Hafa Adai Flyers,

Good news – CAL has set dates to begin negotiations: April 24-25.  We won’t be far behind.  Please make sure that you are getting these email “Blasts.”  Talk to each other and let me know who is not on the list.

THIS is where the new news will break.  I promised to keep you informed:  THIS is the place were I will post.

Let’s keep the conversations going!

UNION MEETING
April 18th   4-6 p.m.
Airport Conference Room (more…)

Forgive me Friends.  I got to this party late. I began my leadership role in November – just as we lost our HNL trip and a massive amount of our flying.

Suddenly we were severely overstaffed. Our contract did not change, our staffing situation did – dramatically!  This had happened before – the Company handled it by furloughing in 2001, and by seniority-less transfers to CAL in 1998 and 2008.  The rapidly built bridge in 2011 did nothing to ease the current problem.

While we watched this staffing situation unfold, we theorized that Seniors would start bidding reserve.  They would probably not fly at all, we thought – and they would be paid more hours than Lineholders.  Some Reserves would have opportunities to hold a line.  All this came to pass. (more…)

Hafa Adai Flyers –

Well, that was fast!  My last blast was not thirty minutes old when I got the news…

We’ve got some dates!

Your negotiations team: Kathleen, Beth Deprospero, and I will be meeting in Chicago with Sam Risoli and Doug McKeen at the end of this month to present our very limited list of opening proposals.

You will remember Beth as the experienced AFA negotiator that visited us on Guam last year.  She knows us, our base and our issues.

Stay tuned for future updates – I will keep you as closely informed as possible.

Suzanne

Hafa Adai Flyers!

The month of March is roaring in like a lion, will it go out like a lamb?  We’ll see!
As you know, our sisters and brothers at United have just signed a new agreement providing improvements in pay and working conditions.  88.5% of the eligible voters participated; 70.4% voted yes.  The ratification of this four year contract is the first step in setting the three cornerstones necessary to reach an industry leading, joint agreement.  The second step begins Monday, March 5th,  as Continental flight attendants sit down to begin negotiating their next agreement.

Our contract became amendable in December 2010.  Kathleen and I have spent this last week working with CAL leadership and AFA Negotiators as we prepare for our talks.  We notified Management that we are ready to begin – a date to do so will be announced shortly.  We have made it clear that we are not looking to re-write our entire contract at this time.   But, we do need to work on a limited number of issues and improvements.

These individual negotiations with Continental and with Air Mike should, in no way, slow down or derail our efforts to get a single contract for the merged mega-carrier.   We must, however, be realistic and realize that getting that Big Book could take time – perhaps a long time.  There are many huge differences between UALs new contract, and the working conditions we have always treasured at CAL and CMI.  It is vital that we achieve a few enhancements and protections in the interim.
(more…)

Hafa Adai Flyers!

This is time of rapid change in our industry, our union and our airline.  Here’s the latest news.

Rsei, our Secretary Treasurer, has left us for a while; his Air National Guard unit has been deployed.  (He asked me not to report this officially, until after he left.)  We are uncertain how long he will be gone, but Bobbie Tudela has stepped up to work with Kathleen and me during his absence.

Getting everyone’s dues current is essential to our strength as a bargaining unit.  Our voting power depends on the number of members in good-standing.  At s-UAL, because they have been in AFA for so long, ALL FAs have dues automatically deducted.  Therefore all 11,000+ of them have their voice/vote counted.  At s-CAL we still have thousands of members who owe dues dollars, a few dozen here at Air Mike.  This severely diluted our voice at the Board Of Directors meeting earlier this month.  We will need ALL those votes once negotiations begin….

PLEASE, sign the dues check off form and catch up if you have missed a month or two during our transition.

To pay by credit card. Go to:   www.afanet.org/payment

Or you can mail a check to:
AFACWA
PO Box 79797
Baltimore, MD  2179-0797

(more…)