Company to Offer VLOAs for June

This afternoon, Company management informed AFA of the decision to offer VLOAs for the month of June.  Management stated that the June VLOAs are being offered as a response to continued  increases in flight attendants working through their vacations, a greater number of flight attendants opting to utilize high time, and a decrease in attrition rates.  The VLOAs will be part of the published bid package for June.



H1N1 (Swine Flu) Update

CDC Update: The ongoing outbreak of novel influenza A (H1N1) continues to expand in the United States. CDC expects that more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths from this outbreak will occur over the coming days and weeks.

CDC continues to take aggressive action to respond to the expanding outbreak. CDC’s response goals are to reduce spread and illness severity, and provide information to help health care providers, public health officials and the public address the challenges posed by this emergency.

US Airways continues to monitor the H1N1 outbreak. The current WHO pandemic alert level remains at Level 5. If this level changes to Level 6, it does not indicate an increase in the severity level of the virus, but instead indicates that the virus has geographically migrated globally.

Following is today’s briefing from the Company on their continuing efforts at addressing this issue: 

US Airways continues to remain in contact with Air Transport Association (ATA), the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) to receive daily updates to pass along to base leadership.

Conducting crew briefings relaying pertinent information to F/As.

Providing the necessary tools onboard to deal with health concerns, which includes:

• Hand sanitizing packets boarded in PSKs for all Mexico flights.  Note: if a PSK is not present, the packets will be boarded in the seat back pocket of the last row of first class seats A/C left – a PSK is not a “no go” item. 
• Ensuring adequate plastic gloves are boarded by Catering for flight attendants to use for normal refuse pick up (non-latex gloves are for medical emergencies).
• Ensuring masks are present in the PSK.
  

Increasing cleaning measures on aircraft inbound from MEX.

Providing crew meals to crews working all Mexico flights.

Provisioning first class meals roundtrip from the US gateway to all Mexico destinations.  The only exception is the morning/originating flights out of MEX/CUN.

When working flights to Mexico, if these procedures are not being adhered to or you may be missing an item, please contact Inflight to assist. As a reminder, during the flight the captain should be notified of anyone exhibiting flu-like symptoms – the captain will work with OCC and MedLink to advise you of the next steps.  MedLink should also be used as a resource while on the ground, both at the gate and on the aircraft.  Contact the captain who will work with OCC and MedLink to determine whether a passenger is medically fit to fly.

The CDC recommends that you take the following simple steps to avoid getting sick.  These tips apply not only to H1N1, but also for the common cold and other strains of the flu virus:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water to remove potentially infectious material from the skin. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. 
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth – this promotes the spread of germs. 
Avoid physical contact such as handshaking.
Stay home if you get sick. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

MEC President, Lisa LeCarre  
MEC Vice President, Dorene Fredette
MEC Secretrary-Treasurer, Jeff Albers



mec@afa66.org
www.afa66.org