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Greetings, Update on Displacements, Buddy Bidding System, and TTOT Automation from Eric
Brahm, MEC Scheduling Chair Displacement
Awards On Aug 5th I represented the AFA during
the process when the displacement selections were
awarded. Linda Kuntz, Lisa Snyder, Piper Sanders,
Stephanie Babish, Jill Zimmer and I worked together at
HDQ1. Before we began, Linda determined how many spaces
were available at each base that had openings based on the
figures provided to her by John Flint. As a group,
starting at the top of the Systemwide Master List, we
awarded the displacement bases to the Flight Attendants based on
their listed preferences. Because of the high number of
F/As who chose to take voluntary furloughs, on the first
day we didn't take into consideration LOAs and the Voluntary
Displacements by those whose names were not on the displacement
list. Linda was concerned that there wouldn't be a
sufficient number to open the DFW/EX base and mentioned her
concern that she might need to displace even more F/As in
order to reach the number needed. Hoping to inform those
affected as early as possible, we worked quickly and the
initial awards were posted on JETNET late on the afternoon of
Aug. 5 in advance of the Aug. 6 deadline. Veronica
conferred with me that evening and emailed
Linda with concerns about the way the process had been
handled. I met with Linda the next morning and after some
discussion, she agreed to revise the list. Based
on the number of F/As who took Voluntary Displacements and the
LOAs granted at the bases with an overage, she
determined that we could allow 5 flight attendants to
remain in SJU and 3 in BOS. Starting at the top and
working down the seniority lists we called each affected
flight attendant and verified their wishes. Some who had
the option to remain at their base then chose to voluntarily
displace. This allowed us to call another F/A under them
until we had 5 who wanted to remain in SJU (Hector Padilla being
the last) and 3 in BOS (Patricia Rochas being the most
Junior to remain). Dave Brown had a Staff Meeting
on Friday, Aug. 8th and revised the numbers
that will be needed for ORD and LGA/JFK. Linda and
Lisa then went through the lists and allowed more people to
displace to these bases if that was their actual
preference. In the end, everyone who picked ORD,
LGA/JFK, DFW/EX or Furlough was given their first choice.
There were a few junior flight attendants in SJU who had MIA as
a first choice who due to staffing and seniority were given
their next choice. I looked at each F/A displacement
ballot to verify that they were given the base of their
choice. The flight attendants have all been
informed of their options and the corrected final versions
have been posted in the BOS and SJU crew lounges and on
JETNET. For some of those displaced training has
already begun. The remaining groups should all be in
their new bases by Nov. The corrected Seniority Lists for
all bases should be available on JETNET when the bidding
opens. The F/As electing to take the Voluntary
Bridge to Retirement (VBR), and the Buy Out have not been
figured in on the number being displaced. This is because
these numbers will not be final until Aug. 20. which is the
final date to take this option. On Aug 5th there were not
any F/As from BOS or SJU requesting either of these
options. When we have the final count (Aug.
20th), we will speak with the company to allow more F/As to
remain at their base in place of any F/A taking early
retirement. Buddy Bidding
System Buddy Bidding is when 2
F/As desire to hold the same line in order to fly
together for a month. The company agreed to allow the
option to be switched on and made available to flight
attendants at Eagle and Executive. It is in DECS as option 10 on
the HIB menu. The AFA mutually produced a users guide along
with management input. These instructions on the
usage of Buddy Bidding have been posted on JETNET under Hot
Topics. A copy has been placed in each F/A mail box and a
HI6 message was sent out informing all flight
attendants of this news. The process seemed very simple when we
tested it in DECS and we're hopeful that this will be a valuable
assistance for out work group. It can be used for line
holders and for Reserve F/As. I would expect that it will
be most beneficial to those flight attendants who are close
together in seniority and I would advise everyone to read Buddy
Bidding Basics before choosing this option. Automation of TTOT I have been attending
the TTOT Update meetings between management and the IT
people developing the system which are held on a
regular basis. At these meeting updates are provided
and discussed. I have been forwarding the hand outs to the
LEC Presidents to keep them informed. In brief the project is progressing on
schedule and should be ready for user testing in the upcoming
months. The completion date is towards the end of this
year. Credit for Time Balancing
for Airport Standby In an effort to make the
Reserve System more equitable, the company agreed in the CIC to
award the greater of 3:45 or Time Flown for time balancing
purposes. When this went into effect it became apparent
that it wasn't programmed properly and when a SB flight
attendant actually flies a short turn and then returns to sit
the rest of the 8 hour shift, they only receive the value of the
turn instead of the 3:45. We've been in discussions with the
company attempting to find an acceptable solution
to this. At this time the choices appear to
be: 1) Return to the way it was done
before 2) Leave it as it is now, where the
computer is not giving the greater of time flown or 3:45 for
time balancing. 3) The company will correct the
problem, except that any dead head time on the day of the SB
shift will not be credited for Time Balancing Purposes.
However it will be paid correctly. My recommendation is option 3, but
we're waiting on a consensus on these alternatives from
your LEC Presidents and will keep you informed when we have more
information. |
