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2008 Hotline Archives |
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February 20, 2008
Council 57 is pleased to announce our first Council Meeting for 2008!
This meeting is scheduled for March 12, 2008 from 1500-1700. The meeting
will be held at the Sheraton Gateway in Atlanta on Sullivan Road. This will
be your first opportunity to hear from your newly elected officers on their
vision for the future of the council. AFA International President Pat Friend
and Vice President Veda Shook will be our guest speakers at the meeting. We
will also have members of the Council 57 Negotiations Team available to
update you on the current status of contract negotiations.
The negotiating committee and the Company met and came to a tentative
agreement on two sections of the contract. They are: Section 22-- No
Strike/No Lockout and Section 26 - Union Security and Dues Check Off.
The Committee also presented the Company with the Union's proposals for
Section 11 - Seniority and Section 16 - Safety Health and Security (formally
"Missing, Internment, Prisoner and Hostage").
The Company presented a counter proposal to the Union's initial proposal for
Section 15 - Moving Expenses. The Company also presented the Union with its
proposal for Section 23 - Savings Clause. The Union presented a counter
proposal to the Company for Section 23.
The next meeting with the Company is scheduled for March 18th - 20th. We
anticipate discussing Section 15 - Moving Expenses, Section 6 - Training,
and Section 23 - Savings Clause at the next round of meetings.
As always, the committee welcomes and encourages you to submit your
thoughts, suggestions and comments. You can do so by dropping a note in the
Union's lock box or E-mailing any member of the Committee or Union Officer.
Go to www.afaairtran.com for contact information.
If you have experienced a crew rest interruption, we need your help! Please
fill out a grievance form at www.afaairtran.com. Simply follow the link on
the left side of the page for the Online Grievance Questionnaire Form.
Information needed:
Name
Employee Number
Date of Interruption
Time of Interruption
Pairing Number
Name of person who called
How did they interrupt (cell phone, hotel phone, having hotel employees
knock on door, etc.)?
We will be compiling all information through at least June 2008. Although
the crew rest interruption grievances have previously been taken to
arbitration, we understand that the arbitration is still being violated.
Do you need a contract or a union pin? Show your solidarity by carrying your
contract and wearing your union pin on every trip! You can email your
request to the Membership and Communications Chair Casey Rittner. He can be
reached at caseyrittner@gmail.com. When emailing, be sure to include
Contract/Union Pin in the subject line of your email.
The MEC/LEC 57 Officers and Committee Chairs would like to extend a warm
welcome our newest class of 28 flight attendants who graduated on February
8, 2008. If you have any questions or concerns, just remember we’re only a
phone call or email away! We'd also like to welcome those of you who have
recently volunteered to join the Grievance Committee. Your hard work and
dedication will be greatly appreciated by your fellow flight attendants.
Don't forget! There's still time to sign up for the AirTran Cruise to fight
breast cancer! Details can be found on our website at www.afaairtran.com
February 4, 2008
Don't forget to sign up to make
a tax deductible donation through payroll deduction to The Pegasus
Project. This fund is intended to assist FAs with critical illnesses
and injuries. Qualifying and contact information may be found on the
website at ThePegasusProject.org. Forms are now available in the
Inflight office and may be given to an Inflight Supervisor for
forwarding to Payroll.
Remember that your union provides an Employee Assistance Program and
your peers are trained volunteers. Let us assist you with any
problem that may be affecting your job performance, such as legal,
financial, substance abuse, stress, and family. Peer Reps are also
trained in conflict resolution so "Talk It Out with your co-worker,
Don't Write It up". Call 404-434-3579 today. Let us help you!
Did you know you can fill out your grievance questionnaires online?
Visit our website at afaairtran.com today to try it out. You will
get a much faster response than filling out a paper form. Remember
you should always try to resolve the problem yourself first before
filing a questionnaire.
The Negotiating Committee held its first meeting with the Company on
January 15, 2008. The meeting went extremely well. The Company and
the Union have agreed to a meeting schedule through June. We have
settled upon a total of eighteen (18) dates to meet. We will
establish more dates in the future as needed. This is a significant
number of dates, and we are encouraged that the Company committed to
so many dates so quickly. The Company has indicated that they would
like to come to an agreement as soon as practical, and this is a
good first step in that direction.
January 1, 2008
The System Board committee held
settlement talks with the Company on December 13th, 2007. The
Company has once again agreed to hold a year end review to try and
resolve any cases that are pending as of December 28th. In 2006 we
had great success in settling some cases that we had previously been
unable to resolve.
In November, 2007 we were able to come to an agreement with the
Company to return four terminated flight attendants to work under
terms and conditions acceptable to the flight attendant. All of
these cases were pending arbitration. By settling before arbitration
we were able to return the flight attendant to work quicker and
without the expense of going to arbitration. Each arbitration costs
in excess of $ 3,000.00. In addition, the flight attendant was
assured of reinstatement as opposed to the uncertainty of
arbitration.
We recently won the arbitration dealing with the Company's refusal
to allow MCO based flight attendants to participate in Company
offered leaves of absence during times of overstaffing. The Board
ruled that all such leaves must be offered to the entire flight
attendant group in seniority order. Also at this hearing the Company
argued that the Union had to list every flight attendant and their
employee number who is effected by a grievance. In effect, the
Company was arguing that the Union could not file a grievance on
behalf of all flight attendants if we wanted retrospective relief
such as reimbursement for failure to pay a entire group of flight
attendants correctly. The Board rejected this argument as well. It
was a 100% win for the flight attendants.
We also would like to address two very important topics with you.
The first topic is the latest crew message sent by the company
concerning sick calls during the holiday season. Management has
stated that flight attendants who called out during the holiday
period may be required to submit a detailed doctor’s note. The union
has been in touch with management and informed them of our objection
to this on many counts and the fact that we will file an MEC/LEC
grievance should this blanket policy be put into effect. We have
been assured that this does not apply to all flight attendants who
called in sick during this time. Apparently some flight attendants
were connected to a supervisor who informed them of this at the time
they called in sick. We also reminded management of the fact that
the company would have to pay the co-pay.
The second topic we would like to address with you is the latest
settlement between the company and the union concerning the wireless
credit card machines and liquor paperwork. The Company has agreed to
settle a grievance filed on behalf of all flight attendants over the
lack of proper instruction and a written policy regarding liquor
paperwork and the use of the CCRs.
You may qualify to have your discipline removed, but the Union can’t
help you if don’t let us know about your situation. If you received
any discipline from the Company (documented coaching, written
warning or termination warning) related to the use of the CCR or
filling out liquor paperwork, we need you to submit information to
the union by January 15, 2008.
Please fill out a grievance questionnaire fact sheet form online
(www.afaairtran.com) or put the form in the Union’s lock box in the
crew room. Forms can be found in the forms box next to crew tracking
in the crew room.
If you have any questions, please E-mail Dennis Bickham, System
Board Committee Chairman at DennisBTR@aol.com or place a note in his
mailbox.
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Council 57
AirTran Airways
www.afaairtran.com
Ask the Union 
