6.18.04 – (LAA) – Recall Packets Mailed, EC Meeting, Skyword

Hello everyone. This is Liz Geiss, National Communications Coordinator, with the APFA Hotline for Friday, June 18th, 2004.

Recall packets were mailed on June 9th, 2004, to 233 Flight Attendants eligible for recall to active status on July 1st, 2004. Responses must be received by American by June 19th, 2004. Failure to respond by that date will result in forfeiture of recall rights. The AAL Recall Packet and the recall list have been posted on the opening page of the APFA Web site under “Flight Attendant Recall Information”. We look forward to the return of these Flight Attendants.

Complaints regarding the recently conducted APFA National Officer elections were filed by Ted Bedwell, Sherry Cooper, Tommie Hutto-Blake, Juan Johnson, Linda Lanning and Sam Morales, first internally within procedures provided by the APFA Constitution, and then with the Department of Labor. The Department of Labor is required to investigate such complaints and it is presently engaged in that process. We will provide further information when we are informed of the results of that investigation.

This week, in Washington D.C., Senator Hollings letter closed on June 15th, and was sent to the TSA on June 16th. This letter was requesting the TSA to develop a basic Security Training Program for all Flight attendants. Due to the lobbying efforts of many of our members, we were able to obtain 36 signatures from Senators. Thanks to everyone who took the time to contact their Senators on this very important issue.

On the issue of Flight Attendant fatigue, Senator Boxer’s office will continue coordinating signatures for several weeks. The Boxer letter is posted under the icon “ACTION ALERT” on the opening page of the APFA web site, which will take you directly to the Capwiz feature. This feature allows you to submit an e-mail to your Senator asking for his/her support and requesting that they sign on to this letter. Senator Boxer’s letter is asking the FAA to review and recommend changes to the flight attendant duty and layover rest regulations for flight attendants. Once you have sent your letter, click on TELL-A-FRIEND to send up to six flight attendant friends an e-mail message and allow them to respond with their own letter. Please pass the word to all of your flying partners, and ask their assistance in contacting congress on these very important issues. You may also obtain a list of phone numbers for the senate offices by going to the Government affairs page of the APFA web site and clicking on 108th Congress-U. S. Senate. We need our voices to be heard in Washington, so log onto the APFA web site and start sending those letters and making those calls.

The APFA is pleased to make available to you a number of various supplemental medical and disability plans. APFA Flight Attendants will soon have an opportunity to meet individually with non-commissioned Benefit Counselors to learn more about these voluntary benefits. Benefit Counselors will be available in Flight Service Operations areas beginning June 21st, 2004. The schedule for these educational meetings are listed below:

• Beginning June 21st, 2004 at DFW, MIA, and ORD
• Beginning July 12th, 2004 at LAX, LGA, JFK, BOS, and STL
• Beginning July 19th, at SFO, SJU, DCA, BWI, IAD, and RDU-I

Taking you around the APFA:

From the Scheduling Department: Due to the number of reschedules assigned to line Flight Attendants, APFA Scheduling Department has developed a form to help track the problem and seek resolution when the Flight Attendant has been wrongfully rescheduled. This form is green and can be found at all bases near the APFA lockbox. Instructions and a list of the necessary documents required to research your case are listed on the form. This form is not for Flight Attendants who have been rescheduled due to a misconnect, cancellation, or illegality, but for those who have flying “tacked on” to the end of the sequence.

Also from the Scheduling Department: Starting June 21st, 2004, Flight Attendants will be able to exchange and drop sequences obtained through optional exchange (OE). Detailed information concerning procedures will be forthcoming on the APFA Web site -Scheduling Page, prior to implementation.

From the Hotel Department: The APFA continues to meet with the Company to discuss the issue of both the Paris and Rome long layover hotels. The hotel review was conducted in January 2004. We are very disappointed that, to date, the company has not yet made a decision. We will continue to update you with any new information via the hotline and the APFA web site.

The quarterly APFA Executive Committee Meeting will be held on Monday, June 28th at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Boston Logan Airport. The meeting will begin at 1000 EST. All members in good standing are welcomed to attend all open portions of the meeting.

The APFA Executive Committee passed resolution #8 on April 13, 2004, which calls for the rotation of Executive Committee meetings among the various base cities. Such rotations began in the second quarter of 2004. As meetings of the Board of Directors or Executive Committee are confirmed, we will continue to notify the membership via the APFA Hotline and post the information on the Calendar of Events on the APFA Web site.

Attention Furloughed Flight Attendants: Please continue to update your address, phone number, and e-mail address with both the APFA and American Airlines at all times. To update information with the APFA, please use the Change of Address Card in the center section of SKYWORD, e-mail our Membership Department at [email protected], or call our Membership Department at 1-800-395-2732 ext. 8153. To update contact information with American Airlines, please file, in writing, your address with Manager Flight Service Administration, American Airlines. Inc. Mail Drop 4293, P.O. Box 619616, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas 75261-9616, and contact Employee Services at 1-800-447-2000.

In Industry News:

• The U. S. Government rejected for the second time, United Airline’s request for government assistance. The ATSB remains open for United to submit a third application. In order for United to survive, United needs $2 billon in new capital to emerge from bankruptcy. To secure funding, the airline needs to reduce it’s cost by another $1.2 billon, thus forcing the carrier to dump routes, planes and sell assets.
• Southwest Airlines has yet to reach an agreement with it’s Flight Attendants on a new contract. Their current contract became amendable under federal labor law two years ago. Pay continues to be the main issue, especially for junior flight attendant. Analysts say the two sides are tens of millions of dollars apart in their positions.
• Delta Airlines CEO says Delta “can not” survive as it is. Reducing the pilot cost is the first step. Delta is seeking a 30% pay cut for pilots. A Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing is still not out of the question.
• American Airlines’ CEO Gerard Arpey, is asking Chinese government officials to allow more routes between that nation and the United States. At this time American is focusing on adding flights between Chicago and Shanghai, a key business center, Gerard Arpey said on Wednesday.

That’s it for this edition of the APFA Hotline. Please visit our web site at www.www.apfa.org for more information.

Thanks for calling.