Aloha Friends and Greetings from Oahu.

A Special Joint MEC Meeting was held on Sept. 6 at the AFA-CWA International Headquarters in Washington D.C. Kevin was in attendance as your representative and I served as your eyes and ears for the following council reports.

The first order of business was for all 21 LECP's across the three pre-merger carriers to elect a single set of MEC officers. The meeting was open to all members and was presided over by AFA-CWA International President, Sara Nelson.

This election was a monumental step, if not a painful one, in the process of bringing three MEC's into one house. It’s also going to take more than a simple announcement of an election and its results to fully understand the depth or impact felt by our friends from across the sea.

The final results of the elections were:

 •   Ken Diaz of EWR. The United MECP ran unopposed and was elected unanimously by acclamation, making him the official Master Executive President.

•   Adam Novish of ORD. The current LECVP for CAL-ORD, won the seat of MEC Vice President in a hotly contested race.

•   Jeff Heisey of LHR. The United MEC Sec., reclaimed the position at the new MEC as Secretary-Treasurer.

Voting records and resumes of all candidates can be viewed on this page of the ourcontract.org website.

Each of these positions went into effect immediately and will run thru June 30, 2017, thus dissolving the multiple MEC officer positions at all three pre-merger airlines of United. 

One Voice of Leadership

Electing a single body of MEC Officers was the first step in order to bring all three Flight Attendant groups at United together under the same roof. Now, the MEC can work to the benefit of all, by utilizing One voice of leadership. If it is not clear, the MEC Officers work with and for the Local Council Presidents of each base, which in turn, work with and for us.

Your Money

Much like the cost savings to United with the ability to schedule Flight Attendants and fleet, aligning the cost of three separate MEC’s, their offices with their associated equipment, leases and personnel, will allow our dues to be better targeted to the needs of all.

Yet to come, will be the merging of three sets of MEC Committees and the valuable work that they achieve in our interests. But more on that phase when it actually happens.

Merging Dual Councils

The next order of business will be electing a single set of LEC Officers at each of the dual councils. LAX, for example, contains both United and Continental LAX based Flight Attendants. Other dual councils exist in SFO, ORD, DEN, IAH, EWR & DCA.

These dual councils currently have their own set of LEC Officers or in the case of Continental, some fall under the jurisdiction of another larger council. The dual council elections will be conducted in the next couple of months to merge and streamline all structures within the house following a single contract.

Some of the related elections will be short in tenure due to the schedule of election cycles. Full terms will take place with the regularly scheduled election cycles as the Category they fall under come to term.

Okay folks, that was the short report. Up next is a longer one dealing with the complexities of merging the MEC's and local councils. It brings in some of the discussion from the floor along with the emotion, as change is never easy. Hopefully it will bring a deeper understanding as we continue on our long journey to becoming one.

See you then. - Sharon