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Greetings, AFA 66
eCommunication - Friday, June 5, 2009 The Negotiating Team (NT) is comprised of the original five NT individuals: NT Chair Lewis Brent, Bill McGlashen, Lyle Miller, Gene Lebat, and Monica Wilfong, along with MEC President Lisa LeCarre and AFA Staff Attorney Joe Burns. The NT began negotiating to amend the West flight attendant contract in February 2004. The merger between US Airways and America West Airlines was announced in May, 2005 and finalized in September 2005. In December 2005, the National Mediation Board put those negotiated talks into recess. The premise of the recess was that the Company and AFA would focus instead on reaching a single merged contract. Three years later, in February of this year, after merged negotiations stalled, your MEC requested a resumption of pre-merger negotiations and a return to mediated talks with the NMB. The NMB set three mediation sessions for June 8-10. America West Flight Attendants have not seen any across-the-board increases in wages since 2002. Every other employee group has experienced wage increases since the merger was announced, except for west flight attendants. Additionally, flight attendants, along with the pilots, are the only employee groups that have not combined their contracts since the 2005 merger.. The flight attendant agreement was originally negotiated as a five-year contract. That agreement is now 10 years old and long overdue for amending. West flight attendants are paid less than their counterparts on the East even though we perform the same work and wear the same uniforms. We remain committed to continuing single contract
negotiations, however, significant economic and scheduling
issues remain unresolved, so its time for the company to focus
on the needs of the west Flight Attendants now.
"America West flight attendants have not seen any wage increases in over seven years. We hope that by resuming our pre-merger negotiations, we can make some long overdue improvements for a vast number of flight attendants who have been left behind," said Lisa LeCarre, AFA-CWA America West President. "While we remain committed to continuing single contract negotiations, significant economic and scheduling issues remain unresolved. It is time for the company to focus on fairness to the America West flight attendants. In 2004, negotiations for a new America West flight attendant contract began. However, once the merger with US Airways was approved in 2005, the NMB put America West negotiations into recess under the premise that negotiators would focus instead on reaching a single merged contract with management. In February 2009, single merged contract negotiations were stalling. The original America West contract is now 10 years old, making the pay scale and work rules agreed to in 1999 still applicable with no improvements or wage increases. "Over half of the experienced and dedicated America West
flight attendants have seen zero increases to their wages since
2002. And in some cases, America West flight attendants make 40
percent less in wages than their counterparts at US Airways.
Flight attendants are experiencing wage erosion and each day
they fall further and further behind. This is no way to treat
employees. With no end in sight to single contract negotiations
with US Airways management, it is our duty to protect America
West flight attendants," said LeCarre. |
