19 December 2008
MEC QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER – ALL
CALL
The fourth quarter NWA AFA Master
Executive Council newsletter should have already arrived via
U.S. Mail at our home addresses. If you did not receive one or would like to
print another copy, you can view previous editions of the
all
call on the Communications page of
www.nwaafa.org.
IAM DEC 23rd PICKET AT
DTW, COME OUT AND SHOW YOUR
SUPPORT
International Association of
Machinists (IAM) has scheduled an informational picketing in
Detroit on Tuesday, December
23. The picket will
take place from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on the upper level of the
McNamara Terminal.
IAM has asked flight attendants to come out and support
them, as they too are fighting to keep union representation and
fend off pressure from Delta to prematurely integrate their
seniority. Ed
Bastian, Delta Airline’s President and Chief Financial
Officer, is scheduled to be in Detroit on Tuesday. With the holidays fast
approaching, we know many flight attendants have very tight
schedules. However,
we urge you to please spare a few minutes before or after your
commute, or during your sit time, to come and join our IAM
brothers and sisters as we show our solidarity for our
collective futures in the largest airline in the world.
Please wear your uniform if
you are not on a trip or on company paid time. For more information
please click
HERE to visit the IAM website and view their
flyer for the event.
PERFORMANCE INCENTIVE PAYMENT – REFUND OF
DUES
Flight attendants were paid a
fourth quarter performance incentive payment in our December 13
paycheck. Payroll
automatically takes out union dues from a generated paycheck,
regardless of your flying status. For flight attendants who are on a SLIP leave
or other long-term leave, you will be due a refund of $43 from
AFA if you have already fulfilled your 3 month dues
obligation. As soon
as AFA receives the funds from NWA, the incorrect dues
deductions will be refunded.
DELTA EARLY OUT & 55 POINT
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Please keep in mind that the
latest Early Out and 55 Point Program are not contractual items,
therefore the union did not have the opportunity to negotiate
the details of these plans. Some questions involve contractual language
and of course we can help clarify those provisions. Please direct questions
that are specific to these Delta programs to the Company, in
order to get the most accurate information possible. A full list of Company
contacts and information regarding Pensions, 401K, & Retiree
Medical Benefits are available on
RADAR.
Q: Do I "lock in" NWA contractual
medical benefit coverage and rates, by retiring now under our
contract?
A: Our union contract
provides subsidized retiree medical rates and that provision
will continue as long as we have a negotiated contract that
provides it. AFA
does not know if Delta will honor our contractual retiree
medical rates, if we do not keep our union in this merger. Without a contract and
union, retiree medical rates can be changed at Delta. Delta retirees now pay
over $500 per month for single retiree medical coverage. Please visit the Insurance and
Retirement Committee page for a full comparison of DAL
& NWA medical plans.
Q: I have turned 55 while on SLIP
leave. Am I
eligible to retire for pension plan purposes?
A: The SLIP leave (3T) is the only
leave that a flight attendant is considered active for pension
purposes. So, if a flight attendant turns 55 while on a SLIP
leave and has 10+ years of vesting service, then they are
retirement eligible for pension plan purposes. For example: if
an FA went on a SLIP 8/30/2008, turned 55 on 12/27/2008 while on
a SLIP, and has over 10 years of vesting service, then the FA is
eligible to retire for pension plan purposes.
Q: I am former Hughes Air West Flight
Attendant - is my accrued Benefit Service information correct in
the pension statements?
A: Former Hughes Air West FAs:
please note that your pension statement may include incorrect
Benefit Service information. For example: a former Hughes FA's pension
statement could show 20 years of Benefit Service, when
the FA's correct Benefit Service could be more than 20 years due
to previous contractual enhancements. Details of our frozen pension plan and your
pension statement can be found on RADAR. Former Hughes FAs:
please call the NWA Pension Department to get the correct
Benefit Service amount.
MONTHLY PURSER CONFERENCE CALL
NOTES
Your AFA MEC Purser Committee Chairs participated in
the monthly Purser conference call with Julie Showers on
December 15, as part of the ongoing NWA Purser Leadership
Series.
Joanne Smith (DAL SVP In-Flt) along with the DAL
In-Flight Training Department applauded the Northwest Purser
Program. They have been impressed with the Purser
Qualification and Initial Training Program for months and have
shown interest in adapting our program. In October, two
DAL employees participated in the NWA Purser Training to gain
first hand knowledge of our qualification
process.
