Hotline Messages
31 AUGUST 2008
SO BEGINS DELTA’S ANTI-UNION CAMPAIGN AT NORTHWEST
Delta and Northwest management have now launched their anti-union campaign—which is clearly designed to eliminate our sixty plus years of having a legal voice on the job. A new "meet and greet" program has begun, whereby management is inserting Delta flight attendants to sit in on our briefings. Unfortunately, these flight attendants are hand-picked by management and are dressed in T-shirts advertising Delta’s EIG (Employee Involvement Group) which is a program Delta’s anti-union advisors designed, in an effort to convince its flight attendants that they somehow have a voice at work. Of course, at NWA, we know better.
Under the guise of "welcoming their Northwest brothers and sisters", Delta executives are dispatching these EIG representatives to assess our attitudes about the upcoming merger and to plant seeds of distrust about our representation. Early reports indicate that these EIG members are extolling the wonders of their so-called direct relationship with management. EIG’s will continue to pop up in places like the uniform fit centers and future briefings and will attempt to reach out to us on an emotional level. While Northwest flight attendants welcome the opportunity to begin friendly dialogue with our counterparts at Delta, we do not feel we should have to tolerate these anti-union tactics—especially when 40% of Delta flight attendants voted FOR AFA representation in the last election and those voices are being excluded by management from having access to us.
If an EIG member attends one of your briefings, we believe it is appropriate to ask the following questions;
Question: Were you elected by your flying partners—or were you selected by management?
Answer: EIG members are hand-picked by management.
Question: If EIG members disagree with management, do you have a legal process for arbitrating disputes?
Answer: The EIG operates under the strict control of Delta executives. They have no legal recourse or arbitration process to resolve disputes. Unlike our union, management funds the EIG - so it is not autonomous.
Question: Will Delta management allow "equal access" for supporters of union representation to attend our briefings or talk to us in our crew lounges?
Answer: During the Delta election, management continuously harassed and even called the police on supporters of representation when they attempted to exercise their legal right to speak to their flying partners.
Another anti-union scheme which has been launched is manager flying - a common practice at Delta. NWA management has notified the union that flight attendant managers will be working flights, as crew members. Make no mistake about it, this is an example of Northwest taking it’s orders from anti-union Delta, and is part of a broad attempt to eliminate our contract. You may recall that several months ago Julie Showers "worked" a flight and wrote about it to the flight attendants. While it was posed as a "I feel your pain" article, it was the beginning of the manager flying program. Since then, Brenda Van Sandt (Managing Director-Base Operations-In Flight Services) and Britt Reller (Director Hub Operations - Detroit) have taken trips. Other managers are lined up to fly in the next few weeks.
As we confront these first tactics in Delta’s war against our contract, we ask you to remain professional and firm in your resolve. Communicate your experiences with your Local Executive Council, as we continue to work with AFA’s legal staff to challenge illegal interference in our election. Most important, remember that Northwest Airlines continues to be our employer and we continue to have a contract that management is legally bound to honor.
Sign up today to join the campaign to win representation by visiting www.DeltaAFA.org and be sure you are on the blast email list. We can and we will win our campaign if we remain committed to ourselves and to each other.
FLY SAFE, FLY THE CONTRACT, & STAY INFORMED!
Posted by NWA Webmaster on 09/01 at 12:34 AM26 August 2008
A Message from MEC Vice President Janette Rook
Dear Fellow Flight Attendants,
In July, I participated in the Coalition of Flight Attendants meeting in Memphis. The Coalition includes all six unions currently representing flight attendants in this country: the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (twenty airlines), the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (American Airlines), the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (Continental Airlines), the Transport Workers Union (Southwest Airlines), United Steelworkers (Pinnacle Airlines and Colgan Air), and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Comair and others). The meeting was hosted by the United Steelworkers, and was chaired by AFA-CWA International President Patricia Friend.
The Coalition of Flight Attendants is committed to providing members with the highest possible quality of work life, by sharing ideas and negotiating strategy that will increase the bargaining power of our members. The Coalition will work through the collective bargaining and legislative process to provide the highest standard of workplace safety and will fight to end any discrimination practices due to race, religion, sex, age, handicap, national origin, or sexual orientation that may exist in the airline industry.
When I was invited to participate on behalf of our Northwest AFA-CWA Master Executive Council, I brought the attached letter from our MEC Officers, which was also recently distributed to leaders of the Minnesota Central Labor Council. Our message seeks Coalition support for Northwest flight attendants’ continued representation in an upcoming merger with Delta Air Lines. As expected from our peers in the labor community, this letter received a resounding show of support!
The communications working group gave a report on a Coalition coordinated message. A mission statement and coalition bag tags are near completion. Reciprocal cabin seat expansion was discussed and problem areas were pinpointed for correction. The FAA-CAMI gave a presentation on the second phase of the Flight Attendant Fatigue Study, which is scheduled to begin selecting volunteers and gathering data this fall from a representative sampling of all flight attendants in this country.
The Coalition presented a comprehensive legislative review and is working together on such issues as: stopping oil speculation, pushing for the roll out of the fatigue study, extending federal FMLA protections to flight crews, advocating for the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, CrewPass (TSA security clearance) expansion to cover flight attendants, bankruptcy reform, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation and National Mediation Board proposed rule changes, and many more joint legislative initiatives.
As your elected leaders and committee volunteers reach out to the greater labor community and politicians – as well as to Delta flight attendants – we ask that you do the same whenever possible. Despite living under bankruptcy concessions, motivated and educated members continue our grass roots efforts to improve not only our current situation, but to advocate for our children’s futures. It is inspiring what union members can do and what we have already accomplished by working together. You are invited to be part of the vocal minority that has mounted all campaigns for improvements for workers throughout history. Please email your local union office if you would like to strengthen and maintain our right to collective bargaining, and a contract for another 60 years, by participating in ongoing initiatives.
The next Coalition of Flight Attendants meeting will be held in the second week of December, and will be hosted by the TWU. We look forward to sharing our victories in these efforts and to continuing additional joint initiatives with our fellow union brother and sister flight attendants at all represented carriers.
Together, We Can!
In Solidarity,
Janette Rook, Vice President
Northwest Airlines Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO
22 August 2008 Hotline
Northwest, Delta Inflight Management On Feel-Good Tour
Flight attendants crowded the Detroit Westin in a show of union solidarity as Northwest Airlines hosted what was billed as an “informal meet and greet” with some of the smaller players in Delta’s post-merger executive team. Delta and Northwest Senior VPs of Inflight Services JoAnne Smith and Julie Showers have been dispatched to tour the system as the faces of “employee engagement,” conforming to Delta’s timeworn and predictable anti-union playbook prior to merger approval and a combined representation election. (Visit the homepage to read AFA-CWA’s organizing checklist, which lists likely management promises and seemingly innocuous gatherings like these during organizing campaigns.)
The meeting was carefully choreographed by Northwest and Delta management. Several flight attendants attempted to ask questions about seniority integration, what will happen to our sick bank in a merger and other important contract issues, but Ms. Smith was unable or unwilling to answer with any authority. When elected Local 94 DTW President Diana Mitcham politely asked to speak at the microphone and welcome Ms. Showers and Ms. Smith, management responded “This isn’t your party, Diana.” Flight attendants approached Ms. Smith and presented her with her copy of our petition requesting neutrality from Delta executives in the AFA-CWA representation election, signed by over 1,700 supporters. Ms. Smith dismissed our petition with a shake of her head.
As union represented flight attendants, our contract requires a different style of “engagement,” one that includes our elected leaders in formal discussions with labor relations and senior executives about job security, seniority integration, furlough and transfer protections and equity in a merged carrier. Flight attendants present at this “tour stop” agree: Julie and JoAnne’s “huge helping of patience and heart” and veneer of employee inclusion are no substitute for the protections of a legally binding contract and a defensible voice in our future at the “new Delta.”
The next stop on Julie and JoAnne’s tour of the Heartland is August 27 in MSP (5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Embassy Suites in Bloomington). If you can join other flight attendant activists there in a show of solidarity for union representation, please contact our Member Engagement Committee at or 952-241-4107/-4138.
Congress Questions NMB’s Proposed Changes, NMB Responds
On July 15, the NMB proposed revisions to its representation manual, one of which would make it more difficult for a union to be voluntarily recognized as the representative in a merger of one union and one non-union carrier. Since then, the Board extended its deadline for public comment at the urging of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TDD) and other parties.
In addition, AFA-CWA approached several of our friends in Congress, who sent a letter to the NMB questioning the timing and prudence of the Board’s proposal. Click here to read the letter from Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-MN) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA); here for NMB Chairman Van de Water’s response; and here for a dissenting opinion from Member of the Board Harry R. Hoglander, who agrees that the timing of the proposed changes “has created suspicion about the NMB’s motives.”
