12.14.20 – LGA Base Brief – Monday, December 14, 2020

Monday, December 14, 2020

Greetings to the New York base!

We are well into the December month and want to extend our warmest wishes to those who are celebrating this Holiday Season. To those of you currently observing Hanukkah, we say Chag Sameach!

Reserve
The months of December and January have increased our members who are sitting or will be sitting Reserve. The increase in the total number of Reserves, combined with the recent furloughs, are pushing Reserve numbers deep into our seniority list. As distasteful as it may be, Reserve is a fact of life at all airlines. Many of you have not been on Reserve since before FOI, which means you may be unfamiliar with bidding your days off in PBS and your daily assignments in ROTA.

LGA Flight Service will be offering additional Reserve classes in January. The classes focus on how to bid your Reserve month in PBS and how to bid your daily assignment while on Reserve in ROTA. We strongly encourage all of those who may need assistance with Reserve to attend the sessions. January dates and times will be determined and published as they become available.

Additionally, we recommend you read the Flight Attendant Reserve Manual and the Virtual Reserve Class produced by the former Flight Attendant Bidding Resource Center (FABRC). APFA has also created two documents as quick reference materials for Reserves: ROTA (future processing) & ROTD (daily processing).

We have experienced dramatic shifts in flying and schedules since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has had an impact on the way Reserves are utilized. Most of our sequences originate before Noon. This means that to maintain coverage, ROTA currently awards and assigns many of RAPs and Standbys’ start times earlier in the day. While ROTA allows us to bid for our desired start times, operational necessity will dictate how many are given a preferred RAP or Standby.

Please review the ROTA Reports on Crew Portal for the day(s) prior to going on Reserve before bidding for your future assignments. The reports offer historical data for how reserves are being utilized, which Standby shifts are being awarded or assigned, and how many people are being put on the various RAPs.

We actively monitor the ROTA runs and are always willing to assist and follow up if you feel there has been an error or misaward. Continue to report any suspected misawards to the Company using the Support Tab in Crew Portal as well as to APFA using the Scheduling Systems Issues Report Form found on APFA.org.

Calling out Sick
The most recent APFA hotline dated December 11th goes into detail with important guidelines when calling out sick. Please review the hotline and the Calling Out Sick Reference Guide at APFA.org so you are familiar with the most  current policies and procedures.

As a courtesy to the Flight Attendant who may be awarded/assigned a trip you are calling out sick for via UBL or ROTA/D, we request that you advise Crew Scheduling of your sick status sooner rather than later. It is unnecessary to wait until after midnight to call in sick for a trip originating the following day. The sick charge is for the footprint of the trip, not from the time of contact with Crew Scheduling.

Well for Work
The Company requires each Flight Attendant to complete the Well for Work form monthly as of late this summer. The form is in Comply365 on your tablet. This form affirms that you are free from COVID-19 symptoms and have not been recently exposed.

We feel the Company has not been doing an adequate job in communicating this requirement to employees, and we also acknowledge that the process is not user-friendly. We have seen multiple instances of Flight Attendants receiving performance points for noncompliance. We are looking into these cases as we become aware of them.

Attendance/Performance
Always actively monitor your Attendance/Performance in My View on the Flight Service website. If you feel you have been unfairly penalized with performance points, particularly related to Well for Work, please reach out to us via email. Also, ensure that you have been credited the proper banked points if you earned them by working during one of the critical periods.

As 2020 draws to a close, we recognize this has been one of the most challenging years on many levels. We genuinely appreciate all your hard work. We each have competing demands at work and in our personal lives. Please continue to stay connected with your friends and loved ones. Reach out if you need help and offer it to those in your orbit who may need it.

In Solidarity,

Robert Norvell
APFA LGA Base President
[email protected]
(718) 350-6023

Penelope King
APFA LGA Base Vice President
[email protected]
(718) 350-7043