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A Message from the
International President |
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Dear AFA-CWA
Member,
In late September, I went to Dallas
for a meeting of the Flight Attendant Coalition. In addition to
AFA-CWA’s 21 carriers, including our newest, USA3000, the
coalition is made up of unions representing flight attendants at
American (Association of Professional Flight Attendants),
Southwest (Transport Workers Union), Continental (Intl.
Association of Machinists) and Pinnacle/Colgan Airlines (United
Steel Workers). Each union takes a turn hosting the meeting
throughout the year. AFA will host the next meeting of the
Flight Attendant Coalition February 23-25, 2010 in Washington,
DC, with a day of lobbying on Capitol Hill planned for February
25.
Since the mid-1980s, when flight
attendant unions first decided to join forces to fight for
flight duty time limitations, we have continued to seek
consensus and to coordinate our efforts in the common interest
of our profession. Even under the most challenging of
circumstances, we have kept the coalition going. As a result,
all flight attendants across our industry, AFA and non-AFA, have
reaped the benefits.
The predominant topics at our Dallas
meeting were collective bargaining updates and legislative in
nature. We agreed that FMLA coverage for flight crew is long
overdue and that the legislation will hopefully clear the final
legislative hurdles soon. Carry-on bag legislation, and
the need to close the loophole that allows smoking on charter
flights are also long overdue and we are united in our support
of health care reform but also in our opposition to the taxing
of the health benefits for which we have painstakingly
sacrificed. We discussed the FAA reauthorization and the cell
phone ban, as well as ongoing work on issues of air safety,
fatigue, turbulence and Crew Pass.
The coalition will lend their support
to the passenger bill of rights sponsored by Rep. Daniel
Lipinski (D-IL) that would impose fines calculated on a per
passenger basis on airlines that strand passengers for more than
three hours. By addressing the airlines’ bottom line, the
bill would turn the attention of airline CEOs to the importance
of addressing the chronic problem of prolonged tarmac or runway
flight delays. We believe this bill cuts through the clutter of
competing passenger bill of rights language that frankly puts
flight attendants in a no-win situation.
In addition, we are all in agreement
that our employers should provide the H1N1 vaccine at no cost to
flight attendants who wish to have the vaccine. Health and
safety representatives from the unions of the coalition are
monitoring developments surrounding the vaccine and sharing
information as it becomes available. Our unions are also
monitoring the fatigue study as the FAA moves from collecting
data in the field to collating the data that will comprise the
long-awaited report.
Regarding Crew Pass, the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) set standards in
early August to expedite and improve security screening for
flight crews. We continue working to ensure that flight
attendants are included in any final implementation of the
program. Crew Pass will allow crewmembers to present
identification at security check points which will be checked
against a database that includes photos, biometric and other
information. Random screening and other security measures would
still apply.
We shared some information about a
possible initiative at AFA: exploring a formula to determine a
minimum wage for our industry with the potential for launching
an industry-wide campaign. In so doing, we would seek to raise
the pay scales at regional and other carriers that are near the
minimum wage, ultimately lifting wages in the entire industry.
In August, I consulted with our Board of Directors Strategic
Planning Committee and with our Executive Board on this concept
which was authored by one of our Staff Negotiators, Joe Burns.
This initiative would shed light on how the industry is slashing
costs on the backs of workers.
As you can see, the agenda at the
recent Flight Attendant Coalition meeting was comprehensive. But
one moment stands out above all -- when we took a short trip to
Grapevine, Texas, near DFW, to visit the 9/11 Flight Crew
Memorial www.911flightcrewmemorial.org.
As our group of flight attendant leaders encircled the
bigger-than-life memorial, a silence fell over us that spoke
more loudly than anything any one of us would utter during the
meeting. I realized that, no matter how much time passes, we
will never be very far from the events of 9/11/2001. It is a
fact that unites us in our daily work and in our broader
purpose.
This striking memorial is well worth a
visit. If you have a layover in DFW, consider visiting the 9/11
Flight Crew Memorial www.911flightcrewmemorial.org.