Save the Dates!
Next MEC Meeting: September 9–10
Our MEC will conduct a meeting in Detroit on Tuesday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 10 (time and exact location to be announced). We invite all members in good standing to attend. An agenda is being prepared and will be available from Local Executive Council officers prior to the meeting.
Northwest Airlines Shareholders Meeting: Rally September 25
On Thursday, September 25, join Northwest AFA-CWA members/employee stockholders as we rally at the Equitable Life Building in New York City during the NWA Annual Shareholders Meeting, where owners of Northwest stock will vote on whether to approve the proposed merger and who shall serve on the Board of Directors. (If you hold shares of NWA, you should have received proxy voting instructions via email or USPS.)
As unionized workers, our contract provides a place in merger discussions – and as frontline safety and service professionals, that means more than just a designer uniform. We will not let this merger destroy over 60 years of collective bargaining and contract rights for our members and will stand in unity against Northwest and Delta executives’ refusal to negotiate terms of a combined contract or to demonstrate neutrality in a representational election. (If you haven’t already done so, take the first step toward a fair vote and sign this petition today demanding Richard Anderson remain neutral in our upcoming representation election.) More information and details about the rally will be posted on our website and in hotline messages as they are known.
Countdown to Labor Day: Events Updated
Visit the ”Labor Day Events” page for an updated list of picnics, parades and parties with other union members and their families in many of our base cities. New this week are events planned in MSP and DTW. We encourage you to join our peers in the labor community as we celebrate our enormous potential – and responsibility – to revitalize the American middle class in the upcoming election cycle.
15 August 2008 Hotline
Union Representatives Complete Intense Organizing, Leadership Training in D.C.
Over the past two weeks, our elected leadership, MEC committee representatives, Delta activists and the joint Northwest/Delta Campaign Coordinating Committee attended leadership and organizing training facilitated by the Association of Flight Attendants and Communications Workers of America.
Experienced member organizers from CWA and AFA led discussions on everything from Delta executives’ adherence to a time-honored anti-union playbook, to proven ways to begin discussions with peers about how union contracts have helped raise wages and benefits for workers worldwide.
At the end of the training sessions, each participant was awarded a “Member Organizer” certificate from AFA-CWA, which comes with the express commitment to continue member to member mobilizing for a successful representation election following a merger.
Final Week for ASAP ERC Applications
Our MEC Air Safety, Health and Security Committee wants to remind all flight attendants of the deadline for applications for the AFA-CWA Event Review Committee (ERC) representative on Northwest’s Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP).
Visit the ASAP webpage to learn more and to submit your application. The deadline is 1400 CDT Friday, August 22, 2008.
Expected PBS Award Posting Dates
The joint PBS Implementation Team has issued the following expected PBS award schedule for all bases:
AUG 16 | BOS, HNL, LAX, MEM, NYC, SEA and SFO
AUG 17 | MSP
AUG 18 | DTW
These dates are subject to change; notification of such change will be via company email. Expected time of award has not been specified. The PBS award resolution deadline is 0900 CDT AUG 20 for the AUG 16 award bases listed above; 0900 CDT AUG 21 for MSP and 0900 CDT AUG 22 for DTW.
MEC Uniform Committee Update | Meeting in Atlanta
If the Department of Justice (DOJ) approves a merger between Delta and Northwest, Delta Air Lines executives want all flight attendants to wear the current Delta uniform.
Delta management has refused to engage in any meaningful discussion with our union leadership on contractual uniform requirements (Section 19 – Uniforms) or any other important contract provision since the announcement of Delta’s intent to merge with Northwest.
However, our MEC Uniform Committee was invited to Atlanta by Northwest management to view current Delta uniform components. We agreed to attend this informational fashion show to determine how and whether our current contract stipulations could be met using Delta pieces, and with the expectation that this initial meeting could lead to earnest, pre-merger discussions with Delta executives.
Until DOJ approval – and National Mediation Board determination that the carriers are operating as a single transportation system – we continue to function on behalf of Northwest flight attendants as provided for in Section 19, not as members of any Delta or Northwest employee involvement group, nor to speed the process of integration of our work group for public relations purposes.
We welcome future opportunities for Delta management to commit to discussions about the other thirty-two sections of our contract, including scope, job security, furlough protections, transfers, workrules and seniority.
PBS Support Team Application Process
Please review the August 5 PBS hotline message for information on the PBS Support Team, a contractually negotiated program in Letter of Agreement 15 providing ongoing oversight and evaluation of PBS “in order to optimize the bid results for Flight Attendants, while maintaining the objectives of the Company.” The deadline for applications is August 22 at 2359 CDT. More information is available on the ATLAS homepage.
MEC Communications Committee Chair Opening
Our MEC Communications Committee is tasked with furthering the flight attendant understanding of our union, our contract, collective bargaining, our profession and the aviation industry. This committee is responsible for the creation and publication of the MEC newsletter all call, designing and updating the MEC website, coordinating projects with our Member Engagement Committee, collaborating with the joint Delta and Northwest organizing campaign, working with local and national media, producing weekly email and recorded hotlines, as well as various print projects for distribution and mailing.
If you are passionate about communication and education, our MEC is seeking applicants for the Chair position, to begin serving our membership on August 23, 2008. (A complete MEC Communications Committee overview is located here.) To apply for the MEC Communications Committee Chair position, please send a letter of interest and résumé by 1400 CDT August 22, 2008 to: or:
Karen Chapdelaine, Office Manager
Northwest Airlines Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
8011 34th Avenue South, Suite 220
Bloomington, MN 55425
Voter Registration Informational Campaign Begins
Every vote matters! AFA-CWA wants to reach as many potential voters as possible prior to the November presidential and congressional elections. Volunteers will be staffing voter registration tables at each flight attendant base next week, August 18 through 22, in cooperation with the Northwest Airlines legislative affairs department. Please visit our Government Affairs webpage for a complete schedule and to find the exact location at each base.
Labor Day Events Updated
We have added to the Labor Day events list on our website. Please visit the ”Events” page for ways to celebrate Labor Day with other like-minded union members. The AFL-CIO website is a valuable source of information about union history and is a great way to educate and inspire the future leaders of the labor movement – our children.
Something To Consider: Why Didn’t ALPA Get A Fashion Show?
Delta management was probably too busy negotiating a combined contract and seniority integration language with ALPA, offering pilots equity in the company and raises every year. Executives may be acknowledging that ALPA is a legally recognized partner in a successful merger, but will the pilots look pretty?
Posted by Communications on 08/15 at 09:47 AM8 August 2008 Hotline
ASAP Event Review Committee Application Deadline Extended
Our MEC Air Safety, Health and Security Committee is pleased to extend the deadline for applications for the AFA-CWA Event Review Committee (ERC) representative on Northwest’s Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). As previously announced, ASAP is a voluntary, non-punitive safety reporting system specifically for flight attendants, developed under the auspices of the FAA and expected to launch in December 2008.
Visit the ASAP webpage at nwaafa.org or click the icon at right to learn more and to submit your application. The deadline for applications has been extended to 1400 CDT Friday, August 22, 2008.
Northwest Experience Bid Deadline
Management is proceeding with the redesigned “Northwest Experience” (NWE) training module for November 2008 through February 2009. All flight attendants who have not yet attended NWE must submit a new bid by 2359 CDT August 9. Previously submitted preferences will not be considered. Detailed bidding instructions were sent via company email on July 11 and again on August 6.
Although not in violation of our contract, our MEC has questioned executives’ ill-advised decision to continue with this mandatory group therapy, citing at meetings with management the hundreds of negative member comments we’ve received both before and after flight attendants attend NWE. We encourage you to continue to submit feedback on the program to or call 877-637-5535. When emailing, please copy in your Local union officers.
PBS Bidding Reminder
The deadline for the first live PBS bid is 0900 CDT August 13 for the September bid month. Please visit the ATLAS homepage to link to the latest PBS publications, which list expected award dates following bidding and new deadlines for processing of other items like vacation trades, leaves and transfer requests.
The joint PBS Implementation Team would like to remind everyone to enter a valid SLIC bid in addition to a PBS bid, and to be sure to click the “Submit Bid” button before logging out of PBS. A step-by-step ”PBS September To-Do List” was issued in a July 16 hotline message. There are PBS instructors and seminars at every base prior to the bid deadline. We have listed the seminars on the Scheduling Committee page of our website, nwaafa.org.
PBS Support Team Application Process
Please review the August 5 PBS hotline message for information on the PBS Support Team, a contractually negotiated program in Letter of Agreement 15 providing ongoing oversight and evaluation of PBS “in order to optimize the bid results for Flight Attendants, while maintaining the objectives of the Company.” The deadline for applications is August 22 at 2359 CDT. More information is available on the ATLAS homepage.
