10.02.20 – APFA CLT Base Brief – Friday, October 2, 2020

Friday, October 2, 2020

Good Day CLT Flight Attendants,

We continue to push for a clean extension of the Payroll Support Program (PSP). No decision has been made this week on Capitol Hill. The Company is proceeding with its plans to furlough many of our friends and co-workers. This is a sad and unprecedented day in the history of our airline and the aviation industry. We cannot lose hope. Doug Parker has stated that the Company will rescind the furloughs if the PSP passes. We will continue to petition our lawmakers on every front to get this measure passed. October has presented our Flight Attendant family with the reality that many of us will be leaving by taking early retirements, leaves of absences, and involuntary furloughs. With this reality, a whole new set of challenges are evident in our group. APFA has taken several measures to help you deal with these new challenges.

ZOOM Conference to Discuss Unemployment

APFA Charlotte will be hosting a ZOOM Virtual Base Brief on Sunday, October 4th at 2pm (EDT) to discuss unemployment preparation. This training will help guide you through the unemployment process in the state of North Carolina. This training aims to provide you some information on the application process and what to expect. This will be completely done with the online ZOOM format we have been using for the virtual base briefs and other training programs. If you would like to be added to our e-mail list to receive an invitation, send your name, AA number, and a personal e-mail you would like to use (no company e-mail addresses, please). We will send you an invitation with a link to the training on Sunday. For those already on the e-mail list, we will send the invitation to the entire group whether this training applies to your situation or not. If you are already on our list, there is no need to sign up. Just join us from the invitation link. We also have the Facebook site, AA CLT/RDU Flight Attendant Unemployment Support, where you can peruse past posts and ask questions as you navigate through the unemployment process in North Carolina. Fear not, if you cannot attend the training session, there will be other classes. Please send your requests to [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. We look forward to hosting this exciting training.

CLT F/A Support & Referral Services on Facebook

APFA CLT has also set up a Facebook group to help our furloughed Flight Attendants called CLT F/A Support & Referral Services. The group is set up much like a marketplace site. You can post services such as a resume’ service if you can assist in a job search and leads on who’s hiring in our area or have goods people can use during this difficult time. You can view the goods and services offered and get the assistance you need for those who need some help. This is for any Flight Attendant going through a transition, furloughed or leave of absence. This site is about Flight Attendants helping Flight Attendants. This is our Flight Attendant family helping our Flight Attendant family. Visit the page and ask to join for more information. We hope this site will grow into another way to show our unity and strength, rather than the hostile energy social media tends to produce.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) & Professional Standards

We would also like to take some time to talk about how this global pandemic has impacted you. With all the upheavals in our lives, the stress has been quietly creeping upon us. You may be doing fine one day, then faint in the galley the next day. You may find yourself in a confrontation with another employee, an agent, a pilot, a cleaner, or a caterer. Off the job, you may have unusual conflicts with crew schedule that gets blown out of proportion. Relax, you have not gone crazy. It’s just the stress of our new reality. Take heart because you are not alone. Everyone is dealing with this stress in different ways. It manifests eventually in some form. Suppose you have uncharacteristic confrontations with co-workers where you feel the need to report this situation to the Company. In that case, we ask that you take a breath and utilize the serves offered by your Union. Dispute. Call Professional Standards. Having a hard time coping, call the EAP. While we are all experiencing stress in different ways, releasing that outlet can harm everyone, including you, if you report it to the Company. With all the madness this pandemic has produced, the Company has decided to double down on the disciplinary tract, taking every complaint as a terminating offense. If you are caught up in this madness and are called in for a meeting, call the CLT Union at 704-665-7474. Don’t go in alone. Take a Union Representative. If you need some support, call the EAP Department at 817-540-0108 ext. 8701. We are here for you.

Charlotte remains one of the most resilient bases in the system. We adapt and overcome. We deal with the unnecessary crackdown on discipline. Simultaneously, the training department spews its misinformation, crew scheduling continues to bend the Contract, and FSMs continue business as usual, looking to get high scores on eliminating red flags on their screens. (Those red flags are real people, that’s you.)

You can always call the CLT local APFA line at 704-665-7474, with any questions.

Take care of yourselves and each other. ~ The Charlotte APFA Team

In Solidarity,

Scott Hazlewood
APFA CLT Base President
[email protected]