Lump Sum Payment - Signing Bonus
The Company has made direct deposits and mailed the checks for the lump sum payment. Keep in mind that all required deductions will be taken from this check (federal and state income taxes, FICA and 401k contribution for example). AFA can do nothing about the deductions withheld from this check. This is a matter of law as the federal government considers the signing bonus as income.

USA/UAL Potential Merger
While the proposed acquisition of US Airways by United holds great potential for the flight attendants at both airlines, the Association is still waiting for details and a full explanation of the proposed transaction before we can endorse it. Our sole concern is to protect the jobs, families, and futures of every flight attendant we represent. Before the two operations can be merged, a new flight attendant contract must be negotiated.

During the mergers with PSA and Piedmont, "transition agreements" were negotiated. Our recently ratified Agreement includes a transition agreement with the US Airways Shuttle. Therefore, if United Airlines hopes to achieve a successful and smooth transition, they must work with AFA by resolving the significant contractual problems that arise when merging two contracts. 

Direct Deposit of Paychecks
The new Agreement provides for direct deposit of our paychecks into the banking institution of our choice. Under the old agreement only flight attendants who chose to use the US Airways Credit Union were afforded this convenience. The company will send a form with the June 15th paycheck. Completion of this form is necessary to have direct deposit of your paycheck to any financial institution. Please be sure to follow all instructions on the form.

Option Rebid
The required submission period for changing flying options has been reduced to 31 days. This one time exception allows flight attendants to rebid their current flying option. If you are currently on an option and wish to remain on it for the rest of 2000, you do not have to do anything.  If you want to change your flying option effective August 1st, you must submit an option request form by June 30, 2000. All flight attendants currently on options will remain on them only through the rest of this year.

2001 Global Rebid / ITD Bid
The 2001 global rebid for all options, including the ITD, will begin on June 30, 2000. Bid results will be posted in August and will become effective January 1, 2001.  Please do not confuse the global bid with the ability to rebid your option as described above.  These are two separate bids.

Remember, if you want to bid for an option or the ITD for 2001 you must bid during the global rebid which will begin on June 30th.

Jumpseat Procedures
It has come to AFA's attention that a recent CBS message to pilots indicated that AFA agreed in negotiations to allow cockpit jumpseat riders access to the empty First Class or Envoy seats before a cabin jumpseat rider.  This information is very misleading.  At no time did AFA negotiate for our members to be treated as second-class citizens. 

Rather, we negotiated the same provision (access to empty First Class, main cabin and/or Envoy seats) as the company had given to ALPA.  It was acknowledged in negotiations, however, that since ALPA had been granted this ability first, the cabin jumpseat rider, if properly attired, could take an empty seat in First Class (domestic), main cabin, and/or Envoy if one was available, after the cabin door closed.

401K
Flight attendants may increase their 401K contributions during an "open enrollment period" from June 16 - July 14.  The deductions will take effect with the August 15th paycheck.  After that time or if you should miss the open enrollment period, changes to your contribution levels will take effect with the first paycheck of the next quarter (October 15). Contributions will be capped at 22% and in no event will a flight attendant be permitted to contribute more than allowed under the law ($10,500 total).  Please look for a CBS message from the Benefits Administration and Inflight Services Departments for more details.

Health Care Issues
Effective June 1, 2000 two improvements from our new agreement will be available to our members.  Oral contraceptives will be a covered expense and reimbursable under our health care coverage.  Additionally the lifetime Medical maximum coverage will increase from $1,000,000 (one million) to $1,250,000 per covered individual.

Voluntary Separation Incentive Program
All flight attendants, including former Shuttle flight attendants, interested in participating in the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program can look forward to some information from Inflight Services within the next two to three weeks.  AFA expects that this program will be processed in the same manner as the last one offered in 1997, except that the flight attendant does not have to be active in order to be eligible to participate. Please review Side Letter L11-1 found in the back of the Agreement (Voluntary Separation Program) for additional information.