MEC Communications Committee Chair Opening
Our MEC Communications Committee is tasked with furthering the flight attendant understanding of our union, collective bargaining, our profession and the aviation industry. This committee is responsible for the creation and publication of the MEC newsletter all call, designing and updating the MEC website, coordinating projects with our Member Engagement Committee, collaborating with the joint Delta and Northwest organizing campaign, producing weekly email and recorded hotlines, as well as various print projects for distribution and mailing.
We would like to thank LAX flight attendant for her service as MEC Communications Chair during the past year. She is a dedicated unionist who is an inspiration to elected officers and members alike. We hope you will all join us in thanking her for her service.
If you are equally passionate about communication and education, our MEC is now seeking applicants for the Chair position, to begin serving our membership on August 23, 2008. (A complete MEC Communications Committee overview is located on our website, nwaafa.org.) To apply for the MEC Communications Committee Chair position, please send a letter of interest and résumé by 1400 CDT August 22, 2008 to: or:
Karen Chapdelaine, Office Manager
Northwest Airlines Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
8011 34th Avenue South, Suite 220
Bloomington, MN 55425
National Mediation Board Clarifies Proposed Revisions
In last week’s Merger Q&A (question #49), we reported that the Bush-appointed National Mediation Board (NMB) had proposed changes to its current representation manual that would in certain circumstances hinder a union’s potential to be voluntarily recognized as the representative in a merger of one union and one non-union carrier. The Board’s suspect move prompted protests from the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department (TTD) member unions – including AFA-CWA – during the initial public comment period, which motivated the NMB to clarify its position and extend the deadline for comments until September 3, 2008.
The proposed revisions will not effect our ability to petition the NMB for a representation election of the combined flight attendant group following a Northwest/Delta merger transaction. However, AFA-CWA will continue to oppose the Board’s arbitrary and suspicious rule changes. For a detailed report on this and other legislative issues, please visit our Government Affairs webpage.
Start Planning Now For Labor Day
Labor Day is a celebration of working America. It is a chance to come together with others who still believe in the fight to provide working Americans with job security, health care, secure pensions and rational working conditions. We have begun posting Labor Day events happening in our base cities on our website. Please visit the ”Events” page for the initial list of activities (more to be added). The AFL-CIO website is a valuable source of information about union history and is a great way to educate and inspire the future leaders of the labor movement – our children.
Until the long weekend (brought to you by unions), why not treat the kiddies to some AFL-CIO computer games like “Big Fish, Little Fish,” which shows organizing’s strength in numbers? Or “Bet the Farm,” where junior can pull the one-armed bandit on privatized Social Security? It’s sure to be fun for the entire family and a real pre-dinner conversation starter! “Mommy? Who’s Elaine Chao?” Click here to begin play.
Posted by Communications on 08/09 at 11:24 AM1 August 2008 Hotline
ASAP Event Review Committee Opportunity
As posted in last week’s hotline message, Northwest AFA-CWA is embarking on a major safety initiative, ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program), a voluntary, non-punitive safety reporting system specifically for flight attendants. This partnership program has been developed under the auspices of the FAA and is expected to launch in December 2008.
An important component of ASAP is the Event Review Committee (ERC), which will include representatives from the FAA, NWA and Northwest AFA-CWA. Interested in serving your fellow flight attendants as an ERC representative? Visit the new ASAP webpage at nwaafa.org to learn more and to submit your application for this position. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2008.
Updated System Seniority List Posted
According to our contract (Section 20 – Seniority), our system seniority list is updated twice annually, no later than January 31 and July 31. Last week, the updated list was posted as required, but a technical error caused several innacuracies. The list has since been re-run and the revised version is now posted on ATLAS. We have the contractual right to challenge information on that list, and must do so in writing within 60 days of posting, “except that when a Flight Attendant is on vacation, leave of absence, flight duty away from base or sick leave, such Flight Attendant shall protest any alleged omission or incorrect posting within sixty (60) days after the return to flight duty at his/her base.” This important contract provision is even more critical as we approach seniority integration following a merger transaction. Remember – without a legally binding contract, we would not have the right to dispute data on a seniority list, nor would we have access to such a list. Please review the posted system seniority list on ATLAS (in CENTRY, “Seniority List") and send protests by September 22, 2008 (unless covered by the above vacation/leave exception) to:
SuzAnne Balzer, Contract Administrator
Mailstop F 5800
7200 34th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55450
Supplemental Insurance Open Enrollment Continues
Please visit our Insurance/Retirement page to review information on National Group Protection‘s supplemental insurance on-site enrollment for AFA-CWA members throughout the system. Licensed agents will conduct sessions August 6 through 10 in SFO and August 13 through 15 in LGA.
Update: MN Unemployment Insurance Benefits for SLIP Leave Participants
As reported in previous hotline messages, our MEC and Government Affairs Committee met with Minnesota legislators to discuss granting unemployment insurance benefits to flight attendants awarded SLIP leave in MSP.
Flight attendants chose to take these leaves in lieu of a more junior employee being furloughed. Northwest Airlines will not contest SLIP unemployment claims, and agrees with the union that SLIP recipients in every state should be considered equally with regard to unemployment eligibility. To further clarify its position and in cooperation with AFA-CWA, the company has offered to send a statement to the appropriate Minnesota state officials.
Although Northwest’s statement alone may not solve the issue with the state, it will assist the union in our efforts to secure a change in the way Minnesota determines eligibility for unemployment insurance claimants.
AFA-CWA Testifies at Pension Hearing on Northwest/Delta Merger
AFA-CWA International President Pat Friend was invited to testify as an expert witness at the House Education and Labor Committee’s Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Hearing: “The Proposed Delta/Northwest Airlines Merger: The Impact on Workers.” (Click here to view the archived hearing.) Also present was IAM General Vice President Robert Roach, who warned the subcommittee that the funds remaining in the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) will not last if the PBGC is forced to administer pensions of poorly-managed companies that “dump their garbage onto the federal government.”
Something To Consider: Why Can’t Richard Say The U Word?
A veritable good ol’ boys club of airline executives spoke on CNBC about fuel hedging, federal legislation and the Delta/Northwest merger, never once uttering the word “union,” perhaps for fear of triggering a stock market crash.
“The Delta environment is the whole key...to the success of the airline going forward. That culture needs to survive.”
— Delta CEO Richard Anderson, commenting on the question of whether labor contracts will exist after consolidation. On CNBC’s ”Squawk’s Airline Summit,” July 30, 2008.
(Note to Richard: ALPA’s “culture” has survived for years at Delta, and ALPA is actually a UNION. Google it!)
Posted by Communications on 08/01 at 03:52 PM25 July 2008 Hotline
MEC Air Safety, Health and Security Announces ASAP Event Review Committee Openings
As described in the last edition of the MEC newsletter, all call, Northwest AFA-CWA is embarking on a major safety initiative, ASAP (Aviation Safety Action Program), a voluntary, non-punitive, FAA-supported safety reporting system for flight attendants.
An important component of ASAP is the Event Review Committee (ERC), which includes representatives from the FAA, Northwest Airlines and Northwest AFA-CWA. The success of ASAP – already in place at many carriers – is built on the ability of the ERC to achieve consensus on each reported event.
Interested in the opportunity to serve your fellow flight attendants as an AFA ERC representative? Want to learn more? Visit the new ASAP webpage at nwaafa.org. You’ll find selection criteria, length of commitment, application process and other information about the ERC and ASAP. The expected launch of ASAP is December 1, 2008. We encourage your participation!
Final PBS Mock Bid Begins July 25, Seminars Ongoing
Mock 5.5 is our last chance to practice PBS bidding before it goes live in August. Mock 5.5 opens July 25 at 1000 CDT and closes July 30 at 0900 CDT, using the August patterns, with resulting awards available on August 6. Please take advantage of this opportunity to evaluate your PBS techniques and results so you are best prepared for live bidding. Actual PBS bidding for the September bid month will close at 0900 CDT on August 13. PBS Seminars are taking place at most bases and a schedule is available at Inflight and on the Scheduling Committee page of nwaafa.org. Questions and comments should be addressed to .
Special Leave Incentive Program Clarification
Along with a similar program recently offered to NWA IAM employees, your AFA leadership pressed management for the recently awarded Special Leave Incentive Program (SLIP). SLIP leaves have historically been offered with incentives like continued company-paid benefits and sick and vacation accruals that encourage participation and limit the necessity to furlough or displace flight attendants throughout the system. There has been some confusion regarding which section of the contract covers this program. The contractual language governing leaves can be found in Section 18 – Leaves of Absence. Convenience Leaves and other company leave programs are granted in seniority order within each base, and the number and duration of the leaves is determined by company staffing requirements. We thank SLIP participants for helping offset the company’s need to furlough junior flight attendants. Note to those awarded SLIP leaves: Please update both AFA-CWA and NWA if there are changes to your contact information while on leave. You will be eligible to vote in a representation election if it occurs during your leave.
