1.29.20 – The Scoop

Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Ballot Count’s Today!

Tim O’Connell & Cindy Horan of the National Ballot Committee unloading ballots at the Aloft Hotel

Ballot results will be reported by hotline once they are certified – stay tuned!

Coronavirus

“With the continued spread of the Coronavirus, I believe our Flight Attendants everywhere should be free to take any precaution necessary to safeguard their health. Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our crew members and passengers.

I have asked American to closely monitor the situation and do whatever is necessary to protect our crews against this horrible virus.” – APFA President Bassani

The Company announced earlier today:

Flights from LAX to PEK and PVG will be temporarily suspended starting Feb. 9 through Mar. 27.

We’ll continue flying to Beijing (PEK) and Shanghai (PVG) from Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW).

Dallas/Fort Worth and Los Angeles to Hong Kong is not affected.

 

Sharing the Profit

Did you read National President Bassani’s open letter to CEO Doug Parker on “Sharing the Profit”?

Read Lori’s letter.

https://www.apfa.org/2020/01/24/1-24-20-an-open-letter-to-ceo-doug-parker-on-sharing-the-profit/

The Power of Unity!

APFA National Officers join APA at their picket line today at DFW

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Unite HERE!

On Monday morning in Miami, 9 catering workers from MIA, JFK, and SFO began a fast to protest poverty wages and unaffordable health care in the airline catering industry. They are fasting as football fans from across the country descend upon Miami for Super Bowl LIV, and will continue for a full six days, breaking the fast on Saturday afternoon.

80% of flights into and out of MIA are operated by American Airlines, and fasters are calling on the airline to take immediate action to ensure that the catering workers who service its flights can pay bills and afford to go to the doctor.

APFA members applaud the courage of the fasting workers and stand with them in demanding that American Airlines take responsibility and do its part to reward ALL of the workers who work so hard to earn the billions in profit for AA.

Please show your support by clicking here to send a postcard to American Airlines CEO Doug Parker, urging him to take action to end poverty in the airline catering industry! And follow their fast on social media @unitehere, and send your support using #FastforOurFamilies.

 

New FAIR Groups For 2020 and Embracing Dry January

As we are at the end of January, I wanted to share a short paragraph from a blog from Valley Recovery Center in Newhall, CA. about “Dry January”

We certainly hope everyone is enjoying 2020 so far. And, in what has now become a tradition, the first month of the year signifies a movement for recovery and sobriety.  We are, of course, talking about DRY JANUARY, which is in full effect now and getting millions to abstain from alcohol consumption.  A relatively new phenomenon, Dry January first gained momentum back in 2014 and is acknowledged as a trend coming out of Great Britain. The charity ALCOHOL CHANGE UK has received the credit for first coining the term and interestingly during that initial year only 4,000 people participated.  Since then, the movement has gone international and counted as many as four million devotees in 2019. If you were to go on social media today there is no doubt the you would see a flurry of #DryJanuary hashtags chronicling the sober lives of people across the world.

We are also pleased to announce new FAIR groups in our newest bases in the system. PHL and DCA!  PHX and DFW coming soon! Established FAIR bases:  ORD, LAX, MIA, LGA.

Flight Attendants have unique occupational challenges.  Flight Attendants have a greater chance of sustained sobriety when they take ownership of their recovery, understand our unique workplace obstacles and have tools to cope with those obstacles.  Who knows better what the challenges are and how to acquire recovery techniques/principals than Flight Attendants already in stable recovery?

If you are interested in attending a FAIR meeting or interested in volunteering to start or be a part of a group at your base please email us at [email protected]. You can also contact APFA FAIR National Coordinator: Heidi Sakacs [email protected]

 

PAC Member of the Month – Brian Walsh – January 2020

Brian is based at DCA and has been flying for 3½ years. Before becoming a Flight Attendant, he worked on Capitol Hill for Representative Mark Pocan (WI-2), Representative Shelley Berkley (NV-1), and Representative Steve Israel (NY-3). Brian also serves as an APFA Contract & Scheduling Representative. Thank you, Brian, for your commitment to the APFA Government Affairs Department and the APFA PAC. See what Brian has to say about the APFA PAC:

The APFA Political Action Committee (PAC) is comprised of small voluntary donations from APFA members to support political candidates and members of Congress who impact our job. Dues money is never used. Our PAC contributes to both Democrats and Republicans who advocate for broad issues and regulations that advance air travel safety and the Flight Attendant profession.

Elections matter! Now is the time to build our PAC for the 2020 election so please join today. A contribution of as little as $1 or $5 per paycheck will add up to have a major impact. Remember, our strength is in our numbers.

Join the PAC today!

More Information on the APFA PAC

 

Discussions with Dr. Belland About the Coronavirus

Click the link to read the latest:

https://www.apfa.org/2020/01/29/1-29-20-coronavirus-update/

 

February Reviews

BWI – Baltimore Washington International Airport (long & short layovers)
VCE – Venice Marco Polo Airport
STL – St. Louis Lambert International Airport (short layover)
JAX – Jacksonville International Airport (short layover)
KOA – Kona International Airport
LIH – Lihue Airport

Visit APFA’s Hotel page for information about our additional MIA/L hotel!

 

Independent Medical Exam (IME) or Qualified Medical Evaluation (QME)

Sedgwick may request an IME/QME to determine your physical capabilities or limitations or address your return to work.  The results of an IME/QME are legally binding. This means that if the IME/QME clears you to return to work, your Work Comp payments will cease immediately. If you disagree with the results of the IME/QME based on your own and your primary treating physician’s assessment, contact your state’s Workers’ Compensation office for information about filing an appeal.

 

ROTA Bidding Tip

If the grouping you are in is closed, ROTA may have to assign you a sequence from your grouping.  Adding a generic bid after other bids and ROC, will award you a sequence which meets the criteria you specify, if one is available, preventing you from being assigned a trip outside of your preferences.  This bid should include the days you are available and the criteria which make a trip acceptable (such as report time and min/max credit).

 

The Negotiations Survey #3 is open via the APFA website and will remain available until Tuesday, February 18^th at 1500 CST. This survey includes questions related to several sections of the current Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA) and is open to all members in good standing, both Lineholders and Reserves. The survey should take 5-10 minutes to complete.

To date, we have received 5,437 responses or 26% of eligible Flight Attendants.
Thank you for taking the time to participate!

You may access this survey by using this direct link or by clicking on the image above.

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As of today, there have been 5,144 Flight Attendants who have filed uniform reaction reports.

Please continue to utilize the Uniform Reaction Report Form on the APFA website if you experience a suspected reaction to your uniform.