US Airways Shuttle Fence
The fence separating the mainline and Shuttle flying operations will be removed effective August 1, 2000.  Please refer to Side Letters L25 and L26 for information about how this transition will effect the operation. Keep in mind that the removal of the fence will allow all flight attendants to transfer in and out of former Shuttle domiciles if vacancies exist at other domiciles.  Additionally, the option percentages will increase accordingly. 

Local Executive Council Elections for Boston and Washington
The removal of the fence between the US Airways and Shuttle flying as well as the integrations of the Local Executive Councils #69/#81 and #41/#83 have triggered new representational elections for Boston and Washington flight attendants.  The election process will begin no later than June 1, 2000 and is expected to take approximately 60 days. 

Interested candidates should refer to the AFA Constitution/Bylaws, the AFA bulletin board, or the International Office for election information. These elections will cover the remainder of the current terms.  The term of office will begin immediately upon conclusion of the elections and for Boston will end on December 31, 2001. For Washington the term will end June 30, 2002.

Local Council Meetings

 
CLT Council #89

Date:     Thursday, June 22nd.

Times:    8:00am -10:00am
          1:00pm - 3:00pm
          6:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: Airport Auditorium  (Above the Food Court)

Agenda:   TBA
 

PIT Council #40

Date:     Tuesday, June 6th.

Time:     5:00pm - 8:00pm

Location: IAM Hall 
          228 Moon Clinton Road
          Moon Township, PA 

Please make every effort to attend a local council meeting.

It was announced in the early morning of Wednesday, May 24,2000 that United Airlines has offered to purchase US Airways for $60.00 per share in an all-cash transaction. 

The offer was approved by both the United and US Airways Boards of Directors but will also require the approval of US Airways' stockholders and the federal government. 

Senior management hopes the approval process will be concluded by the end of this year, but an operational merger could take much longer as seniority and transitions agreements with the various unions are worked out.

Please review Section 1 of our new Agreement for provisions which protect our members in this situation.

With news of a potential merger coming so closely on the heels of our contract negotiations, AFA recognizes that our members are still in the midst of tumultuous times. You have our assurance that we will keep you as up to date and informed as possible throughout this process. Our sole concern has and continues to be for the jobs, families and futures of our members. 

In the meantime, we will remain focused on implementing the new Agreement which is in full force and effect.

Back to TOP

Health Care Issues
Effective June 1, 2000 two improvements from our new agreement will be available to our members.  Oral contraceptives will be a covered expense and reimbursable under our health care coverage.  Additionally our lifetime Medical maximum coverage will increase from $1,000,000 (one million) to $1,250,000 per covered individual.

Space Positive Travel for Out of Domicile Training 
Please be advised that the company personnel responsible for scheduling out of domicile training for flight attendants have been educated as to the new provision of our agreement.  This provision, located in Section 21, provides for "Crew Movement Authorization" from the flight attendant's residence to the city where training is being conducted.  Bookings are processed through by the Space Positive Desk or through Training/Scheduling.  Please contract your local union office if you have any problems with utilizing this provision).

Jumpseat Procedures
As a reminder, the company is not yet able to implement the jumpseat procedures as outlined in Section 29 of the new agreement. Until they are able to make to the necessary programming changes allowing us to list in advance according to our system seniority integration date (ie. holographic stickers), flight attendants are to follow the procedures from our old agreement. Flight attendants, however, are no longer required to be in uniform and are free to take an empty passenger seat once all passengers have been boarded. This includes one open seat in First Class domestically or Envoy Class on international flights 

Lump Sum Payments
Flight Attendants can look forward to receiving their 5% lump sum payments as outlined in Section 3 some time between the last week of May and the first week of June.  The company is targeting either May 26th or May 30th as mail dates for these checks.  Keep in mind that these payments will be distributed to flight attendants who received W-2 earnings in the Lump Sum year and are on the system seniority list at the time the lump sum payment is made.  All normal deductions, such as 401K, withholding taxes, etc. will be taken from the payment.

