AFA Debrief: February 21, 2023

Date: February 21, 2023

AFA Debrief – February 21, 2023

·        Profit Sharing Payments

·        Understanding a Pairing from Standby and the Associated Pay

·        AFA Welcomes Class 2301!

·        AFA-CWA Adds Full Support to jetBlue-Spirit Airlines Merger After Securing Immediate Improvements and Protections Post-Merger

Profit Sharing Payments

Profit Sharing payments are expected to be issued via a separate check on Tuesday, February 28, 2023. Participating employees will receive their payment through their normal payroll process (i.e., direct deposit or physical check).

Due to local requirements, the payout date may differ for Internationally domiciled Flight Attendants.   These Flight Attendants will not receive a separate check but will instead receive the Profit Sharing payment on their regular paycheck closest distribution date due to taxation and other regulatory issues net of any deferrals to any eligible retirement plan account.  Also, Members outside the U.S. who are enrolled in the floor rate program receive appropriate floor exchange rates when Profit Sharing payments are received through the normal payroll process.

Flight Attendants may access their individual statements from Flying Together>Employee Services>Compensation and Incentives.  Supervisors and managers do not have access to your individual Profit-Sharing statement.

In anticipation of questions, we have received in previous years, we remind those who are deferring the proceeds of our Profit-Sharing into your 401(k) on a pre-tax basis, you may see a variety of taxes, including Federal Income taxes being withheld on some portion of the Profit-Sharing proceeds deferred.

This money even when directed into the pre-tax deferred 401(k) account, is subject to FICA (Social Security and Medicare) withholding, CA state disability withholding as well as some other State and Local taxes.  The money withheld from the Profit Sharing payment to pay these FICA, state disability and other taxes is considered wages for the purposes of the Feder tax code.  As a result, the money withheld from the Profit-Sharing to pay these various tax and disability amounts is reported as wages and is further subject to Federal tax withholding.  It is for this reason that you will Federal Taxes withheld from the Profit Sharing proceeds that have been directed into the 401(k) accounts.

As a reminder, VSL participants are eligible to receive a Profit Sharing payment as outlined in the VSL program documents. 

Additional specific information on the Profit Sharing Program can be found in the company’s Profit Sharing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

Understanding a Pairing from Standby and the Associated Pay

Many pay factors interact and are paid in combination with actual flight assignments.  One such pay factor is the pay and credit we receive for time spent on Standby once we have been given a flight assignment or pairing from standby (PSB). 

Maintaining our flight time records is a mutual responsibility of the company (Crew Pay) and the individual Flight Attendant.  Reviewing our hours and pay is something we should do on a regular basis after each trip to ensure we capture any missing pay factors before the end of the month. How pay and credit for pairings received from standby (PSB) is applied appears to be one such area where a refresher might be valuable.

Under our Section 8.N.4., “A Standby Reserve who is required to report to the airport and actually flies, shall receive one-half (1/2) pay and flight time credit for the standby time in addition to any assigned flight time. Time spent on standby is calculated from report time to one hour prior to the scheduled departure time of the assigned pairing.

Example: 

A Reserve reports for Standby at 0700 and is later given a flight assignment with a 1000 departure which is a one day pairing with a value of 5:45.

The Reserve will receive the following:

As a Reserve, when assigned standby, the best way to ensure you receive proper credit is to document each assignment. One of the very best ways to do this is to obtain screenshots or printouts of scheduled assignments as changes are occurring.  

If you have a question or run into what appears to be a pay discrepancy, start by utilizing the pay claim form or Pay Inquiry/Payable Hours Inquiry Form which can be accessed via Help Hub.

For more information, please contact your AFA Local Council.

AFA Welcomes Class 2301!

We are excited to welcome our newest flying partners from class 2301 as part of our Flight Attendant community. Our newest flying partners will begin their careers at bases in DEN, EWR, IAH, and GUM.

