AFA Detroit Local
Executive Council 94 |
eNews 31 May 2008
A
MESSAGE FROM COUNCIL 94 PRESIDENT, DIANA
MITCHAM
We should never take for granted such
an important thing as representation.
Yesterday as I started my day, I
received a call from a member with concerns about a sick call
she had made that morning. After a few hours of research,
I found her sick calls weren't excessive or abusive.
Still, she was required to meet with a manager.
Today, this flight attendant has the
right to union representation - - she will not lose her job; she
has a collective bargaining agreement and union advocates to
protect her.
We must look at the results of this
week's vote by Delta flight attendants as a step towards
asserting themselves in the struggle to promote democracy,
equality and solidarity. Northwest flight attendants stand with
our sisters and brothers at Delta as their fight to organize
becomes a combined effort to preserve over 60 years of
collective bargaining.
Flight attendants have a choice: we
can accept that airline management will aggressively promote and
protect our profession. We can take our chances that the
discussion over a sick call does not end in termination, and we
can hope that promises made to us are not so quickly revoked
since they are not bound by a contract.
Or, we can take our
place at the table. We will step in when threats of
outsourcing come along. We will uphold hard-fought
provisions in our Agreement like scope, labor protective
provisions, and seniority. We will continue to promote
flight attendant causes on the legislative front, like the
recently passed FMLA legislation and last year's omnibus bill
that included fatigue studies and seniority protection.
The resilience of Northwest flight
attendants has been consistently challenged in the past, and we
face most uncertain times with the biggest merger in airline
history. Despite our differences, I know that Northwest
flight attendants are equal to the task at hand. As the
saying goes, WE ARE the Union. I'm confident that we WILL
BE the Union . . .
SCHEDULING AND
RESERVE TOWN HALL MEETINGS
On Wednesday, May 21, flight
attendants were invited to participate in a Town Hall Meeting
with AFA officers and Brian Moreau, Director of Northwest Crew
Scheduling. The meeting was very well attended – at
times there was standing room only in the CBT lab next to the
inflight offices. Brian Moreau came to Detroit on
the invitation of LEC 94 President Diana Mitcham. By
coordinating meeting space with DTW Inflight, we were able to
accommodate as many flight attendants who wished to
participate.
Present for AFA were: MEC
President Kevin Griffin; Janette Rook, MEC Vice-President; MEC
Scheduling and Reserve committee chairs; LEC 94 Officers.
DTW Inflight Director Britt Reller
and several inflight services managers attended the
meeting.
We have summarized the minutes from
the town hall meeting on the 21st. They are available as
an attachment at the bottom of this hotline.
Local 94 is pleased to
announce a second Scheduling & Reserve forum in July.
We are coordinating the details now and will announce the
specific time and date before the July SLIC bid deadline!
FMLA
BILL PASSES HOUSE, ON TO THE SENATE!!
On May 20, 2008, flight attendants
savored a moment of victory when an unprecedented
bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives passed our
amendment to the Family and Medical Leave Act with 402 members
in favor and nine against, in a special "suspension vote"
reserved only for bills that are known in advance to have
overwhelming support. (The House Committee on Education and
Labor unanimously approved the bill last week before sending it
to the full House for a vote.)
We are half way there. The bill
now goes to the Senate for a vote. You can help to keep up
the momentum by contacting your senators!
We ask all Michigan voters to contact
Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Carl Levin and ask them to
cosponsor S2059. Please do this ASAP in order to take this
legislation to the floor for a vote before this Congressional
session is over. Once this bill passes both Houses, a combined
bill will then go to the President for his signature. If we
get two-thirds approval for this combined bill, the President
cannot veto it.
Call your Senators at their district
offices and/or their Washington DC offices as
follows:
Senator Debbie
Stabenow:
Washington
Office 202
224-4822
District Office - DTW 313
961-4330
LAN
517
203-1760
TVC
231
929-1031
FNT
810
720-4172
GRR
616 975-0052
Senator Carl
Levin:
Washington
Office 202
224-6221
District Office - DTW 313
226-6020
MBS
989
754-2494
LAN
517
377-1508
GRR
616
456-2531
TVC
231 947-9569
Nothing works better than calls from
constituents. Please call the Washington office
and the local office closest to your
city. For all other states, go to www.senate.gov to find your
senate contact information. Please use the sample script
attached to the bottom of this hotline as your
guideline.
