MEC Hotline Message
Recording: 1-888-3-NWA-AFA
07 November Hotline Message
A RAISE FOR NON-UNION WORKERS ONLY - A “KINDER, GENTLER” DELTA CULTURE
Richard Anderson said today that employees will be hearing shortly about a promised pay increase for all non-pilot employees, not already included in a collective bargaining agreement.
“We’re still working out final details, but there will be a pay increase for all non-pilot work groups at Delta beginning January 1. So stay tuned,” Richard said. “For those of you who have just joined the Delta family, if you are already covered by a collective bargaining agreement, we are not allowed to apply our pay policies until representation issues are resolved. So in the meantime you will continue to have the pay provided for in those agreements.”
As Richard Anderson well knows from his personal experience at Northwest Airlines, when a raise was offered during open contract negotiations, our flight attendants and union would gladly accept a pay raise. There is nothing at all prohibiting Delta from giving this raise to all workers. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA welcomes this deserved “family raise” for ALL workers, especially during these difficult economic times.
RELEASE YOUR SEAT BELTS, COME THIS WAY...RUN, JUMP, HELP!
Delta spares no expense on anti-union firms and propaganda, so please brace your self for the management’s Anti-union Playbook: http://nwaafa.org/docs/AirlnExecs_NoUnion081.pdf. NWA supervisors have reportedly been given the “anti-union talk” and were made aware of Delta’s intention to block flight attendants from having the benefits of a union contract. Managers were told to suggest to flight attendants that we just “try it for a year without a union and see how it goes” and “you can always choose to go union later.” This sounds like the “just sit this one out there will be another election after we merge” talks given at Delta during the last vote. If we choose management’s suggested circuitous route to union representation, those who remain at the airline would be tasked with mounting yet another organizing campaign and if they are successful, then tasked with negotiating a contract from nothing. How long that would take, and would happen to us in the meantime, is anyone’s guess.
Don’t be fooled by a few recent, strategic pay rate changes at Delta, or their promises of a pay raise if we are non-union. There is no truth to Delta’s assertion that they cannot give us a pay increase if we remain unionized, and evidence of that is found most recently in our inclusion in the non-contract merger stock awards. Delta has the lowest flight attendant cost per seat mile of all major legacy carriers, and Delta flight attendants were under 40% pay and benefits cuts years before NWA flight attendants were. Please inform yourself of Delta’s constantly changing policies and benefits on our website at http://www.nwaafa.org. For many members, the current Delta health benefit costs alone exceed the pay difference - look beyond the misleading monthly premium to the “fine print” in out-of-pocket costs and deductibles. As the old saying goes, “the Devil is in the details!”
If you want collective bargaining rights at Delta, please join us in our campaign to protect them at http://www.deltaafa.org. Spend just a few minutes a day calling 10 friends or passing out information, and you could be the difference that boosts our combined group to the voter turnout that we need. All flight attendants on the seniority list are eligible to vote in an NMB election. Yes We Can reach 50% + 1 votes for our combined group, by working together!
MEC SCHEDULING COMMITTEE UPDATE
On Thursday, November 06, 2008 your MEC Central Scheduling Committee met with the Company in MSP. Many topics were covered, and a full update will be soon forthcoming. In the meantime, we wanted to get some very important information to you, as it pertains to your December PBS bids.
As you will see in your respective base cover letters, Established Base Lane Averages (EBLA) have been changed for your December flying. The EBLA for December: BOS, MEM, DTW, MSP, & SEA are 81, LAX is 82, and HNL, SFO, & NYC are 83. It is important to understand how a change to the EBLA can affect your bid. While the monthly minimum remains unchanged at 70 hours, it caps the monthly maximum at a lower amount. This could have a noticeable impact on your award. While bidding in PBS, it is helpful to look at your Crew Information Screen and pay close attention to your maximum ranges. For reference, a chart is on page 5.36 and Low/Standard/High ranges are defined on pages 6.14-6.15.
