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Dear Members,
COMPANY REINSTATES PASS
TRAVEL FOR FLIGHT ATTENDANTS DEEMED TOTALLY AND
PERMANENTLY DISABLED
The Company has reinstated pass travel for
Flight Attendants on SSB status- those Flight
Attendants deemed totally and permanently
disabled. The Company had unilaterally
eliminated the contractually mandated travel for
such affected Flight Attendants last year.
Effective July 20, 2010, that pass travel has
been reinstated. All affected Flight Attendants
have been notified via a letter from the
Company.
A bit of explanation is in order regarding the
term "SSB".
With one exception, travel for Flight Attendants
on LTD status has been governed by Company
Policy. That exception applied to those Flight
Attendants who are totally and permanently
disabled (as determined by the Social Security
Administration). Those Flight Attendants are
designated "SSB"
In the years prior to 2005, the Company policy
changed several times for Flight Attendants on
LTD. For those on SSB status, the subset of LTD
Flight Attendants determined to be totally and
permanently disabled, the pass travel policy
remained constant. In June of 2005, the Company
made a change to the travel policy for Flight
Attendants on Medical, LTD and SSB status.
Previous to that change, Flight Attendants on
SSB status were afforded pass travel based on
their years of service with the Company. Prior
to June, 2005 those benefits were:
Flight Attendants with ten (10) or more
active years of service and their eligible
family members received unlimited on-line pass
travel while those with less than ten years of
active service receive the same travel as
employees on medical leave (at the time,
unlimited on-line travel for the purpose of
obtaining medical treatment and two (2)
vacation/personal travel to be used anytime
during the leave.
As part of the bankruptcy case, the Company
sought AFA's approval of the Plan of
Reorganization (POR) as part of the Bankruptcy
Court's conditions for the Company to exit
bankruptcy.
AFA was willing to sign off on, what is called,
the "Confirmation Order", if the Company
improved certain provision in our contract. The
Master Executive Council (MEC) held two meetings
in the summer of 2005 to decide what provisions
we believed needed the most improvement. At
those meetings, the MEC agreed to try to
negotiate the following improvements:
-
The Company would be willing
to pay sick time at 100% pay and credit for
the first sick call in a calendar year up to
a maximum of four consecutive days (AFA
originally sought pay for the first two sick
calls at 100%).
-
The Company would agree to
extend Medical benefits from the negotiated
180 days to 270 days for Flight Attendants
on medical/maternity leave at the active
employee rate (AFA originally sought an
increase up to 365 days).
-
The restoration of the prior
pass travel policy for those Flight
Attendants on SSB status.
-
The Company would agree to
eliminate the letter entitled "Deadhead Pay
and Credit". (During the course of our
contract negotiation the pilots had filed a
grievance regarding the VM/DH and the
Company had negotiated a letter that said
AFA would owe the Company $7.5 million
dollars per year in additional cost savings
should the pilots prevail in their
grievance).
Once the MEC came up with these
items the matter was turned over to AFA's
bankruptcy attorneys to negotiate an agreement.
The result of those negotiations was Side Letter
44 (located in our contract on pages L-44-1-3).
Side Letter 44 was approved in the fall of 2005
by the members of the MEC.
With respect to pass travel for Flight
Attendants on SSB status, the negotiations
reversed an earlier Company policy and
reinstated pass travel under the terms of the
Side Letter for those Flight Attendants on SSB
status at the time.
In November of 2008, the Company announced their
intent to change the Company's Policy relating
to pass travel benefits for employees on leave.
The change was to eliminate the 2 passes per
leave and allow unlimited travel for the first
90 days of a leave and then travel would be
suspended (except in the case of seeking medical
treatment).
Furthermore, as part of this change to Company
policy, the Company took the position the terms
of Side Letter 44 with respect to SSB pass
travel no longer applied and Flight Attendants
on SSB status would lose their contractual pass
travel and fall under the new Company policy
rather than what was negotiated. AFA believed
the Company was violating the terms of Side
Letter 44.
After several months of attempting to settle the
dispute outside of the grievance and arbitration
process (which can take years) the Company still
refused to honor the terms of the Side Letter.
In April of 2009 AFA filed a formal grievance
alleging the Company's violation of Side Letter
44 with respect to pass travel for Flight
Attendants on SSB status. In December of 2009, a
Grievance hearing was held and on April 12,
2010, the Company denied the grievance. The AFA
petitioned the System Board of Adjustment on May
13, 2010 to have the dispute arbitrated.
During this time period, AFA performed its due
diligence and researched exactly what was
negotiated and what the intent of the parties
was when Side Letter 44 was drafted and agreed
to by the members of the MEC and the Company in
2005.
Through notes from AFA bankruptcy attorneys and
Company attorneys it was determined that both
parties agreed to reinstate pass travel for
those Flight Attendants on SSB at the time the
pass travel was reduced in 2005. The notes
clearly reveal that while the Company would
reinstate that pass travel- or grandfather- SSB
Flight Attendants they were not willing to
extend unlimited travel to any flight Attendant
deemed totally and permanently disabled on a
"going forward" basis after Side Letter 44 was
negotiated and agreed to.
The Company's decision to reduce pass travel for
Flight Attendants on SSB status last year
clearly flew in the face of that agreed upon
language.
After AFA filed for arbitration in May, several
more meetings were held with the Company in an
attempt to solve the dispute and avoid a lengthy
arbitration process which in the interim would
have left those Flight Attendants on SSB status
without any pass travel benefits (other than to
seek medical treatment).
On January 24, 2010 the Company sent the Union a
letter agreeing to reinstate pass travel for
Flight Attendants on SSB status per the terms of
Side Letter 44 and additionally to include
anyone who went out on LTD and then was deemed
totally and permanently disabled by the Social
Security Administration between November 1, 2005
and the date of signing of the letter.
Throughout this process, the members of the MEC
were briefed on the ongoing dispute and finally
the Company's agreement to honor the language of
Side Letter 44. A formal settlement letter was
drafted and distributed to the MEC for their
review and approval. A vote of the MEC was taken
and the majority approved of the Company's
letter honoring the terms of Side Letter 44. I
signed the letter on behalf of the US Airways
MEC on July 14, 2010.
Thank you,
Mike Flores, MEC President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AFA US Airways Website
www.afausairways.org
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AFA Local Numbers
Council 41 DCA 703-212-8090
Council 70 PHL 215-492-0840
Council 89 CLT 704-527-0325
US AIRWAYS Benefits Information 800-872-4780
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