DETROIT
EMPLOYEE BUS INSPECTIONS *UPDATE*
On Thursday, May 22, LEC 94 President
Diana Mitcham joined DTW base director Britt Reller, Clint F.
Smith, Director of airport operations/administration, and Mark
Joneski, Director of DTW Customer Service for an inspection of
the DTW employee buses.
Detroit members provided feedback
about the AOA and non-AOA buses that President Mitcham brought
with her on the morning inspection. Some of the issues
brought up were:
- Luggage racks are at the rear of the
bus. At the international arrivals/non-AOA stop, riders
are required to board at the front for id inspection (which is
not consistent) and then have to shuffle past the seated
passengers with heavy bags
- Not enough frequency at the AOA
pickup stops between 0900-1100; not enough frequency of all bus
routes after 2300
- Bus frequency needs to be better
matched to shift changes
- Parking lot needs better lighting;
emergency phones needed at AOA and non-AOA
stops
- Non-AOA shelters need to be better
protect from weather
Suitcases were provided to Britt
Reller to give him a better idea of what flight attendants face
each time they ride the employee bus. The inspection team
will share their findings with Wayne County and Metro
Cars. We are hopeful that short and long-term solutions
will be reached soon. Local 94 will keep you updated on
the issue in future hotlines.
JUNE Local 94 Council Meeting/Special OJI Forum
Local 94 welcomes attorney Norton
Cohen to a special OJI forum before our June council meeting on
11 June, 2008. Mr. Cohen is a partner of the Miller-Cohen
law firm of Detroit. Miller-Cohen has provided legal
advice to members of Local 94 about OJI and long term disability
issues. They have generously offered free consultations to
our members to help guide them through the confusing OJI/long
term disability process. Join us from 1100-1200 on June 11
in the AFA Local 94 office.
The regular June council meeting will
begin at 1300 and conclude at 1500 on June 11.
35th Annual AFA-CWA Board of
Directors Meeting
The 2008 AFA Board of Directors
Meeting (BOD) will be held in Milwaukee from July 8-10,
2008. Any member in good standing is welcome and
encouraged to attend the meetings. If you would like
more information, please contact lec94@nwaafa.org.
What's in a Union Pin?
Local 94 officers recognize we all
come from different backgrounds. Our seniority spans from
1951 to 2008. We are the product of several mergers,
different languages and cultures. We've had three
different acronyms for our Union in the past decade.
In the next year, we may or may not
be called Northwest Airlines. As we are all trying
to make sense of the merger, seniority, contracts, and the
mixture of all the aforementioned, your local council asks you
for a display of unity: Please, wear your AFA pin on
every trip.
Our pasts are different and we have
had vigorous debates over our future. When we come
together, our collective voice can be deafening. Wear your
pin to show you support collective bargaining. Wear your
pin to show your support for the Delta flight attendants as they
continue their fight to organize. Wear your pin to show
you want to be represented at the table along with the
pilots. Wear your pin in defiance, in pride, in
solidarity, or in unity. Whatever the reason, the background,
the motivation, please, wear your Union pin.
If you need a Union pin, or you would
like to pick up some extras for your colleagues, please stop by
the Local 94 office.
-----
Your Detroit Local Executive
Council
President Diana Mitcham
dmitcham@nwaafa.org
Vice President John O'Donnell
jodonnell@nwaafa.org
Secretary Anthony Hytche
ahytche@nwaafa.org
Local Council Rep Belea Bower
bbower@nwaafa.org
Local Council Rep Jeff Martoia
jmartoia@nwaafa.org
Local Council Rep Daniel Grey
dgrey@nwaafa.org
Wear your Union Pin!
FLY SAFE, AND FLY THE CONTRACT!
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