Dear AFA: August 31, 2010
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- Situational Awareness Critical for All Phases of Flight
- Fired for Food Stamps - Reinstate Kirsten!
- Suitcase Search
- How Rude!· Hurricane Earl – Heading to the East Coast
Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. Today is Tuesday, August 31st, and this is Washington DC AFA Council 21 volunteer Eric Reeves, reporting.
Situational Awareness Critical for All Phases of Flight
Situational awareness is our best offense as safety professionals. Recently it was situational awareness that led to an AED save and in another instance a passenger was saved when the Heimlich maneuver was properly used by our flying partners. It was situational awareness by American Airlines Flight Attendants that ensured the infamous shoe bomber's plot was foiled and last Christmas the awareness and swift action of pre-merger Northwest Flight Attendants helped avert tragedy on flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
Last evening conflicting media reports indicate two men may have been trying to test U.S. airport security by putting bottles with electronic devices attached in their checked baggage. Other media reports are indicating that the situation may be nothing more than a misunderstanding. The US Department of Homeland Security said the men were taken into custody after landing in Amsterdam on United flight 908 from Chicago to Amsterdam.
Currently the F.B.I, the Department of Homeland Security and their international counterparts are investigating the situation. United Airlines is cooperating in the investigation. AFA Safety, Health and Security has been in constant contact with their counterparts at United. There has been no specific or credible threat identified against United Airlines. We have been in touch with the TSA. The agency has not issued any change to security protocols at this time.
This incident reminds us of the important role we play as we maintain situational awareness in all phases of flight and throughout our work day. While the authorities review the incidents from last evening, we should remain alert at all times on the job.
Fired for Food Stamps - Reinstate Kirsten!
We’ve heard it many times. Flight Attendants are so poorly paid, many qualify for food stamps. The story is a difficult one to tell because those who use federal and state assistance are ashamed to talk about it publicly. It is tragic that not only do our flying partners have to rely on subsidies, but that they somehow also take on the burden of shame for having to do so. Every time an executive bonus is announced while our flying partners struggle, we ask how is it that these men and women sleep at night – knowing they are profiting from someone else’s struggle? It is the management that stalls our negotiations and attempts to make us work harder for less to increase their profits that should be ashamed. Recently, AFA Member Kirsten Arianejad at Compass Airlines spoke out about her struggle in a television interview in Phoenix. Was her management shamed into negotiating a fair wage for the Compass Flight Attendants who are in negotiations for their first Contract? No, their reaction was to fire Kirsten for speaking the truth.
This is outrageous and we are standing with Kirsten. Compass management must reinstate her immediately! AFA is setting up public protests in support of Kirsten and all Flight Attendants who deserve to earn a fair wage. Every day we go to work we are prepared for the worst in order to save lives, including our constant vigilance as the last line of defense for the security of the flight. And on every flight we use our skills as mediators, tour guides, psychologists, first responders and so much more as we work with less and less while responding to more and more passengers. We take pride in our work and our work is priceless. We are not greedy, but we do demand a living wage. Good for Kirsten for helping to shine a light on this injustice. We appreciate her willingness to stand up for all of us and we want her to know United Airlines Flight Attendants stand with her.
MEC President Greg Davidowitch sent a letter to Compass CEO Tim Campbell on behalf of all of us to demand Kirsten is reinstated and a living wage is negotiated for Compass Flight Attendants. Airline management like to point to other airlines as the reason for keeping wages and benefits at the lowest standard. Thanks to Kirsten we can take this inequity public. Flight Attendants deserve a living wage for our work, whether we work at Compass or United.
Suitcase Search, How Rude!
Last week we included in Dear AFA full information about your rights in the event of a suitcase search. AFA has consistently opposed searches of the belongings and person of Flight Attendants for obvious reasons. It is an embarrassing and humiliating experience to have your privacy invaded by having your personal effects exposed. In addition, it is insulting to be suspected of theft or transporting drugs. In suitcase searches, the innocent have cause for outrage.
Arbitrators, however, have ruled that with reasonable cause, the company may conduct a search of an employee's belongings. These arbitration rulings have in mind a company's right to protect its property from theft or illegal drugs. Last week we clearly identified your rights in the event management insists upon conducting a suitcase search under specific guidelines. We encourage you to review those rights which include your right to a qualified witness of your choice, an explanation of the search, and a reminder for management that slanderous remarks about your taking of company property may be the basis for a lawsuit which you will initiate against them. Management must explain why the search is being conducted - and management agrees as noted in a management email where they attempted to explain their actions this week to San Francisco-based Flight Attendants. “While some audits of flights may be random, and part of day to day business, suitcase searches are not.”
Again, review all of your rights and guidance from your Union in the August 24th edition of Dear AFA or in the Contract Education section of our website.
A review of our rights in Dear AFA spurred some questions about our rights under the United States Constitution. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits the government from conducting warrant-less searches of an individual's person or belongings except upon a showing of probable cause that a crime has been committed and the person being searched committed the crime. As a result, police officers and agents of the government cannot search your person, your bags, car or home unless a warrant has been issued by a court, or that government agent has probable cause.
Unfortunately, the Fourth Amendment protects individuals only from government action, and does not protect employees from searches by private parties or private employers. United is not a government entity. It is a private corporation. Therefore it is not bound by the Fourth Amendment restrictions on warrant-less searches of individuals.
Hurricane Earl – Heading to the East Coast
News agencies are warning us this evening about Hurricane Earl heading northwestward over the Atlantic to the East Coast. The Category Four storm is the cause of a tropical storm watch for North Carolina, a hurricane watch from Surf City, North Carolina to the Virginia border and residents all the way up to New England are encouraged to watch the progress of the hurricane over the next three days.
We encourage Flight Attendants to be aware of the possibility of irregular operations over the coming days and review the Commuter Policy on page 249. We also encourage those in the affected area to review the Personal Emergency Policy beginning on page 252 of our Contract.
Our Contract includes reassignment parameters to allow the airline to respond to operational irregularities while ensuring certain pay and schedule protections for Flight Attendants. Carry your Contract and keep it close at hand.
That’s all for this evening! Thank you for calling and remain informed as we stand strong together to do Whatever It Takes! to achieve an industry leading Contract!