In This Edition
- Where Do My Dues Go?
- MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson Interviews
- Withholding Trips from Open Time Grievance Settlement
Where Do My Dues Go?
AFA International Secretary-Treasurer’s Department
The Dues Pie Chart depicts where all funds at AFA are budgeted. About 80% of dues dollars are directly allocated to fund the work at each airline, i.e. Local Councils, Master Executive Councils, Negotiations, and System Board. The remaining budgets at the International Office support Government Affairs, Air Safety, EAP, and Communications Departments, each of which provides expert services that are Flight Attendant focused and provide resources for the local leaders and committees of Flight Attendants at each airline. 100% of our dues dollars are allocated to priorities that provide Flight Attendant representation.
There are four distinct areas where dues money is spent:
1. Local and Airline-Specific
Each base has a Local Executive Council (LEC) with elected Officers who provide direct representation and deal with local grievances and other issues. These Local Officers will answer your phone calls and make sure member interests are represented in front of management. For example, in the event of discipline or a contract violation, Local Officers will address the issue where it happened and work to get swift resolution. Additionally, elected Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers provide representation at the corporate level. At both the LEC and MEC, there are committees that solve problems in areas such as safety, schedules, hotels, grievances, etc. These committees also enforce the contract specific to their area of expertise, produce newsletters, and participate in union meetings. The role of your LEC and MEC Officers and committee representatives at each airline is to ensure you are represented by Flight Attendants who know your job because they share it with you at your airline. AFA promotes this autonomy at each airline where your representatives, assisted by experts, negotiate with management and develop and maintain the relationship between airline management and the Union.
2. Negotiations
Bargaining for pay and working conditions is one of the core representation activities performed by the Union. We start with a membership survey, schedule meetings with management, conduct caucuses with the committee, develop contractual language, support membership engagement and information programs, and we work with AFA-CWA professional negotiators throughout the process including all direct negotiations/mediation with management. The end result is improved contractual language with higher pay, better working conditions, and improved benefits.
3. System Board (Grievances)
The first step in any grievance is to try to resolve the matter locally. Some airlines have negotiated an alternative dispute process for a faster, collaborative resolution. If that fails, then the final stage for resolution, whether disciplinary or contractual, is an appeal to a neutral arbitrator. An AFA-CWA attorney will work with our Grievance Committee to present our case to the neutral arbitrator. We defend the contracts we negotiate.
4. International Office Support
While your LEC is the face of the Union to local management and the MEC to corporate management, the International Office is the public persona and brand of the Union. Our presence and name recognition can legislate or improve federal regulations, remove obstacles from the bargaining table, better our position in negotiations and improve our experience on the job across the profession. The International Office maintains the professional staff of attorneys, negotiators, and other personnel that provide administration, accounting and membership services to members and elected leaders. We all work together to support the programs that encompasses our profession.
If you have any questions, please contact your Local Executive Council (LEC) Officers.
MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson Interviews
With the recent introduction of the Human Rights Committee, the Master Executive Council (MEC) is seeking a Member in good standing to fill the position of MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson.
Background
The MEC Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee is responsible for leading the committee’s effort to promote activities that foster greater understanding of one another and the diversity of our membership in order to build the strength of our Union through our common struggles and goals rather than allowing others to divide us by our differences.
Additional Information from the MEC Policy Manual
1. SCOPE
a. The Human Rights Committee will build the strength of our Union through fostering understanding of our shared struggles and goals; building partnerships with progressive community allies; and taking action to promote the ideals of economic and social justice for all workers.
2. POLICY/RESPONSIBILITIES
a. The MEC Human Rights Committee shall consist of the MEC Human Rights Committee Chairperson and the Local Human Rights Committee Chairperson from each council.
b. The Committee will actively work to educate Flight Attendants and the community about the strength of our diverse membership through the sharing of personal experiences and open dialog about racism and discrimination.
c. The MEC Chairperson shall:
(i) Work closely with the Government Affairs Committee to collaborate on items of mutual interest to both committees
(ii) Work with other AFA committees as needed to accomplish assigned tasks and responsibilities
(iii) Compose informational and educational articles of interest to the membership and provide them to the MEC Communications Chairperson to be included in MEC communications and posted to MEC electronic communications platforms
d. The Committee shall:
(i) Act in an advisory role to the MEC on matters related to human rights and worker’s rights
(ii) Maintain an involvement in the human rights activities sponsored by local and central Labor Councils with which the MEC is affiliated
(iii) Maintain an involvement in the CWA Women’s Committee and Committee on Civil Rights and Equity
(iv) Maintain in involvement in AFL-CIO workplace constituency groups
Qualifications
- Previous political, legislative, or community activist experience helpful
- Knowledge of current political climate and issues affecting Flight Attendants and the labor movement
- Ability to attend meetings as required, including occasionally being present in Seattle
- Ability and willingness to participate in action events
- Ability to attend AFA International and other required training as needed
- Strong computer skills. Excellent working knowledge of Google email and Microsoft Office.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills. Ability to write communications, respond professionally to internal and external e-mail, prepare reports, and take meeting minutes.
