Negotiations Update September 25, 2013: Latest Clarification to Section 9 Junior Available Tentative Agreement

[Note: Please read this communication in its entirety. It is lengthy, but the detail is necessary to fully explain the changes. –NC]

Dear Flight Attendants,

There are still rumors and misinformation surrounding the tentative agreement (TA) specific to Junior Assignments. It has been a while since we explained the proposed changes to JA and your Negotiating Committee will take this opportunity to review the process, the provisions and the enhancements to our current system compared to the TA.

What is JA?: Junior Available occurs when a Flight Attendant is required to work on an unscheduled day(s) [i.e., a day off] or when Crew Scheduling assigns additional flying after a completed sequence.

What is a Reassignment?: Reassignment is any assignment changes or additions occurring on days you are already scheduled to fly, although may carry into days you were scheduled to be off.

Chart outlining the current JA system vs. the TA’d version

*Under the current contract, a JA trip may be posted for trade only once and you must contact Crew Scheduling to work out the trade. What that effectively means is that nobody trades a JA trip and in fact it is so inaccessible that very few Flight Attendants realize this provision even exists per 9.G of the Contract. The TA provides for unlimited trading of the pairing without restrictions.

Current Process TODAY:

Company decides in order to cover the operation they need to utilize Junior Available provisions of Section 9. Crew Scheduling (CSKD) utilizes the monthly seniority list starting with most junior qualified, available Flight Attendant in the domicile from which the sequence departs who is completely legal for the flight(s) or sequence to be assigned. CSKD will start at the bottom of the list and work up: 1) by calling the FA at the primary contact number on file with CSKD if s/he is not already on duty, or 2) if s/he is on duty, by flagging the FA to be contacted in flight via ACARS in and/or a supervisor upon arrival.

Due to improvements to technology (e.g. caller ID), only about 1 out of 200 Flight Attendants on the average answer their phone—usually by mistake.

Except for a very few, in reality Flight Attendants who are already on duty are the ones who are JA’d today – because it’s a game of “tag, you’re it.” True, there might be a delay in notification because CSKD has to go through the charade of calling those at home but they still get you nonetheless. If you are tagged for JA today, it is because CSKD has already attempted to call everybody junior to you who is legal for the assignment(s). Remember that legalities disqualify many FAs and you also cannot be JA’d if you trade away a trip off your original line on that day. (This loophole legally allows many junior Flight Attendants to become ineligible for JA with just a few clever manipulations of their schedules.)

A Flight Attendant cannot be contacted for JA duty more than twenty-four (24) hours before the needed scheduled sequence or reserve duty period. Flight Attendants who are JA’d are offered 1.5 times the appropriate trip rate or a day off at straight pay of her/his choice equal in number to those assigned by the JA assignment.

New TA’d Section 9 Junior Available procedure:

Company decides in order to cover the operation they need to utilize Junior Available provisions of Section 9. Prior to attempting to JA any Flight Attendant, CSKD can post the trips in OT with a minimum 1.5x premium to encourage someone to pick it up. The premium can be increased to 2.0x or even 2.5x and once the premium goes on the trip, it cannot be removed unless assigned to a Reserve or there is a cancellation. Crew Schedulers do not want to JA Flight Attendants and Premium OT is actually a cheaper option for the Company even at 2.0x pay because we raised the JA premium to 2.5x pay.

Crew Scheduling utilizes the monthly seniority list starting with the most junior available Flight Attendant on duty anytime the day prior—essentially the same list utilized today. For the purposes of this provision, duty is defined with specific reference to inbound working crews and any Flight Attendant on a layover or at check-in—basically anytime you are accruing time away from base (TAFB).

The new provision eliminates the step of calling Flight Attendants at home who do not answer their phones. This “trade-off” results in hugely increased premiums at a significant financial penalty to the Company!

Remember – the Company today has the ability to JA working Flight Attendants concurrently with making the calls to Flight Attendants at home. It really just depends on whether ‘your number is up’ on the seniority list of those legal for the assignment(s).

If a Flight Attendant is JA’d the Flight Attendant will receive a premium of 2.5 times the applicable trip rate for all flying.

Under the TA there is no option to elect days off when receiving a JA assignment. Why did we change this? The thought process behind this new JA provision is to minimize the number of Flight Attendants affected by JA. When a Flight Attendant chooses a day off in lieu of compensation it affects Reserve coverage on subsequent days which often causes additional JA assignments or reassignments due to operational needs. The goal is to cover the operation and get flying back to normal with the least amount of impact to the group.

If a Flight Attendant receives a Junior Assignment, Crew Scheduling is required to notify the FA if they will fall below the minimum of 12 days off in a bid month or if there is a 48/7 violation and the Flight Attendant may decline the Junior Assignment if either situation applies.

Flight Attendants will have the ability to trade Junior Assignments and the premium of 2.5 times the applicable rate will follow the sequence. A Flight Attendant may be contacted for JA duty while on a sequence no earlier than the preceding calendar day before the needed, scheduled sequence or reserve duty period.

The preservation of seniority is critical! We eliminated the loophole that allowed junior Flight Attendants to gain “super seniority” and avoid JA by trading away trips from their original line. Some FAs would swap trips with each other and become “untouchable” for JA for an entire month. This is course would push the JA list even higher in seniority. Well, no longer!

The new process, protections and provisions allow for both the Flight Attendants and the Company to manage and audit the Junior Available assignments. Transparency is integral to this provision. Consequently, management will provide a list of those JA’d so the assignments can be fact-checked.

With such a high premium attached to JA assignments the Negotiating Committee is extremely confident that the Company will first attempt to utilize Reserves, make reassignment adjustments to those already flying (when applicable—this very rarely happens) and offer Premium Open Time (minimum 1.5 times the applicable trip rate) prior to JA’ing.

As a last and final resort to cover the operation the Company will utilize the provisions of Section 9, while also protecting seniority, minimum days off and contractual rest provisions.

Your Negotiating Committee spent countless hours reviewing, discussing and enhancing the provisions of Section 9. We were successful in negotiating a seniority-based system of assignment, protections, waivers and compensation. We are optimistic that once we present a contract to the membership for ratification, Flight Attendants will read over Section 9 Junior Available Rules and understand the complete depth of all changes and improvements.

In solidarity,

Your Negotiating Committee – MEC President Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Tracy, Karina Cameron-Fetters, Jake Jones and AFA Staff Negotiator Paula Mastrangelo

“Five Bases, One Voice”

negotiations@alaskamec.org

[Post script from MEC President Jeffrey Peterson: Many of you have written directly to me over the last month or so asking for clarification to this section. I have been able to respond to many but I apologize that I have definitely fallen way behind on writing back to some of you individually. If you haven’t heard back from me on this issue I hope this communication will go a long ways towards answering your questions and/or addressing your concerns. The other members of the Negotiating Committee have kindly offered to assist in answering negotiations-related questions in a more timely manner. You can email negotiations@alaskamec.org and your message will be sent to all members of the AFA Alaska Negotiating Committee. -jtp]

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