Holiday 2008

As 2008 draws to a close, your AFA Local 94 Officers offer you our sincere wishes for a safe and happy holiday.  We look forward to 2009 and pledge to work for positive change for our members in Detroit and system wide. We remain dedicated to preserving our collective bargaining rights as we transition to the new Delta. Standing together with over 20,000 professional flight attendants, we are a strong force for change.

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 (especially from the hours of 10am to 3pm), 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 and  your cold weather gear! 

THINKING OF RETIRING?  EARLY OUT?  CONTRACT VS. NO CONTRACT

Contractual provisions from the collective bargaining of Northwest flight attendants provide a subsidized retiree medical cost of $181.32 (f/a single per month), or $391.42 (f/a + spouse per month).  Delta's non-subsidized retiree medical costs are $582.10 (gold plan) / $507.90 (silver plan) PER PERSON, PER MONTH. 

NOTE:  WITHOUT A CONTRACT,  RETIREE MEDICAL IS OFFERED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE COMPANY.  WITHOUT A CONTRACT, THOSE ALREADY RETIRED COULD LOSE MEDICAL COVERAGE AND THE PREMIUM SUBSIDY.  IF WE HAVE NO CONTRACT, ASSUME NOTHING CONTINUES. 

JANUARY AFA COUNCIL MEETING

Our next Local 94 Council Meeting will be held on Thursday, January 22, 2008 at 12:30 p.m. at the DTW Airport Westin.  (A casual question and answer period will begin at 11am before the meeting.)  We are pleased to welcome the following special guests:

• AFA SENIOR LEGAL BENEFITS ATTORNEY Mary Lou Savage will address important insurance issues for those considering early retirement with the 55-point Early Out program currently being offered.  She will explain the differences between our NWA contractual employee health insurance costs and coverage and Delta's policy-driven health plan, contrast/compare the NWA and DAL frozen defined benefit pension plan, and explain the differences in each current defined contribution plan.  Additionally, Mary Lou can able to answer a host of merger-related questions, as they arise.
  
• AFA MEC HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY CHAIR Jeanne Elliot will join us with an overview of the Safety Committee's role in protecting you on and off the aircraft, the latest news about cross-training on the Delta fleet, international security news and safety suggestions for both international and domestic layovers, and other hot topics that affect your workplace.
  
• DELTA FLIGHT ATTENDANTS will share their quest for Union representation at Delta Air Lines.  Do their work rules work for them? What happens if you speak up to question authority?  What's the story with pay raises, pay cuts, and the ever-changing policy manual? What is this "Delta culture" we keep hearing about?  Discover why a growing team of Delta activists work tirelessly to gain union rights and representation.

In addition to merger and representational campaign updates, the January 22 meeting will include agenda submission for the 2009 AFA-CWA Board of Directors Meeting to be held in Milwaukee this spring. 
 
Prior to the BOD meeting, every local holds a council meeting to solicit ideas and potential agenda items from the membership.  This is your opportunity to submit your agenda items to be placed on the MEC Meeting agenda for possible submission as changes or additions to the AFA-CWA Constitution.  Any changes to the AFA Constitution will be decided by Local Executive Council Presidents (LECPs) from every AFA-CWA carrier system-wide at that time.
 

POLLING PROCEDURES

Long delays on international flights can quickly become stressful situations, especially when your legalities enter the mix. The following is a review of polling procedures as outlined in section 5 of the Agreement:

When an international flight is delayed, you shall be polled 2 hours and 15 minutes prior to your walk time. At this point, you have 2 options: 1) be replaced when your walk time occurs, or 2) waive your contractual legalities for an additional 2 hours.  Polling will be repeated every two hours until rescheduling or cancellation occurs. Polling can be accomplished by a flight attendant manager, or a purser/LFA at the direction of
management or crew scheduling. Complete polling information is found on pg. 5.23. of the Agreement.

Holiday Scheduling Issues

With the holidays here, now is the time to reacquaint yourself with the kinds of legality issues that can affect your line should you encounter weather delays, cancellations and/or rescheduling. 

We encourage you to carry at least Sections 5 (Hours of Service) and 6 (Scheduling) on all trips (plus Section 7, Reserve, if necessary) to prepare for potential issues, if they arise.
 
Regular Lineholders should pay particular attention to Letter of Agreement 17, which is the contractual provision where a Flight Attendant who loses hours from his/her schedule, may be required to accept Time Available, in certain limited situations, following the declaration of a "Critical Period" by the Company.   In short, your rights under Side Letter 17 are as follows:

• You must be compensated at one and one-half times your hourly incentive rate for all additional hours flown as a result of assignment by crew scheduling.
• If you request it, the company must provide you Y1/F6 travel to and from your base for the assignment.
• You must have the option of selecting any open pattern that departs during the Critical Period.
• If you do not select a specific pattern from open flying, you must be assigned the lowest value open pattern.
• You may only be assigned a pattern that operates outside your Time Available obligation with your consent.

With approval from crew scheduling, you must be released from the remainder of the assigned pattern if you transit a base station and the Critical Period has ended.

You must be permitted to accept or decline any Time Availability remaining following the assignment of a pattern under this agreement.

Reserves should pay particular attention to Section 7, H. Off-Duty Provisions, including the parameters for selecting Guaranteed Days Off (GDO) and replacement of GDO and PDO.  Guaranteed Day(s) Off are defined as "off-duty days on a Reserve Flight Attendant's line during which he/she can refuse an assignment, provided such assignment originates or operates over the Guaranteed Day Off."   Reserves Flight Attendants may select up to eight (8) GDO per bid month via CENTRY prior to 0000 of the first day of the bid month.  You may choose your GDO during any off-duty periods, but they must be consecutive and during the last days of a series of off-duty periods.  

Remember to ALWAYS ask for a Review of Crew Orders (pg. 6.26) when you question the legality of an assignment or rescheduling from Crew Scheduling. Contact a Local 94 officer if you need to file a grievance for scheduling violations.

REMINDER:  Check your rescheduling preferences in CENTRY!    Advance rescheduling (>4hours notice)  (pg 6.59) "When a rescheduling occurs and the pattern is changed four hours (4:00) or more prior to scheduled departure, Crew Scheduling shall attempt to contact the Flight Attendants and offer the rescheduling in seniority order among the Flight Attendants who have been identified to be rescheduled.  The rescheduling shall be forced in reverse seniority order."

The rules of rescheduling differ when the schedule change is less than four hours:   When a rescheduling occurs and the pattern is changed less than four hours (4:00) prior to scheduled departure, or when there are no Flight Attendants electing rescheduling as provided above, rescheduling shall be accomplished among those Flight Attendants who are identified for rescheduling in the following order:
 
(1) Reserve Flight Attendants
 
(2) Regular Flight Attendants with a current time available obligation, in reverse seniority order
 
(3) All other Regular Flight Attendants, in reverse seniority order.

Detroit Employee Parking Lot

You may recall that your AFA Detroit Officers asked the company to work with Wayne County to improve conditions of the DTW employee buses and parking lot.  While typical budget constraints have prevailed as the reason why improvements aren't possible, the recent snowstorm has brought the issue to the forefront once again. 

We assure you that we have not forgotten your input on the bus and parking lot.  In an effort to keep this front and center and to allow us to measure the impact of the current conditions, please continue to provide feedback on bus and parking lot matters to lec94@nwaafa.org.