Updated System Seniority List Posted
According to our contract (Section 20 – Seniority), our system seniority list is updated twice annually, no later than January 31 and July 31. We have the contractual right to challenge information on that list, and must do so in writing within 60 days of posting, “except that when a Flight Attendant is on vacation, leave of absence, flight duty away from base or sick leave, such Flight Attendant shall protest any alleged omission or incorrect posting within sixty (60) days after the return to flight duty at his/her base.” This important contract provision is even more critical as we approach seniority integration following a merger transaction. Remember – without a legally binding contract, we would not have the right to dispute data on a seniority list, nor would we have access to such a list. Please review the posted system seniority list on ATLAS (in CENTRY, “Seniority List") and send protests by September 22, 2008 (unless covered by the above vacation/leave exception) to:
SuzAnne Balzer, Contract Administrator
Mailstop F 5800
7200 34th Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55450
Wilson Center to Call Northwest Membership August 4 to 13
The Wilson Center for Public Research will begin calling a representative number of flight attendants to gauge our understanding of union representation and its overall effect on our working life. Calls will begin August 4, with most calls lasting less than 15 minutes. We thank you in advance for your honest and open participation in this important evaluation. Following the random sampling, we will post the Wilson Center poll questions on our website for input from all flight attendants.
MEC President, Secretary-Treasurer, Government Affairs Volunteers Visit Lawmakers on Capitol Hill
This week, MEC President Kevin Griffin, MEC Secretary-Treasurer Mark Gehrt, MSP Government Affairs Chair Camilla Wolkerstorfer and NYC Government Affairs Chair/MN resident Rene Foss traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby the Minnesota Delegation for support of MSP-based SLIP participants, who may be denied unemployment insurance due to a MN state statute. Meetings were held at the offices of U.S. Representatives Keith Ellison (D-5th District), Jim Oberstar (D-8th), John Kline (R-2nd), Betty McCollum (D-4th), Tim Walz (D-1st), Jim Ramstad (R-3rd), Collin Peterson (D-7th) and Michele Bachmann (R-6th), as well as Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). AFA-CWA was greeted with overwhelming support from legislators. We will update you with the results of lawmakers’ efforts to provide temporary relief to SLIP leave participants in the state.
Pictured, l to r: Kevin Griffin, Camilla Wolkerstorfer, Rep. John Kline, Rene Foss, Mark Gehrt. Visit the nwaafa.org Photo Gallery for pictures from D.C.
Voter Registration Campaign Set for August 18 to 22
AFA-CWA Government Affairs Committee members will be manning voter registration tables at each base, in cooperation with the Northwest Airlines Legislative Affairs department. Every vote matters – visit our Government Affairs webpage to see how important it is to register in advance of the 2008 presidential and congressional elections. As we approach Voter Registration Week (August 18 to 22) we will update our webpage with details about when and where committee members will be available to provide Northwest employees with voter registration information.
Northwest/Delta AFA-CWA Campaign Coordinating Committee Completes Strategy Conference
Members of the Northwest and Delta AFA-CWA Campaign Coordinating Committee (formerly Steering Committee) met in Washington, D.C. with AFA-CWA International organizers and advisors for another strategy session in preparation for a representation election of the combined workforce when a merger transaction is complete.
For a photo of some of the participants, visit the Photo Gallery page.
Something To Consider: When Is Eight to Nine Percent Capacity Reduction Really Eighteen to Nineteen Percent?
When you’re talking to investors, not employees:
“Domestic mainline [capacity] is planned to be down by 18 to 19 percent [by fourth quarter 2008]”
— Northwest Executive VP & CFO Dave Davis on the
2Q earnings conference call webcast at nwa.com, July 23, 2008
18 July 2008 Hotline
ASHS Update: Single Service Cart Changes
Your MEC Air Safety, Health and Security Service Subcommittee continues to work toward additional changes to improve the domestic single service cart. As a result of the May 16 “cart summit,” the company has already agreed to certain changes, including redesign of the cart packing/setup, overall weight reduction, and more workspace and product accessibility.
These changes were tested on 20 flights from June 9 through 14. Based on crew feedback, the carts will now be arranged for operation by one flight attendant, but are easily converted to a two-person operation. This new cart packing design was launched system wide on July 14. A two-person operation is recommended. However, if operated by one flight attendant, safe work practices should be used when positioning the carts in the aisle with the assistance of another crewmember.
Further changes are forthcoming, including new cart repair tags that will have a tracking number to ensure timely repair and follow-up. We still need your feedback: call or email the FACC and be sure to also email the MEC ASHS Service Subcommittee at .
Printed Contracts Shipped
The MEC Negotiations Committee is pleased to report that all printed copies of our ratified agreement have been shipped via company mail to each flight attendant base. Northwest and AFA-CWA representatives will be distributing copies to each flight attendant mailbox as soon as the cartons are received. Contracts will arrive shrink-wrapped containing three metal rings and two plastic page lifters; cloth zippered covers are in production and will be shipped to each base as soon as they are available.
PBS Mock 5.5 Bidding Announced
An additional practice session for PBS bidding will begin on July 25 at 1000 CDT. This Mock 5.5 bidding will close on July 30 at 0900 CDT. Please use every opportunity to submit a final practice bid before PBS goes live in August for the September bid month. The deadline for actual live September PBS bids is August 13 at 0900 CDT. See the latest PBS communication on the ATLAS home page for more information.
Northwest, Delta Steering Committees Meet in D.C.
Flight attendant activists from both the Northwest and Delta Steering Committees and our Northwest Member Engagement Committee Chair and Vice Chair will meet in Washington, D.C. next week. CWA organizers, advisors, attorneys and AFA-CWA International officers will facilitate intensive strategy sessions and advanced mobilization training to further ready these volunteers prior to a representation election of the combined flight attendant group when a merger transaction is complete. Once our joint strategic coalition has completed this comprehensive training, elected leaders of Northwest AFA-CWA will participate in a similar program, with a stronger focus on CWA’s successful local member-to-member organizing structure. A collaborative communications effort is planned – including a joint website and newsletter – with a launch date expected later this summer. Please email the Member Engagement Committee at to volunteer at the local level as we ramp up our efforts before Labor Day.
Activists and MEC Officers to Lobby Congress for MN Unemployment Insurance Benefits
MEC Officers and Government Affairs Committee activists will head to D.C. next week to lobby Minnesota members of Congress for less restrictive unemployment insurance benefits for MSP-based SLIP leave participants. Although a MN state statute currently denies unemployment to those who voluntarily take a leave of absence from work, our MEC contends that voluntary leaves alleviate more dire consequences to the State because such leaves prevent potentially devastating involuntary furloughs.
After meetings this week with Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Dan McElroy and MN State Representative Joe Atkins in St. Paul, AFA-CWA will visit several key State Senators at the State Capitol and the Minnesota Congressional Delegation in D.C., asking for the Delegation’s assistance in providing constituents with benefits afforded other unemployed workers. At the next Minnesota Central Labor Council meeting with Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) on Monday, July 21, AFA-CWA will first meet with the Congressman, then will speak to the Council about the Delta/Northwest merger and Delta’s plan to eliminate our flight attendant union. We will update you with the results of these meetings.
Executive Management Team Now Included in Recycling Project
First it was aluminum cans and paper; now Northwest management itself is being recycled. A press release this week lists the Delta Air Lines transitional executive team, and many of the names are eerily familiar to Northwest employees. So much for some flight attendants’ hopes they might be treated differently by “new” faces in Delta’s management group if we’re left without a union: the same pool of “highly experienced operational, corporate and strategic leaders” who pillaged Northwest Airlines and eventually led it into bankruptcy will now be tasked with convincing investors, federal regulators, the traveling public and employees that a “seamless transition” is on the horizon. If only this reuse of corporate fossil fuel could end global warming.
Delta “Inadvertently” Removes Policy Manual References, Reissues FlyRight Work Rules
Delta Air Lines flight attendants work under imposed working conditions issued unilaterally by management and subject to change at any time. As such, keeping up with Delta’s “moving target” directives is almost impossible, especially when these rules and conditions for employment are not available for reference all in one place.
Management is not required to inform flight attendants of scheduling rule changes outside of FARs since they are not agreed upon as they would be between an employer and a union. Nevertheless, flight attendants are expected to know and abide by every mandate, even though they may never have seen or heard them.
