MUST READ FOR ALL MY US AIRWAY/AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT COLLEAGUES: Originally posted by: Susan Cook Henry. WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE??? (LONG READ) ... I was in DFW yesterday afternoon (Monday, Nov. 10) with the Flight Attendant Selection Team, which was among a group of instructors, flight attendants and other interested parties invited to an impromptu meeting with Stephen Howell (Director of Training and Recruitment) as well as our Flight Service VP, Hector Adler, who felt it was important to personally get the message out as to what would REALLY be happening in the wake of the rejection of the TA. Stephen opened the meeting as Hector was on his way from Corporate ... Stephen shared his disappointment in the voting results and mentioned it was too early to tell if this would impact future hiring efforts, but that 2015 would see a reduction in new hire classes on both the LUS and LAA sides after an especially productive 2014 to meet staffing requirements driven by market needs and new aircraft deliveries. When Hector arrived, he too expressed his surprise and disappointment at the failure of the TA. He made it quite clear that he is very supportive of the collective bargaining process and recognizes the flight attendants right to vote on such important issues as compensation, health care and work rules. To that end, he absolutely respects the decision that was made -- albeit by such a narrow margin. He heard us, as did all of the AA management team as well as representatives of APFA and AFA. The emotion in Hectors voice was palpable ... At one point he seemed on the verge of tears -- but he held it together and proceeded to communicate to us what he had presented to the management team earlier in the day. Hector went over the results of the vote and told us what most of us have already been able to see in the voting breakdown and determine for ourselves: By and large, the LAA flight attendants rejected the TA, whereas by and large the LUS flight attendants supported it. He mentioned specific bases such as MIA/IMA which had the largest percentage rejection vote while PHX had the largest percentage support vote. He was not pointing fingers, but made it clear that not every LAA base rejected nor did every LUS base support; however, in the scheme of things, these percentages seemed to indicate one thing clearly: LAA flight attendants do not know Doug Parker and his management team -- the corporate culture -- as well as the LUS flight attendants do. This management corps worked with the APFA/AFA joint negotiating team to hammer out what they felt was an industry-leading contract in many ways, not the least of which would have been a significantly larger paycheck effective December 1. Along the way, by a breadth of only 16 votes, our membership decided it wasnt industry leading after all and was looking for better down the line. What was communicated to the membership in road shows and other avenues along the way to Sundays vote deadline was that if the TA was rejected, the $82M added pay incentive (above the $111M market aggregate) would disappear, the Hard 40 would become reality, and the weight-restricted jumpseat would remain. Hector said that it could be debated ad infinitum as to whether these last two items -- after the TA was originally put to a vote -- led to the ultimate undoing of the TA. It was a gamble indeed .... and caused many of us to question just what else might change along the way if we stayed the course to rejection hoping for better in arbitration? That is an understandable conclusion. But here is where the disjoint is, and where the tide of discontent and resultant wars (whether in person or on Facebook) have likely contributed to a deep misunderstanding of the binding arbitration process in case of TA rejection. Hector spelled it out to us quite clearly: Mediation will now occur where APFA and AA management will work to prepare their positions within the confines of the market base/aggregate. Mediation will not allow APFA/AFA to include previous perks such as the $82M pay override or ditching the Hard 40 requirement ... Arbitrators will be meeting in a series of four 2-day meetings during December 2014, beginning December 3. They are charged with defining the market average in the aggregate for the airline industry when it comes to flight attendant pay and benefits at LAA/LUS, DL and UA/CO. (Question is, will the arbitrators recognize as part of that aggregate the promises DL is now making for future $$/better work rules commencing next spring? Stay tuned ... ) On January 26, 2015, APFA and AA management will each submit their proffers (as determined through the upcoming mediation process) to the arbitrators who will then review and compare those proffers to their own determinations. By mid-March, they are expected to render their decision and we will have a contract that will be binding and final. We will not have any vote on this binding/arbitrated agreement and we will work under the structure of that agreement for the next several years. As Hector said, with resignation in his voice, we WILL be getting a raise in pay ... How much remains to be seen, but it wont be on December 1. It will be at least mid-March before it happens and it will definitely not be in the amounts/percentage increases offered in the rejected TA. In a way (and these are my words), the TA was like a LBFO --- and we hate that acronym, dont we? Last Best Final Offer. Sounds so ominous .... and the flight attendants made a very close but clear decision that they didnt believe it. Hector reinforced that there is a general unfamiliarity with this New American management team, as their track record is a work in progress, still being established as the worlds largest airline comes closer to the anticipated SOC in April 2015. LAA doesnt know Doug & Co. that well yet, but they have been mostly impressed with his more relaxed management style which is in stark contrast to that of previous regimes. Seems LUS knows him better ... He is a successful businessman set on accountable performance with pleasing the shareholders as his central focus. He doesnt play around and has been largely successful to date in bringing the LUS/LAA cultures together by assembling a motivated merger team and offering many employees from many departments positive getting-to-know-you experiences. And no doubt there has been valuable information gleaned and lessons learned from the two mega-mergers preceding ours. But Dougs team will and must remain firm and cannot risk a loss of credibility by back-peddling and/or sweetening a deal they knew to be set in stone. But a large number of our group feels that credibility of not only the management but the APFA/AFA has already been put into question by actions during the voting window ... The debate will continue, and now the dice have been rolled. How will it end? The proverbial box of chocolates I guess .... But I can say with conviction that Hector Adler truly does have the flight attendants best interests at heart and although he knows we will be receiving a pay increase, he and half of us that voted (-16) had so hoped it would be much more. Personally, I feel the REAL work begins now as flight attendants for this airline. I made a similar statement to Hector and our colleagues at yesterdays meeting: We cannot -- MUST not -- let this bump in our road define us moving forward. We should not judge other employee groups by what they gain in their own negotiations. We must come together despite our voting differences and provide a solid front to our customers. They have read the papers. They might expect us to be disgruntled. They might expect the very minimum of service and to see apathy from us when it comes to their concerns. The customers dont deserve to be punished. That could be a costly mistake -- not only for the continued survival of our company, but also looking forward to future contract negotiations. We will be under the microscope for sure, and as safety and service professionals we owe it to ourselves and each other, to our own self-pride as well as pride of profession, to put our collective best foot forward and hold our heads high as we do our part in moving on to bigger and better things in this adventure called The New American. Thanks for listening ....
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 23:48:29 +0000
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