- Ability to meet deadlines and follow up on assigned tasks
Duties
- Act on and follow through on directives as established in the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws and AFA Alaska MEC Policy & Procedure Manual
- Represent the MEC with local and central Labor Councils
- Coordinate MEC representation with the CWA Women’s Committee and Committee on Civil Rights and Equity.
- Coordinate committee participation in action events
- Correspond with the Local Human Rights Committee Chairpersons and MEC regularly to provide status updates. Prepare and send a monthly committee report to the MEC.
Time Commitment and Flight Pay Loss Reimbursement
- This position is eligible for Flight Pay Loss (FPL) reimbursement by AFA. Union Business (UB) FPL is compensated at 0.75 TFP per hour when participating in pre-approved meetings or activities.
- Time commitment is highly variable depending on the work to be completed each week and month. Workload will likely be higher when participating in activism related to key issues. Most work can be accomplished remotely.
Working Relationships
With The Human Rights Committee
Regular interaction with the Local Human Rights Committee Chairpersons and Local Human Rights Committee Members.
With The Master Executive Council
This position reports to the Master Executive Council. The MEC executive sponsor for the committee is the MEC Vice President.
With AFA International
Occasional interaction with AFA-CWA International staff.
Expressing Interest and Interview Scheduling
The MEC will hold interviews during the September MEC meeting on Tuesday, September 17. Bid around the interview date or plan to arrange your schedule accordingly to accommodate.
Interested candidates should submit an expression of interest and resume online at https://forms.gle/bns2FHqC11PLe3889. The deadline for submissions is 5 PM Pacific time on Tuesday, September 10. After that time, MEC Secretary-Treasurer Linda Christou will contact qualified candidates to schedule a specific interview time.
Please note that in order to submit an expression of interest, you must have a Google account. If you do not have a Google account, you can create one for free at https://accounts.google.com/signup.
Withholding Trips From Open Time Grievance Settlement
AFA reached a settlement with the Company prior to arbitration of grievance 36-99-2-63-17 Withholding Trips from Open Time. We believe we achieved great benefits for our Reserve Flight Attendants in this settlement. The following are the terms of the settlement:
For a Reserve Flight Attendant who is on duty (e.g. on a flight), s/he can be converted to ER and assigned a trip if Crew Scheduling sends an email notifying of conversion and assignment (which the Reserve Flight Attendant is required to check upon completion of his/her sequence).
For a Reserve Flight Attendant who is on call and required to be contactable during her/his reserve availability period (RAP), s/he may be converted to ER in the following ways only:
- Positive (person to person) contact by phone;
- Crew Scheduling can send Crew Access notification for ER conversion to the Reserve Flight Attendant, and it must be accepted by the Reserve Flight Attendant prior to Crew Scheduling adding trip to the Reserve Flight Attendant’s line. If the Reserve Flight Attendant doesn’t answer the phone, it is Crew Scheduling’s obligation to call the Reserve Flight Attendant. If Crew Scheduling sends a Crew Access notification for ER conversion to the Reserve Flight Attendant, and it is not accepted by the Reserve Flight Attendant, and if Crew Scheduling does not call the Reserve Flight Attendant prior to the end of the RAP to advise of the ER conversion, then the Reserve Flight Attendant is no longer on call until her/his next RAP. However, ER conversion counts towards the monthly maximum and for pay purposes.
For a Reserve Flight Attendant who is not required to be contactable (e.g. not on duty and not during her/his RAP or not on duty during her/his RAP but in ’silent rest’ during first nine hours domicile rest, 20:00-23:00 prior to the next RAP, etc.), s/he can be converted to ER with or without a trip assignment:
- Must be positive contact by Crew Scheduling via phone or by Crew Access notification which may be sent out by Crew Scheduling no earlier than 20:00 the day prior to the conversion.
- Reserve Flight Attendant is not required to answer the phone or acknowledge the notification from Crew Scheduling but is required to accept the assignment if contact is made.
- Premium pay applies. Crew Scheduling will add annotations stating the Reserve Flight Attendant was contacted outside her/his contactable period and s/he will be paid additional compensation as outlined in the CBA.
- Reserve Flight Attendant will be contacted no more than one time during domicile rest (11:30)
- Reserve Flight Attendant must receive 9 hours uninterrupted domicile rest or else premium pay applies (pyramids with other premiums, if applicable)
- Crew Scheduling is not permitted to hold trips longer than 15 minutes as outlined in §12.E.1.d. The process would not violate this section of the CBA
Crew Scheduling will no longer hide trips. And an ER conversion cannot be rescinded once email and/or Crew Access (Crew Access) notification has been generated.
All currently employed L-AS Flight Attendants who were on Reserve from June 1, 2017 to present, and all currently employed L-VX Flight Attendants who were on Reserve from January 31, 2019 to present, will receive 1 TFP, paid above guarantee, if applicable, at today’s rate.
If you have any questions about the settlement, please contact your Local Grievance Committee.