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Greetings, Minimum crew violations can be a serious issue for Flight Attendants, generating fines by the FAA as well as company discipline. Conversely, an unmet need for passenger wheelchairs on terminating inbound flights can also be a serious issue for NWA, generating dissatisfaction for customers with disabilities and compliance problems with the Air Carriers Access Act and DOT consumer guidelines. Recently, the Company has chosen to issue excessive discipline for some minimum crew violations. These two issues are frequently at odds when pre-ordered wheelchair service is not presented at the aircraft door for passenger deplaning. As everyone knows, the crew is often held hostage by Minimum Crew FARs, lacking the ability to step off the aircraft to resolve the issue at the gate. Frequently, no one is even aware passengers remain onboard and that the crew simply cannot make contact with anyone to advise they are still waiting. Please be aware that even in such a situation, however, minimum crew must remain onboard to avoid an FAR violation.
DTW Management has advised Local 94 that
one means to resolve this kind of situation is to contact
DTW Inflight Services via cell phone, declare the need for a
wheelchair, and ask management to follow up. Unless
other procedures are implemented , we suggest you avoid disciplinary action
by contacting Inflight Services for assistance when you face a
lengthy wait for a wheelchair.
On another note, it is unfortunate that we continue to see crew members write one another up for disputes and perceived infractions, such as the wheelchair scenario described above. Sometimes flight attendants with close ties to management even take matters into their own hands, choosing to turn in flying partners for disciplinary action rather than utilize union-sanctioned resolution systems. This regrettable behavior sows seeds of distrust and disunity in an already toxic work environment. Please be aware that if our workgroup is ever to undergo healing and move forward, the healing must start from within.
For this reason, we would like to take the opportunity to
encourage our flying partners to always utilize EAP resolution
FIRST. Flight attendants on special
assignment of any kind are still AFA union members and are
reminded of these protocols, as well. The Association of Flight
Attendants Employee Assistance Program (AFA EAP) is a free,
confidential resource available to members, their families and
their partners to assist with personal and work-related
concerns. AFA EAP provides three distinct but interrelated
services, including:
AFA's objective in providing these services is to enhance the health, safety and well-being of its union family with the highest quality of peer support available within the EAP industry. You can contact your local peer representatives directly or call the International helpline at 1-800-424-2406 or 202-434-0560 to help you access services. Contact information for DTW EAP representatives can be found at: http://www.afa94.org/Committees/AFA94_COMMITTEES_EAP.asp
Please Remember: Talk it out, don't write it up and if that doesn't work, contact your EAP.
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