02 January 2009
HAPPY NEW
YEAR
"Employers and employees alike
have learned that in union there is strength, that a
coordination of individual effort means an elimination of waste,
a bettering of living conditions, and is, in fact, the father of
prosperity."-Franklin Delano Roosevelt
"Let others lead small lives, but not
you. Let others argue over small things, but not
you. Let others cry over small hurts, but not you.
Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not
you."-Jim Rohn
NEW
OPPORTUNITIES COME OUR WAY IN 2009
With the arrival of 2009, we, as members
of the world's largest airline, can seize upon new opportunities
and responsibilities presented to us. We are
positioned to set industry standards for our profession in more
ways than one.
As pre-merger Northwest flight attendants, we were
successful in our grassroots efforts to negotiate our "yellow
book" contract that provided a living wage, decent health
benefits and work rules deserved by all. Moreover, as
a direct result of lobbying by AFA-CWA members, a federal
omnibus appropriations bill was passed in December, 2007, that
prevented the "stapling" of one seniority integration list
to another, providing much needed legal protection on the
issue of seniority integration during the
merger.
We only need to look at the recent
presidential campaign to see that grassroots
efforts do make a difference. The campaign
taught us that if we work together and believe in our future,
we have the power to negotiate a contract that protects our
future wages, benefits, and retirement. We need everyone
to join the cause.
We already know that neither the company nor a
third-party entity will look out for our interests.
If we want control over our own future we must do no less
than inspire each other to take a stand and shape the future the
way we want it to be.
Visit www.deltaafa.org to see how you
can take your place in history helping in the effort to keep
collective bargaining rights for 60 more years.
LTD CLAIM
FILING WALLET
CARD
Starting this month, as a result
of advocacy by NWA AFA to improve member satisfaction with our
LTD program, we will see a twenty seven percent (27%) drop in
our Long Term Disability premium. With it, we will also see an improvement of
our LTD claim process and a higher recovery rate. To aid in our claim
process, a draft of a wallet size card has been produced by
CIGNA and is now posted HERE on our MEC website for your
view. Once this
wallet size card has been approved for distribution, a supply of
them will be printed and a PDF version will be available on
RADAR. This wallet
size card will be a quick reference guide to our filing option,
necessary phone numbers, and web addresses. Please remember,
whenever you file a claim it is solely between you and
CIGNA. No one from
NWA – including any in-flight personnel - should be
involved.
NEGOTIATIONS ONGOING – SPLIT LINES AND
SATELLITE BASES
Negotiations continue in January
regarding details that must be worked out for satellite bases in
ATL and SLC for Northwest flight attendants in 2009. Please review LOA 20
– Satellite Bases for contractual
parameters already negotiated. Additionally, the union will meet with the
company regarding LOA 21
– Split Lines. As more information
comes available about these items, it will be announced to all
members.
FIRST
MEETING OF THE PBS SUPPORT TEAM – JANUARY
12TH
The PBS Support Team (one flight
attendant, one union representative, and one company
representative from each base) will meet on January
12th for our first meeting of the contractual PBS
Support Team. If
you have any suggestions for programming changes for higher
bidder satisfaction, please send them to your Local Council Representatives.
FREE
RIDER DISCOVERED ON BOARD FLIGHT 59
On December 31, Northwest flight 59 left
Amsterdam with a
“stowaway” to Boston and the airline was not
upset that she did not pay for a ticket. With the help of two
medical doctors traveling on board and our talented Boston base flight attendant crew, a baby
girl was born over the skies of Newfoundland and Labrador Canada. The baby and mother were
met by paramedics upon arrival in Boston and are reported to be
doing fine. This
in-flight birth was reported in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
and on CNN. To view
Boston’s local ABC
station news report, please click HERE or go to our MEC
website.
US EMBASSIES AND CONSULATE
CONTACTS
Japan.............................................................................................
03.3224.5000
All
Cities
Korea
ICN.............................................................................................. 82.02.397.4114
PUS.............................................................................................. 82.51.246.7791
P.R. China
PEK................................................................................................
86.10.8531.3000
CAN................................................................................................ 86.20.8518.7605
PVG................................................................................................ 86.21.6433.6880
Hong Kong
HKG................................................................................................
852.2523.9011
Singapore
SIN..................................................................................................
65.6476.9100
Taiwan
TPE................................................................................................ 02.2162.2000, ext
2306
Philippines
MNL
..............................................................................................
63.2.301.2000
Thailand
BKK...............................................................................................
66.02.205.4049
The Netherlands
AMS...............................................................................................
31.70.310.2209
France
CDG..............................................................................................
33.1.43.12.22.22
United
Kingdom
LHR,
LGW
....................................................................................
44.0.20.7499.9000
Germany
DUS..............................................................................................
0211.788.8927
FRA...............................................................................................
069.7535.2102
India
BOM...............................................................................................
22.2363.3611
Kuwait "special
ops"
KWI................................................................................................
00.965.259.1001
RESERVE – ONE WAY TRADE OR RESERVE INCREASE
ADJUSTMENT?
In the fall of 2007, Reserve
Increase Adjustments (RIA) were implemented. Before that time,
reserves could only choose the one way trade (OWT) for flying on
days off. While OWT
allows for some variety and choice in flying, many reserves have
learned the hard way that
OWT flying is not always helpful to the paycheck. Unless a reserve has
reached 80
hours of flying while on RR/RD days, OWT flying is
inclusive of the reserve guarantee. For example: if you flew 62 hours on Reserve
and then picked up two OWT High Value Turns (each worth 9
hours), you would still be paid and credited no more than
your
80 hour guarantee.
RIA, on the other hand, is paid exclusive of your reserve
guarantee. Those
same 18 hours absorbed into the guarantee with OWT will be paid
above the 80 hour
guarantee when you use RIA. RIA must be flown completely during your days
off. All associated
rest from a trip (i.e. 15:45 rest after you return from Europe)
must also be contained in your days off, and all FARs apply. RIA are processed in SLAP (1300 trade
processing) at a category 15. RIA is entered under RESERVE SCHEDULE
ADJUSTMENTS in CENTRY.
If you have a GDO and wish to fly under the RIA category,
you must first phone Crew Scheduling to change your GDO into a
PDO. RIA patterns
are eligible for premium pay pattern trips (“PPP”/
PCPP pattern class) when the company offers such
flying.
AROUND THE SYSTEM -
BRING A COLLEAGUE. GET MOTIVATED. GET
INVOLVED.
The MEC meeting
schedule and the Local Meeting
schedule are found under the
“Events” tab at www.nwaafa.org. Delta Flight Attendants will be invited to
local union meetings throughout the country in the coming year,
and there will be mixers and trainings planned and posted at www.deltaafa.org as
well.
GOT MERGER QUESTIONS? GET ANSWERS!
You are always welcome to
contact your AFA-CWA Local officers, whose contact information
is found at nwaafa.org.
Another way to get accurate answers to merger questions
is to email Questions@nwaafa.org.
As additional information is gathered, it will be
reported in hotline messages, our quarterly printed MEC
newsletter all call, in Union
bulletin boards, and on the websites. Archived editions of the MEC merger
Q&A the source and the
Contract vs. Policy Manual postcards
are posted on the MEC
website. To sign up
for the joint campaign e-news and read past campaign
publications visit www.deltaafa.org.
DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR UNION PIN!
Click
HERE or visit www.afanet.org for information about AFA-CWA union structure and
the history of the AFA-CWA. Dues & Member
Q&A can be viewed here: http://nwaafa.org/resources/dues/.
