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Greetings,
January 2009 LEC Meeting Notes - Our local council meeting was held on Tuesday, January 13th. 21 flight attendants attended including your local council officers and our invited Delta guest. Ed Gil Martin, AFA Attorney, provided all of us with an overview of the merger timeline as well as an explanation of the recent National Mediation Board (NMB) ruling. The NMB ruling was a very important step towards putting the "vote for a union" back into our hands and out of Delta's. Please read the special section of this newsletter for more details. We were pleased to have Delta flight attendant and union supporter Angela Winningham at our meeting. Angela was able to share with us how life really is for a flight attendant at Delta . She also helped us understand why she and many other Delta flight attendants want to join us under a legally binding contract, which only a union can help us achieve.
Next Union Meeting February 17th - Our next group function will be on February 17th, so please watch for time and location. We decided to depart from a typical "meeting" and instead have a "social gathering". One of the best ways for Delta and NWA flight attendants to understand each other and come together as one group, is having the opportunity to actually spend time together. We will be sending out invitations to all pre-merger Delta and NWA flight attendants in the Memphis area for this event. Again, this actually not a union meeting, but a chance for us to come together for food, drink, and conversation. Standing together for our future should begin with mutual friendship and respect. We hope to see you all at this event !
March LEC Meeting - Our next official LEC meeting will be held at the airport on March 18th. AFA International President Pat Friend will be our guest. Please mark your calendar and take this opportunity to learn more about YOUR union. Of course Pat will be available to answer any questions we have.
Monthly Scheduling / Contract Issues - Our "favorite" patterns in MEM seem to be those that end with the famous MBJ or CUN turn. Please remember that our contract does address the duty days for these trips. Patterns with less than 50% international flying will adhere to all domestic rules, unless the international segment is built at the end of the on duty period. The on duty limitations for that duty period only will have international rules apply. So, if your trip ends with one of these two turns your on duty limitation for that day is 15 hours. Please review section 5 of your contract for details, especially the charts on pages 5.33 and 5.34.
Reserve Reminder: If you pick up a trip on your off days you will not be paid for that trip over and above your 80 guarantee unless the trip is from the Company Open Board. Any trip picked up from the One Way Trade Board will not be paid over your guarantee unless you reach 80 hours of reserve flying. Any trip you pick up as a reserve CAN NOT then be placed back on the One Way Trade board.
Recent NMB Ruling – Delta recently sent out information stating the NMB had ruled they had been granted Single Carrier Status. You should know when the NMB determines Single Carrier Status for a labor group that will trigger the representation election to keep our Union. This is yet another example of Delta management deliberately misleading their employees. The NMB did determine Single Carrier Status for the pilots, dispatchers, and meteorologist ONLY. Each labor group is given that determination separately when, and ONLY when significant progress has been made in merging their ‘class or craft’ (flight attendants).
Management Interference – We have received several calls from flight attendants stating that our local managers have been attempting to have conversations about the upcoming election. An anti-Union campaign is something that Northwest employees have never encountered. As Delta has said, this is a NEW DAY. Delta will take any and all steps necessary to take control of your working conditions. The money management will save by not having to negotiate work rules that they have to abide by is significant. Delta changes the work rules of their flight attendants constantly and without any input or consultation and then violates those rules at will. For the last eight years the NMB has been reluctant to rule that the actions of Delta management have reached the level of ‘interference’. A new NMB will be appointed shortly after the Obama inauguration and we expect a fairer review of these issues. For your information, it is against NMB rules for management to interfere in our representation issues. If ANY management personnel attempts to have a conversation about doing without your Union or Contract the appropriate action would be to end the conversation by saying, ‘it is inappropriate for you to talk to me about this” and walk away. Immediately contact any of your Local Council Officers and we will provide a form to documenting the incident and it will be sent to the AFA Legal Department for action. STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS!
Fly Safe, Fly the Contract and Wear Your Union Pin! Shawn Fivecoat
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