Dear AFA: March 9, 2010

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Reported by Darren Shiroma

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen and welcome to Dear AFA. Today is Tuesday, March 9^th, and this is AFA Council 12 President Darren Shiroma, reporting – and, Glenn’s gotta go.

Holding Tilton Accountable in Front of his Peers

This morning our flying partners from JFK AFA Council 5 made their way to Manhattan to hold Tilton accountable before his peers. JP Morgan was holding its annual Aviation, Transportation & Defense Conference where airline executives from around the industry presented to investors and analysts. Just outside the JP Morgan Building our flying partners stood with “Glenn’s Gotta Go” signs and other slogans that included, “Anti-Trust Glenn” and “Yo Glenn, We’re an Airline, Not a Hedge Fund.” Our picketers were standing just outside the floor to ceiling building windows where conference participants had to sign in. Even though we could see the sign-in table and the executives coming and going, some of the suits came outside to offer “helpful” assistance to our picketers and advised the conference was actually taking place a couple blocks away. People on the street and everyone in the building took notice and all wanted to know more about why we were there to say, “Glenn’s Gotta Go.” Well done, Council 5!

We Don’t Work for Free: Check Mail between Check-in & Briefing

There is erroneous information in the new FAOM. Contrary to the verbiage on page 2.210.6, you are not required to check your corporate web mail prior to check in.  Management will be correcting this misinformation in the near future.  Management has been told that we do not work for free.  Checking your email replaces checking your mail file and occurs after you have checked in at the domicile and within the five minutes before briefing.

APFA to Conduct Strike Ballot and Request Release from Mediation

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) representing Flight Attendants at American Airlines have announced they will be conducting a strike ballot of their Membership next month. APFA also intends to meet with the National Mediation Board (NMB) next week following their annual Board of Directors meeting to ask to be released from mediation.

If the NMB declares an impasse the 30-day cooling off period would begin, at the end of which is the strike deadline. News reports state the issues still unresolved include basics such as pay and benefits. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) has also been in negotiations for a prolonged period of time and is likely to request release from mediation as well later this week.

APFA has been in negotiations with management since June of 2008. Flight Attendants, and other Unions at American, face the same intransigence from their management that we are confronted with at the bargaining table. It is instructional to observe how the NMB receives requests from the Unions at American and determines to declare impasse since APFA has been in the negotiations process nearly a year longer than we have been. And, watching the negotiations at American also underlines the importance of supporting all Flight Attendants in negotiations as we battle the industry-wide mindset of management still mired in concessionary thinking.

We knew this round of negotiating would come with both great opportunity and great challenges. We knew we’d have to be better prepared than ever to do whatever it takes to get the Contract we have earned. Strike preparedness is a critical component to supporting our negotiations. This past fall our Membership Engagement and Negotiations Support Committees conducted Strike Preparedness Training at each of our 14 Local Councils, and this training continues through on-going, locally sponsored smaller group trainings.

As we continue our own negotiations support and strike preparedness we recognize the importance of lifting the bar at our negotiating table by supporting improvements won by Union Flight Attendants at other airlines. Management knows this too and as we support our sisters and brothers at other airlines we help make clear our commitment to achieving our own priorities at the negotiating table.

Support our Negotiations and Protect our Jobs

In just under 30-days it will be one year since we began Section 6 Negotiations by exchanging opening proposals on April 6, 2009. Since that date, we have experienced the contempt of management towards Flight Attendants through their offensive concessionary proposals.

Prior to composing our Opening Proposal we determined our collective goals through Member surveys, face-to-face discussions and various forms of feedback including Local Council meetings. The priorities you deemed important for our negotiators were compiled into our proposal and our Negotiating Committee remains steadfast in their commitment to further those priorities at the negotiating table.

As we approach the one year anniversary of beginning Section 6 Negotiations, plan on joining us on the picket line in support of our Contract Negotiations. As you prepare to bid for your April schedule, keep the 6th in mind and plan to be a part of the worldwide actions. 

This month we can also take action in support of our jobs and our Contract. The outsourcing of our jobs through the joint-venture between United and Aer Lingus is a very real threat to our job security and something that affects each of us. As United moves along this path of trying to move flying away from United Flight Attendants, we need to demonstrate our opposition to this ill-conceived plan. Contact your Local Council and plan to participate in activities to protest the joint-venture on:

• March 17th in Chicago at Tilton’s office on Wacker Drive from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
• March 26th we will protest at Washington National (DCA) from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
• And, on March 28th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm our protest will move to Washington Dulles (IAD) where this new outsource venture will take its first flight.

Contact your Local Council for additional details and make plans to take action for our future.

Legislation Introduced for Joint Venture Worker Protections

We are fighting outsourcing and the erosion of our jobs on several fronts, including legislatively. We can report progress tonight as we continue our efforts with ALPA and the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL–CIO to get legislation to protect workers. We have garnered the support of key members of Congress to introduce legislation that ensures protections for workers when airlines partner or create any host of joint venture arrangements. Tim Bishop- D of New York, Mike Michaud-D of Maine and Thad McCotter-R of Michigan have introduced legislation in the House and we expect a similar bill to be introduced in the Senate.

This issue is complex, but generally it encompasses not only the problems associated with the Aer Lingus joint venture, it also address the larger issue of outsourcing associated with anti-trust immunity.  Our Government Affairs Committee will be working mobilizing Members to utilize our collective voice to support this legislation. Look for more information on this soon.

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!