9.04.02 – (LAA) – Overage Leaves Open and Posted, APFA Creates Partner Finder to Help FAs find FAs at their Base

This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator, with an APFA HotLine Update for Wednesday, September 4, 2002.

The Company has informed the APFA that the proffer for Overage Leaves will open late Wednesday afternoon September 4, 2002. Flight Attendants will be sent an HI6 message notifying them once the proffer officially opens. Flight Attendants who wish to proffer must use HISEND message form 32 for Overage Leaves and HISEND form 20 for Partnership Flying. Any HISEND messages sent prior to the official opening of the proffer will not be valid. Flight Attendants who may have sent messages prior to the opening of the proffer will be required to resubmit their requests after the proffer has opened using the proper forms.

More information on Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying will be posted throughout the day on the APFA Web site.

 

Hello. This is APFA National Communications Coordinator George Price with an APFA HotLine Update for Tuesday, September 3, 2002.

The initial proffer for Overage Leaves of Absence will be posted on Wednesday, September 4th. The proffer will close at 0800 CDT on September 16th. Flight Attendants interested in proffering for one of the leaves can do so by submitting HISEND message form 32 for Overage Leaves and Message form 20 for Partnership Flying. Proffer instructions can be found in HIDIRECTORY under FA/VC/OVER for Overage Leaves and FA/VC/PART for Partnership Flying.

Overage Leaves will be offered in three key blocks. The first is a 12-month key block beginning October 1, 2002 running through September 30, 2003. The second is a 7-month key block beginning October 1, 2002 and ending April 30, 2003. The third and final key block is a 6-month block that will begin on November 1, 2002 and end on April 30, 2003. STL and ISL Flight Attendants will not be eligible to bid the 6-month key blocks during this Overage Leave bidding cycle. Once the Company finalizes the November Schedule for STL and ISL another overage leave proffer will be posted for those two bases for the 6-month key blocks that begin November 1, 2002.

If an overage still exists after the key blocks have been awarded, auxiliary blocks will then be awarded.

They are broken down as follows:

Block A Oct 1, 2002-Dec 31, 2002 (3-months)
Block B Jan 1, 2003-Sep 30, 2003 (9-months)
Block C Jan 1, 2003-Apr 30, 2003 (4-months)
Block D Nov 1, 2002-Jan 30, 2003 (3-months)
Block E Jan 31, 2003-Apr 30, 2003 (3-months)

STL and ISL Flight Attendants will not be eligible to bid the auxiliary blocks D beginning November 1, 2002-January 30, 2003 or E beginning January 31, 2003-April 30, 2003. A separate proffer will open in late September for STL and ISL to bid for these auxiliary blocks.

Flight Attendants are eligible to bid for Overage Leaves if they are on an active status the day the leave commences. Flight Attendants on Injury-on-Duty must have a planned clear date prior to the start date of the Overage Leave to be eligible. If a Flight Attendant is on FMLA or maternity and holds the Overage Leave you must clear the sick list prior to the beginning of the leave. If a Flight Attendant is currently on an Educational Leave, Personal Leave, or Overage Leave they will be eligible to bid for an Overage Leave as long as their current leave ends prior to the start date of the Overage Leave.

Only after all key and auxiliary Overage Leave blocks have been awarded, and if an overage still exists at that time, will Partnership Flying be awarded. Partnership Flying will be for three months beginning October 1, 2002 thru December 31, 2002.

The APFA has set up a “Partner Finder” on the APFA Web site under “Reduction in Force.” If you are interested participating in Partnership Flying and need to find a partner, you can list yourself and your qualifications for others at your base to view. The APFA is offering this service in order to make it easier to locate a partner. It is the responsibility of the individual Flight Attendants to make contact and create the partnership in accordance with Appendix F of the Contract and the Article 16 Settlement Agreement. All of this information can be found on the APFA Web site.

Please continue to monitor this hotline and visit the web site under “Reduction in Force” for the latest information

 

Hello. Today is Friday, August 30, 2002. This is George Price, APFA National Communications Coordinator.

APFA and American will meet on Tuesday of next week to review the specific numbers of overages at each base. The proffer for Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying is expected to be posted shortly thereafter and will be out in the field for two weeks closing sometime in mid-September.

APFA and American have reached agreement regarding eligibility for Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying. This agreement will allow more Flight Attendants to elect these options. The complete text of this agreement can be found on the APFA Web site under “Reduction in Force.”

The Overage Leaves will be offered in initial “key blocks” of one year. If the Company does not get enough one-year bids to cover the overage, they will then be offered in “auxiliary blocks.” These blocks will be strung together in order to fill a one-year block. If, after offering all of the Overage Leaves, an overage still exists, Partnership Flying will be offered for a period of three months. If an overage still remains after all Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying have been awarded, then and only then, will there be a need for furloughs.

Overage Leaves are very attractive in that they allow Flight Attendants the ability to take time off while still accruing all seniority, maintain their health insurance at the same rates they pay as an active employee, and use D1 and D2 travel privileges on American Airlines and American Eagle. The only thing they do not receive is a paycheck. Partnership is in essence a job share. Two Flight Attendants from the same base with “like” qualifications including equipment and reserve rotations, for example one on one off, can create a Partnership. They will bid for trips based on the senior person’s seniority. The two Flight Attendants will choose who will fly which trips each month. A great deal of information is now available on the web site regarding Partnership Flying, Overage Leaves, Article 30 Retirement, and Article 16-Reduction in Force and related contractual language.

