Comparison of AFA and United's Proposals

Updated: February 12, 2010

On April 6, 2009 we presented a 148-page Opening Proposal of the Contractual improvements you determined were our priorities through Member negations surveys, discussions at the Roadshow in the fall of 2008, feedback to your Local Council and direct interaction with our Negotiating Committee.  On the same day management presented a 4-page letter of generalities with concessionary verbiage in reference to pay, healthcare, work rules, job security and quality of work life.

After 40 weeks of negotiationsmanagement continues to present proposals in bits and pieces.  We have completed a review of 34 of 35 Sections of our Collective Bargaining Agreement.  The following is a summary reminder of our proposal set in contrast to the proposals made by management.  This is just a summary, and may not include full review of our collective goals as contained in our 148-page Opening Proposal.  View our Opening Proposal document and video anytime at www.unitedafa.org/contract/negotiations. 

Each Section of the Contract will achieve a “T.A.” or “tentative agreement” between the parties prior to a final agreement.  Sections tentatively agreed (T.A.) upon are not final until a final agreement has been reached.

Red = Updated changes from November 20, 2009            Book = Current Contract

Section 1 – Recognition

Section 2 – Definitions

AFA

  • Book

 

United Management

  • Other employees or vendors to perform Flight Attendants’ work

AFA

  • Increase holidays
  • Same day reassignment (“fake 3-day” fix)
  • EWR/JFK/LGA Co Terminals (Agreed)

United Management

  • Decrease holidays
  • CRAF, MAC, Hawaii, Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Central and some South America domestic flying with domestic pay & work rules.
  • HNL domestic domicile
  • EWR/JFK/LGA Co Terminals (Agreed)

Section 3 - Union Activity

Section 4 – General

AFA

  • Increase FPL
  • Union office space
  • No use of disapproved hotels

United Management

  • Reduce FPL
  • Restrict Union Travel
  • Eliminate requirement for eating facilities to be on site at layover hotels (3.K. Layover Hotels)

AFA

  • Increase PTO
  • No fee for CJA
  • Reciprocal Cabin Seat Agreements
  • Recording of Crew Desk
  • International domiciles direct deposit
  • International On-Board rest facilities improvement
  • Signature required mail
  • Current book for $50 minimum reimbursement check (Agreed)

United Management

  • Eliminate PTO
  • Deny CJA on weight restricted flights
  • Eliminate flight crew lounges for sits over 3 hours
  • Intentional selective deviation from staffing standards
  • Current book for $50 minimum reimbursement check (Agreed)

Section 5 – Compensation

Section 6 - Expenses, Transportation & Lodging

AFA

  • Increase pay
  • Increase Reserve guarantee and override
  • Merged pay scale
  • Longevity
  • Drafting pay
  • Penalty pay
  • New “ground pay”

United Management

  • No proposal

AFA

  • Increase expenses
  • Greater of $50 or 50% of cost of room for not using layover hotel (counter-proposal)
  • Downtown for layovers over 15 hours
  • Increase crew meals
  • Actual reimbursement for cab or transportation
  • Increase parking reimbursements

United Management

  • 32 hours – Downtown 
  • $20 payment for not using layover hotel (contingent on other concessions)
  • Intl layover hotel room – wait 2 hours before self help
  • No hotel for sits under 5 hrs
  • Eliminate crew meals

Section 7 - Hours of Service &
Contractual Legalities

Section 8 - Minimum Pay and Credit

AFA

  • Increase RSV # of days off
  • Shorten duty day
  • Increase legal rest
  • Improve crew rest
  • Key-in-hand

United Management

  • Eliminate Quarter System
  • Eliminate rest provisions:
  • 8-in-24
  • 30-in-7
  • 1-in-7
  • Extend Maximum Duty Time to 17 hours, or more when last segment is Deadhead
  • Reduce Legal Rest to 8 hrs
  • Expand Field Layovers to a hotel within approximately 30 minutes of airport
  • Weaken the limitations on Night-Into-Day Flying

AFA

  • Increased duty rigs
  • 8.J. reassignments
  • Drafting pay
  • Increase call out pay
  • Full pay for holding

United Management

  • Eliminate minimum duty rigs (5/10/15/20)
  • Reduce trip rig – time away from home (1 for 4)
  • No longer pay the greater of actual or scheduled
  • Holding time paid after 1 hr

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Section 9 - Flight Assignments &
Scheduling Procedures

Section 10 – Reserve Scheduling Procedures

AFA

  • Increase staffing
  • Reassignment pay
  • Trip trading improvements
  • Lower line averages
  • No conversion from DHD for service enhancement
  • Eliminate required purser qualification for domestic

United Management

  • Increase line of flying average
  • Eliminate the printing of all bid materials
  • Expand language qualified positions to domestic and double the number
  • Restrict # of buddy bids
  • Prevent trades that lower lines below 50 hours
  • Mix Intl and Dom IDs

