AFA Labor Discussion (Work Conditions) 7-7 -

[FlyGuyBWI]

I myself have not started a petition to recall anyone. Reason being? Well a very large majority of people are blind to the situation and lack the basic knowledge of how the very union they pay dues to operates. The signatures are there but quite frankly are for the wrong person. Again, John is one of the pillars that keep Mike where he is. Knock down a pillar and his "temple" if you will becomes weak. You start from the bottom and work your way up.

The petition I saw just directs the respective LECP's (Int. Sec., actually) to call a special Local Council Meeting to DISCUSS a recall of certain office holders. I believe that the members have the right to ask for such a meeting, if 30%+ petition for it. How the vote goes at that meeting is up to the members present. This type of grass-roots movement is a good thing, in my opinion. It may get our local leaders more focused on the needs of their members, and serve to develop a network for member self-help, if needed in the future.

 

[StewGuy86]

I have it on good authority that ALL flight attendants remaining on the extended furlough list will be recalled. Not sure how many of the 430 on the list are still left, since a certain number probably said "no" when notified of the recall. Also, assuming they don't get enough warm bodies from the VFLR (limited recall) group, there will likely be a new hire...yes I said new hire.....class to be put on line by April 1.

 

[Travelpro72]

I think the movement we are seeing is FANTASTIC ! ! ! Now, there are a lot of "If's here". We all get the signatures which are then taken to John in PHL, Anne in CLT etc. John would have like 48 hours I think to get the ball in motion or his recall would follow. I'm under the impression that this recall is not just to remove them from the JNC but removing namely Mike from the Presidential position. Correct? I guess that would leave Buddy to take over right away at the table. I still believe in all of this that John M. needs recalled. Reasons being....

1. The local budget
2. voted against members directive
3. the whole not "red circled" in on 105 but
collects 108 business
4. lack of interest in holding an informational
meeting with Mike about the contract
5. I could go on.....it's his TOTAL lack of interest in the
membership and overall attitude.

We need to sweep this AFA clean. It is OUR union afterall. Not satisfied with the path we're on? LET'S CHANGE IT ! ! I'm in.

 

[OP Taylor]

I think the movement we are seeing is FANTASTIC ! ! ! Now, there are a lot of "If's here". We all get the signatures which are then taken to John in PHL, Anne in CLT etc. John would have like 48 hours I think to get the ball in motion or his recall would follow. I'm under the impression that this recall is not just to remove them from the JNC but removing namely Mike from the Presidential position. Correct? I guess that would leave Buddy to take over right away at the table. I still believe in all of this that John M. needs recalled. Reasons being....

1. The local budget
2. voted against members directive
3. the whole not "red circled" in on 105 but
collects 108 business
4. lack of interest in holding an informational
meeting with Mike about the contract
5. I could go on.....it's his TOTAL lack of interest in the
membership and overall attitude.

We need to sweep this AFA clean. It is OUR union afterall. Not satisfied with the path we're on? LET'S CHANGE IT ! ! I'm in.

Travel, You are no doubt on the right track here. , I have always found you very knowledgeable and street smart regarding the nuts and bolts of the Union , however I must disagree on one point you have mentioned in an earlier post. The West negotiators will not continue negotiations without the East presence. Forgive me if I am missing something here but havent been able to put my finger on anything in the Const & Bylaws which states negotiators from one airline of a merger can negotiate ANYTHING without the other airline negotiators present. This is simply unethical and would place the company in a compromising position as well. These negotiations are subject to review by the the National Mediation Board. I believe there is even an attorney from the AFA International office assisting on the negotiations. I don't believe the attorney would allow anything to be discussed without both parties involved. I do realize that Flores has been spreading the word around that the West negotiators will continue without us but that is simply his spin to deter the flight attendant group from signing these petitions that are circulating. He would like everyone to think that the world will come tumbling down if HE was not sitting at the negotiating table. Remember he is also saying that a contract should be reached by approx December. This is just his spin to get through the elections in late October. You only have to look at the open issues and tabled issues to come to the realization December 2010 is a pipe dream. Maybe December 2011 would be a better estimate which would take us to the end of our current contract. That would make this marathon merger negotiation over 6 years. Take a look at what sections are closed and see how much work it took to reach agreement in these sections of the contract. If it took 5 years for the no brainer sections, so do you really think they are going to finish this up in 3 months?

Now as for John, you are spot on. But he is not the only one who needs to go. Alan Boswell is keeping a low profile trying to stay below the radar. He has managed to keep his name out of the mix but that will soon come to an end. He is hoping that with all the pressure on Flores, Austin and McCorkle that he will breeze through this next election in the Spring. Hope he is listening, but the DCA membership has had enough as well. They will be out in full force to take back their Union with the help of flight attendants from every base. My friends in DCA say this guy spends most of his time on Capitol Hill. He will tell everyone he s fighting for all flight attendants but the fact of the matter he was elected to represent the flight attendants in DCA. I would think that would include picking up the phone once in a while to assist his flight attendants. Yes , Travel , the push is on to sweep the debris to the side of the road and focus on taking back OUR UNION. Yes the DCA President will not be unopposed this time around and will have to answer to the flight attendants for his actions or better yet lack of action.




