Q: In the TA the 1/12 requirement of paid time is eliminated. What are the implications of that for an FA that does not achieve the hard time 480 in a year? What are the implications of not having paid time in a month for those who do fly above the 480 hard time?
A: The current CBA requires that a FA’s vacation accrual is reduced by 1/12th for every month in which s/he does not have paid time in that month. This is addition to the 480 requirement. The JCBA would completely eliminate the 1/12th reduction for each month in which a FA has no paid activity.
If a FA achieves more than 240 but less than 480 TFP in a year and s/he also has 2 months in that year with no paid activity, then s/he will receive half vacation credit unpaid. Under the current CBA s/he would receive a 1/6th reduction to her/his half vacation credit (unpaid).
Under the JCBA, a FA would receive full paid vacation credit if a FA achieves the “hard 480” but also has unpaid time in several months.
Q: According to the TA we no longer have to have paid time in a month to accrue 1/12 vacation credit for the next year. As a full time flyer I have never had a single month without paid time so I have no idea what happens with regards to medical insurance payments and union dues, etc. Would we just receive a bill for those months and how many months in a row could this go on? You technically aren’t taking a leave since you bid but but not having any earnings to deduct these items is something I am not familiar with.
A: Medical insurance payments would be double deducted in the following month. If you do not have enough paid time to cover the double deduction, then COBRA Management Services will send you a bill for COBRA. At that point you would have to do coordinate with the Employee Benefits Department to manage coverage and payments. (Your AFA LEC officers are available to help navigate that quagmire.) Union does, however, do not auto-deduct. You will be sent a bill by AFA after that first month if you do not arrange payment directly.
