Q:     My question is, should the TA pass would the full pay for L-VX FA deadheads be retroactive to cover trips beginning in January?

A:     No. Effective DOR, any L-VX FA who deadheads on a flight at the Company’s request will receive one-hundred percent (100%) block hour credit for pay purposes. This provision will be retroactive to the first day of the bid month of DOR.  If the TA is ratified on April 3, 2018, then 100% deadhead pay will begin April 1, 2018. This information can be found in the L-VX Transition Agreement 2018 TA.

Q:     Do you have current per diem rates for the other airlines?

A:     The following is a list of Industry per diem rates both domestic and international for comparison.

Alaska  $2.50 / $2.50 Intl (Same)

Delta $2.40 / $2.90 Transoceanic and HI       

Southwest  $2.30 / $2.80 Intl

United $2.20 / $2.70 Intl

JetBlue $2.15 / $2.30 Intl

Hawaiian $2.00 / 70% of State Department allowance

Q:     If you are out on a medical leave of absence, do you still accrual 1.333 towards vacation and 480?

A:     Yes, if you are on an unpaid leave you still accrue 1.333 per day towards all 480 provisions.  This is covered under Section 15.N [Unpaid Leaves…] of the JCBA (no change to this provision):

Any bid month a Flight Attendant is on an unpaid personal, military, extended, medical, maternity or parental leave, FMLA, Workers’ Compensation, STD or LTD, or on a furlough (including voluntary furlough) and is not coordinating sick leave (or vacation with STD, LTD or Workers’ Compensation), the Flight Attendant will receive an unpaid credit of one and one-third (1.333) TFP for each day for which s/he is on such leave of absence or furlough for the purposes of applicable provisions in Sections 13 [Uniforms], 14 [Vacations], 23 [Insurance Benefits] and 32 [Attendance Policy].

For Flight Attendants who coordinate sick leave/vacation in order to maintain healthcare insurance at the active employee rates while on their leave, there is a lookback application for determining their 480 threshold. See Section 15.M.4 [Leaves with Coordination…] of the JCBA (no change to this provision).

Q:     To my understanding, some Virgin FAs were allowed to keep their Company seniority for pay/vacation/line bidding if they transferred from CSA to FA. Some of those new hire FAs who just came online are currently making more money than me. I’ve been flying for close to 5 years and some are barely going into their 4th month. I’m trying to understand the ‘freezing’ part of the contract. How will they be merged when it comes to bidding? Will they still keep their 8 years even though they came online in November? Or will they merge with current 4-5 month L-AS FAs? Hope this makes sense.

A:     See the following.

“I’m trying to understand the ‘freezing’ part of the contract.

Virgin America has had several different Company policies for transfers into InFlight over its history, including differing policies for pay and bidding. Generally speaking, L-VX FAs have their pay rate determined by Company Seniority and their bidding order determined by Occupational (Flight Attendant) Seniority. Consequently, a 4 month L-VX FA who has 8 years of Company Seniority (due to a transfer from GST/CSA to FA) has the Year 8 FA pay rate but bids as a 4 month FA. The VX “Red Circled” Pay Rates LOA allows those FAs to continue receiving Year 8 Alaska FA pay until their Occupational Seniority exceeds their Company Seniority as it was on the date of ratification of the TA.

How will they be merged when it comes to bidding?

Shorter approximately correct answer: They will be merged in with the current 4-5 month L-AS FAs for the purposes of line bidding, vacation bidding, etc.

Longer more technically correct answer: The Seniority Merger Integration Committee (SMIC) will merge the lists together using a fair and equitable application codified in Section X [Merger Policy…] of the AFA Constitution & Bylaws; no adjustment to relative seniority may occur with respect to others on one’s pre-merger carrier seniority list. Eligible L-AS FAs will receive the appropriate credit for time spent in Initial Training prior to merging the lists together. Specific questions about competitive bidding seniority integration should be directed to the SMIC: seniority@afacwa.org.

Q:     Will the L-VX FAs pay the same $50 union dues as L-AS FAs if the TA passes without the same work rules essentially causing a discrepancy in pay still?

A:     Like in any merger, there will be a period of time in which there is a difference in work rules between the two pre-merger FA groups. However, L-VX FAs will have the Alaska pay rates, per diem, full grievance protections, grievable work rules, access to the full AFA committee structure and support, etc. That being said, AFA understand the desire to achieve the Alaska work, and the Association will do our part to help achieve Full Implementation as soon as possible. Dues will start being collected in July based on an April ratification.

Q:     I am a L-VX FA currently on maternity leave until March. I am reading over the TA and was hoping you could offer me some clarification. Would I be eligible for the year of maternity leave if this TA is ratified?

A:     Yes. Ratification will not occur until April 3, 2018, but management has agreed to allow Maternity Extension Leave for L-VX FAs in the interim.

Q:     Does any US airline have better than our 480?

A:     Yes, depending on on how you define the 480 (e.g. healthcare insurance vs. vacation accrual & pay). 480 TFP is equivalent to approximately 425 credit hours. Generally speaking, Southwest (full accrual @ 0 TFP), Envoy (½ accrual @ 350 credit hours) and American (full accrual @ 420 credit hours) have better “480” applications for vacation accrual.

Q:     I have to work during the roadshows and was wondering if any of them will be taped for us to watch back later?

A:     No, there are no plans to tape any of the live roadshows. However, the JNC will produce supplemental materials that may be accessed remotely. The exact nature of those materials are still in development because we are currently focusing on getting the blog posts caught up to date and finalizing the live roadshow presentation.

[See also Reduction in Force/Furlough Protections [JCBA]]

Q:     What protections are there to prevent management from furloughing Flight Attendants once differences training is complete?

A:     Differences training is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2018. The JCBA Supplemental Reduction in Force LOA provides reduction in force/furlough protections through December 31, 2019.

[See also Negotiations: General 2 [misc] and Negotiations: General [misc]]

Q:     On the blog, a question was asked regarding whether these negotiations meant that the contract had to be opened. The answer provided was, “Management wanted to negotiate only transition items that would bring the L-VX FAs over to the L-AS CBA.” Can you please expand on what exactly were those “transition items,” and why is it that the JNC took the position that improvements for L-AS absolutely had to be included as well instead of just bringing L-VX into our contract as-is? Because by doing so, is that not what opened us up for concessions like the 2-year extension?

A:     Transition items would be any provisions necessary to bring L-VX FAs into the current L-AS 2014-2019 contract: creation of a sick leave bank, attendance policy transition, training, benefits and implementation dates for hours of service, scheduling, reserve, compensation, etc. The JNC and the MEC were concerned that a “transition only” TA would not get ratified by the full membership (L-VX and L-AS) if there were not improvements for the L-AS FAs over and above the existing agreement. A mid-term agreement with a duration that extends beyond the existing amendable date is not a concession in and of itself.