This fleeting compilation of working conditions has never before been published in full. Our MEC web developer has been busy gathering bits and pieces of the Delta FlyRight rulebook (before any become obsolete!) and posting them on our website on the ”Delta Policy Manual” page. In a recent email to flight attendants, Delta executives warned that pages had “inadvertently” been removed for several years and were now being reinstated. It is unclear which pages may have disappeared and reappeared, but we invite you to review Delta management edicts on our website, keeping in mind that there are:
NO binding effective or amendable dates;
NO consequences for Delta management violating its own rules;
NO legally recognized processes through which flight attendants may argue against such rule violations;
and NO legal obligations for management to uphold any policy as Northwest Airlines must under our AFA-CWA ratified contract.
Reminder: Contact EAP for Professional Standards Issues
Detroit Hub Managing Director of Line Maintenance Jack Fauth recently issued a memo to his workgroup on how to report to Northwest management alleged “inappropriate conduct” during pass travel. In contrast to this directive, AFA-CWA urges flight attendants to call our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) volunteers to discuss professional standards issues with fellow union employees, not Northwest management. All conversations are kept confidential. We are discouraged to read Jack’s memo, as his goal could only be to damage the positive relationships that have existed for years between employee groups at Northwest.
Improved Hotel Committee Website Now Online
We invite you to visit the fun and informative MEC Hotel Committee website. Features include articles on everything from bedbugs to tipping, with new information being posted weekly.
Additional Local Council Meetings Announced
Local Executive Councils have scheduled meetings for July, August and September. Please visit the Council Meetings page of our website for times and locations. The page also lists scheduled PBS Seminars for July and August. The SAFA-taught PBS seminar topic for July is “Weighting;” for August is “Reports.”
Something To Consider: Happy Summer Travel Season!
Northwest VP of Communications Tammy Lee on how important service is to airline executives:
“When you’re choosing between survival and service, survival wins.”
— on Minnesota Public Radio’s Midmorning, July 16, 2008
Posted by Communications on 07/19 at 10:00 AM10 July 2008 Hotline
Northwest Public Relations Announces
Number of Employees Affected by Schedule Reduction
In a press release issued Wednesday, Northwest Airlines revealed the number of employees it expects to delete from its payroll in response to “fuel costs.” A media advisory cites a total of 2,500 management and frontline workers will be cut, first through “voluntary programs” and then by furloughs, if necessary. The company had an obligation to use internal employer/employee communication to announce this important, just-realized data; instead they chose to release it to the media first. We anticipate that the volume of interest in the SLIP leave program will significantly reduce the possibility of contractual voluntary furloughs using the company’s current numbers. In the future, we hope management will rely less on its “direct relationship” with the press and more on labor relations protocol when notifying employees of potential job cuts.
Information for Potential SLIP Leave Participants
The company has issued a second FAQ reference for flight attendants contemplating SLIP leaves. Link here to read Julie Showers’ responses to your questions, as well as new information from Contract Administrator SuzAnne Balzer. Thanks to all of you who emailed Julie and copied in your union.
Please visit the Employment Benefits page of our website, where we have provided links to the US Department of Labor and to your State’s unemployment insurance (UI) benefits department. The company has stated it will not contest unemployment claims; ultimately each state makes the final decision on granting UI benefits. In fact, due to a state statute, flight attendants in Minnesota have been denied benefits during previous SLIP leaves (link here for the MN State Statute). Any questions about UI benefits should be directed to the appropriate state agency. Please make every effort to get all UI questions answered before applying for SLIP leave.
As a reminder, if there are changes in your contact information that become effective during your SLIP leave (new phone, temporary address, etc.), update your contact info with AFA-CWA and with Northwest Airlines as soon as possible.
Flight attendants on SLIP leave will be responsible to remit AFA-CWA monthly dues for the first 90 days of unpaid leave. The AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws, Article XI.6. states, “Payment of dues shall be required of all members that are on active status during a month or any portion thereof. After the first ninety (90) days of removal from service and no longer receiving compensation through a carrier for disability leave, payment of dues shall not be required.” If you are granted a SLIP leave, the easiest way to be sure you are still eligible for all benefits of membership in AFA-CWA is to pay dues online at nwaafa.org. You may also mail your dues to:
AFA-CWA Membership Services
6th Floor
501 Third Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-2797
(800-424-2401)
(Membership Services Website)
Summer Reliability Plan Disqualifying Codes
Our MEC Scheduling Committee would like to clarify one of the Summer Reliability Plan disqualifying codes: YW, or “You Walk” does not refer to flight attendants who exercise their contractual right to be replaced when faced with exceeding on-duty limitations as listed in Section 5 (Hours of Service).
MEC Appoints Merger Representatives for Seniority Integration
The AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws contains processes for mergers between two AFA-represented carriers. Although Delta Air Lines flight attendants are not yet part of AFA-CWA, our MEC has appointed two Northwest AFA merger representatives in advance of a successful combined Delta/Northwest representation election when a merger transaction is complete.
Ann Marie Mastalerz (BOS Council 92) and Barb Schlosser (MSP Council 95) are certified by our MEC “as having complete and full authority to act for and on behalf of the flight attendants… for the purpose of compiling necessary employment data and a single flight attendant seniority list.” (C&B Section X.C.1.)
Working to preserve Northwest Airlines flight attendants’ full bidding seniority in a merger with Delta Air Lines, Anne Marie and Barb will be “responsible for determining the seniority number, the date from which each flight attendant accrues competitive (bidding) seniority as a flight attendant on her/his current seniority list..., the initial date on which each flight attendant commenced operational training attendant to commencing duties as a flight attendant..., the number of days after initial training date spent by each flight attendant in initial operational training prior to qualification as a flight attendant..., whether the flight attendant accrued seniority for any or all such training days and, if so, the number of days accrued.”
Much of this important step in any successful merger was completed by our Seniority Verification Committee earlier this year. Barb and Ann Marie will continue this work, verifying our seniority list when it is published “no later than...July 31” as provided in our contract, Section 20—Seniority. Please read Section 20.B.2. for your right and responsibility to challenge information on our seniority list when it is published twice annually.
Something to Consider:
Visit Delta President Ed Bastian’s Chat Room Log!
Click here to read how Ed feels about his flight attendants having a legal voice at work. GMAB!
4 July 2008 Hotline
Happy Fourth of July!
We wish you a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend with friends and family.
Special Leave Incentive Program Questions
Our leadership is pleased that the company has offered Special Leave Incentive Program (SLIP) leaves in lieu of furloughs, granting flight attendants continued medical coverage and uncontested unemployment benefits during SLIP. The company’s welcome announcement June 30 prompted many questions from flight attendants seeking clarification on everything from unemployment benefits during previous SLIP leaves, to right to return to current base at the end of such leaves.
Our MEC has posed these and many other questions to Julie Showers, who issued what we hope is just the first of several Frequently Asked Questions memos before the July 13 SLIP bid deadline. Julie has assured flight attendants that an impending merger approval by the Department of Justice will not affect the terms of the leave.
We have every confidence that Julie and other senior officers will address our as yet unanswered questions regarding SLIP leaves after such approval, when a merger transaction occurs, which according to company documents could be as early as “Fall/Winter 2008.” This transaction – in which the airlines will begin operating as a “single transportation system” – will trigger a National Mediation Board representation election for Delta and Northwest flight attendants. Julie has not addressed how or whether leaves would be affected should we lose our representation in this election.
We encourage you to direct further questions to Julie at (please cc ) so that she can provide everyone as much information as possible in making this final, binding decision to apply for a SLIP leave. In the meantime, we have created an ”Employment Benefits” webpage at nwaafa.org, where we have posted communications from Inflight regarding SLIP leaves; links to the US Department of Labor’s unemployment insurance benefits page as well as individual state pages and benefits calculators; COBRA rates; and other resources for those contemplating SLIP leaves or the upcoming August Company Convenience Leaves (CCLs).
Knowledge is POWER!
Contract Education: Established Base Line Average Correction Issued
In the latest PBS Update from the PBS Implementation Team, the Established Base Line Average (EBLA) for PBS mock bids in July was corrected to 85:00 instead of the 82:00 that appeared in the July cover letters. Once PBS goes live, the EBLA determines RSV Month End Release parameters (please see the June 27 hotline message for details) and will impact PBS bids. Read more about the EBLA in our online contract, Section 5.D.2.—Established Base Line Average.
Supplemental Insurance Enrollment Information: More Sessions Scheduled
As a member of AFA-CWA, you are entitled to enroll in several supplemental insurance plans offered by National Group Protection (NGP), a union company with over 30 years in the employee benefits market. Available individual and family coverage includes accident protection, critical illness insurance and universal life insurance. The plans are portable upon separation from Northwest Airlines and do not require medical exams prior to enrollment.