AFA

  • Improve Reserve Scheduling procedures - preferencing
  • Improve Reserve trading procedures
  • No more than 3 conversions to Ready per month
  • No more than 3 STBY assignments per month
  • Increase Reserve days off

United Management

  • Eliminate Ready Reserve 4 hrs notice prior to departure
  • Standby Reserves to be assigned to board/deplane flights and perform pre-departure duties when not assigned as a working crewmember

Section 11 – Deadheading

Section 12 – International

AFA

  • Seating assignments and upgrade procedures
  • Economy Plus and exit row seat booking for Economy

United Management

  • ½ credit for DHD
  • Booked in Economy for all DHD
  • .05 per diem increase if we agree to all other concessionary proposals in this section.

AFA

  • Reassignment & drafting pay
  • Reduce duty day
  • Increase legal rest
  • West Coast and Hawaiian turn restrictions
  • Eliminate selection and increase Purser Training
  • Purser discretion for Onboard rest

United Management

  • Reduce legal rest minimum to FAR
  • Eliminate place of lodging minimum
  • Reduce restrictions to mix Domestic and International
  • Crew meals for flights over 8 hours, downgrade quality
  • Use of crew rest facilities by other employees
  • Max 4 Language Qualified per flight
  • Eliminate RSV guarantee

Section 13 - Military Airlift Command

Section 14 - Temporary Duty Assignment (T.A.)

AFA

  • Book

United Management

  • MAC as domestic flying
  • Company agrees to language in current book for MAC flying death, disability, workers’ comp and missing, internment and prisoner of war benefits
  • Book

Section 15 - Training and Meetings

Section 16 – Uniforms

AFA

  • Full pay for training and travel
  • AFA approved hotel
  • Increase IST Training

United Management

  • Eliminate 3-hour min pay guarantee
  • Flight Attendants removed from schedule subject to 8.J. reassignments.
  • Eliminate 1-in-7 protection

AFA

  • No advertising on uniforms
  • Clarify uniform points
  • Clarify for replacement due to wool allergies (Agreed)

United Management

  • Eliminate restriction on other employee groups wearing Flight Attendant uniforms
  • Clarify for replacement due to wool allergies (Agreed)

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Section 17 – Seniority

Section 18 – Vacations

AFA

  • 7 year accrual while on Medical Leave of Absence

United Management

  • Increase number of yrs of seniority accrual & decrease number of yrs with access to benefits while on MLOA
  • Flight Attendants who transfer to Onboard Management to retain and accrue seniority indefinitely

AFA

  • Increase vacation days
  • Increase vacation pay
  • Increase allocation for interim bids

 

United Management

  • Decrease vacation days to max 28
  • Withhold 25% of allocation during annual vacation bid process
  • Eliminate vacation pay advance

Section 19 - Sick Leave

Section 20 - Physical Examinations (T.A.)

AFA

  • Increase monthly sick leave accrual to 5 hours
  • Occupational continuance
  • Direct deposit for Occupational reimbursement
  • Cash out of sick leave bank at retirement or resignation
  • Use of sick leave for family member

United Management

  • Reduce monthly sick leave accrual to 3 hours
  • Sick leave paid at 75% of hourly rate of pay
  • No sick leave accrual on sick leave status
  • Eliminate sick leave make up
  • Reduce use of sick leave pay to supplement Occupational benefits
  • Book

 

Section 21 - Reduction in Personnel

Section 22 - Filling of Vacancies

AFA

  • Clarify Probationaries’ ability to participate in Voluntary Furlough

United Management

  • Limited furlough rebid
  • Probationaries excluded from voluntary furlough
  • Probationaries included in involuntary furlough

AFA

  • Increase COMAT
  • Right of return to closed domiciles
  • Right of return for surplus
  • Ability to transfer while on leave
  • Secure visas for Intl Domicile closure

United Management

  • Eliminate settling time for all voluntary transfers including new domiciles
  • Eliminate hotel for new hires or for newly established domiciles
  • Eliminate annual BP-3 for Intl Domiciles

Section 23 - Leaves of Absence

Section 24 - Moving Expenses

AFA

  • Medical Leave of Absence  increase to 7 years
  • Increase maternity, paternity, adoption leave to 180 days
  • FMLA improvements
  • Ability to be awarded new leave from leave status

United Management

  • Elimination of 12 month minimum on LOA before Flight Attendant kept off pay status until re-qualified

AFA

  • Book

United Management

  • Eliminate moving expenses for new domiciles

Section 25 - Personnel File (T.A.)

