Council 21 - Washington DC
Meeting Minutes
2019
2018
2017
2018
New Alcohol Use Policy In Effect (Aug 18, 2019)
8/18/2019
Ladies and Gentlemen of Council 21:
As has been reported over the last few weeks, The Semi-Annual System Seniority List was published and posted for review as of July 25, 2019. As provided under Section 14.C. of our Contract, the list shall be made available at all stations where Flight Attendants are domiciled for review.
If you believe that there is an error or omission since the last posting of the System Seniority list that affects your seniority, you should contact your Local Council representative immediately. Flight Attendants have thirty (30) calendar days from July 25, 2019 or until Saturday, August 24, 2019 to dispute any alleged omission or error that affects your seniority.
The exceptions to the 30-day rule are as follows:
- Flight Attendants on vacation at the time of the posting
- Flight Attendants on Leave of Absence at the time of the posting
- Flight Attendants on furlough at the time of the posting
- Flight Attendants on sick leave at the time of the posting
In these situations, Flight Attendants have thirty (30) days after returning to flight duty to report the discrepancy.
We thank the more than Forty-One (41) Council 21 Committee Volunteers, who are dedicated to the IAD Membership. Council 21 is always looking for more volunteers. Local Council Volunteers are the backbone of our union. Remember, there are several ways to volunteer and in some cases, you don't even have to commit to an entire day. Please let us know if you are interested.
We are available to you 24/7 by either stopping in the IAD Office, calling 703 260 0051 during normal business hours or by using the prompts after hours. Here is the prompt order. Call 703 260 0051, then
1 – Non-immediate issues; calls will be returned next business day.
2 – Reserve ONLY Issues (Immediate need)
3 – Urgent and Immediate Matters.
Contact your Reserve Committee by Text or Email:
In addition to being on call 24 hours a day for urgent and immediate Reserve issues, the Local Reserve Committee is now available by text message or email for non-urgent matters. You can text message/email the Reserve Committee with any non-urgent concerns or questions. The Reserve Committee will make every attempt to respond to your inquiry within 48 hours.
Council 21 Reserve Committee by Text Message - 571.420.1721
Council 21 Reserve Committee by Email - dcareserve@unitedafa.org
To email Council 21, please use afadca@unitedafa.org.
Note! We do not use or respond to united.com emails for union business.
Thank you for being informed and engaged Members. Please remember to fly safe, challenge rumors and to respect each other.
In Solidarity and with Respect,
Todd Failla
Local Executive Council President
AFA-CWA, IAD Council 21
AFL-CIO
Negotiated Base Pay Increase Effective for September Bid Month
Section 4.A.
August 12, 2019 marked the three-year anniversary of the ratification of our 2016-2021 Contract. As set forth in Section 4.A. of our Contract, base pay rates will be increased as of the first day of the September Flight Attendant schedule month or August 30, 2019 as determined by our individual seniority. These rates will become effective for all flying done in September and will be reflected in our October advance and mid-month Pay Advices. Refer to the pay schedules & step increasesin Section 4.A. & 4.B.of our JCBA under the DOS +3 heading for your new hourly rate of pay.
It should be noted we have negotiated into our Contract a $0.05 increase in Per Diem rates every other year. Our next scheduled increase in Per Diem rates is scheduled for 2020.
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Alcohol Use Policy Changes Effective as of August 17, 2019:
Effective, Saturday, August 17, 2019, United Airlines policy as it applies to the consumption of alcohol prior to any on duty period will become effective. Specifically, this policy change prohibits the consumption of alcohol by Flight Attendants for the twelve (12) hour period prior to reporting for duty as well as anytime while on duty with the negotiated exception for deadheading Flight Attendants who meet all of the requirements set forth in Section 3.I. of our Contract. This is an increase to the former restriction where just prior to this change, Flight Attendants were prohibited from consuming alcohol less than eight (8) hours prior to reporting for duty.
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Duty is predicated on the terms of Section 6.R. of our Contract. Duty time begins when a Flight Attendant is required to report to fly, deadhead, or for Standby Reserve. Duty time continues through debriefing at home or at a layover, or when a Standby Reserve is released to begin a legal rest. There are extensions to duty time for circumstances related to clearing customs, holding time, etc. There is a maximum time a Flight Attendant may be scheduled to be on duty. This depends on the type of operation (Domestic or International), time of check-in, scheduled flight time, non-stop/multi-stop status, and scheduled activity within the pairing. The actual time a Flight Attendant may be on duty depends on the same factors.
As negotiated within our Collective Bargaining Agreement, deadheading Flight Attendants may drink alcoholic beverages while deadheading under the following conditions:
1. Flight Attendant may not be in uniform.
2. If a Lineholder, she/he does not have a scheduled flight departing within twelve (12) hours after scheduled arrival at a domicile or co-terminal point. At a non-domicile layover point she/he will not be legal to be reassigned or drafted to work any fight for at least twelve (12) hours after scheduled arrival.
3. If a Reserve, she/he would not be legal for assignment for twelve (12) hours after scheduled arrival at a domicile, co-terminal or non-domicile point.
4. If the above conditions are met, the Flight Attendant may consume alcoholic beverages
a. After takeoff, and
b. In the event of a multi-segment deadhead, may only drink on the final deadhead segment.
Additionally, individuals requesting cabin jumpseat authorization (CJA) are prohibited from consuming alcohol during the twelve (12) hour period prior to occupying a cabin jumpseat.
United management states this change has been implemented to help ensure Flight Attendants are in full compliance with the standards established by the United States as well as other locations worldwide where United operates. Having said this, Flight Attendants must understand that the minimum compliance with United’s policy does not necessarily assure compliance with the Department of Transportation or other individual standards established around the world. For example, some countries outside of the United States have different policies which include a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.00% and punishment criteria. It is the sole responsibility of each Flight Attendant to report for duty as defined by the Company, DOT/FAA or the governing state or country of departure.
