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You will see shortly, in January, that you will be required to change your DECS/FOS password each time your Jetnet password expires. Jetnet and DECS passwords will expire at the same time. So, when it’s time to reset your Jetnet password, it’ll also be time to change your code for DECS/FOS. Keep in mind, the requirements for DECS/FOS passwords are different than what’s required for a Jetnet password – so the two passwords don’t need to be the same.

• DECS – 7-8 alpha/numeric combo in length, but can’t have any symbols
• Jetnet – alpha/numeric combo, but must have a symbol or an upper-case letter

 

Is your tablet work ready?

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Please be sure that your tablet is at 90% or higher with all FOUR lights lit on the back of the mophie case prior to stepping onto the aircraft for your first flight of the day.  It is imperative that if your tablet is not working that you call and inform Stratex. The number is located on the back of your tablet. You may also obtain a loaner tablet, if needed, from a Duty Manager at any of the Operations areas.

 

Meetings with your Flight Service Managers

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Have you been called in by your Flight Service Manager (FSM) for a meeting? Did you know that you have the right to union representation?  Please do not go into any meeting without a union representative with you. Your FSM is not obligated to call us at APFA DFW to inform us of a meeting with you. This is your responsibility and we want to ensure your rights are protected.

 

Do you have your JCBA?

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If you do not have a copy of the JCBA, you may obtain a paper copy from a Duty Manager at any one of the Terminal Operation areas (A, C, and D), as well as a digital copy on the APFA website and your Flight Attendant tablet. Please always carry a copy with you when flying.

 

Is my sequence pay protected?

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FAR ILLEGAL (FI) (JCBA 10.K.1) – is if your trip arrives BEFORE your second trip departure, just less than the  FAR rest between trips. You are paid what the delayed flight value is worth PLUS the original value of the second trip.

If after your current trip arrives you will now be scheduled to have less than the contractual 11 hours rest but more than the FAR 8 hours rest before the report (sign-in) time of your next second trip, CS will keep you on the trip unless you call them to take you off for your contractual rest. If you do not wish to waive your contractual rest down the FAR, pay protections will not apply.

DIRECT CONFLICT (DC) – is when your current sequence is now scheduled to arrive AFTER the report (sign-in) time of your next trip. You will be paid the combined original value of both sequences.

LAST SEQUENCE LAST SERIES (LS) (JCBA 10.L.1) – You are pay protected if your last series of sequences cancels in its entirety or if you are FAR illegal to originate your last sequence.

Once you report, if you become illegal to complete your last sequence in its entirety, you may be required to continue to operate the sequence and split off at the latest point you pass through base, if you aren’t scheduled to pass through base you will be split off at the point of illegality. In either case, you will be pay protected for the portion you were illegal to operate. (JCBA 10.L.2)

If the originating leg of your last sequence cancels, you may be required to split on to your sequence. CS must notify you of the request to split on prior to report. If you split back on, a hotel room must be provided if the segment you are splitting on does not originate on the same day. In this case, you will be pay protected for the canceled segments. If CS does not make a request to split you back on, you will be pay protected for the entire sequence. (JCBA 10.L.3)

FULL SEQ CANCELLATION (XI) – is full sequence cancellation. If none of your segments are flown by a substitute crew, or it is not your last trip or last series of trips, pay protections do not apply.

 

When do I go illegal? 

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Here are some useful charts, click on the image to open them in your browser.

 

Annual Vacation Buyback (JCBA Section 8.F)

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The JCBA provides for Flight Attendants to sell back their accrued vacation to the company on both a monthly and annual basis.

On Jan 10th at 1200 DFW time, the annual vacation buyback process will open, and it will close on Jan 17th at 1200 DFW time. This is your opportunity to sell back all or a portion of your vacation back to the company prior to the yearly vacation bidding process. Buyback awards will be processed in seniority order.

You may access the Annual Vacation Bid and Award (AVBA) via Crew Portal under the monthly bidding tab. Click on Monthly Bids and then Vacation.