Section 26 - Grievance Procedures
  • All complaint letters/inflight observations removed after 12 months
  • Extend time to place reports in Flight Attendants’ Personnel File by 6 days after receipt at domicile

 

AFA

  • Book

United Management

  • MEC grievance to be filed within 60 days (26.D.)
  • LEC grievance to be filed within 60 days (26.E.)

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Section 27 - System Board of Adjustment

Section 28 - Missing, Internment,
Prisoner of War Benefits (T.A.)

AFA

  • Provision to ensure 80 days of System Board are used

United Management

  • 3-person Board for discipline
  • Book

Section 29 - Worker's Compensation Benefits (T.A.)

Section 30- Union Security
  • Book

 

AFA

  • Clarify dues collection

United Management

  • Modify Union Security and the processing of dues

Section 31 - Safety and Health and Security

Section 32 - Savings Clause (T.A.)

AFA

  • Request for information
  • Access to secure areas
  • Fatigue protection
  • Air quality protection
  • Pesticide protection
  • Communicable Disease Policy (Agreed)

United Management

  • Fatigue Current Book
  • Communicable Disease Policy (Agreed)
  • Book

Section 33 – Benefits

Section 34 – Retirement

AFA

  • Premiums lowered & capped
  • Coordination of benefits
  • Improve prescription drug program
  • Modernize health and wellness charts
  • Short term disability
  • Lower retirement age to 50

United Management

  • Decrease medical, dental and prescription drug benefits
  • Increase premium contribution & eliminate cap
  • Increase prescription drug costs
  • Restrict access to benefits
  • Eliminate company paid retiree healthcare for future retirees
  • “Lifestyle” wellness program
  • Medical/dental benefits limited to 1 year while on medical LOA
  • Eliminate HMOs
  • Eliminate Company subsidy for pre and post medical coverage for future retirees
(Chart on unitedafa.org fully describes management’s concessionary proposal for healthcare.)

AFA

  • Increase direct contribution and match to 401(k) or equivalent
  • Roth IRA
  • Annuity feature

United Management

  • Eliminate company paid direct contribution to 401(k)
  • Eliminate UK stakeholder plan and other similar international plan
  • Eliminate Union oversight

 

Section 35 - Duration (and Letters of Agreement)
Letters on which we have reached
Tentative Agreement=Current Book

Hotel Standards
  • AFA Staff Travel
  • Commuter Policy/Personal Emergency
  • Donation Check-Off Procedures
  • Extended Duty Time International
  • Low Cost Operation
  • Non-U.S. Tax Deferral  Recognition of International Domicile Issues
  • Safe Airlines
  • 747 Dumbwaiter
  • Taking Tickets Off Aircraft
  • Wage Garnishment

 
  • Commuter Policy
  • Distribution Agreement (Equity)
  • Duty Free Commission
  • Duty Free Employee Discount
  • International Flying Distribution
  • Onboard Research
  • Reserve Pagers
  • Resignation Special Pass Benefit
  • Special Assignment Calculation
  • Training Jumbo Qualification

 

AFA

  • Incorporate into Agreement

 

United Management

  • Lower overall standards
  • Decrease in hotel safety requirements
  • Eliminate requirement for eating facilities to be on site at layover hotels

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Qualified Purser Program (Sections 9 & 12)

Satellite Domiciles

AFA

  • Eliminate qualified Domestic Purser
  • Purser training in system seniority 6 times per year
  • Eliminate selection process

United Management

  • Restrict Purser schedule flexibility
  • Increased requirements to maintain qualifications
  • New Purser program with restricted access, no grandfathering of existing Pursers
  • Training at company discretion
  • Company can disqualify at will – no grievance process

AFA

  • No proposal

United Management

  • Must live within 75 miles of satellite airport and be based at domicile associated with satellite
  • Flight Attendants expected to “maintain discipline-free record”
  • Prudent Commuter Letter does not apply
  • Company determines when and where to open and close
  • Flight Attendant must make 12-month commitment to Satellite Location
  • Company will give 45-day notice if no flying assigned to Satellite

Scheduling:

  • No Trip Trade with Open Flying
  • No PTO/WOP
  • Flight Attendants expected to have trip covered if unavailable/sick
  • Vacation month scheduled at Home Domicile
  • No scheduling interaction with Home Domicile (no trades, open flying…)

“Preferential” Bidding System

    

AFA

  • No proposal

Management

  • Awards based on conditional bid model - must bid within specific category: International/Domestic/Reserve/Purser/LQ
  • Buddy bids not guaranteed
  • Mixed qualified Purser F and B schedules
  • Eliminate provision for least desirable flying to be left in Open Flying
  • Eliminate printed bid materials
  • Eliminate minimum number of bid preferences
  • Eliminate sliding vacation to fly overlap
  • Eliminate minimizing flying from different co-terminals
  • Eliminate minimum of reserves with weekend off
  • Eliminate Aggressive Pick-up Program
    

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