We were all reminded of the value of our coalition and of our
union; of the importance of working together; and of why we do
the work that we have pledged to do.
In
Solidarity,
Pat
Friend
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OUR
UNION
AFA-CWA Welcomes USA3000 Flight
Attendants!
In a sweeping October 6 victory, the National
Mediation Board (NMB) tallied votes from over 84 percent of the
114 flight attendants employed at USA3000 who voted in favor of
AFA-CWA representation. Based in Philadelphia, Fort Myers,
Chicago and St. Louis, the USA3000 flight attendants now have a
voice in determining their wages and work rules, and will begin
preparing to negotiate a legally binding contract. USA3000
flight attendants join AFA-CWA members at Miami Air and Ryan
International who perform worldwide charter service, broadening
AFA-CWA's opportunity to raise the standards and secure industry
leading contracts at our charter carriers. AFA-CWA congratulates
the USA3000 flight attendants for conducting an outstanding
mobilization campaign and extends to the entire work group a
warm welcome to the AFA-CWA family of flight
attendants!
Voting Underway at
Compass Airlines
Compass Airlines flight attendants began voting in
a union representation election yesterday, October 28. Telephone
and internet voting, conducted by the National Mediation Board
(NMB), will end at 2:00 p.m. ET, November 18, 2009. The NMB will
then tally the votes. Voting instructions are being mailed
today by the NMB to eligible Compass flight attendants. Compass
Airlines was formed in 2007 as a Northwest Airlink partner and
now is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines. The
Chantilly, Virginia-based airline currently employs over 300
flight attendants.
US Airways
Announces Base Closures
On the morning of October
28, US Airways management announced plans to close the BOS, LGA,
and LAS crew domiciles in 2010, citing a cost factor and
operational deficiencies. As a result, flight attendants and
pilots will be uprooted from their homes and working domiciles.
The business plan entails redirecting efforts to maximize
revenue based on a hub and spoke model, the four major hubs
being PHL, CLT, DCA and PHX. “Obviously, (the) domicile
closures will result in tremendous hardships for our members in
all domiciles. The AFA will work strenuously to mitigate the
effects associated with the new company plan,” said MEC
President Mike Flores in a statement yesterday to US Airways
flight attendants. “AFA was provided with financial
details to justify the domicile closures...AFA economic analysts
will review the company's data line by line, dollar for dollar.
If the analysis leads the AFA to believe otherwise we will take
all the steps necessary to prevent the domicile closures.”
To read Mike’s letter, which includes details about the
closures, please
click here.
Horizon EAP Leads Medical Teams in
Samoan Disaster Relief
 Following the September 30 tsunami
that devastated the South Pacific island of Samoa, Horizon
Council 16 LEC President Ty Tufono began organizing a mission to
provide medical assistance to the tsunami victims. On October
18, Ty led a team of seven nurses from the International Samoan
Nurses Association, a medical doctor and a paramedic from
Seattle to Honolulu, where they collected donated supplies, then
to Pago Pago, American Samoa. Members of the medical team are
familiar with the Samoan language and culture. Pictured above is
Ty, fourth from the left, surrounded by the nurses who are
dressed in the puletasi, the traditional dress of Samoan women.
Alaska Airlines provided their transportation from
Seattle to Honolulu where Hawaiian MEC EAP committee members
Kehau Gerona and Beryl Tyau greeted the team and provided lunch.
Honolulu-based Northwest flight attendant and EAP rep Jeff Day
collected non-perishable food items, first aid kits, amenities
and clothing. “When I met him to pick up the boxes, the
items were overflowing and they eventually filled 19 boxes which
Hawaiian Airlines transported free of charge,” said
Hawaiian MEC EAP Co-chair Kawehi Apo.
“In times of
large scale crisis, many of us try to be a part of the solution
from afar,” said AFA-CWA International EAP Director
Heather Healy. “For this outstanding group of AFA leaders
they decided to engage in direct hands-on assistance. Despite
the massive coordination hurdles in their way, they all
approached this mission with firm resolve that they would make
it happen. It was in their teaming that they found a way to
translate their passion into a reality. Together, they pulled it
off. Wow!”