We were encouraged with their professionalism, the depth of understanding about all that we have experienced and their great desire to be a part of our community.  We are confident that these new Members will be a great asset to our collective strength.  Please help us welcome them to our ranks as they join us on the line next week.

We encourage you to welcome each of them, help them learn from your experience, and get them started on a path to success and adventure in their new career.

Please remember that our newest Members are on probation. To ensure that they receive the most accurate information to support them, direct them to their AFA Local Council for assistance on Contractual issues.

And if you would like to become an AFA Buddy, reach out to your Local Council to learn how you can become part of this vital link to their success.

AFA-CWA Adds Full Support to jetBlue-Spirit Airlines Merger After Securing Immediate Improvements and Protections Post-Merger

Washington, D.C. (February 21, 2023) — The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), representing 5,600 Spirit Attendants, reached a tentative agreement with Spirit Airlines to increase wages by 10-27 percent immediately, continue raises locked in for the next two years, and other immediate improvements for Flight Attendant schedules and quality of life. The directly elected Flight Attendant AFA-CWA leaders at Spirit voted to approve the tentative agreement for membership ratification and support merger of jetBlue-Spirit. 

Before they are made public, full details of the agreement are being compiled for distribution to Spirit Flight Attendants in the coming week. The tentative agreement is subject to membership ratification. 

“After securing improvements and protections for Spirit Flight Attendants in recent days, we are excited to announce our strong support for the jetBlue-Spirit merger,” Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, representing 50,000 Flight Attendants at 19 airlines. “Our union has experience with eight mergers in the past ten years. We agree with skeptics that consolidation has accrued extraordinary power to a few airlines. However, this merger will help to correct that. The jetBlue-Spirit merger adds competition to the airline industry that creates more power for workers, along with choice and comfort that benefits consumers. We urge regulators to work diligently to ensure the financial merger closing occurs in the near term so that Flight Attendants, other workers, and consumers can access the benefits of the merger as soon as possible.”

AFA-CWA strongly supports the jetBlue-Spirit merger for these reasons:

Immediate Raises Now: We have reached a tentative agreement with Spirit to, upon ratification, increase wages by 10% -27% immediately, continued raises locked in for the next two years, and other immediate improvements for Flight Attendant schedules. This was a significant investment in workers and showing of good faith from an airline that has yet to return to profitability in the wake of the pandemic.

No Furloughs or Displacements, Added Job Security: We have a written commitment from jetBlue that becomes effective post-merger and includes no-furlough protections, a commitment to seniority integration under the law that protects the seniority each Flight Attendant has accrued at their respective carries, no displacements, and a "second bite at the apple" through an expedited process for joint contract negotiations ensuring that Flight Attendants further improve wages and working conditions by sharing in the value created by the merger. 

Added Competition: The jetBlue-Spirit merger will add competition to the current dominance of the four airlines controlling 81 percent of the entire market and increase access to Flight Attendant jobs that provide pay, benefits, and working conditions among the best in the industry.

No Two-Tiered Employment: jetBlue does not currently utilize the regional business model, where Flight Attendants are paid on average 45% less, and has no plans to introduce it with the merged carrier. This is significant as it adds access to good aviation jobs and sets a new model that will pressure other airlines to compete with jobs set to the highest standards. 

Far Better Working Conditions: The jetBlue-Spirit merger will result in reconfiguration of all Spirit aircraft from 28” seat pitch minimum (worst in the industry) to 32” seat pitch minimum (best in the industry), creating a better cabin environment for Flight Attendants and passengers alike. Cramped conditions often contribute to passenger anger and far too frequent abuse of frontline workers.

Reminders:

FEB – Black History Month
FEB 28 – United’s Profit-Sharing Payouts
MAR 12 – U.S. Change to Daylight Saving Time
MAR 26 – Europe Change to Daylight Saving Time
APR 30 – The Joe Beirne Foundation CWA Scholarship Deadline

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