• Company Announces Flight Attendant Recall

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Dear Members,

Company Announces Flight Attendant Recall

Yesterday afternoon the Company informed the Union of a recall of East and West Flight Attendants.  The recall will be for November 1, 2010.  The Company informed the Union the recall was necessary due to attrition and staffing shortages. 

Today, the Company announced a recall of 125 East Flight Attendants.  Pursuant to the Contract, the Company will send recall notices to East Flight Attendants on the East EXL list two letters- one via standard US Mail and one via US Certified Mail.  Recall opportunities are offered to EXL Flight Attendants in inverse seniority order.   The bottom 125 EXL Flight Attendants will be notified they are being recalled and the remainder of the 430 EXL Flight Attendants will be notified they may be recalled depending on the results of the first 125.

A Flight Attendant who accepts recall will have to undergo either Recurrent Training or Requalification Training or both-depending on the length of time such flight Attendant has been on leave.  Training will begin the first week of November and continue throughout the month.  The actual Return to Work date will be subject to the completion of the required training. 

Per the contract and the terms of the leave extensions, EXL Flight Attendants offered a recall have only one opportunity to accept.  Failure to accept that one recall opportunity will result in a Flight Attendant on EXL to forfeit their place on the seniority list and if turned down, are separated from the Company.  

Many flight Attendants on the EXL list qualify for retirement and various travel benefits should they choose not to accept recall.   Your recall notice will contain those options and a contact number to call to detail those option(s).  If you are on the EXL list and receive a recall notice please contact the Company to verify your travel options. 

The Company will mail recall notices the last week of July.   Affected Flight Attendants will need to respond by of August 25, 2010. 

Please feel free to call your local office or the Company with any questions.

In a previous Eline, dated July 12, 2010 the Union detailed the Contractual recall process.  Copied below is that Eline:

MEC ELINE JULY 12, 2010

RECALL RUMORS
SEPTEMBER TRANSFER BID

RECALL RUMORS

For the past few weeks, rumors have been circulating the Company will be recalling East Flight Attendants later this year or early next year.   While there is no confirmation when a recall may occur or how many flight attendants may be recalled, the Company has stated preliminary Crew Planning statistics indicate there may be a need to recall Flight Attendants.  The Union is not in receipt of any additional concrete information regarding a possible recall.

This Eline is intended to inform everyone of process in the event there is a recall.

It is important to note that prior to any recall, a Transfer Bid is posted for any vacancies that might exist at the time.  It is at that point any displaced Flight Attendant holding a "Priority Return" would be allowed to exercise that right to fill a vacancy (in seniority order among those Flight Attendants holding a Priority Return) per the contract. Page 18-2 of the contract explains the Priority Return provision. 

The first step in the actual recall process is to recall Flight Attendants from involuntary furlough.  There are no Flight Attendants on involuntary furlough.  The next step is to recall Flight Attendants from other types of voluntary leaves. 

At the moment, Flight Attendants are on two types of leaves; 1) the Extended Leave (EXL) and, 2) The Voluntary Furlough with Limited Recall (VFLR).

These two very different types of leaves have different recall rights and provisions.  

Should a recall become a reality, the Company will offer recall first to those on the EXL list then to those on the VFLR list.

EXL - Flight Attendants on EXL are on that list because they were participants in various Voluntary Furlough programs offered beginning in 2001.  All of those furlough programs had an expiration date.  At the time the expiration date for each furlough occurred, the Flight Attendant could either return to work (forcing another Flight Attendant to be involuntarily furloughed) or remain on voluntary furlough for any indefinite duration (i.e., until recalled).   Flight Attendants on the EXL list have retained their original seniority date for bidding and travel purposes but, under some conditions, may have lost longevity for pay and vacation purposes.  The seniority range on the EXL list is from 1973 to 1997.  Below are the EXL terms with respect to recall:

• A Flight Attendant on the EXL list will be offered one recall opportunity in inverse seniority order.  A Flight Attendant choosing not to accept such a recall opportunity will be removed from the system seniority list and separated from the Company.
• A Flight Attendant on the EXL list accepting recall is entitled to return to her/his base of record or origin.  A vacancy in that domicile need not exist in order for a Flight Attendant to exercise that right.  

Below is breakdown of the EXL list by domicile and current travel/retirement separation eligibility.

Total Flight Attendants on EXL list - 430 (at one point there were over 1100)

Total by Domicile*:

CLT - 129

DCA - 46

PHL - 255

Current Travel/Retirement Separation Eligibility:

  91 - 25/45 eligible
240 - 65 Point Plan
  19 - Retirement and 25/45
    8 - Retirement
  72 - None

While the number "430" may seem daunting, the EXL list has been declining on a very steady basis and most Flight Attendants who have been sent recall notices in the past have not returned to the Company. Nonetheless, Flight Attendants on the EXL list have contractual rights that will be honored.
 
VFLR - There are approximately 650 Flight Attendants on the VFLR list. VFLR participants are offered recall in seniority order on the VFLR list, however those Flight Attendants forfeit the right to their seniority and longevity and return as a new hire in terms of base selection, bidding, pay and vacation.
 
Should the Company exhaust both the EXL and VFLR lists without filling the recall quota the Company would then start new hire classes.

Mike Flores, MEC President
The US Airways Master Executive Council
AFA-CWA


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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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