International Transoceanic Domicile - Supplemental Bid for July 1 - October 31
Please be advised that the supplemental bid that is currently being offered for all three ITDs falls under the provisions of Section 12 of the new contract.  Any flight attendant may bid for these positions and are no longer required to be available for the first day of training or hold the domestic base transfer prior to entering the ITD. This bid runs from July 1, 2000 through October 31, 2000.  Flight attendants interested in submitting for available positions for this supplemental bid for CLW, PHW, and PIW should be aware that bids close at noon on Wednesday, May 31, 2000. 
The current ITD bid that runs from May 1st through October 31st falls under the old agreement.  This means that flight attendants who were denied the bid in January due to unavailability for training, etc. are not entitled to get into the ITD now under the new agreement.  The May - Oct bid was already awarded and processed as it should have been, under the old agreement, even though it was effective on May 1st. 

Voluntary Separation Incentive Program
All flight attendants, including former Shuttle flight attendants, interested in participating in the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program can look forward to some information from Inflight Services within the next two to three weeks.  AFA expects that is program will be processed in the same manner as the last one offered in 1997, except that the flight attendant does not have to be active in order to be eligible to participate. Please review Side Letter L11-1 (Voluntary Separation Program) for additional information. 

US Airways Shuttle Fence
The fence separating the mainline and Shuttle flying operations will be removed effective August 1, 2000.  Please refer to Side Letters L25 and L26 for information about how this transition will effect the operation. Keep in mind that the removal of the fence will allow all flight attendants to transfer in and out of former Shuttle domiciles if vacancies exist at other domiciles.  Additionally, the option percentages will increase accordingly. 

Local Executive Council Elections for Boston and Washington
The removal of the fence between the US Airways and Shuttle flying as well as the integrations of the Local Executive Councils #69/ #81 and #41/ #83 have triggered new representational elections for Boston and Washington flight attendants.  The election process will begin no later than June 1, 2000 and is expected to take approximately 60 days.  Interested candidates should refer to the AFA Constitution/Bylaws, the AFA bulletin board, or the International Office for election information.  Keep in mind that this election will cover the remainder of the current terms.  The term of office will begin immediately upon conclusion of the elections and for Boston will end on December 31, 2001. For Washington the term will end June 30, 2002. 

New Pay Rates/Premiums
Please keep in mind that the May15th paycheck is the balance of time over 35:30 from April and therefore does not include the new pay increases.  The May 30th paycheck of 35:30 is for May and will reflect both the new rates of pay as well as the increases in premium pay. 

Option Changes
Any flight attendants desiring to change their flying option effective August 1, 2000 through December 31, 2000 must submit either a retraction or bid by June 30, 2000. Keep in mind that effective August 1, 2000 flight attendants on the 55 hour option will have their sick time accrual reduced to 2:30 per month.  The reduced vacation accruals do not take effect until 2001.

 
Total Eligible Votes:  8,699
Total Ballots Received: 7,197
FOR:    5,418
AGAINST:   1,508
VOIDED:      268
No Vote:          3
Percentage of Eligible Ballots Received:   82.7%
Total Percentage Voting FOR:   75.3%

Contract Implementation
The new Flight Attendant working agreement became effective May 1, 2000. During this transitional period some sections and items may not become effective immediately, such as issues related to scheduling. AFA and the company are working on a comprehensive list of all implementation dates. Additionally the company is in the process of dealing with the programming issues related to the new 401K deduction increase and the lump sum payments, to name a few. Please continue to check this hotline as we will update you when progress occurs. Keep in mind that the company is obligated to provide the lump sum payments to our members no later than August 1, 2000.  They have assured AFA that the Payroll Department is prepared to accommodate for our new Holiday Pay provision as well as the increases in pay rates and premiums.
 

Also please be advised of the following clarifications:

Training pay
The reduction of 3:00 per day will become effective 1/1/01. All training for the remainder of the year (2000) will be paid under the 1993 Flight Attendant Working Agreement. International Transoceanic Domicile Effective 1/1/01 ITD flight attendants with vacation can reduce their monthly trip obligation by one trip if 2 or more vacation days are bid in a vacation month. This restriction will not effect vacation/trip obligations for the remainder of this year.