Our MEC has arranged for NGP to send licensed agents to each Council to conduct informational sessions and on-site enrollment. The following base visits are scheduled:
COUNCIL DATE
94 DTW July 16 to 23
97 SFO August 6 to 10
91 NYC August 13 to 15
Please contact a Local Executive Council Officer for exact times and locations. As more sessions are scheduled, they will be posted on our website on the “Events” page (under “Conferences") and in Inflight lounges.
Something to Consider:
“At Will” Employment
as Defined by Delta Air Lines Management
“Just as all personnel may resign their employment with Delta at any time and for any reason they choose, Delta may terminate the employment relationship at any time if Delta concludes that such termination is appropriate.”
From the June 12, 2008 Delta Human Resources Administrative Action Guidelines handbook now on our website on the ”Merger Resources” page.
27 June 2008 Hotline
New Jumpseat Agreements Reached
Air Wisconsin (ZW), CommutAir (C5), Great Lakes Airlines (CK) and Sun Country Air (SY) will offer reciprocal cabin seats to Northwest Airlines flight attendants beginning July 1, 2008. Details can be found on ATLAS in the What’s New section. These agreements come from our ratified contract, Letter of Agreement 29 – Jumpseat Reciprocity.
Printed Contract Coming Soon
The contract has been printed and collated by IAM-represented employees at the company print shop. Although this process was briefly interrupted by the printing of a flight attendant manual bulletin, it is back on track and our contract is ready to be shipped to each base. Once the cartons are transferred via company mail to Inflight offices, copies will be available for distribution to each flight attendant. As described in a previous hotline message, the fabric covers will be delivered separately when completed.
Knowledge is POWER!
Contract Education: Reserve and Scheduling Committee Update: Early Release, Daily Release, Month End Release and Effect on Reserve Guarantee
Our MEC Reserve and Scheduling Committees would like to clarify language in Section 7 (Reserves) for those flight attendants who are contemplating requesting an Early(7.G.6.), Daily (7.G.2.) or Month End Release (7.G.7.).
When submitting a request for Early Release (ER) in VRU or CENTRY, RSVs “shall specify both a minimum projection and a specific release date that must be met in order to be released. Both conditions must be met before a Reserve Flight Attendant is released.” The default hourly minimum projection is 00:00, which will be recorded in the audit trail request if no other hourly minimum projection is entered. This will indicate a RSV is requesting release even without having flown or being credited any hours for the month.
If ERs are authorized and granted when both conditions are met, “A Reserve Flight Attendant who has elected and is granted a release shall be paid only for hours actually flown and credited.” There is no pay for remaining available – but not assigned a pattern – on any past reserve day once the release is granted. In other words, any 4:15 RSV day that would be accumulated and credited while sitting RSV without receiving an ER will be lost for pay purposes when an ER is granted. Please review the language in Section 7.G.6. for detailed examples of using the ER option.
RSVs may also request a Month End Release “following the completion of the pattern that projects the Flight Attendant over the monthly EBLA, but no later than the completion of rest following such pattern...A Flight Attendant who does not request a Month End Release within this time frame shall be required to serve the remainder of his/her on-duty period(s) for the month, unless he/she is later granted a release under paragraph G. of this Section, or is projected to be within four hours and fifteen minutes (4:15) of the monthly maximum.” The EBLA or Established Base Line Average is determined monthly by crew scheduling, is published on the SLIC cover letter and can be reviewed in the ACCESS scheduling matrix. This release will not result in a loss of guarantee pay as long as the EBLA exceeds the monthly RSV guarantee. (For example, the EBLA in June is 82:00; if a Month End Release is granted at 82:01, no minimum reserve guarantee is lost since 82:01 exceeds 80:00.)
A Daily Release (RX) request can be made by reserves. If granted, it reduces monthly reserve guarantee/pay by 4:15 per day. (Section 7.G. also contains this note: “A Reserve Flight Attendant who does not have any reserve on-duty periods in any bid month shall receive no reserve guarantee for that month.”)
Reserves affected by the loss of pay guarantee when granted RX or ER may still request Will Fly (WF) status. RSV WF will be processed as Category 16 (see Section 6.K.16. – Categories of Assignment). Please review Section 7.G. in its entirety if considering an Early, Daily or Month End Release, by using the online contract at nwaafa.org.
Northwest MEC Appoints Steering Committee Members to Work With Delta Activists
Delta and Northwest executives are intent on completing a merger before the end of the year. If federal regulators approve the transaction, flight attendants could face a National Mediation Board (NMB) representation election of the combined workforce in a few months. This election will determine whether we remain part of AFA-CWA and retain our collective bargaining rights, or lose our union and our contract.
Our MEC and Delta activists continue to define the joint strategy for this important election. The collaborative campaign, begun even before the first Delta NMB vote, will now be directed by a four-member team of flight attendant organizers from each airline, with support from AFA-CWA International and organizing strategists from CWA. Delta Steering Committee members will meet with Northwest Steering Committee members to further coordinate efforts in our push to ensure that each eligible flight attendant votes in an election when it is announced.
Steering Committee members who have volunteered to direct this critical campaign for Northwest flight attendants are:
- Rebecca Collier, MSP Council 95
- Sherry Eubanks, NYC Council 91
- Susan Squiers, MSP Council 95
- Rich Stone, HNL Council 99
Delta Steering Committee members are:
- Marianne Bicksler, SLC
- John Jablonski, ATL
- Mara Levene, ATL
- Mark Stell, SAS (Delta’s San Diego satellite base)
MEC Member Engagement Chair/Vice Chair, Grievance Chair/Vice Chair/Member Appointed
At last weekend’s MEC meeting, our elected leaders appointed the following members in good standing to MEC committee positions:
Effective Immediately: Member Engagement – Angela Wood (MSP Council 95), Chair; Jarrod Anderson (MSP Council 95), Vice Chair
Effective July 1, 2008: Grievance – Greg Riffle (MSP Council 95), Chair; Patricia Reller (DTW Council 94), Vice Chair; Kaki Androsiuk (LAX Council 98), Member At Large
Previous appointments include:
SAFA – Jordana Sperl (MSP Council 95), Chair; Julie Salak (MSP Council 95), Vice Chair
Purser – Kim Cook (SEA Council 96), Chair; Gary Helton (LAX Council 98), Vice Chair
We thank these activists for their continued participation in our union.
“Open To Change, Committed To Solidarity”
MEC Communications Committee Member At Large Rene Foss (NYC Council 91) tells us what she’s doing to protect our future in a merger and asks, are you committed to flight attendant solidarity? Click here to read Rene’s letter to her Northwest colleagues.
Early-Out Recipients to Receive Full Vacation Payout on Separation
In the company’s most recent early-out program, participants were advised that they would receive two payments upon separation, one in July for half of any outstanding vacation accruals owed, the other delayed until January 2009 covering remaining vacation payout.
Our MEC Grievance Committee approached the company about this arrangement, citing past practice upon separation from employment. When a flight attendant retires or resigns, our contract (Section 10.C.2.a. – Payment for Accrued Vacations) provides “accumulated vacation credit to the date of termination” if two weeks notice is given. Past practice over several contracts has been for the vacation payment to be included in the final separation payment. The company has since modified its decision to split this payment, avoiding a grievance on this issue. All vacation payouts for Early-Out participants will be included in July 2008 separation payments.
CWA Convention Update: Delegates Support Barack Obama in 2008
Though he was unable to attend in person, Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) thanked thousands of CWA supporters in a videotaped message at this year’s convention in Las Vegas, after our sister union of over 700,000 members officially backed his campaign for president. Sen. Obama called his formidable presidential opponent Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) “a genuine American hero,” and encouraged CWA members to participate in voting drives at work. Beginning this fall, AFA-CWA Government Affairs Committee members will be traveling the Northwest system, setting up voter registration tables with IAM and other unions, in cooperation with the Northwest Airlines Government Affairs department. Until then, if you’d like to get a jump on registering to vote, please visit the Government Affairs page of our website to download a voter registration form or register online in your home state.
6 June 2008 Hotline
Air Safety, Health and Security Update: Further Improvements to Single Serve Carts
As reported in the recent Joint Safety/Service communication, the company has agreed to additional improvements to the “single serve cart” as a result of members’ feedback; now it’s time to see if they can deliver.
To support the carts being operated with two flight attendants, a new cart packing design has been implemented, making setup and delivery of the service easier. This packing system is considered “convertible,” so that it may be used by one or two flight attendants per cart, depending on crew count. Also, the weight of the carts will be further reduced by decreasing the number of liquor minis/beer and removing the beer/ice tub.
These changes will be tested on select flights between June 9 and June 24 (see ATLAS company email for exact flight numbers), with an Onboard Services and Catering manager or a special assignment flight attendant from the Flight Attendant Communications Center (FACC) on selected flights to take comments and suggestions. Your feedback to our union on these modifications is also needed! Please continue to use the Cart Feedback Form posted on the nwaafa.org website – or send your comments directly to: . Let us hear from you as we continue to work together to improve the “single serve cart” concept.