The Flight Attendant Pattern Survey deadline has been extended. The joint AFA/NWA FA Pattern Survey posted on Atlas is your chance to voice your preferences as it pertains to pattern construction. Your participation is vital, as the results of this survey will be a factor in improving the construction of future patterns. Employee ID information is for validation purposes only, and is not used for any other purpose. This survey will now be available until December 03, 2008. - Submitted by MEC Scheduling Chair Greg Frattini and MEC Reserve Chair Karen Jay
LOD PATTERNS IN OPEN TIME
Language of Destination patterns can be identified by their pattern class codes in Crew Access (FR, DE, PH, JP, KR, etc.). LOD patterns can be picked up during the month by those flight attendants holding the specific language qualification up to and during SLAP, preceding the day of pattern operation. If no LOD Flight Attendant picks up the pattern during SLAP, the trip returns to Open Time under a new pattern number available to non-LOD FAs during the same SLAP run. In order to pick up the new pattern, it is necessary to enter a generic request, since the new pattern number will not be posted for specific entry. For example, pattern 120 is a 3-day trip for a Korean LOD to NRT. The syntax LNRT can be entered as a generic for this trip, in case pattern 120 is not first picked up by a LOD FA.
As a result of a grievance filed by Local 94 Representative Daniel Grey over LOD pattern processing in SLAP, AFA has been notified that the programming is working properly for these trades. If you notice any violations to LOD processing in SLAP, please contact your Local or .
THANK YOU, AIRCRAFT MECHANICS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION
Union representation elections for unionized work groups may come sooner than ever in history, and Delta is pressing the pace of this merger to the limits. In the case of our AMFA brothers and sisters, the remaining furloughed mechanics’ recall rights expired on November 6, 2008. Management was unwilling to extend their recall rights, even in the face of pressure from elected leaders in Washington. In addition to the incalculable loss of our reliable and skilled colleagues, this means approximately 400 mechanics will not be able to vote in a union representation election, if one was called for their combined group at Delta. We extend our deepest and heartfelt thanks to our brothers and sisters of AMFA, for keeping us safe in the air over these many years.
MERGER COMPENSATION FOR TOP EXECUTIVES
The Atlanta Business Chronicle reported that according to a November 4 SEC filing, Delta Airlines President Ed Bastian sold 100,000 Delta shares on October 31 for a total of $1.04 million. Bastian also received restricted stocks and options valued at over $8 million, based on the November 3 share price of $11.28. The stock sale took place just days after top executives were given stock bonuses and vested stock options following the DOJ approval of Delta Airline’s merger with Northwest Airlines.
This article also listed other top executives who cashed in on the merger. Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta Airlines, was not among the executives who sold their stocks. However, according to this Atlanta Business Chronicle report and a November 3 Associated Press article, Anderson received stock awards and options worth almost $13.6 million.
A cash payout of $495,000 was made to Doug Steenland, the outgoing CEO of Northwest Airlines, to compensate for the paper loss of his restricted retention shares from when the merger was announced on April 14, until the merger was finalized on October 29. To read the article in its entirety go to
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2008/11/03/daily65.html
NON-CONTRACT WORKERS RECEIVE DRAMATICALLY DIFFERENT
MERGER STOCK PROGRAMS
The stock awards for flight attendants, since we don’t yet have a contract for the combined group, were determined solely by the employer. Our merger stock award program stands in stark contrast to our unionized pilot and executive contract programs. The programs differ enormously, not only in payout amounts, but also in the calculation of payouts. For example, the union negotiated pilot stock program provided for “assumed wages” for the preceding year, while flight attendant payouts are based upon W-2 earnings. In one example of hundreds, a 23 year flight attendant employee who was unlucky enough to be on unpaid medical leave received little to no merger stock. Many of our newest members, who are already struggling financially from bankruptcy imposed wage cuts, did not receive a fair share of stock due to their date of hire. The hefty merger awards enjoyed by those with contracts - our executives and pilots - remind us that flight attendants need union representation to ensure our legal right to full and comprehensive benefits. This is just one example of how non-contract Delta employees are not treated fairly at Delta, and how management undercuts their wages and benefits.
A VICTORY FOR WORKING FAMILIES --
AN HISTORIC & MOMENTOUS MOMENT FOR OUR COUNTRY
Tuesday, November 4, 2008 we witnessed an historic moment with the election of Barack Obama, the first African American elected President of the United States, four decades after the Civil Rights movement. This amazing victory signifies a tremendous move forward for all Americans, and especially for working families. For the past eight years, America’s working families have been ignored and Washington policies have favored the agenda of corporate America. While the results of this election mark a hopeful day for our country, just because we now have a government that will listen to working families, does not mean we can sit back and relax.