Reserve
All changes related to inviolable days off including increasing from 4 to 6 days, increasing from 1 to 2 days under TDY and flying on inviolable days off will go into effect with the full implementation of SAP and secondary lines. Reserves do not need company consent to attend training on an inviolable day off.

Options
For the remainder of 2000, flight attendants interested in bidding, changing or leaving an option will be required to give the company 60 days written notice. If you are currently on an option, you will remain on that option unless you provide notification.  All flight attendants will be eligible to participate in the global rebid of August 2000.  This global rebid will include all the options and the ITDs effective January 1, 2001.  Keep in mind, especially for flight attendants with standing bids for the 55:00 hour option, beginning August 1, 2000 flight attendants on the 55:00 hour option will have their sick leave credit reduced to 2:30.

New Jumpseat Provisions
AFA is advising all members who utilize the cabin jumpseats to carry a copy of the new agreement. While the company has sent a CBS message notifying the appropriate personnel as to these changes, we have been advised that some flight attendants have been denied access to the cabin jumpseat because they were not wearing a uniform.

USAirways MEC Met in DCA
Actions taken by the MEC at the Special Meeting held in DCA this week included: developing the scope, duties, and responsibilities for the AFA Scheduling Committee,  allocating the company paid flight pay loss for each local and reviewing upcoming AFA Executive Board agenda items.  The MEC also passed two resolutions.  The first one dealt with the removal of the green ribbon as part of our official union insignia.  The second one dealt with their continued support for the Delta organizing and the OSHA NOW campaigns.

Contract Communication Center

The CCC will remain open for a limited time and is scheduled to close after May 12, 2000.  After that time please direct your contract questions to your Local Council office.

The Tentative Agreement has been overwhelmingly ratified. The AFA Ballot Certification Committee reports that 85% of our eligible members returned a ballot with over 78% of the valid ballots returned voting "FOR" the agreement.

The vote count: 5,418 voted "FOR" the contract, 1,508 voted "AGAINST"

Contract Implementation
Our new contract becomes effective today, May 1, with some provisions taking effect immediately:
 

• Increased pay rates
• Increased  senior, CSD, aft lead, LOD/O, and understaffing pay
• New holiday pay
• Improved jumpseat benefits
• New Crew Movement - Must Ride Authorization for travel between residence and training instead of domicile only

• New pay protection for reserves reassigned to trips of lesser-value than their original trips
• Strong job security language that protects seniority in a merger, acquisition or partial transaction
• Option of new pension formula with no Social Security Offset or Marriage Penalty
• Access to the benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)
• Increased Lifetime Medical Maximum

Other new or changed contractual items will take effect later:

• SAP bidding
• New secondary lines
• Increased meal expenses
• New reserve override pay
• Additional immovable days for reserves
• New inverse order assignment for reserves
• Annual bidding for options and ITD
• Modified vacation and sick leave accrual, and training pay

This is NOT a comprehensive list of all the changes to our contract. Refer to your copy of the March 25th Tentative Agreement for implementation dates and details of new or amended contract provisions.

MEC Meets
The Master Executive Committee is meeting in Washington, DC through May 3rd to review and discuss the implementation process of the new agreement. Once this is complete they will be available for your contract questions.

CCC Still Open for Questions
The Contract Communications Center is available to answer your questions about the new contract. Call toll-free 877-652-9121 or check the website http://www.afausairways.org

The CCC will be open only for a limited time. They urge you to begin learning and defending our new contract now. Read the new Agreement and know your contractual rights.

Where to Get Your Copy of the New Agreement
The Agreement specifies that the Company shall provide each active flight attendant with a copy of the new Agreement within 60 days. Watch for copies of the finalized version of the Agreement by the beginning of July. In the interim, read the March 25th Tentative Agreement and carry it with you.