| | | Inside this issue: | A Message from Bill
Preparing to Vote on a Tentative Agreement
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Members of Council 25,
I will be attending a session of the Joint Master Executive Council (MEC) on Monday 26 June and Tuesday 27 June 2016 in Chicago. The purpose of this meeting is to review the terms of the Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement. Details of this Agreement, once accepted by the Joint MEC will be presented to the entire membership.
Much of our emphasis during the upcoming days will be on education regarding the Tentative Agreement. When I come back from Chicago I will be meeting with Our Local Council Officers to discuss the TA and educate our self to be ready to answer questions regarding the Agreement.
Additional information will be available via our Lucky-e Newsletter, Ourcontract.org, Unitedafa.org. We encourage you to make sure you and every Council 25 member is signed up to these avenues of communications in order to receive the most accurate information.
We commend the efforts of the Joint Negotiating Committee. Additionally, we appreciate the support and solidarity that our LAS Council 25 membership has displayed and exercised during this arduous time. Be it by participation in an AFA Day of Action, wearing one’s AFA pin or carrying and knowing your contract, know that we could not have reached this point without each of our involved and pro-active union members.
Simply stated, now is the time to continue to be engaged, fully participant in our union and allow solidarity to lead us to a Joint Collective Bargaining Agreement that will best serve us all.
We thank you for being informed and engaging Members,
Bill
Preparing to Vote on a Tentative Agreement
Once an agreement is reached at the table between our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and the company, the next step is review by the directly elected leaders of all 25,000 Flight Attendants. The JNC must immediately prepare presentation of the entire agreement to the Joint Master Executive Council which includes all (CAL, CMI, UAL) Local Presidents as voting members. The Tentative Agreement is only official upon approval by the directly elected leaders.
After the review and approval by the Joint MEC, the JNC continues to finalize the summary of the Tentative Agreement and proofing of the agreement language along with all of the other preparations for communications that ensure members get all questions answered in order to cast an informed vote on the Tentative Agreement. Expect that the Joint MEC meeting review and preparation of communications may take as much as a week before details of the Tentative Agreement are ready for release.
Who Votes on a Tentative Agreement?
In addition to information posted on-line, the Tentative Agreement (TA) summary and balloting instructions will be provided to all members eligible to vote, including members who have the opportunity to become eligible during the voting process:
- All active AFA Members in good standing (dues current, active AFA member) are eligible to vote. Members ineligible due to non-payment of dues will be notified when attempting to vote and will be directed to the AFA Membership Department to become current in order to vote.
- Flight Attendants on Probation will be eligible to vote during the entire period the ballot is open, provided they are scheduled to complete probation before the ballot count date.
- Inactive Members (Leaves of Absence, COBUS, etc.) may choose to “leave and remain active” to continue payment of dues during the leave in order to be eligible to vote. Contact the AFA Ballot Help Line at 800-424- 2407, press 1 and extension 706, to complete the process to “leave and remain active.”
Balloting Information
Balloting will be conducted electronically through VoteNet which may be accessed at OurContract.org. All eligible Members will be notified of the voting timeline and complete instructions will be provided. This voting process will be familiar to all AFA members – as information becomes available during the ratification AFA members can access their ballot and recast a vote. Only the last vote cast will be counted by the electronic balloting agency.
Casting an Informed Vote
This Tentative Agreement is unlike any other in our careers. There will be new terms and concepts for everyone. It is imperative that Members make an informed decision as we vote on the contract that will provide access to the entire United route system and provide the basis for future negotiations where we are all working to advance our careers from the same page.
Plan to attend JNC Information Sessions and Local Council meetings, watch informational videos and ask questions. NSA InfoReps will also be available to help collect questions and direct members to information from our Joint Negotiating Committee.
Stay connected throughout the ratification process at OurContract.org.
The JNC has worked diligently to reach an agreement that we can ratify, including the interests of all 25,000 Flight Attendants while negotiating in contrast to management’s positions.
It is very important that each of us consider the Tentative Agreement, recognizing the collaborative effort by the AFA JNC Members from each pre-merger airline. As each of us considers our own personal vote, we appreciate their efforts for all of us.
You can print a copy of this by clicking on the link: TA How to Vote.pdf
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