FMLA Moves Closer to Final Vote—One Voice Can Make a Difference!
We are in a critical phase of our push to get FMLA changes onto the floor of the Senate before the end of this session of Congress. Volunteers are still needed to spend a few hours at the MEC office on Monday, June 9 or Tuesday, June 10, calling AFA-CWA members in Tennessee, Michigan and Florida. We need Senators from these states—states with thousands of flight attendant constituents—to co-sponsor the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act (S2059) that will redefine FMLA qualifying hours for crewmembers.
Contact Camilla Wolkerstorfer at or 651-226-3881 to schedule some time to use your one democratic voice to influence others and our leaders on Capitol Hill. Calls will be made from the MEC office:
Northwest Airlines Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA
8011 34th Avenue South, Suite 220
Bloomington, MN 55425
952-241-4100
Meet Delta Flight Attendants at Your Next Local Council Meeting
Our AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws (Article III.D.2.a.) requires that, “A regular meeting of the Local Council shall be called at least two (2) times per calendar year by the President or by other elected Officers of the Council at the direction of the President. At least one (1) of these meetings will be held prior to the Board of Directors meeting to discuss and solicit agenda items from Local Council members.” The 2008 Board of Directors (BOD) meeting is in Milwaukee in July, and all Councils have scheduled local meetings prior to the BOD. Members in good standing are welcome to attend any meeting, but only members in good standing of the host Council may vote on or submit agenda items.
Many Local Executive Council officers have invited flight attendants from Delta Air Lines to attend these meetings and to offer true insight into what life is like at Delta without union representation. We hope you’ll join us in welcoming our colleagues to what may, for some, be their first union meeting. We anticipate many interesting discussions and a greater knowledge, understanding and appreciation of one another’s work experience. The only “direct relationship” we’re interested in cultivating at Delta is with its flight attendants!
Please visit the ”LEC Meetings” page of our website (under the “Events” tab on the homepage) for a schedule. We will update this page as new information becomes available.
MEC Meeting Announced to Precede CWA Convention,
Delta Flight Attendants Invited to Participate
This year’s CWA Convention will be in Las Vegas in June, where elected delegates from each Local Executive Council will represent each Council on changes to the CWA Constitution and Bylaws, the election of International and District Officers and establishing CWA policy. At the convention, Delta and Northwest organizers will speak to a crowd of thousands of delegates and guests about the recent NMB election and flight attendants’ future together in a merger. It is only with the full support of our brothers and sister advocates at CWA that we were able to successfully bring AFA-CWA to Northwest; we continue to rely on CWA’s strategic skill and enthusiastic organizing ethic to bring AFA-CWA to Delta.
The MEC will hold its annual pre-BOD meeting before the CWA Convention. At our MEC meeting, Local Executive Council Presidents will discuss agenda items relevant to the July BOD. They will also hear from MEC Committee Chairs or designees on progress and developments within our many specialized committees. We encourage all members to attend an MEC meeting, to fully appreciate the volume and scale of the work our elected leaders and other volunteers do on behalf of our diverse membership. Our MEC meeting is scheduled for June 20 and 21, and the CWA Convention will begin on June 23; both events are at the Las Vegas Hilton. On June 21 our MEC will be in planning sessions with Delta Steering Committee activists and CWA organizing experts, moving forward with our joint strategy in advance of a merger. Please contact your Local Executive Council Officers for more information.
Supplemental Insurance Enrollment Information Coming to Local Councils
As a member of AFA-CWA, you are entitled to enroll in several supplemental insurance plans offered by National Group Protection (NGP), a union company with over 30 years in the employee benefits market. Available individual and family coverage includes accident protection, critical illness insurance and universal life insurance. The plans are portable upon separation from Northwest Airlines and do not require medical exams prior to enrollment.
Our MEC has arranged for NGP to send licensed agents to each Council to conduct informational sessions and on-site enrollment. The following base visits are scheduled for June:
COUNCIL DATE
94 DTW June 16 – 23
(additional session scheduled for July)
98 LAX June 17 – 21
96 SEA June 17 – 21
Please contact a Local Executive Council Officer for exact times and locations. As more sessions are scheduled, they will be posted on our website, under “Conferences” in the “Events” tab, and in Inflight lounges.
Posted by Communications on 06/07 at 12:23 PM23 May 2008 Hotline
Final Electronic Version of Our Contract Now Online
In a previous hotline message we described in detail the process for moving our contract from raw pages to print-ready format (click here to read that story). Our web developer Neal McMahon has now received the final electronic version, as approved by union and company representatives, and has been hard at work uploading each section to the “Contract Resources” page of our website, nwaafa.org. (Under “Resources” on the homepage.) You may now download the pdf to your own home or laptop computer.
Within the next few days, a user-friendly interactive contract – complete with table of contents and index – will also be available, so researching contract questions will be quicker than ever. Not only will you be able to use the “Find” command in Adobe© Reader or Acrobat when reading the downloaded pdf on your desktop, but if a contract section is referenced in more than one place (for example, “Purser” appears in Sections 2, 3, 6, 9, etc.), Neal is programming the online version to indicate that repetition and link you to important cross-references. We think you’ll find this feature to be particularly valuable when investigating possible contract violations.
Our contract will be going into the print queue shortly and will be distributed into our company mailboxes as soon as it is published. We will update you if there is any deviation from the original printing schedule.
What Do You Know About Delta’s Seniority List?
If the answer to that question is, “Not much,” you are in the same boat as Delta Air Lines flight attendants. Their seniority list is not published. Seniority is not always a consideration in bidding, trip assignment, furloughs or leaves. If this is news to you, please click here to read Northwest Airlines flight attendant Rene Foss’ perspective on what else there is to learn about the way Delta operates – and what life might be like without union representation.
We Did It! Government Affairs Activists Declare FMLA Victory in the House
On Tuesday, May 20 the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Airline Flight Crew FMLA Technical Corrections Act (HR2744). The final vote was 402 to 9, an impressive and substantial bi-partisan majority. The successful passage of this bill is due to our grass roots efforts in garnering support for this very important legislation, especially those of us in Michigan, who were instrumental in getting Thaddeus McCotter’s (R-MI) support as one of the original co-sponsors.
We now must focus on the companion bill in the Senate (S2059). The hurdle we face is in educating Senators on our unique schedules. For example, some think that reserve flight attendants are not full-time employees and should not be covered by this law! We will get them to understand. Please call your Senators and let them know how important this law is to all crewmembers. (Visit the Government Affairs page for information on contacting your elected officials.)
Once the Senate bill passes, both bills will be combined and sent to the President for his signature. This new law will not only benefit AFA-CWA flight attendants, but all U.S. flight attendants and pilots. Crewmembers will finally be able to meet the defined minimum number of hours for FMLA coverage: 60 percent of a full-time schedule based on each airline’s monthly minimum flying requirements. No longer will we need to negotiate for fair FMLA benefits.
Our MEC Government Affairs Committee would like to express our gratitude to Shane Larson, AFA-CWA Director of Legislative Affairs, for his guidance, and activists at Northwest and the other 21 AFA-CWA represented carriers who worked tirelessly to get this majority in the House of Representatives. Our “Congressional Hero” Tim Bishop (D-NY) said, “I think the fact that [AFA-CWA flight attendants] were able to generate so many cosponsors is a testament to the fact that this is a carefully and narrowly crafted bill that addresses an inequality that was never intended in the original law.”
We should all be very proud—your Union and its membership has again been effective in taking issues off the negotiations table through successful legislation.
Final Days of Delta Representation Election “Get Out The Vote” Effort
The National Mediation Board will tally votes in the Delta flight attendants’ representation election on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 1400 EDT. Until then, activists and supporters from Delta and other AFA-CWA carriers will be turning out for visibility campaigns and working at call centers around the country to be sure that each eligible Delta flight attendant is aware of the consequences of not voting in this election and of the benefits of union representation and a legally binding contract. If you can spend just a couple of hours in this effort, please contact today:
Get Out The Vote Call Center Locations:
ATL, DCA, FLL and SLC
Open until May 27
AFA Visibility Campaigns:
ATL, BOS, CVG, FLL, MCO, NYC and SLC
For more information about these opportunities to assist our Delta colleagues, email:
MEC Office Closed for Memorial Day
The MEC office will be closed in observation of Memorial Day on Monday, May 26, 2008. It will reopen at 0900 CDT Tuesday, May 27.
16 May 2008 Hotline
What is SILO and Why Should You Care?
