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Greetings,
AFA and Management Agree to Lift Restrictions on TTOT
The week of January 21,
the CIC Team (Contract Interpretation Committee) for
AFA and Management came together in
Dallas to discuss various issues. At this session AFA requested
a progress report on automation of TTOT.
Management has provided
us with informal updates periodically, however, the setbacks in
getting this system automated were becoming one of those
never-ending creeping delays. AFA told Management ? ?We need
some definitive answers and a deadline.
AFA was originally
told that automation would happen for the American
Eagle Pilots first, and then
the system would be cloned for the American Eagle Flight Attendants, since we ratified our
agreement after the Pilots. The Pilots
went live with automation on January 16, 2007 and we expected to
have automation very soon after that
date. However, since the
implementation of automation has begun for the Pilots,
there have been some glitches that were
not timely or an easy fix to resolve. This is due to the systems
antiquated technology they were working with. Further,
we learned that the Eagle Pilots automated system was
inherited from the AA Pilot's system. The AA Pilot's system was
designed in the early 1990's and Management has advised that
since that time, technology has been very progressive.
Additionally, there are not many programmers that know how to
program these older systems and new programmers are not even
taught how to work on them. Once they were able to find IT people
qualified to work on the older systems - they had a backlog of
work. It took months to even get them on our project.
Management said in retrospect they
should have redesigned a more robust system from the onset. That
is what they are now doing for the Flight Attendants, which has
caused a very lengthy
delay. Where are we today, and
how much longer before we go live for the Flight Attendants? AFA
was given a timeline of the project's inception to
completion. Currently, we are in the construction phase.
Starting in February, monthly meetings will be ongoing between
AFA and Management. Our AFA MEC Scheduling Chair, Eric Brahm
will be the primary point person. Our MEC Grievance Chair, Deb
Sutor will also play a key role in ensuring all contractual
provisions are met along with myself, Veronica Tenerelli AFA MEC
President. There is 6-7 IT staff members dedicated to designing
our automated system. They are on 40 hour plus workweeks to get
the project done. Flight Attendant automation will go live no
latter than November 2008.
We know
what you are all thinking... November 2008! We agree. We told
Management that while we are pleased to know we will have a
"robust" system, unlike the Pilots, automation was to be
complete within 6 months of ratifying the contract in late 2005.
While they have provided valid reasons for the delay, we will be
in our 3rd year of a 4-year contract.
Further, AFA would have never agreed to the restrictions in
the manual trade process had we known this. AFA asked management
to grant unlimited trip trades and to lift the 60/30 time
restrictions. Currently, and until automation was completed, per
the contract Flight Attendants are restricted to only 3 trades a
month and cannot reduce a full time line below 60 hours or
a part time line below 30 hours, due to a trade. Those
restrictions have been lifted effectively February 1, 2008.
In
closing, while we are disappointed to report it will take
another 10 months until we have automation for our Flight
Attendants, we are please to announce that unlimited trades
and the 60/30 restriction language has been deleted per the
attached letter of agreement between AFA and
Management. In
Solidarity, The AFA Master Executive Council |
