11.02.01 – (LAA) – APFA Files Presidential Grievance on Company’s Misapplication of Article 16 and Appendix F, Supplemental Medical Plan, Airlines Security Act, TWA’s Seniority Integration

This is Leslie Mayo, National Communications Coordinator with the APFA HotLine. Today is Friday, November 2, 2001.

APFA has filed Presidential Grievances on the company’s misapplication of Article 16 and Appendix F, and arbitration dates have now been set. We encourage all members in good standing to attend.

The Presidential relating to Article 16 and Appendix F will take place in Dallas/Ft. Worth on January 21-25. This grievance will deal with the length of Overage Leaves, eligibility for Overage Leaves, limitations on passes as well as issues pertaining to the denial of both Leaves and Partnership Flying.

The Presidential relating to the furloughing of 1000 Probationary Flight Attendants prior to offering Overage Leaves under Article 16 and Partnership Flying under Appendix F will be held on February 5th and 6th in Dallas Ft. Worth.

The Presidential relating to the payment of Severance Benefits under Article 16 will be also be heard in March, in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Details will be announced on this HotLine as soon as they come available.

We need your assistance in gathering certain individual information if you fit the criteria below for these grievances. Please forward the following information to your Base Chair:

The name, employee number and details of:

1. Any Flight Attendant who wished to take a 90-day overage leave or any other duration leave aside from 180 days;

2. Any Flight Attendant who was denied an overage leave;

3. Any Flight Attendant who was denied an overage leave because they were already on a Personal Leave, Educational Leave, Maternity, or any other approved Leave; and/or

4. Any Flight Attendant who was denied partnership flying.

By now, you should have received your Benefits Enrollment packet in the mail. If you are based in Dallas, Miami or Chicago, the deadline to enroll is November 12th. All other bases have a deadline of November 14th. If you haven’t received your packet, please contact Peoplelink at 800-447-2000. All of the information included in the packet is also available online at peoplelink.aa.com. The Benefits Guide is on the web site as well and includes a detailed explanation of the new Supplemental Medical Plan. Please make sure you seriously consider this coverage, as this will be the only opportunity most of us have to elect the coverage.

The Supplemental Medical Plan provides an additional $500,000 in medical maximum benefits to eligible employees and their spouses or domestic partners. You may elect coverage for yourself only, or you and your spouse. You may purchase Supplemental Medical even if you waive medical coverage. The Supplemental Medical Plan continues your medical plan coverage under the following circumstances:

1. When you or your covered spouse exhaust your medical maximum benefit under your medical plan ($1,000,000 as an active employee, $300,000 as a retiree), or

2. If you are the surviving spouse of an active or retired employee who dies while you are both covered under this plan,

In most cases, enrollment in Supplemental Medical is a “one-time only” option. Flight Attendants currently on active payroll or on leave of absence may elect coverage during the current enrollment. If you marry after you are first eligible, you may then elect coverage for you and your spouse.

APFA has been made aware that if you are on an overage leave of absence, you will not be able to enroll online. We have advised the company of this problem and are awaiting an appropriate fix. In the meantime, please notify your Flight Service Manager and Peoplelink at 800-447-2000. Submit copies of any documentation you provide to the company, indicating your denial of online enrollment, into any APFA lock box. Remember, there are two deadline dates. So, be sure to enroll no later than November 12 to avoid any confusion.

The deadline to apply for Appendix T is November 12. You must clear the sick list and have your paperwork submitted by that date. The company, upon request, may waive your two-week-notice. If you do not wish to fly after submission of your application, please notify your Flight Service Manager. If your Flight Service Manager denies your request, please contact your local Base Chair or Vice Chair immediately for assistance. If you are eligible for regular retirement this will be your last opportunity to take Appendix T along with your regular retirement as a combined benefit package, as Appendix T will no longer exist after November 12th. For those of you not eligible for regular retirement who are considering only Appendix T, APFA encourages you to check the provisions of Article 30, which among other things, allows a member to retire with a minimum age of 55. Again, Appendix T will NOT be available after November 12th.

APFA has been working to clear up the improper deductions that have occurred with many of you in your most recent paycheck/retrocheck. If you believe that an improper deduction or a miscalculation of your compensation has occurred, please contact your Flight Service Manager as soon as possible. Also, please provide APFA with a copy of your 10/31 paycheck stub along with a brief explanation of the improper deduction and drop it into any APFA lock box.

Bill 3150, the Republican version of the Airline Security Act, barely passed the House on Thursday. We now proceed with the waiting game while the two sides hammer out the details until an agreement is reached between the Senate and the House. The House Bill provides for, among other things, the federal oversight of airline security, but not the federalization of all security screeners. President Bush has the authority to implement some of the changes if a resolution is not reached expeditiously. We will know more next week when we hear what the Senate has to say in response to the House passing the Bill.

The legislation relating to the issue of TWA’s integration into our seniority list remains in Committee with no proposed date on the floor as of yet. Please stay tuned to this HotLine for any updates. In the meantime, please continue to call and fax your representatives and senators as well as all members of the related committees. More information can be found on the web site at www.www.apfa.org.

The implementation calendar for our new contract is posted on the APFA web site on the Negotiations page. Our Negotiating Team continues to work with the company to ensure that all aspects of the contract are being carried out appropriately. There have been several inquiries as to the designated time for requests for Reserve “move-up” of duty-free days as well as the notification deadline by the Company. The request must be received between 0800 and 1000 local base time the day prior. Crew Schedule will notify you of your request by noon the same day.

That’s it for this week. Thank you for calling. This HotLine will be updated on Tuesday, November 6th.