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December
2008 - Negotiations Flyer
Currently, the Negotiations Team is working on sections of the
contract which do not have any impact on our finances. Why? This is
because of the current economic situation we are facing in the
United States. The Negotiations Team is currently working on Section
20, System Board of Arbitration. We are hoping that as the economy
improves that we will be able to make headway on sections of the
contract such as scheduling and compensation that will benefit our
members.
We do not have a planned date to have the negotiations completed due to
the current economic conditions. It is not in our best interest to
negotiate on economic issues due to current economic conditions and
posted profit losses at AirTran. We are hoping that in 2009 the economy
rebounds and AirTran once again becomes profitable.
April 7,
2008
he negotiating
committee just completed the second round of contract negotiations with the
Company.
We now have a tentative agreement on Section 15 (Moving Expenses), Section
22 (No Strike/No Lockout), Section 23 (Savings Clause), and Section 26
(Union Security and Dues Check Off).
Having come to an agreement on four sections in only two rounds of meeting
is more than we anticipated going into this process. While we hope we can
continue this pace, the more contentious and complicated sections, most
notably Section 2 (Compensation) and Section 5 (Scheduling), have yet to be
discussed.
Our next round of meetings with the Company is April 15th – 17th. We also
have scheduled meetings for April 29th – May 1st, May 13th – 15th, and June
17th – 19th.
The committee will continue to negotiate with the Company to try and come to
an agreement on every section of the contract. In addition, the Union will
be proposing new sections to address various issues that have arisen since
the last contract was ratified. After an agreement is reached, the entire
proposed contract will be presented to the membership for an up or down
vote. Of course, before any vote by the membership, the committee will hold
several question and answer sessions for the membership.
To date, the committee has put out three (3) surveys to the membership. We
greatly appreciate those of you who took the time to respond to the survey.
It is quite possible that we will put out an additional survey or two which
would be specific issue oriented. We encourage all Flight Attendants to
continue to provide us with feedback and suggestions. The most efficient way
to contact us is through E-mail. However, feel free to put any suggestions
in the Union’s lock box or visit the Union’s web site (www.afaairtran.com)
where you send us your questions or comments.
The quickest and most cost efficient method for the Union to communicate
information to the flight attendants is through E-mail. If you have not
already done so, please visit the Union’s web site and sign up for the
E-mail alerts. We will continue to provide updates, both hard copy and
through E-mail alerts, as to the progress (or lack thereof) of contract
negotiations.
Please show your support for the Union and the negotiating committee by
wearing your AFA pin. We need your visible support to let the Company know
that we are united in this effort to achieve a new contract.
February 15, 2008
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.
February 10, 2008
The
negotiating committee is pleased to announce that L. T. Latham, has been
appointed as an alternate to the committee. L.T. will attend all the
meetings and brings new ideas and solutions to the table. LT currently
serves as the chairperson of the legislative committee and has been actively
involved in trying to persuade our elected officials to support positions
and legislation that are helpful to flight attendants.
The committee’s first meeting with the Company on January 15, 2008, went
very well. The Company and the Union agreed to a significant number of dates
in February, March, April, May and June on which to meet.
At our meeting with the Company we provided the Company with our Railway
Labor Act “Section Six” opener. The Section Six opener details sections of
the current contract the Union proposes to open for negotiations and gives a
general overview of what changes we would like to see in the current
contract
We provided the Company with the specific changes we would like to see made
to Sections 6 (Training), Section 15 (Moving Expenses) and Section 26 (Union
Security and Dues Check-Off). At our next meeting with the Company we
anticipate the Company will be in a position to respond to our proposed
changes to these sections.
We will continue to provide the membership with periodic updates. The
committee must maintain the confidentiality of all proposals, both Union and
Company, to protect the integrity of the bargaining process; therefore no
proposals will be released during the negotiations process.
All of the changes the committee is seeking are a direct result of the
surveys to the membership (there have been three thus far), specific
suggestions from the members, items that have come up since the last
contract was ratified and trends in the industry.
January 15, 2008
The Negotiating Committee held its first meeting with the Company on
January 15, 2008. The meeting went extremely well. The Company's
committee members are, Gerry Anderson, Director of Labor Relations;
Connie Mac Parker, Manager of Inflight Catering and Revenue; and
Erika Montgomery, Base Administrator.
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.
At the meeting the Union presented the required Railway Labor Act
"Section Six" opener to the Company. This is a document that gives
a general overview of what changes the Union is seeking in the
current contract. In addition, we presented the Company with the
Union's proposed specific changes to Sections 6, 15 and 26 of the
current contract.
The committee has committed several dates in February and March to
meet to continue to draft specific changes to other sections of the
contract.
As always we welcome and encourage you to continue to send your
suggestions and comments. You can place a note in the Union's lock box
or E-mail the Negotiating Committee's chairman, Dennis Bickham, at
DennisBTR@aol.com.
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Council 57
AirTran Airways
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