Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. A democratic, Member driven Union of Flight Attendants for Flight Attendants. Today is Tuesday, October 23, 2012 and this is Los Angeles Council 12 Membership Engagement Co-Chairperson, Aiden Sheffield reporting.
Correction to the October 9th Dear AFA
The October 9th edition of Dear AFA makes a reference to a ‘Transition and Process Agreement.’ The correct reference should be ‘Protocol and Related Agreements.’ The online version has been updated to reflect this correction.
Additional Sick Leave Accrual Issue
Per Section 19.A.1 of our new Contract, when a Flight Attendant is paid 234 hours, excluding sick leave, during a calendar quarter, she/he will receive an additional 1.5 hours of sick leave credit. July of 2012 was the first month that this credit would have been applied, but some Members have not seen the 1.5 hours reflected in their sick leave balance, which is listed on their mid-month pay advice. For the past several weeks, we have been in contact with United Labor Relations, who assured us that the system was properly recording this additional sick leave accrual.
After much persistence by AFA, the company has finally acknowledged that there is indeed a problem with their sick leave accrual system transferring the 1.5 additional hours to the payroll system.
Pass Travel Seniority Errors
We have received reports from Members who recently noticed changes to their company seniority date on the Pass Rider list within Shares. After reviewing considerable supporting documentation from AFA Representatives in IAH, we discovered that this problem is affecting some Flight Attendants who have recently transferred. During the recent transfer process, the Pass Travel system changed the company seniority incorrectly to the date on which the Flight Attendant reported to her/his first domicile, instead of reflecting the date on which she/he was hired and reported to training.
This automation error is isolated to the Pass Travel system, and there is no impact on any other processes where seniority is applied. We have alerted the company to the problem by providing specific examples. Although the company is in the process of reviewing all transfer acceptance lists to ensure that this error is fixed, we encourage Members to review her/his Pass Travel seniority date in Shares. If you don’t have any immediate plans for travel, we recommend that you list for a flight and review the Pass Rider list to confirm that your accurate company seniority is being used for travel for yourself and your travel eligibles. If you find that your company seniority date is incorrect, contact your Local Council.
Additional Voluntary Furlough in March 2013
United’s current 12-month Voluntary Furlough will end on March 1, 2013. The company anticipates offering a new Voluntary Furlough for less than the number offered last year, beginning March 2, 2013. Depending on the level of interest for the Voluntary Furlough, we may also see the return of Partnership Flying at that time. Additional details from the company are expected in the next week, and we will keep you updated as we receive more information.
First Day of the Fall MEC Meeting
Today was the first day of the Fall 2012 Regular Meeting of the United Master Executive Council (MEC) at the Hyatt Rosemont in Chicago. Our MEC Officers presented their respective reports, followed by an Open Discussion.
Elections to fill vacancies on two MEC Committees will be held on Day 2 of the meeting, along with reports from the Communications and Safety, Health and Security Committees. On Thursday, October 25th, the meeting will end with Open Discussion, Committee work and Action on Agenda Items. Daily Summaries of each meeting day will be posted on our website.
FAOM Revision #04
Revision #04 to our FAOM is now available in your domicile, with an effective date of November 1, 2012. This revision contains key changes in preflight safety checks and emergency equipment locations across United’s fleets. You will also notice other changes to Standard Operating Procedures. This revision is of significant size, so please allow yourself ample time to review and insert it into your FAOM.
New Contracts in Domiciles
The new 2012-2016 Contracts have arrived at most domiciles. Be sure to stop by and pick up your copy today. Our Contract is also available in PDF format on our website, and we will shortly be replacing the searchable 2005 edition on the website.
2012 Presidential Election Countdown
In 14 days, Americans will go to the polls to vote for the next President of the United States of America, along with one-third of the seats in the U.S. Senate and all 435 seats in the House of Representatives. On Monday night, we watched the last of the Presidential debates between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney. The importance of this year’s election cannot be stressed enough, and the outcome of this election will have a great impact on all of us not only as Americans, but as members of the Flight Attendant Community.
The Flight Attendants Union Coalition, representing over 100,000 Flight Attendants, has collectively endorsed the re-election of President Barack Obama. This endorsement is based on the proven track record of President Obama’s support of many issues that are important to Flight Attendants and the aviation industry. We need allies in Congress that will fight for legislative issues that have an effect on our community, such as preventing outsourcing, obtaining adequate rest and implementing workplace safety and health protections.
If you haven’t already done so, take time to read the Elections 2012 information on our website. We encourage each Member to become educated on how the candidates have supported the issues that have a great impact on our lives and our future. Make sure that you participate in the democratic process by exercising your right vote on November 6th.
That’s all for this evening! Thank you for calling. Remember: One Airline. One Contract. Building Our Future Together!