6.23.23 – APFA New York LGA Special Base Brief- June 23, 2023

Friday, June 23, 2023

How is New York?

As I have said repeatedly, social media is noise, and actions bring solutions. While the challenges of any administration changing officers midstream are challenging, change for the better is part of growth. There has not been any impact on members in New York because of any recent changes. The local management team deserves credit for their collaborative stance and continued communication, as it has been since my first term began. The real challenge is members’ rightful expectations of bringing issues to private social media pages but not directly to us; that is not an issue I have time or my base council to chase, so I hope that is clear moving forward. We are here to support, protect and resolve all contractual and even personal issues that impact your work life, not rumor mill churning. I just felt it necessary to clarify that. Your attendance and performance record should be more important than a social media post. While we strive to serve our members in every way necessary, your responsibility to manage and communicate with the prospective manager remains yours.

I am proud of the work our base council does and where the bar is today for our base compared to where it has been in the past. Cindi Dunfee and I continue to work closely, and soon, we will be putting forward our plans needed to face the constant battle of a draconian attendance policy and the mounting unpaid responsibilities management continues to impose on us.

Please remember that APFA has communicated elections for the LGA Base Vice President position. The membership elects officers: however, the budget maintained by the membership’s dues comes with high expectations. Experience is not needed to be an advocate, but a willingness to do the work this base demands is necessary. Respect is not up for debate, and diversity is essential.

I look forward to a stronger New York as we move forward. To date, we are entirely up to speed with all meetings, investigations, and the daily struggle of one issue after another, but still New York Strong. If you ever want to talk, you just need to come forward.

Communication Moving Forward

To allow Cindi time and input moving forward, we are working on a detailed base brief to bring you all up to speed on communication and all that entails servicing you more efficiently, introducing you to our fantastic new base council reps, and much more. I know many of you were looking for the allocations forecast for JUL flying. Still, unfortunately, I had to prioritize an unusual number of investigations that have kept us extremely busy. We are seeing an increase in terminations again due to the attendance policy and ethics complaints of colleagues reporting one another. Please remember that professional standards are not an obligation but an option. Reporting a colleague does not just subject them to your allegations; you also become the subject of that investigation.

Acknowledgements

I must acknowledge the hard work of base council representative Luciana Pais, who has supported me during long hard days. Her compassion, candor, and demeanor have been intricate to our base and me as an officer and a person. Avi Zalis, Nathanael Reynoso, Tyco Coon, Jeff Ju, Emily Vanvleck, Elizabeth Cronin, Melanie Jones, Ankit Patel, Lynn Duddy, Eric Ellen, and Keri Konigsber have stepped up to serve on the NYC base council, and I appreciate your willingness to serve. My goal is to train as many new base reps as possible, and while there is a long list of folks who have stepped up to join, mainly newer flight attendants, the timing and resources must all be suitable to provide a successful opportunity rather than fill a space. I love what I do, and as long as I have the passion, you will continue to have my commitment despite the hard days and occasional noise.

NYC Pride Parade

Please join us in marching with our Union siblings of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA at the 2023 NYC Pride Parade hosted by Council 45 (Endeavor Air).
Meet us at 11am this Sunday, June 25th, at 101 W 26^th St, Manhattan, NY 10001, where we will have APFA Pride Gear available for you to show your APFA Union Pride!

Please click here to RSVP.

In Unity,

Christian M Santana
LGA Base President 

Cindi Simpson-Dunfee
Interim LGA Base Vice President

PROUD to Represent New York-LGA
& Ready for a Contract!