The Company recently implemented several scheduling items that, since the ratification of our contract, required extensive programming changes to properly reflect improvements to previous language. The most frequently asked question since then: “What the heck is SILO and how will it benefit me?”
On Wednesday, May 21, Local Executive Council 94 Officers and DTW Inflight Services will present a Scheduling and Reserve Town Hall Meeting in the DTW Inflight/Flight Operations CBT Training Room to answer that question and more, including why June PBS Mock 3 Bidding was cancelled. Click here for more information on this important update on scheduling implementation. If you are unable to attend this meeting and have questions about SILO and other scheduling items, please contact your Local Executive Council officers.
Our Hotel Committee Is Listening: AMS Layover Notes
The Noord-Zuidlijn subway construction project continues near the crew layover hotel in Amsterdam. When the dig began, there were reports from many area businesses that an increase in mice had been observed inside buildings as the animals’ habitat was disturbed. Thanks to prompt reporting of this problem from flight crews via the Flight Crew Report (FCR) on ATLAS and an aggressive pesticide and trapping response initiated by hotel management, only two sightings have occurred in the past three months.
A copy of the FCR is received by both ALPA and AFA-CWA Hotel Committee Chairs, as well as SuzAnne Balzer, Director of Contract Administration, who acknowledges receipt through Outlook Web Access. In addition, our website has an electronic ”Hotel Report Form” that is sent directly to our MEC Hotel Committee. Please be sure to use both of these methods of documenting problems. Reports to NWA and our union should be in addition to notifying hotel staff of any public health concerns. Our MEC Hotel Committee Chair Anne Odenwald would like to remind flight attendants to always call the room service attendant for tray pick-up and never leave food in luggage or unsealed in your room – move everything into the refrigerator as soon as possible. With these preventive measures in place and immediate notification, we do not anticipate any additional problems throughout the subway construction.
Employee Involvement Team Participants: Updates Needed
Northwest’s Employee Involvement Teams (EITs) have grown in number over the past year. Though participating in these peer groups can build strong relationships among members of different unions at Northwest, EITs also serve to circumvent direct union involvement with issues that affect our increasingly complicated work lives. Our union encourages employees to work together with management to create alternatives to unilaterally mandated service changes, but the Company should not attempt to use EITs to solve safety and service issues without AFA-CWA and other union leadership being directly involved in the process.
Since Northwest has chosen of late to implement procedures without proper notification to union leaders, we ask that those of you who have joined one of Northwest’s EITs please update LEC officers on initiatives as they are developed in committee. With your information and assessment, our union officers will use proper protocol to address contract compliance when Company policy is modified.
Atlanta Labor Rally Reaffirms Commitment to Delta AFA-CWA Supporters
MEC Vice President Janette Rook joined hundreds of activists from the labor community in the Atlanta area this week when she spoke in front of a group of union supporters and Delta flight attendants, offering Northwest AFA-CWA’s full support and solidarity during Delta’s representation election. “We are all flight attendants, seeking a common goal of bargaining strength and job protection, in a changing world and an uncertain economy,” Janette said. “We may have the opportunity to be the largest organized group of flight attendants in the country. Together we can negotiate a legally enforceable merged contract which solidifies our work rules and protects our flying.” For more photos from this event, please visit the Photo Gallery.
AFA-CWA Charges ‘Preemptive Interference’ by Delta Management
On May 2, AFA-CWA attorneys filed a complaint with the National Mediation Board demanding an immediate investigation into management interference in the Delta flight attendant organizing campaign. They specifically requested that, while the investigation is ongoing, the Board order Delta to:
- immediately cease its interference and coercion with respect to AFA’s communication activities in the flight attendant crew lounges;
- cease its deliberate misstatements regarding voter eligibility;
- cease its intrusive and false communication to flight attendants; and
- send a notice to all flight attendants on the eligibility list to report all incidents of interference and coercion to the NMB.
This Board’s track record on interference leaves AFA with grave doubts that any action will be taken by the NMB to stop Delta’s unlawful election activities.
Congress Hears AFA-CWA Testimony Regarding Proposed Merger
This week, AFA-CWA International President Pat Friend testified before the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, stating that our union is “very worried that...Northwest flight attendants...are in danger of losing” collective bargaining rights in the Northwest/Delta merger. Pat encouraged legislators to “revisit the concept of employee protection from the deregulation act” as a partial solution to the negative impact mergers have on airline workers. She emphasized to Representatives that Delta management is using this merger as an opportunity to destroy unions in our industry, which will force down the standards of pay and benefits and the job protections that legally binding contracts provide. Visit our website to view testimony from Pat, Northwest ALPA MEC Chairman Dave Stevens and IAM International VP Robert Roach, and to read the AFA-CWA press release.
How We Get OUR Questions Asked at Congressional Hearings
At hearings, our Congressional supporters have asked pointed questions to both Anderson and Steenland about our concerns. Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) asked Anderson last week about remaining neutral in the Delta representation election and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) confronted him this week about the anti-union video Delta sent to flight attendants’ homes (view videos here and here). We were also able to get Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) to send a letter to Anderson and Steenland about these issues. These Congressional heroes are examples of where our FlightPac contributions go: since unions are legally prevented from using dues money for contributing to campaigns, we must rely on member contributions to provide support to government officials – like Rep. Sutton and Rep Lipinski – who will fight for us and bring our issues to Capitol Hill. Please consider contributing as little as $1 a month to FlightPac. Visit afanet.org to download a FlightPac form and drop it in any union mailbox. With your help, we will be able to have our “Congressional heroes” continue to speak for us during the merger process and beyond.
Your Calls Help FMLA Clear Hurdle on Capitol Hill
On Wednesday of this week HR2744, the Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act, was sent to committee for markup, the last step in the legislative process prior to sending a bill to the floor for a vote. For more information about how grass roots efforts by our local committee members affected this process, visit our Government Affairs webpage. Posted by Communications on 05/17 at 11:52 AM
10 May 2008 Hotline
Delta Anti-Union Video Available on our Website, Rated R for Ridiculous
Delta Air Lines executives have made a strong financial commitment to prevent their flight attendants from having a union, and management has a seemingly endless supply of propaganda toward that aim. In addition to piles of anti-union material at every Inflight office throughout the country, now they’ve sent this slick anti-union video to 14,000 Delta flight attendants—funded with Delta employees’ own money. Watch it and you’ll see just how low Delta’s executive team is willing to go to keep AFA-CWA off the property and to keep a tight rein on every decision that is made during the proposed merger.
At AFA-CWA, our commitment is to get factual information to Delta flight attendants by volunteering at Call Centers and Visibility Campaigns around the nation, working one-on-one with our colleagues. When Northwest volunteers speak to Delta crews, our message is heard loud and clear—only as a union-represented workgroup will we have job protections and a say in the future of a merged carrier. Helping Delta flight attendants earn union representation will protect OUR contract and bargaining rights if the merger is approved: if both flight attendant groups are unionized, our contract will not be at risk, and we may begin seeking improvements immediately in a combined agreement. Please see the Get Out The Vote information below to volunteer to spread the truth about union representation.
MEC Vice President Sends Letter of Support to Delta Flight Attendants
After reports this week that Delta management is taking its anti-labor rhetoric to a whole new level, MEC Vice President Janette Rook was prompted to send a letter of support to Delta flight attendants. Her letter urges Delta flight attendants to carefully weigh the consequences of rejecting representation and becoming the largest non-union flight attendant group, without a contract, without a voice at the bargaining table and without scope and job protections. Janette also asks our Delta colleagues to consider why Delta executives would be so opposed to their own employees having a say in their future. Please link here to read Janette’s letter.
Deadline Extended: Aloha Airlines Flight Attendant Benefit Account/Donations
On March 30, Aloha Airlines announced it was ceasing operations, leaving hundreds of AFA-CWA members to face the devastating reality of unemployment on the eve of a recession and skyrocketing food prices. Honolulu Council 99 Officers and generous members immediately secured the following methods of providing monetary and gift card/certificate donations (preferred stores are Foodland, Safeway, Star Market and Costco) to “Show Our Aloha” to ALO Council 54 employees:
- Donate money to the Wings Financial Credit Union (WFCU). Please make checks payable to:
Aloha Airlines Flight Attendant Benefit Account
Wings ID #1148785; Account # 0100029603
Send in or drop off your donation to any WFCU branch - Send gift cards to:
ATTN: Sheri Pasua-Bennett
Northwest Airlines, Inc.
Honolulu International Airport
Honolulu, HI 96819 - Drop off cash, checks and gift cards in the designated lock box in Honolulu Inflight
Deadline for donations: May 30
Mahalo (thank you) for your kokua (help). For further information please contact Council 99 President Dave Tadlock at .
Chairman of House Judiciary Committee Drafts Letter to Anderson, Steenland
Representative John Conyers, J