Scheduling Committee
Scheduling
Chair: Greg Frattini
Vice Chair: Rebecca Collier
To contact the MEC Scheduling Committee, please use the following email address: mecscheduling@nwaafa.org
The MEC Scheduling Committee acts as a liaison between crew scheduling, the flight attendants, and NWA AFA-CWA. Our contract allows the Committee "input and the opportunity to recommend changes or distribution of future flying." The Committee also addresses scheduling concerns with the director of scheduling and contract compliance during its meetings with the company.
An automated Crew Schedule Report is now available online. Provide as much factual documentation as possible when submitting your concerns. If you will be pursuing a grievance, contact your Local Executive Council.
If you feel you have been given an assignment or rescheduled outside the restrictions of the contract, remember to ask for a "Review of Crew Orders," as per Section 6.F.
Always carry Sections 5, 6 & 7 of the contract with you on all trips. Be prepared to give contractual references if you question assignments from Crew Scheduling. NEVER REFUSE A TRIP, as that may be grounds for termination, but KNOW YOUR WORK RULES AND LEGALITIES to defend your rights.
Fly safe and fly the contract,
MEC Scheduling Committee
Latest Scheduling News
Joint AFA & NWA Scheduling Survey
21 October 2008
A joint Flight Attendant Scheduling Survey was developed through Union and Company cooperation. This joint initiative demonstrates the correct way to survey unionized flight attendants, by working with their certified bargaining agent. We would like to extend our appreciation to all AFA Scheduling and Reserve Committee volunteers, as well as the Company representatives who worked diligently on the survey.
There have been many changes to the flight attendant profession at NWA, and AFA and the Company recognize that these changes have significantly affected your work schedules. To get a better picture of your scheduling preferences in this new environment, we have worked together to produce a survey designed to solicit your input in the areas of pattern construction and bidding of schedules. It is our hope that all flight attendants will participate, thus giving us the most accurate data base from which to make future pattern construction and computer bidding decisions.
Although there are contractual, federal, operational and economic requirements to be considered with the construction of patterns and PBS bidding, where and when there is flexibility, we want to be sure that your true priorities are taken into account. You’ll see that many questions will require you to prioritize your preferences. This technique is required since in the pattern construction world it is sometimes true that ‘improving’ one pattern characteristic can negatively impact a second pattern characteristic. We also recognize that what is a priority at one base on a particular aircraft type, may not be a priority at another. We are therefore exploring whether there is a reasonable way (both technically and practically) to apply different pattern characteristics to different bases.
Only one survey will be allowed per flight attendant; your last entry will be the one that counts. Both AFA and the company will have access to the raw data produced from the survey. The MEC Scheduling Committee will work with the Company toward analyzing your input to present viable changes to pattern construction whenever possible. The survey will remain open on ATLAS under “Hotlinks” until November 15, 2008.
Posted by jrook on 10/21 at 05:54 PMPBS Implementation in September
PBS Going Live in August for September Bid Month
The joint PBS Implementation Team of AFA-CWA representatives and Northwest management has concluded that problems encountered during earlier mock bidding have been resolved. Live implementation of PBS will proceed as previously scheduled – in August for the September bid month.
The PBS bid deadline for all bases for live implementation will be Wednesday, August 13 at 0900 CDT.
AFA-CWA had officially requested to delay the implementation of PBS after Mocks 1 and 2 revealed many problems with the program. However, after reviewing the program in Montreal and the bid awards for Mock 4 and Mock 4.5, it appears that these problems have been remedied and that the program is now ready for live implementation. In addition, the Company’s contractual requirement to provide for two mock bids (parallel tests) has been met from at least the last few mocks: Mock 4, Mock 4.5 and Mock 5.
Although the “bid lock” will not be on during live PBS bidding – in other words, flight attendants will be able to enter a PBS bid without first entering a SLIC bid – the joint PBS Implementation Team has agreed that all flight attendants should enter a viable SLIC bid as a back-up in the unlikely event that PBS awards cannot be posted. In that event, the last SLIC bid entered by each flight attendant will be used for September bid awards. Please review your last SLIC bid and be certain to update it before the deadline.
After careful consideration, the Union and the Company have agreed to publish one bid deadline for both live PBS bidding and SLIC: Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 0900 CDT. With just one deadline, it is less likely that flight attendants will inadvertently miss bidding for September, as was the case with mock bid deadlines during the PBS training period.