APFA has created a “Partner Finder” that will help Flight Attendants locate a partner at their base. The finder will allow Flight Attendants to list their equipment qualifications and reserve rotations, if that applies, on an electronic bulletin board similar to the one for Trip Trades. It is the responsibility of the individual Flight Attendants to make contact with each other and create the Partnership. APFA is simply making it easier to locate a partner. Flight Attendants interested in finding a partner may begin completing the form now. The listing will begin appearing on Tuesday, September 3rd.

For those possibly interested in taking Article 30 (Early Retirement). Article 30 allows Flight Attendants ages 45-55 with a minimum of 20 years of service to take early retirement. They will receive a $25,000 lump sum minus applicable taxes, 10 round-trip “D-2” passes with service charges per year, limited term life insurance, and $20,000 in health coverage for the Flight Attendant, their spouse, and dependent children until age 65 or until Medicare coverage begins. Flight Attendants electing to take Article 30 will still be eligible for pension benefits as outlined in Article 36 of the APFA/AAL Collective Bargaining Agreement. Article 30-Early Retirement can be found on pages 299-301 of the Contract.

American began sending furlough notices to Flight Attendants who are subject to furlough. Those American Airlines Flight Attendants hired after April 10, 2001 will be furloughed on October 13, 2002, due to the fact they will be junior to 745 TWA-LLC Flight Attendants currently on furlough once the seniority lists are combined on October 1, 2002. Only after Overage Leaves and Partnership Flying have been awarded will we know if additional furloughs will be necessary.

There has been a great deal of new information added to the APFA Web site this week. Included are the new APFA Retirement Book, an updated retirement outline, Overage Leave and Partnership information, a Partner Finder for those interested in Partnership Flying, contact information for unemployment offices in every state, and COBRA information. More information will be added next week as it becomes available. We encourage all members to visit the web site frequently for the latest information.

The deadline for submission for the Critical Incident Stress management Survey is October 1, 2002. If you no longer have a copy and wish to participate, you can obtain a copy from the APFA Web site. Simply click on the “Hot Topics” icon. You can also call the APFA Membership Department at extension 8153 to request a copy.

APFA is aware that many Flight Attendants have had problems with United Healthcare. In an effort to identify these problems and work to eliminate them, the APFA Health Department needs your help. If you have had problems other than having a claim rejected due to the fact the medical procedure for which you submitted the claim for was not covered under the health plan, you should document it and mail the information to the APFA Health Department. The address is APFA Health Department, 1004 West Euless Blvd., Euless, Texas 76040. Please provide your name, employee number, contact information, member number, claim number, and a detailed description of the problem.

In the next few days, all American Airlines and TWA-LLC Flight Attendants will be receiving a pamphlet produced by Kaiser Permanente in conjunction with AFA. This pamphlet was designed to help crewmembers deal with the trauma and stress brought on by the events of September 11, 2001. APFA viewed the information contained in the pamphlet as very beneficial. So when it was offered to us free of charge and postage paid, we accepted. Services offered by the APFA can be found at the back of the pamphlet you will be receiving.

There are numerous events planned for the week of September 9th. In order to keep our membership informed, we have created a September 11th Events Page on the APFA Web site. Events are being added from around the country and from many bases each day. Please take a moment to review the page. It is updated frequently.

“Skyword Online” is a new program devised to help cut costs. It allows Flight Attendants to elect to read Skyword online through the APFA Web site and stop home delivery. This option has been especially popular with Flight Attendants who are married to other APFA members. Flight Attendants wishing to participate in “Skyword Online” should send an e-mail to [email protected]. The words “Skyword Online” should be typed into the subject line. The text of the message should include the Flight Attendantís name, employee number, and a note saying they wish to read Skyword online and stop home delivery.

APFA has been made aware that e-mails are being sent that are virus-laden with the words ìA Funny Gameî and ìA Very Good Toolî in the subject line. If you have Internet access and do not have virus protection on your computer, we encourage you to install it. If you currently have virus protections, please update it frequently.

 

In Industry News:

American began releasing details of its fall schedule this week. The initial changes include elimination of service between DFW and Savannah, Georgia and increased RJ service between Chicago and Harrisburg. American will replace all mainline jets with RJs on service between DFW and Greensboro, Little Rock, and Cincinnati. RJs will also replace American jets on flights between Chicago and Syracuse and Albany, New York.

Flight Attendants at Midwest Express have begun their CHAOS actions in response to their airline’s refusal to agree to a new contract. Flight Attendants may strike flights randomly throughout the Midwest system.

United unveiled its cost cutting proposal to employees on Thursday. The airline is asking for $1.5 billion dollars in wage and benefit concessions from employees over the next six years. United hopes to gain approval from the various work groups prior to September 16th in order to resubmit it application for federal loans guarantees. Unions at the airline have reacted with skepticism to the companyís proposals.

US Airways has petitioned the court handling its bankruptcy case to reject collective bargaining agreements with the IAM and CWA. These are the only groups that have not reached concessionary agreements with the airline as a part of their cost cutting efforts.

Mechanics at Southwest have reached a tentative agreement with that airline. The agreement includes wages increases, retroactive pay, and stock options.

That’s it for this week. Please remember those 1,566 Flight Attendants at American and TWA-LLC that are currently on furlough.

The APFA Offices will be closed on Monday, September 2nd in observance of Labor Day. There will be an Officer-on-Duty to assist those Flight Attendants with emergencies. All calls of a non-emergency nature will be routed the appropriate department or representative for response the next business day.

For the latest information, please visit the APFA Web site.