You may choose to sell back a portion or all your vacation days and they are paid according to:

• If you are selling back 1-6 days, it will be paid out at 3:30 hours per day
• If you are selling back 7 or more days, it will be paid out at 4:00 hour day.
• Premiums are not paid out on vacation buyback

Vacation buyback is awarded by base, in seniority order within the base and will be paid out on the first paycheck of June 2020. The AVBA user guide is available on the APFA website. You can also participate in monthly vacation buyback but only if it is offered for those specific months.

For further information, you may contact the Flight Attendant Vacation Department at:

1-800-VIP-CREW #, 8
[email protected]

 

Bereavement Days (BR)

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You will receive up to 3 bereavement days off when you experience the death of an eligible family member. Please know who your Eligible Family Members are per JCBA Section 25.L.1.b.

• Spouse
• Domestic Partner
• Child
• Stepchild
• Grandchild
• Parents
• Stepparents
• Grandparents
• Brother
• Sister
• Legal Guardian
• In-Laws
• Relative residing with you
• Any member of your household (e.g. roommate)

When requesting Bereavement Days (JCBA Section 25.L.1.c.), you must contact your FSM or Manager on Duty to request bereavement days within 30 days of the date of death.

Your pay associated with Bereavement Days (JCBA Section 25.L.1.d.) is 4 hours pay and credit for three consecutive days. Bereavement days are paid and credited whether you are removed from a trip or not. If you are removed from a trip, you will be paid the daily rate of 4 hours for three days, instead of the value of the sequence.

If you need additional days off for Bereavement (JCBA Section 25.L.1.e.), you may request additional days off; however, those days will be unpaid.

 

Emergency Travel (A9) (JCBA Section 25.L.1.f.)

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In the event of an emergency involving family members, the company, to help you through this difficult time, offers emergency/bereavement (A9) travel on American and American Eagle flights listed in the Travel Planner. A9 travel is not available on other airlines.

A9 travel is offered to you and certain members of your family when there is a death or imminent death due to a life-threatening illness or injury for those who are eligible (see Eligible Family Members section). Every effort will be made to confirm you and your eligible travelers on an eligible flight(s) due to the emergency. If unable to confirm, you will be listed as a revenue standby.

If the personal emergency involves the death of an eligible family member and you must travel, A9 travel can be booked up to 30 days after the death to attend the funeral or memorial service. If you would like an exception to this, you should contact your FSM.

You should always contact your manager for authorization to book A9 travel. Only if the manager or department admin is not available, then you can contact 1-888-WE-FLY-AA (1-888-933-5922), or if you are outside of the U.S., you may call the local reservations number.

Be prepared with desired flight details, names, dates of birth and relationships of travelers for whom A9 travel is eligible. You may be required to provide the nature of the emergency as well as your manager’s name and AA ID#.

 

What is Professional Standards?

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Professional Standards is a program designed to mediate conflict resolution between Flight Attendants from an unbiased point of view. It is the last line before involving the company and has a high-efficiency rate of protecting Flight Attendants from mandatory face-to-face meetings with company management. PLEASE utilize Professional Standards in instances involving behavior or conduct that is unbecoming of an American Airlines Flight Attendant. All participants remain anonymous.

Professional Standards has intervened in situations for substance abuse, Pilot/FA conflict and professional working behavior on board our aircraft as well as harassment. Please note that once the company has been notified at any time by any party, the Professional Standards representatives take a hands-off approach. Please utilize them first.

Our APFA DFW Professional Standards extension is monitored continuously to ensure a prompt response. (817) 540-0108 | APFA Ext: 8606

 

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In closing, on behalf of your APFA DFW Base Representatives, we hope that the New Year/New Decade finds you peace, prosperity, and joy.

In Unity,

Amber De Roxtra
APFA DFW Base President
(682) 422-7179

Maureen Walsh-Martin
APFA DFW Interim Base Vice President
(817) 739-5202