Our work begins immediately with the inauguration of our new president and the next session of Congress: we will need to roll up our sleeves and ensure that we garner full support from the new Congress and the new administration on flight attendant issues. If you would like to help us with the exciting challenges ahead, please contact your Local Officers, who will put you in touch with a member of the Government Affairs Committee - and put you to work! Please visit http://www.nwaafa.org/committees/govaffairs/ for a list of contacts. In a few days, we will also be listing the final results for all Congressional seats. Thanks to all of you who worked to make this election a success for working families, to those who continue to focus and advocate on behalf of our issues, and to all of you who voted for justice for America’s workers.—Submitted by MEC Government Affairs Chair Albert Garcia
DECEMBER COMPANY CONVENIENCE LEAVE
The company has announced a number of full-month leaves for the month of December, 2008. If you are interested in applying for a full-month leave, please be sure to submit your request via CENTRY by November 11, 2008, at 0001 Central Daylight Time. Flight attendants who are currently on a three-month SLIP leave and due to return on December 15, 2008 are also eligible to bid for this convenience leave. If a SLIP-leave flight attendant is awarded a CCL, the portion of their leave from December 1, 2008 to December 15, 2008 will be cancelled and replaced with the full-month leave. For CCL details, please refer to the company e-mail sent November 3, or under the What’s New section of the Atlas home page.
EQUITY CLAIM AND PRE-PETITION BANKRUPTCY PAYMENT CLARIFICATION
There still seems to be confusion regarding the pay-outs for Equity Holdback and Pre-Petition Bankruptcy Grievance payments. If you are eligible to receive the $11.26 Equity Holdback payment, you should have seen the distribution on your October 27 paycheck. As for Pre-Petition Bankruptcy Grievance payments to flight attendants, it is currently awaiting court approval with a hearing date scheduled for November 19. If all goes well, flight attendants who are eligible to receive that money should see it on their December 13 paycheck. That amount varies, depending upon who was affected by the contractual violations that resulted in the grievances.
NEW MEMBER RESOURCE PACKET
Local union volunteers and officers are putting together updated resource packets for our newest members and, if approved, plan to distribute these to your company mailboxes. Some of this information was passed out in your initial training, at the same time new flight attendants were assigned their buddies. The Buddy Program was newly created for 2007-2008 and our goal was to assign a buddy to each new flight attendant, to ease your transition into this complicated career. Even though hundreds of our veteran flight attendants volunteered, there were not enough volunteers to cover the massive hiring of 1,000 new members. For those who were not assigned a buddy, please know that you can always contact your elected local officers for assistance. With specific Reserve questions, you can also contact the Scheduling & Reserve Committee volunteers, who have a great deal of Reserve experience.
Since the most junior flight attendants are often the most vulnerable to job loss and displacement in a merger, you may have even more at stake than many other members. Please take a moment to read Section 1 Scope & Job Protection in our contract, as well as Section 14 Reduction in Force and Recall. These sections were negotiated over decades by dedicated flight attendant union activists, and are essential worker protections in a merger. Email http://www.deltaafa.org to help with our efforts to keep our union, and the right to negotiate a new contract that goes with it, at the new Delta. U are the Union.
SEEKING WRITERS
We would like to include a piece in next printed quarterly newsletter, from the perspective of our new hires. If you are interested in writing it, please contact MEC Communications Chair Rhonda Taylor at
.
UNION PINS = SOLIDARITY
Northwest flight attendants fought over the years for the right to wear a union pin on our uniforms, and for the benefits that come with it. All members are encouraged to wear their union pins while in uniform, as well as to all company events and training. If you need a replacement pin, please contact your Local union representatives for a new one.
WHAT IN THE WORLD DO “LEC” & “MEC” MEAN?
Click HERE for information about AFA-CWA union structure and the history of the Association of Flight Attendants - CWA.
BRING QUESTIONS. BRING A COLLEAGUE. GET MOTIVATED. GET INVOLVED.
MASTER EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEETINGS
We invite all members in good standing to attend. The MEC meeting schedule is posted on the website, under the ”Events” tab.
The next meeting will be held in LAX on November 12-13.
LOCAL COUNCIL MEETINGS
Click HERE or on the “Events” tab on our MEC website for the latest local meeting details. Delta Flight Attendants will be invited to local union meetings throughout the country in the coming year.
GOT MERGER QUESTIONS? GET ANSWERS!
You are always welcome to contact your AFA-CWA Local officers, whose contact information is found at nwaafa.org. Another way to get accurate answers to merger questions is to email . As additional information is gathered, it will be reported in hotline messages, on Union bulletin boards, and on the websites. Archived Merger Q & As, all editions of the merger mailer the source and the Contract vs. Policy Manual postcards are posted in the MEC Merger section of our website. Publications from the DL/NW Joint Organizing Campaign can be found at http://www.deltaafa.org.
FLY SAFE, FLY THE CONTRACT, AND WEAR YOUR UNION PIN!