Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. A democratic, Member driven Union of Flight Attendants for Flight Attendants. Today is Friday, June 29, 2012 and this is Council 9 Volunteer, Allen Ward, reporting and together we will do better.
United To Open IAH Domicile
United has announced their intention to open a new Flight Attendant domicile in Houston at the Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH.) In accordance with Section 2.D. of our Contract, United provided the required 90-day notice to open a domicile at IAH effective with the Flight Attendant schedule month of October 2012. Master Executive Council President Greg Davidowitch’s letter to the Membership is posted on the MEC website.
Charter Trading Changes
As part of the Contractual changes ratified by our Membership that become effective with the July schedule, Charter Trip Trades will be processed during the open flying process. Our new Contract Section 9.G.2.d. states that “Trip trading with open flying for a Charter flight shall follow all other provisions of 9.G.4.”
Charter trades will be processed during the normal window for trip trading with open flying; and will follow all other trade rules. This new provisions was in effect for the first run of open flying for the July schedule, which began Thursday morning at 0001, Local Domicile Time.
New Reserve Trip Trading Provision
Along with Charter Trading that began with the July schedule our new Contract provides for improvements to increase schedule flexibility for Reserves. Reserves will be able to trade their trips assigned by Crew Scheduling with other Flight Attendants.
In order for a Reserve Flight Attendant to trade their assigned ID with another Flight Attendant the
the ID must be the same number of days, must depart the same day and if the ID is between a Reserve and a Lineholder the ID credit time can not differ by more than two (2) hours (this requirement does not apply with Reserve to Reserve trip trades)
In addition a Reserve, who picks up additional time, over the trip they traded out of with a Lineholder, will now be considered to have opted to over hundred (100) hours for the remainder of that scheduled month.
Visit our website for more information on this new provision for Reserves.
Opting Problem Identified
We have received reports from some Flight Attendants that their monthly maximums have been erroneously adjusted. In some cases, the monthly maximum has been reduced while in other cases their monthly maximum in the current month has been increased when they have not elected to opt. It appears that these adjustments are in some way related to activity in the previous month. We suspected there may be some computer coding that is still recognizing the quarterly system.
This issue was brought to the attention of Crew Resources earlier this week. The company’s research has identified the problem and the appropriate fix will be in place on Tuesday of next week. In the interim, keep track to your monthly maximum for July. Should you have additional questions, please contact your Local Council Office.
Use TVLLOG Not United Voices
Section 3.K of our Collective Bargaining Agreement states that our layover hotels must be safe, clean and quiet accommodations with adequate and available eating facilities. In the event you encounter a hotel that does not meet these standards you should file a TVLLOG.
We encourage each Flight Attendant to write a separate TVLLOG for every layover in which a problem occurs. TVLLOG reports help the AFA MEC Hotel and Transportation Committee help the membership at large. When the number of TVLLOG reports submitted reaches a substantial level in relation to the daily room volume at a given hotel, this gets the company’s attention as this is a clear indication a problem exists at the property.
While United would prefer that Flight Attendants use “United Voices” to report hotel and transportation issues, AFA strongly recommends that all Hotel and Transportation issues be reported exclusively via TVLLOG. In this way, AFA is automatically a recipient of these issues and the database used to track these issues is programmatically updated based on the information provided by the Flight Attendant.
To submit a Travel Log; simply input “TVLLOG” when logged into Unimatic and fill the form. Once upi finish entering in all the applicable information tab to the bottom of the page and enter. Your report will be added to the database. This way AFA, we can trend certain incidents and use the data collected for future consideration when issues are identified.
Crew Scheduling Recordings
Crew Scheduling has completed their move to the Willis Tower, and has begun testing the new telephone recording system. Section 4.AA. of our Contract requires that this system records all telephone conversations between Flight Attendants and Crew Scheduling, including all other departments that regularly perform crew scheduling functions. The recordings will include the date and time of calls, and shall be kept for a minimum of sixty days.
The implementation of this section of our Contract will assist in any disputes that arise from our information exchange with Crew Scheduling. We continue to encourage all Flight Attendants to keep a record of the date, time and name of the Crew Scheduler when given any assignment or re-assignment. This information can be confirmed with the recording if there are any issues. As always, we should maintain professional and courteous communications, while expecting the same in return. We will keep you updated when the new telephone recording system is fully operational.
Annual AFA Dues Discount
Each year AFA advises members that paying dues in advance annually provides you with the option of a 10% reduction. In order to take advantage of this reduction in annual dues, you must prepay by July 2, 2012. For more information see our website.
Industry Editorial
Be sure to listen to the latest edition of the AFA Industry Editorial recorded yesterday in Chicago by retired Flight Attendant volunteer Jerry Butz. Dial 1-800-Dear-AFA, after entering your file number, choose option #5.
That’s all for this evening! Thank you for calling. As we move forward together, management must recognize the value that Flight Attendants bring to the world’s largest airline. While we stand strong together to achieve an industry leading Single Contract for all Flight Attendants at the new United.