New Programming to Address 1:7 Contractual Legality & 24:7 FAR Legality for Reserves:
Crew Scheduling will no longer be required to insert a break day ("BRK") as a placeholder to resolve 1-in-7(1:7) Contractual or 24-in-7(24:7) FAR violations as the result of the conjunction of two schedule months after loading the new month schedule into the system. The system will no longer automatically prevent Reserves with blocks of seven (7) or more consecutive days of availability from trading or prevent Crew Scheduling from making assignments.
1-in-7 and 24-in-7 alerts will appear in the "Alerts" section found below the Master Schedule to ensure Flight Attendants are aware of these potential legalities. Please refer to the 1-in-7 and 24-in-7 Alerts Guide on Flying Together.
Reserves scheduled to be on duty for seven (7) or more days over month end due to either their schedule selection or bid award are reminded they must contact Crew Scheduling prior to the first day of the new bid month to have the 1-in-7 conflict resolved. If they do not contact Crew Scheduling before the first day of the new bid month, the 1-in-7 conflict is considered automatically waived consistent with the terms of our Contract.(The 24-in-7 FAR must still be satisfied with a 24-hour period free from duty.)
Additional CCS Enhancements deployed August 14, 2019 at 2200 CT
The Reserve Availability screen that includes the changes recommended by our AFA testers as well as those who attended our most recent MEC Reserve Training in May is yet another enhancement that was made available as of August 14, 2019. These additional enhancements include:
- The ability to Print, Save or Email a copy of the Reserve Availability list.
- Abbreviated column headers to reduce column width.
- Fixed column headers when scrolling.
- Displaying all results without the need to add rows.
- Screen remembers previous search criteria.
If you have additional questions, contact the C21 Reserve Committee for assistance.
Reassignments After Leaving Base:
MEC Grievance Committee
Over the course of the last ten months, Union and company representatives of the Joint Implementation Team (JIT) have continued to implement the scheduling provisions of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement (JCBA). In the course of these implementation efforts, reassignments have required the dedicated attention of the JIT.
Through the course of meetings between AFA and the company, significant work has gone into developing and sharing a common understanding of the language in our Contract. Going forward, after leaving the base, it is mutually understood that reassignments that return Flight Attendants beyond twelve (12) hours of the original scheduled arrival and/or eight (8) hours into a calendar day off will be treated strictly as reassignments. This means:
On domestic pairings, reassignment pay will apply when a Flight Attendant is rescheduled to and actually returns to her/his base more than two (2) hours after the original scheduled arrival.
On international pairings that are rescheduled downline to return more than twelve (12) hours beyond the original scheduled arrival and/or eight (8) hours into a calendar day off, reassignment pay is not provided for in the JCBA and will not be paid.
(Note: For international reassignments, there is currently a system defect which is posting reassignment pay to the Pay Register, in error. Crew Pay will continue to make adjustments to the Pay Register to correct these errors and will remove reassignment pay.)
In addition, AFA and the company have reached an agreement addressing how reassignment pay will be calculated when a Flight Attendant deviates (FAKE DHD) from deadhead on the final segment of their pairing which is as follows:
For pairings in which the Flight Attendant is reassigned to return to their base more than two (2) hours beyond the original scheduled arrive time, and the last segment is a deadhead back to base on which the Flight Attendant deviates, reassignment pay will be paid until the scheduled departure time of the original deadhead flight.
While we are pleased to share the mutual understanding of how reassignments under these circumstances are paid, in no way does this alter the requirement under Section 7.Q.5.a. to return Flight Attendants to their base within twelve (12) hours of their original scheduled arrival, or that the reassignment cannot extend more than eight (8) hours into a calendar day off. This understanding and the processes associated with these changes are effective as of August 1, 2019, going forward.
What, you may ask, does this mean for all those who have filed worksheets and NODs over the past couple of months? AFA and the company will meet in the coming weeks to discuss resolution of these NODs. Additionally, we will continue our advocacy and look for opportunities work with United management in finding solutions that are in the best interest of our Members and the long-term success of our airline.
Seats Available for Flight 93 Journey of Remembrance:
MEC Commutations Committee
On September 11, 2019, a Journey of Remembrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial Park will depart from Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT). This will be a one-day event intended with the promise to “Always Remember, Never Forget”. Flight Attendants attending the September 11th Memorial Observance Ceremony, will be part of the Memorial Service where the names of those who lost their lives that day will be read as the Bells of Remembrance will toll and echo through the silence of the final resting place of those who lost their lives that day on Flight 93.
Flight Attendants will have ample time at the Visitor Center, to walk the final flight path of Flight 93, meet with the family members and friends or to pay respect to those who perished that fateful day. We encourage Flight Attendants interested in attending to consider joining us as we stand together to remember the Heroes of Flight 93. We have a few seats remaining on the bus that is planned to leave from the Pittsburg International Airport the morning of September 11, 2019. Please contact: communications@unitedafa.org to register.
Council 21 Reserve Education Seminar - Friday, Sept. 6, 2019:
We are pleased to host another set of Reserve Education Seminars! Our Reserve Education Seminars are targeted to help our New Hire Flight Attendants as they begin their careers here in Council 21. With yet another new hire class joining Council 21 in July, we want to make sure that all of our Reserve Flight Attendants have access to this training and the wealth of knowledge it provides in regards to being on Reserve status.
Please RSVP by clicking on the graphic below, or the link underneath it. There is a morning and afternoon session.
Click here to RSVP.
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