Q1: Why are AFA officers getting big raises when the rest of us are getting only 4.5%? LECPs 10 TFP/month and MECP 11.8TFP/month, etc., which is far more than my 4.5% as a Flight Attendant? Is this increase a way to pay our AFA officers off to put this out for a vote?
Q2: I understand work done by our LEC Officers is for all AFA members, but our Officers just received a healthy pay increase in this last contract as did the lower part of the seniority list. Why would our Officers who work for us, the members, again receive (ask for/be offered?)–and more importantly accept–a larger increase in TFP pay than the senior FAs on both proposed TAs (TA2 in 2014 & current TA) when this Merger TA is only able to make a few improvements (e.g. “TA2 regrets”)?
A: The JNC strongly advocated for more pay for senior Flight Attendants–particularly by increasing the Longevity Premium. That was one of the final items pulled from the table to reach a TA. Management refused and refused to address increases for more senior Flight Attendants. Management was set on putting equal percentage increases in the scale. The JNC pushed several proposals across the table that targeted senior Flight Attendants more favorably, but management pushed back on nearly all of them. The only one that made it into the final TA was the Productivity Premium Program (PPP), which arguably makes it easier for more senior FAs to achieve because of their relatively larger vacation accrual.
Keep in mind that a Reserve receives a 90 TFP guarantee and has 12 guaranteed days off. All of these officers and reps consistently have fewer days off than that in a month and are constantly on call. The JNC believes it is reasonable to bring the LECP FPL up closer to the reserve guarantee and to more closely mirror the line average. Finally, neither the MECP FPL nor the MEC EAP FPL has increased since the mid-2000s, yet the number of members have more than doubled since then due to growth–and now the merger.
The FPL increases are in no way a quid pro quo for putting the TA out for a vote. Increasing the Company Business FPL for these positions shifts the financial burden of paying for these positions from the union funds (i.e. from members’ dues dollars) to the Company; this frees up members’ dues money for other member-directed activities. The increases are included in the TA in the interest of full transparency. If any member has additional questions or concerns, we encourage to you to reach out to your respective LEC president.