Online Holiday
Auction to Raise Funds for FAs in Need
The Pegasus
Project is hosting an online fund-raising auction with
unique items that are perfect for holiday gift giving. The
online auction is being held to raise funds to continue
providing a financial lifeline to flight attendants facing a
critical, life-threatening illness or disabling injury. The
Pegasus Project's "Heroes
of the Heart" Online Holiday Charity Auction is a new,
innovative approach to raising funds for our flying partners in
need which opens for bidding on November 1, 2009 at 9:00 AM EST.
The success of this life-saving effort depends on you, so please
plan to participate in and urge your flying partners to do the
same!
US Airways
Flight Attendant Wins Spot in $1 Million Recipe
Contest
Congratulations to Philadelphia-based
US Airways Flight Attendant Brett Youmans who won a first round
in the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest and is now in the final
competition for a $1 million grand prize with his Asian-Spiced
Cashew-Chicken Piadinis. To those who supported him in the
voting that ended August 20, Brett sends his thanks and this
message: “I'll be competing in the 44th Pillsbury Bake-Off
to be held on April 11-13, 2010 in Orlando. At the Bake-Off,
I'll cook my recipe for the judges for the chance to win the
grand prize. I am thrilled and excited beyond belief!”
OUR
INDUSTRY
Carry-On Baggage Response Shuts Down Major Media
Server
On October 22, USA Today featured a
lengthy article on how the carry-on baggage situation has gotten
out of hand recently. The article discussed the problem and
possible solutions and quoted AFA-CWA representatives throughout
the story. After the story was released, so many people tried to
comment that it clogged the USA Today server and many comments
could not be posted. Just 24 hours later, several hundred
comments were posted on the website. Between the October piece
and a similar one written in August, nearly 1,000 comments have
been posted on the USA Today website regarding carry-on baggage
with most in support of a sensible solution to the problem,
namely the pending legislation that AFA-CWA supports in
Congress. Clearly, we have struck a nerve! To view the article
and comments, click
here.
OUR
ECONOMY
Thousands Protest
Bankers
More than 5,000
people rallied in Chicago on October 27 against big bankers and
financial institutions that took $700 billion in taxpayer money
for a bailout, then rewarded CEOs with huge bonuses and are
lobbying against financial reform. The crowd protested outside a
meeting of the American Bankers Association to highlight
“the banking industry’s greed and irresponsibility
that crippled our economy, leaving millions of workers
behind.” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, who joined
union members at the event, sent the message: ‘You work
for us. Your job is to be stewards of our savings, to put and
keep working families in homes, to lend the money companies need
to create jobs. And you have failed.’ He called for tough
new rules for financial reform including a new Consumer
Financial Protection Agency to monitor banks and credit card
companies and prevent abuses; reforming the Federal Reserve
Board or creating an agency capable of stopping systemic risk;
more transparency so that hedge funds, derivatives and private
equity markets can have real oversight; and reforming corporate
governance and executive compensation to make the finance
industry work on behalf of the real economy, not vice
versa.
Global Conference
Looks at Impact of Economic Crisis on Women
The
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) held its first
World Women’s Conference last week in Brussels. "Decent
Work, Decent Life for Women: Trade Unions Taking the Lead for
Economic and Social Justice & Equality" was attended by 450
delegates from 100 countries, including AFA-CWA International
President Pat Friend. The conference examined the severe impact
of the global jobs crisis on women and mapped out international
trade union action to improve job security, pay and working
conditions for women around the world. The delegates highlighted
the urgent need for greater attention to gender inequities
within the international community. While the economic crisis
has affected both men and women, the impact on women is
amplified by existing inequalities. Many governments have
allocated funds to saving financial institutions but are no
longer able, or willing, to invest sufficiently in public
services or care work, two largely female employment sectors.
Among the issues linked to gender inequalities likely to be
aggravated by the crisis are pay, maternity protection and
forced labor. These issues, the conference determined, must be
tackled with urgency.
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Please
visit www.afanet.org for updated information on how AFA-CWA is
working for you and for links to other useful sites for working
families.
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA | 501
3rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
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