So McCorkle and Boswell , We invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy the short ride. You will be landing shortly on
your ears. Buh Bye

 

[Travelpro72]

OP your are correct. It is my understanding that Buddy would be brought to the table to negotiate. He would do a better job than Mike is doing right now. That I'm confident in. Didn't he negotiate with Terry before? So yes I stand corrected as that was information spewed by Mike most likely. Silly me to not notice that in the C&B. Mike's attitude seems to be, "If you want to recall me have at it". Well guess what "WE ARE". Oh and Alan down in DCA only won in the past due to nobody running. Well those days are over pal. Oh and McCorkle.....we got your number too. He has no interest in what local 70 members think. More and more f/a's are seeing the light and coming to understand just how important this mess with negotiations has become. We at the end of the day WILL get the contract we deserve, one way or another.

 

[BajaBabe]

Yes Buddy was on the Team get a Copy of Restructuring Agreement July 2002 to really start from the Beginning.I will post highlights later.

 

[flybynite]

That is my point about your contract. This poor language in the contract is why the company wiggles around it. Do you not have a language program in your contract? Does it not state that that person is suppose to be a flight attendant? The language appears to be another poor example of amateur negotiators not looking from all angles. This is just like your poorly written crew rest seats. Nobody thought that they may add longer flights with a new aircraft? Your negotiators are out to lunch. The one's presently negotiating may not have written that language, but you should be asking what they have done to fix it. Lack of attention to the details are what is killing you guys!

As I understand it, and I may be wrong, we didn't have enough Hebrew speaking f/a's to cover Tel Aviv and the company didn't have a choice other than to hire off the street for translators.

I believe that was just a stop gap for Tel-Aviv.

 

[Glucose Intolerant]

As I understand it, and I may be wrong, we didn't have enough Hebrew speaking f/a's to cover Tel Aviv and the company didn't have a choice other than to hire off the street for translators.

I believe that was just a stop gap for Tel-Aviv.

That's kinda like how LTO (and reserve screwing) some how became the stop gap for preferential bidding that was in the current POS contract..... You remember the contract no one you know or work with voted for? Yeah that one.

This place just loves "stop gaps" and the expense of their employees and obviously so does the negotiating committee.

 

[Skycat]

Where can one sign the petion for recall? I haven't seen it and would love to sign it.

 

[Travelpro72]

Can't we have an online recall? If it's OK to vote a contract why not to recall? Hmmmmmm?

 

[PHLfa88]

First of all..the (deleted by moderator) that was in the Crew Lounge the other day has NO idear what she is talking about..She is one of those that is Spreading Rumors around with NO Facts!! She came to me and asked if I would sign it, I told her no I would not..Don't you know not 20mins later as I was going to my breifing she says " Wait, don't go anywhere before you sign this petition" Ha..What a Idiot! I said to her " I just told you 20mins ago NO! I will not sign it" So this is what the anti MF, JM,AB people are doing..Just to get their signitures..She was going up to people and saying " here, sign this" with out explaining..People had NO idea what they were signing!! I asked her who started this and without a word just flashed her ID in my face..I have been in PHL for 22 years and have Never seen this person! I said whats your motive, and she said they want to give the company Conessions..I said so?...you have seen the contract?...She said " No"..I said so how do you know and no one else know's whats in the contract?

Then she hands me this email from Obviously from a Disgruntled Former LEC Pres from BOS..Made no sense what so ever..And I talked it over with a couple of my crew on our trip across the pond and they had the Same conclusion..Stupid!

And do they Really think they will get 2 out of 3 LEC Presidents to recall Mike anyway..These Same people tried to do this before!

It's getting a bit old!!

And as for JM not voting for " what his constitutes wanted in the national election"? I was not asked from John who I wanted him to vote for! I'm sure 98% of the base did NOT give him their direction either!! So DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME OR ANY OTHER F/A !!

Let's wait and see what the FINAL TA is and go from there..If you don't like it..Then you have the right to vote No!

 

[NoMoreKoolAid]

And as for JM not voting for " what his constitutes wanted in the national election"? I was not asked from John who I wanted him to vote for! I'm sure 98% of the base did NOT give him their direction either!! So DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME OR ANY OTHER F/A !!

Let's wait and see what the FINAL TA is and go from there..If you don't like it..Then you have the right to vote No!