PBS Instructors will be conducting specialized seminars during July. A schedule is posted at each base and is available on the Scheduling Committee page of our website, nwaafa.org. Flight attendants may sign up for a PBS seminar at any base but should call the base Inflight office to confirm dates and times for each class.
PBS TO-DO LIST FOR SEPTEMBER FLYING:
- Attend a PBS seminar when offered (July seminars are on “Weighting");
- Read and save all PBS communications in ATLAS;
- Enter your September bid in PBS by 0900 CDT August 13;
- Review and re-enter SLIC bid by 0900 CDT August 13;
- From the left side of the ATLAS homepage, print a copy of your September PBS bid in the FA Audit Trail (listed in the audit trail as “WEB Monthly Schedule Bid") – check it to ensure your bid isentered correctly;
- From the left side of the ATLAS homepage, print a copy of your September SLIC bid in the FA Audit Trail (listed in the audit trail as “SLIC BIDDING")
PBS Seminars Scheduled
All dates/times subject to change. Please contact a PBS Instructor or FAM for confirmation of the sessions listed.
Interested participants should register on the sign-up sheets at base.
PBS INSTRUCTOR LINE: 1-866-612-0001 (select 1, then 7)
BOS
Individual instruction during PBS instructors’ available hours
Throughout August
DTW
(PBS Instructor Line 734-247-2529)
CBT training room near Inflight
August 7 to 13
1300 – 1500 daily
HNL
(PBS Instructor Line 808-831-4233)
August 6 to 10
“Hands On” Seminar (bring your laptop computer)
1000 – 1130 daily
August 11 & 12
“Last Chance” Seminar
1000 – 1130 daily
LAX
Training room, Baggage Claim Level
August 6 & 7, 11 & 12
1000 – 1100
August seminars on “Reports”
MEM
Please call 901-922-8524 for location
August 5
0900
August 6 & 7
1200
MSP
Southside conference room near computer room
August 5
1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
August 6
1000 –1200 (Fundamentals)
1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
August 9
1330 – 1530
August 10
1000 – 1200 & 1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
August 11
1000 – 1200 (Weighting)
1330 – 1530 (Fundamentals)
August 13
1000 – 1200 (Weighting)
August 19
1000 – 1200 & 1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
August 20
1000 – 1200 (Weighting)
1330 – 1530 (Fundamentals)
August 21
1000 – 1200 and 1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
August 22
1000 – 1200 and 1330 – 1530 (Weighting)
NYC
None scheduled; call for availability
LGA: 718-476-7414
EWR: 973-961-2828
SEA
Call 206-433-3715 for location
August 6 – 8
0930 – 1100
August 10 & 11
0930 – 1100
August 12
1100 – 1230
August 13
0930 – 1100
SFO
Airport Ops Training Room across from Inflight Lounge
Call 650-877-5069 for more information
August 6 and 11
1000 – 1130
PBS Mock Bidding for June Cancelled
Last week’s special PBS/Scheduling message stated that June Mock 3 PBS bidding had been delayed until May 15, and that the SLIC screen had been “unlocked” from the PBS test screen in the meantime so SLIC bids could be submitted.
While the PBS vendor did make an attempt to fix systemic problems by May 15, upon further investigation and discussion with the vendor, the decision was made to cancel June mock bidding. As a result, you will not be able to practice using PBS in May for June bids, nor will you be required to enter a PBS bid for June.
Mock 4 bidding will begin in early June for July flying, with the SLIC “lock” reinstated: you will be unable to use SLIC until you have successfully submitted a PBS bid.
Our union representatives on the PBS Implementation Team agreed that June bidding could not possibly continue when flight attendants would again be faced with many of the same problems encountered during Mock 2. The Company is still going forward at this time with plans to launch PBS in August for September flying.
We will continue to meet with Northwest and PBS vendor representatives to address our concerns about programming. Please contact (cc your Local Executive Council officers) with specific problems encountered while using PBS, as well as suggestions for improvement. Data is being compiled by special assignment flight attendants at the pbshelp address, who track and report trends directly to the Company. We will discuss these issues in our meetings with the Company and vendor programmers and will update you with additional PBS testing and launch information as it is known.