AA flight attendants

Depends upon whether or not you think current events includes the "unfairness" of FCFS non-rev boarding.  That horse has been whipped to death.  And, when it comes to granted, as opposed to earned, benefits--which legally is the case with non-rev travel--the system will be whatever the powers that be decide.  P.S.  Ain't none of us included in the powers that be group.  :lol:
 
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Is it too hard for anyone to understand that both East and West flight Attendants have won precedent setting grievances, and that cant be ignored?
 
Just because that is the way AA does things doesnt make it work for the PMUS when you have precedent setting wins under the RLA.
 
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Ok.  Let's just leave it alone and wait and see what system prevails in the end.  Do the PMUS flight attendants think they have enough votes to block a JCBA for all flight attendants that does not have a seniority boarding clause in it?  If they keep pushing hard enough on this and win a grievance for the pre-JCBA period, they may also find that they get seniority boarding on PMUS, but FCFS on PMAA.  After all, you are one of those that keeps insisting that we are two separate airlines until a JCBA is obtained.
 
We all have to be wary of getting what we wish for.
 
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They are two separate work groups until a JCBA is negotiated and ratified.
 
The two airlines become one when they start operating under one certificate.
 
Yeah.  Whatever.  Your f/as are still not going to end up with a JCBA that includes boarding by seniority.  That is fact.  That is reality.  Really, does it matter whether they start FCFS now or down the road?  Might as well get used to it.
 
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jimntx said:
Yeah.  Whatever.  Your f/as are still not going to end up with a JCBA that includes boarding by seniority.  That is fact.  That is reality.  Really, does it matter whether they start FCFS now or down the road?  Might as well get used to it.
Entry to heaven doesn't apply.  ;-) 
 
The APFA usually gets whatever they want so I will be very surprised if they don't this time too. As a fairly junior AA FA (15 years is still junior for bidding anyway) I would rather we had not merged with a very senior FA group. But since it is happening, Im very happy that US has so many destinations in Europe. So it is good for nonreving eventually. I hope that we keep all the new destinations that AA didn't have. Also CLT is a nice city and might be nice to transfer there one day. So far, all the US FAs that I have met seem pretty nice, and with the VEOP between both sides maybe my seniority wont be affected too much after all. Overall I guess its a good thing for the flight attendants. I do know a couple of US FAs that commute out of South Florida who cant wait to transfer here, unfortunately they are senior to me LOL. Of course we have a few commuters from CLT that probably cant wait to transfer there. So that should balance out at the end of the day. It would have been interesting if we could have been allowed to vote on the union representation but that aint gonna happen!
 
jimntx said:
Yeah.  Whatever.  Your f/as are still not going to end up with a JCBA that includes boarding by seniority.  That is fact.  That is reality.  Really, does it matter whether they start FCFS now or down the road?  Might as well get used to it.
My guess is it will be cut from JCBA and voted on it need be. I'm not really sure how it will lend up! There are a lot of senior AA employees also!
 
On the subject of base assignments...do the US flight attendants have bump-and-flush in their contract?  AA does not.  No one can transfer to a base unless there are actual openings in that base.  That's why I was surprised to get DFW out of training in 2000.  There are transfer lists for each base in seniority order.  The transfer list to a base must be cleared of everyone on it before new hires can be placed in that base.  The class which graduated two weeks ahead of me in mid-August, 2000 was the first class since 1992 to place a new hire at DFW.
 
For AA flight attendants who don't know what bump-and-flush is...
Say, AA decided to close the STL f/a base.  Bump-and-flush transfers say that any f/a in a closing base can transfer to any base which has f/as junior to them.  If this results in overstaffing at the new base, the most junior flight attendants are "flushed" to a base they can hold or furloughed if they are the most junior f/as in the system.  Of course, the furloughs would occur only after the contractual furlough prevention steps--leaves of absence, partnership flying, etc--had been done.
 
For US flight attendants who might want to transfer to DFW after the JCBA takes effect, assuming that our current system stays intact, we have a system of domestic mutual transfers.  Say you are based at CLT today, but commute from DFW or another city in Texas.  Well, there are a number of AA flight attendants who commute from CLT or RDU who might want to be based at CLT.  You put your name on the transfer list for DFW.  They put their names on the transfer list for CLT.  Every other month or so, Crew Planning works the transfer lists for mutual transfers.  Each list is worked in seniority order and f/as are matched up for transfer.  Barring unforeseen barriers (you do not get the transfer if you are not in flying status on the first day of the month in which the transfer would be effective) you get your transfer.  Being on vacation on that day is not a barrier (if I remember correctly).  Being on a leave of absence or on the sick list is.  If you are not in flying status, your name remains on the transfer list, but they offer the transfer to the next most senior person on the list who did not get paired up on the first pass.
 
And, of course there are straight transfers available from time to time when a base staff drops below whatever number Crew Planning determines is the minimum optimal number of f/as for that base.  For instance, when an early out package is offered and is awarded in seniority order, DFW and LAX tend to be affected more than other bases because they (for the most part) have the most senior f/as.  Straight transfers are also offered in seniority order, and buyer beware...Don't get po'd at your supervisor and put your name on the transfer list to another base and then forget you did it.  If your name comes up, a transfer can not be refused; so, you would be transferring to that base for a minimum of 6 months.  :lol:  (It happened to someone I know.)
 
They (AA) seem to be having a problem with base transfers in and out of SFO. And it seems to have something to do with the fact that they are not crossed trained on the 737. How long would it take them to get these people trained on the 737? Seems like a reasonable question.
 
In my vast career of 12 years, lack of training on an a/c tends to be more the f/a's choice than company scheduling.  Do you mean lack of training for SFO f/as trying to get out of SFO, or f/as trying to get into SFO?
 
A f/a who is not trained on a particular piece of equipment flown in that base can still transfer, but they must attend training on that equipment during their first month in the base.  For instance, an STL f/a wants to transfer to MIA where we don't even fly the MD-80.  This f/a is not qualified on the 737 because he/she never bothered triggering for the training (which is offered pretty much every month multiple times) because the 737 is not flown at STL.  If his/her seniority can hold the transfer, the company will schedule the f/a for training during their first month in MIA.  They do not get to pick the class or the trip removals.  They go when scheduled.  If they do not, they are classified as QI (Qualification Incomplete, I think) until they obtain the training.
 
The reason why f/as drag their feet on getting qualified on new equipment...
"Any required training must be accomplished on a day(s) off (DO) or a reserve day at the first available opportunity. If the first available opportunity to attend training conflicts with a scheduled trip sequence, the flight attendant will be removed from the sequence unpaid and uncredited, and the guarantee will be adjusted accordingly. Failure to complete required training during the first month it is offered will result in a QI status without regard to current qualifications, until such base qualification(s) are obtained."  Exception:  if the training is on a reserve day, you get paid for the training and credit for the hours.