Well did you attend the last few or any of the last Local 70 meetings? From your statement I take it no. If you don't show up the people in the meeting SPEAK FOR THE COUNCIL! Don't show up you are leaving the people in attendance speak for you. It's just how it works. Only you and McCorkle don't get that. Next time show up and participate instead of doing what you are now.

 

[PHLfa88]

Well did you attend the last few or any of the last Local 70 meetings? From your statement I take it no. If you don't show up the people in the meeting SPEAK FOR THE COUNCIL! Don't show up you are leaving the people in attendance speak for you. It's just how it works. Only you and McCorkle don't get that. Next time show up and participate instead of doing what you are now.

I get emails from John on a constant basis, and Not once was there Any part of one where John asked for any ones input..And, I stopped going to those Circus Meetings because of people that do nothing but #### and Moan! If you think you could do it better than why don't YOU run for office! And if you did Obviously did Not win!

The problem is we have too many Bitter people here that will NEVER be happy with who the Majority Votes for! Example..Republicans Hate Obama! Why..Because they can!

 

[Travelpro72]

Koolaid....I agree totally. I sat at that G'damn meeting in April and we all directed John to do this and that. He didn't do squat. Now, as for your "voice"...yes you pay dues but until you GO to a meeting and voice your opinion you don't really have one. Granted sometimes you walk from a meeting feeling like it was pointless but at least you went and stood your ground. I sure as hell #### and complain on here but quite honestly this is strictly entertainment purposes. Well with a dash of wisdom from a few on here. I VOICE my opinion and have FACTS about what is going on. So NO....we WILL NOT SIT AROUND and wait for Mike and Carol to bring us all GARBAGE...yes I said it GARBAGE! ! ! ! As for what the "former" BOS rep wrote.......Pretty spot on if ya ask me. But what do I know?

 

[VAflyGal]

First of all..the (deleted by moderator) that was in the Crew Lounge the other day has NO idear what she is talking about..She is one of those that is Spreading Rumors around with NO Facts!! She came to me and asked if I would sign it, I told her no I would not..Don't you know not 20mins later as I was going to my breifing she says " Wait, don't go anywhere before you sign this petition" Ha..What a Idiot! I said to her " I just told you 20mins ago NO! I will not sign it" So this is what the anti MF, JM,AB people are doing..Just to get their signitures..She was going up to people and saying " here, sign this" with out explaining..People had NO idea what they were signing!! I asked her who started this and without a word just flashed her ID in my face..I have been in PHL for 22 years and have Never seen this person! I said whats your motive, and she said they want to give the company Conessions..I said so?...you have seen the contract?...She said " No"..I said so how do you know and no one else know's whats in the contract?

Then she hands me this email from Obviously from a Disgruntled Former LEC Pres from BOS..Made no sense what so ever..And I talked it over with a couple of my crew on our trip across the pond and they had the Same conclusion..Stupid!

And do they Really think they will get 2 out of 3 LEC Presidents to recall Mike anyway..These Same people tried to do this before!

It's getting a bit old!!

And as for JM not voting for " what his constitutes wanted in the national election"? I was not asked from John who I wanted him to vote for! I'm sure 98% of the base did NOT give him their direction either!! So DO NOT SPEAK FOR ME OR ANY OTHER F/A !!

Let's wait and see what the FINAL TA is and go from there..If you don't like it..Then you have the right to vote No!

I've seen ENOUGH at the meetings to know it's not what we deserve and it's not what I want. The AFA members that went to the LEC meeting in PHL that gave John the direction we did were ignored. "98%" of the f/a's probably weren't at the meeting for whatever excuse du jour they had, but the ones who cared enough to show up got a giant midde finger when he went to Las Vegas. He didn't ask you who you would vote for because he had his mind made up before the meeting who we was going to cast his vote for - the NON US AIRWAYS F/As. One of our own happened to ask him about it, which, no doubt, was unexpected.

"Holiday Restriction" - hello, blockholders? Are you there???? The most senior of you probably can hold holidays off but for those of you who can't, maybe that'll light a little fire. No bid sheet for you to avoid Christmas with the holiday restriction. Pref bid = 4-8% reduction in staffing need. DO YOU CARE?!?!?!? Of course not. It doesn't affect you, does it?

You honestly think Team Flores / Austin have the best interest of every F/A on property? Puhleeze! How much domestic flying do you do? (It's A LOT diferent doing one leg each way "over the pond" than 6 legs up and down the coast while cleaning and boarding 6 times and having no time to even get a meal in between flights) How many days on reserve do you spend? The man is so far in bed with the company it's a joke. What's getting OLD is the incessant F.U. we get from the MEC / JNC regarding our futures. What's getting OLD is being on reserve year after year which is nothing but poverty wages and abuse. What's getting OLD is the lack of support from self-serving flight attendants who only think about themselves and not the greater good of the group at large. What's getting OLD is the rash judgments people make without researching what's going on for themselves. We're all getting older while this gets old.