8.16.21 – Negotiations Update #4: Monday, August 16, 2021

Negotiations recommenced Monday, August 9th to Wednesday, August 11th. The APFA Negotiating Committee includes negotiating team members Sara Corrigan, Kelly Hagan, Timothy Legeros, Brian Morgan, Wendy Oswald, Susan Wroble, and APFA President Julie Hedrick. Joe Burns assists them as the negotiating attorney. The Company team is led by Cindi Simone and consultant Jerry Glass and includes representatives from multiple departments.

The negotiations last week focused on finalizing sections of the contract, which were open when negotiations were paused at the start of the global pandemic. We had a productive week at the bargaining table, passing proposals on five sections and discussed another seven sections.

One of the major discussions was Section 6, Crew Accommodations, particularly the severe problems of the company failing to provide hotels promptly in the case of rescheduling or cancellation. This has caused crews to be stuck in layover cities with no hotel, facing hour-long waits on the phone.

APFA is fighting this both through the grievance procedure and at the bargaining table. On July 27th, 2021, APFA filed a Presidential Grievance on the same day as the Pilots, seeking immediate relief from the hotel issues. Meetings are ongoing with the company, and we are hopeful that we will see improvements in this area.

At the bargaining table, we told the company that the immediate fixes will not be enough. We need contract language addressing the problem. Securing hotels for the crew in the event of a cancelation or reschedule must be a priority for management.

Your bargaining team made a proposal to address the issue. Our proposal has several elements, including an obligation to book hotels when the need arises, compensation for Flight Attendants who do not receive a hotel promptly, and an obligation for the company to take immediate steps when the system for procuring hotels breaks down. Although we had a productive discussion on the matter, management did not provide language addressing this issue. We were crystal clear that the matter will need to be addressed, and it will continue to be discussed at our next session in September.

Another area on which we had a lot of discussion was the commuter policy, found in JCBA Section 37.I. With the recent displacements and packed flights, we need improvement to the commuter policy. Your APFA bargaining team proposed several improvements to the commuter policy, including no removal for weight and balance, commuting on other carriers, and a change so that the first flight does not have to be full. Your bargaining committee demonstrated that the current commuter policy is too restrictive as compared to other carriers. We made some progress in this area and will revisit the topic in September.

A Tentative Agreement (TA) is when the parties agree to all language in a particular section, marked as tentatively agreed. It is ‘tentative’ because once all sections are agreed upon, the overall agreement is voted upon by the membership in a ratification vote. This past week, we reached tentative agreements on Section 5: Moving Expenses, and Section 20: Seniority. In Section 5: Moving Expenses, we updated language to reflect receiving moving days/settling days through PBS. In Section 20: Seniority, the changes were non-substantive.

In addition, we exchanged proposals with management on Section 6: Crew Accommodations, Section 18: Charters, and Section 37: General. We discussed several other sections, including Uniforms, IOD, CRAF, Medical Exams, Crew Rest, Co-terminals, and Safety. These sections will be the subject of our next bargaining session, scheduled for September 20th to 23rd.

Contract Action Team

Our strength at the bargaining table comes from the membership. We have been putting together a group of core activists in each base who will help organize actions in support of negotiations. More information, including how to sign up to be a part of the team, will be released shortly.

In Solidarity,

Your APFA Negotiating Committee

Sara Corrigan
Kelly J. Hagan
Julie Hedrick
Timothy Legeros
Brian Morgan
Wendy Oswald
Susan Wroble
Joe Burns, Lead Negotiating Attorney

[email protected]