During the conference
call, Julie Showers (NWA SVP of In-flight Services) was asked if
NWA Pursers would be required to go through a new qualification
process to fly as post-merged DAL “Flight
Leaders.” Julie replied that the current NWA Pursers
will not be required to re-qualify for the Delta program. All Pursers are
encouraged to maintain their qualification (mandatory CBT) until
further information is
available.
However, none of this will matter
if we do not maintain our union representation, since Section 9
– Pursers in our Collective Bargaining Agreement will be
null and void. It is imperative that we maintain our
Purser language, since Delta’s program is quite different
than our own. Currently at NWA there is one Purser
scheduled on all international flights, including wide body
aircraft from HNL to the mainland. In DAL’s program
Pursers may only be scheduled on wide body aircraft going to
Asia or Europe, and not to Latin America, HNL, or international
charter flights.
These are just a few of the important parameters
negotiated in Section 9 of the AFA CBA which may be taken away
from us if we lose our union representation. So, how
important is your Purser status? As always, we would love to hear from you at:
purser@nwaafa,org.
On behalf of our MEC Purser Committee, we would like to
wish you a Happy Holiday Season.—Submitted by MEC Purser
Committee Chair Kim Cook
FATIGUE SURVEY IN THE
MAIL
As reported in 'Hotline' messages and included in 'Safe
Skies' newsletter, FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
has randomly distributed the official survey on crew flight/duty
time, health and fatigue factors to approximately 23,000 U.S.
flight attendants. With only a minimal number of
FAs from each airline being selected, it is extremely important
that you participate if you receive
the survey.
If you received a postcard from
FAA/CAMI and did not return it, you will not receive the
survey. They are now sending out a second round of
postcards and we encourage you to return it, in order to
participate in this important effort. We need as many
of our FAs to participate as possible!
The survey may be completed online or
by returning the paper version mailed to those selected.
If you have lost it, please call CAMI directly at:
405-954-1594. The FAA will be analyzing responses early
next year, and need them to be returned as soon as
possible.
AFA-CWA
encourages you to complete and return the survey, if
received. Your honest and confidential feedback will help
government, industry and employee representatives make the most
accurate decisions to ensure required changes impacting the
safety and health of U.S. Flight Attendants. Please take
the time to respond to the survey. We are counting on you!
- Submitted by MEC ASHS Chair Jeanne Elliott
MAC MEETS TO DISCUSS
NEW DELTA’S CONTRACTUAL
OBLIGATION
The Star Tribune is reporting that
the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) will meet in a
special session Tuesday December 23, to consider a tentative
agreement with Delta Airlines that rewrites a 1992 agreement
with NWA that guaranteed the airline’s headquarters, air
service and jobs remain in Minnesota. When Delta merged with
Northwest, the agreement was renegotiated to allow the
elimination of the NWA headquarters without penalty, as long as
Delta provides a major hub with at least 400 flights per day,
and that Delta maintains at least 10,000 jobs in Minnesota. Significant penalties
will be imposed if Delta does not live up to their
agreement.
The possibility of Delta not living up to their word from
MAC is something that we should keep in mind as we prepare to
fight for a union contract. This is an example of what we can possibly
expect in our dealings with Delta. Verbal agreements are meaningless. We need a written
contract to best assure our future benefits. To read the Star Tribune
article in its entirety, please click HERE .
HOLIDAY MESSAGE FROM SFO HOTEL
COMMITTEE
Happy Holidays to Everyone! We all look
at the holidays with a certain amount of trepidation.
Hopefully we will all be able to find little corners of calm,
and enjoy good times with friends and family throughout the
hectic season. Here are a few simple things that you can
do to escape the holiday travel madness.
- Fly with your own pillow case. It
sounds a little neurotic, but going to sleep on familiar
feelings and scents can be extremely calming. Try using it on
your break on the way to/from NRT as well.
- Pack a favorite meal to eat on the
road. Comfort food is called that for a reason.
- Use programs like Skype to call home
from anywhere in the world. If you set it up as a
computer-to-computer call, you can even use a webcam to see your
friends and family while you talk to them.
- Remember to relax, January will be
here soon.
-Submitted by SFO Hotel Committee
Chair Donald Williams
