12.17.21 – APFA LGA Base Brief – Friday, December 17, 2021

Friday, December 17, 2021

Flight Attendant Assaults

We continue to get reports from Flight Attendants on the defiance by some customers who have no respect for the law, much less our profession. Your reports are our only way of knowing and documenting what seems to have become part of our career, and we must not let it. Please be as explicit as possible when filling out CERS reports. Flight Attendants have the right to file criminal complaints upon arrival in the US or any other foreign territory. Please remember that if you are assaulted, following up with reports and local authorities is important. If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to one of us locally or our APFA Safety Department.

SCL – Santiago, Chile

If you are scheduled to fly SCL this weekend, please be careful as there is an election. Protests are possible, and I am in contact with local management and corporate security to ensure we are prepared for any situation that may arise.

CDG – Paris, France

If you are scheduled to fly CDG, there are reports of expected protests in Paris, tomorrow 12/18, due to pandemic-related restrictions. Although management does not expect any impact on the operation, be mindful of your movements while on the layover.

Understaffing

I recently shared my letter to Mr. Brady Byrnes, Vice President of Flight Service, with all of you. A flight attendant himself, Mr. Byrnes, has an opportunity to advocate for our quality of work-life and, quite frankly, what is right. Brady did respond to my letter and accepted the offer to come to New York and get on board one of our flights to see for himself the burden of keeping wide-body and transcontinental flights understaffed. There is no question that the success of American Airlines is tied to sound financial decisions. It shouldn’t, however, be by poor deceitful ones. Keeping flights staffed post-pandemic as we were still dealing with low load factors is an absolute self-imposed concession.

I look forward to management doing what is right and not leaving this up to an arbitrator who has no incentive or investment in our well-being.

NYC Base Q&A – Save the Date

On Wednesday, December 29th, 2021, between the hours of 12:30 pm and 3:00 pm, Penelope and I will host a Q&A for NYC Flight Attendants to virtually join us with questions about anything affecting our base and work lives. We will use the Teams application to conduct the meeting and welcome all NYC flight attendants to participate wherever they are. If you don’t already have the Teams app, you may click this link for download instructions:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/download-app#office-CustomSpacingTemplate-uoh60pc

Contract Negotiations

One of the most influential post-World War II American trade union movement leaders, Thomas Donahue, said, “The only effective answer to organized greed is organized labor.”

We are currently in contract negotiations, and your participation truly is the most potent tool negotiators have when faced with what we are all seeing with our own eyes. Please read, share, and, if you can, volunteer your time to help us build a strong team. This kind of work is impossible without organization and participation.

Reserve Out of Base

We continue to receive calls for representation while the Company investigates Flight Attendant travel records after a flight attendant has an absence during a RAP. Please remember that when you are assigned a RAP, you are expected to serve it in its entirety within the 3-hour co-terminal report time. Ensuring that your contact information is current in FOS ( SABRE Screen ) is critical. Updating this information on Jetnet is not the same as updating it in FOS. You can update your contact information via the AVRS system. When in doubt or facing circumstances beyond your control, please reach out to a union rep who can assist you. If you are a commuter, your travel records while using your travel privileges are accessible by the company regardless of the airlines you fly.

Uniform Dollars

Although uniform dollars rollover if not used in the current year, be mindful of more orders being submitted at the beginning of 2022 due to a reload of uniform dollars. If you need uniform pieces, please consider placing your order before the end of 2021. Please remember that contractually crew luggage may be replaced every three years.

Critical Period vs. Holiday Peak Period

Attendance Policy Critical Period is from Dec 22-Jan 03-affords you a banked point if you work within the holiday period and 2 points for each absence, 3 for those over six days.

Holiday Peak Perfect Attendance Period is from Nov 15, 2021- Jan 2, 2022-affords you an additional 150% pay on qualifying paid hours as specified in the Holiday Perfect Attendance Incentive.

Penelope and I remain committed to advocating for New York Flight Attendants with all we have. Representing such a strong group of individuals is an honor. Labor has always had to fight for everything we earn and deserve, and we are determined to continue the trend.

Happy Holidays! 

In Solidarity,

Christian M. Santana
APFA LGA Base President 
[email protected]
(347) 546-0703

Penelope King
APFA LGA Base Vice President
[email protected]
(718) 350-7043

Proud to Represent New York-LGA