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All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed AGAIN!

This morning, AFA became aware that all trips in Open Time across the entire system were again coded with premium pay, then withheld and placed back in OT with the premium removed.  The system glitch with Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) that was previously communicated by AFA last week was again responsible for the recurrence (see All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed – Part 3).

AFA is preparing to file yet another grievance on management’s violation of our contract.  (Updated 2/17/2017: Instead of filing a new grievance on the same issue, we amended the original grievance to include the circumstances of this most recent contractual violation and any ongoing violations of the same nature. ^jtp) We will continue to work to defend our contract despite management’s failure to live up to their contractual obligations.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee, MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed – Part 3

All trips in Open Time coded as premium and subsequently withheld

Yesterday morning, AFA became aware that all trips in Open Time across the entire system were coded with premium pay, then withheld and placed back in OT with the premium removed. AFA subsequently filed a grievance on the issue. Check out “All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed” and “All Open Time Trips Withheld…Part 2” for more information.

System glitch was responsible for the “blanket premium”

It has now been confirmed that the “blanket premium” was the result of a glitch with Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA). A system patch is scheduled for early next week to permanently resolve the problem. Jeppesen has developed a short-term strategy for reversing blanket premium in case it happens again prior to the patch. However, AFA will take the same contractual position if the blanket premium recurs.

Management is resolved to not restore premium across the board but will pay premium for trips picked up while the system issue existed

Management is resolved to not restore premium across the board due to concerns over operational reliability but will pay premium for trips picked up while the system issue existed. Crew Scheduling management reportedly has now ensured that all who picked up during this error can see the premium reflected in their roster view.

Vice President of Inflight Services Andy Schneider sent the MEC the following statement:

At the present time I’ve committed to pay 1.5 to any FA who picked up a trip in Open Time at that rate while the system issue existed. However, I’m not planning to reinstate the rest of the trips that were in Open Time at the 1.5 rate, as those only exist due to a system issue and not as a result of any operational need. I also worry that putting the 1.5 back on those trips would cause additional operational hardships. Putting them back in at 1.5 would make us more vulnerable to staffing shortages as it is likely that many trips would be dropped in order to pick up at 1.5. While I understand AFA’s position on this issue and I will let the grievance work through the process.

Management has clarified that they are committed to pay premium on any trips that were picked up at double time (2.0x) as well.

Forward to arbitration…

At this point, it looks like the parties will be resolving this dispute via arbitration unless we are able to reach a settlement that the MEC believes is favorable for our members. Thank you in advance for your patience!

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed – Part 2

All trips in Open Time coded as premium and subsequently withheld

Earlier this morning, AFA became aware that all trips in Open Time across the entire system were coded with premium pay, then withheld and placed back in OT with the premium removed. AFA subsequently filed a grievance on the issue. Check out “All Open Time Trips Withheld and Premium Pay Removed” for more information.

AFA met with management this afternoon to discuss the contractual violations

Master Executive Council (MEC) representatives met with management at 3pm PT today to discuss the situation. AFA reiterated to management our expectation that the more than 400 Premium Open Time trips across all domiciles must be restored with their applicable premium in order to be in contractual compliance. AFA requested that any Open Time trips previously coded as premium that were subsequently picked up should be paid at premium. (Contractually this would not include Open Time trades or Reserve self-assignment.)

Management is currently declining to restore premium across the board

Management is currently declining to restore premium across the board at this time due to concerns over operational reliability. However, you may see some Premium Open Time out there due to staffing concerns. Management believes the “blanket premium” might be the result of a programming glitch with Jeppesen Crew Access (JCA) because the exact same thing happened for the pilots’ Open Time trips. Management is currently researching the issue with Jeppesen and our internal Information Technology (IT) department.

Follow-up meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning

The parties agreed to a follow-up meeting tomorrow morning to discuss their findings and next steps. AFA will continue to defend our contract and advocate to management for them to do the right thing. We will provide another update following that meeting.

In Solidarity,

Your MEC – Jeffrey Peterson, Brian Palmer, Linda Christou, Lisa Pinkston, Laura Masserant, Cathy Gwynn, Tim Green, Brice McGee; MEC Scheduling Committee Chairperson Jake Jones; and MEC Grievance Committee Chairperson Stephanie Adams

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