PRESIDENT'S LETTER
The US Airways/America West AFA Transition Agreement with the company provides for job opportunities at America West for Involuntary Furloughed US Airways Flight Attendants. Recent rumorsand internet chat room postings about those job opportunities have caused me to write this letter and set the record straight.
This is not a recall but a job opportunity at America West under the America West AFA collective bargaining agreement. We have two separate agreements with separate pay scales and working conditions that will remain until we have a merged agreement. Plain and simple - This was about America West hiring our furloughed flight attendants rather than hiring off the street.
Transition Agreement negotiations began between the US Airways and America West AFA groups and the company in September, 2005. We were told at the initial negotiating session that during the period of separate operations, before the operational integration of the two flight attendant groups, America West anticipated hiring as many as 250 flight attendants in 2006.
Although America West and US Airways are operating under the US Airways Group corporate umbrella, the carriers remain, in the eyes of the FAA, two completely separate operations with separate operating certificates. That fact and that fact alone requires anyone, new hires off the street or involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants hired by America West, to attend and complete the America West new hire training program. This WAS NOT a negotiable item as federal law dictates the training requirements for each airline operating under its own certificate. Furthermore as the two companies are operating separately they can use their own corporate rules and policies. The America West practice has been to not pay for lodging or training pay but provide only a small stipend. We tried to change that in negotiations but we were only successful in getting paid training and the stipend.
It was the company's position that rather than hire off the street job opportunities should be offered to involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants. The company also took the position those accepting positions at America West should be able to utilize their US Airways longevity for pay and benefits. The company also proposed that MidAtlantic flight attendants be frozen at MidAtlantic for up to 18 months thus potentially missing an opportunity for a job at America West. The US Airways MEC strongly believed that before ANY hiring occur off the street the involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants, including those at MidAtlantic, be offered the positions at America West. It was also the position of the US Airways MEC to negotiate a mechanism for those accepting these positions to regain their seniority upon operational flight attendant integration if they had been offered a recall to US Airways without having to leave PHX in order to do so.
As you might expect there was resistance from the America West AFA MEC not to allow the use of US Airways longevity, or for anyone accepting a position at America West to ever recapture seniority if they remained in PHX. Naturally the America West MEC was seeking as many protections as possible for their membership. In fact, as negotiations dragged on the company offered to remove the longevity for pay and benefits provision in order to secure an agreement. Our position was clear from the beginning; secure a Transition Agreement that was consistent with our previous mergers with respect to post integration fences and to secure as many new jobs as possible for our members disadvantaged by the downsizing of US Airways and the elimination of MidAtlantic.
The terms of the Transition Agreement with respect to the hiring of involuntary furloughed flight attendants into positions at America West was not a trade off in any way. It was the desire of the MEC and the negotiating committee to have the jobs at America West made available to as many of our members as possible. Faced with a company that at any moment could have decided to simply hire off the street we negotiated as hard as we could to get as much as we could for our members. By - 1. securing pay for training, 2. no waiting period for health care benefits, 3. a mechanism for seniority integration for those accepting positions in PHX and 4. no freeze for MidAtlantic flight attendants, - I believe we have done that.
Some active members have asked why an involuntary furloughed flight attendant should be able to go to PHX when there are active members who desire to transfer now. The simple answer is the two company's are operating separately and there is no legal way for that to happen until the airlines are operating with one operating certificate. This is no different than any of our previous mergers, and just as in our other mergers - there will be no post operational integration fence prohibiting transfers to any base per our contract once the two carriers are under one certificate and operational flight attendant integration occurs.
Certainly the decision to go to America West is a difficult one and one that needs to be made in a very short time. Our goal was to get as many of our furloughed members back to work and I believe we have negotiated that opportunity. The USA MEC after careful consideration and in full knowledge of the complete negotiating process and strategy ratified the Transition Agreement unanimously.
On a personal note, rumors or Internet chat speculating about my personal beliefs or motives during these negotiations are both false and unfounded.
I urge you to contact me directly with your concerns or questions.
Thank you,
Mike Flores, President
[email protected]
The US Airways Master Executive Council
The US Airways/America West AFA Transition Agreement with the company provides for job opportunities at America West for Involuntary Furloughed US Airways Flight Attendants. Recent rumorsand internet chat room postings about those job opportunities have caused me to write this letter and set the record straight.
This is not a recall but a job opportunity at America West under the America West AFA collective bargaining agreement. We have two separate agreements with separate pay scales and working conditions that will remain until we have a merged agreement. Plain and simple - This was about America West hiring our furloughed flight attendants rather than hiring off the street.
Transition Agreement negotiations began between the US Airways and America West AFA groups and the company in September, 2005. We were told at the initial negotiating session that during the period of separate operations, before the operational integration of the two flight attendant groups, America West anticipated hiring as many as 250 flight attendants in 2006.
Although America West and US Airways are operating under the US Airways Group corporate umbrella, the carriers remain, in the eyes of the FAA, two completely separate operations with separate operating certificates. That fact and that fact alone requires anyone, new hires off the street or involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants hired by America West, to attend and complete the America West new hire training program. This WAS NOT a negotiable item as federal law dictates the training requirements for each airline operating under its own certificate. Furthermore as the two companies are operating separately they can use their own corporate rules and policies. The America West practice has been to not pay for lodging or training pay but provide only a small stipend. We tried to change that in negotiations but we were only successful in getting paid training and the stipend.
It was the company's position that rather than hire off the street job opportunities should be offered to involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants. The company also took the position those accepting positions at America West should be able to utilize their US Airways longevity for pay and benefits. The company also proposed that MidAtlantic flight attendants be frozen at MidAtlantic for up to 18 months thus potentially missing an opportunity for a job at America West. The US Airways MEC strongly believed that before ANY hiring occur off the street the involuntary furloughed US Airways flight attendants, including those at MidAtlantic, be offered the positions at America West. It was also the position of the US Airways MEC to negotiate a mechanism for those accepting these positions to regain their seniority upon operational flight attendant integration if they had been offered a recall to US Airways without having to leave PHX in order to do so.
As you might expect there was resistance from the America West AFA MEC not to allow the use of US Airways longevity, or for anyone accepting a position at America West to ever recapture seniority if they remained in PHX. Naturally the America West MEC was seeking as many protections as possible for their membership. In fact, as negotiations dragged on the company offered to remove the longevity for pay and benefits provision in order to secure an agreement. Our position was clear from the beginning; secure a Transition Agreement that was consistent with our previous mergers with respect to post integration fences and to secure as many new jobs as possible for our members disadvantaged by the downsizing of US Airways and the elimination of MidAtlantic.
The terms of the Transition Agreement with respect to the hiring of involuntary furloughed flight attendants into positions at America West was not a trade off in any way. It was the desire of the MEC and the negotiating committee to have the jobs at America West made available to as many of our members as possible. Faced with a company that at any moment could have decided to simply hire off the street we negotiated as hard as we could to get as much as we could for our members. By - 1. securing pay for training, 2. no waiting period for health care benefits, 3. a mechanism for seniority integration for those accepting positions in PHX and 4. no freeze for MidAtlantic flight attendants, - I believe we have done that.
Some active members have asked why an involuntary furloughed flight attendant should be able to go to PHX when there are active members who desire to transfer now. The simple answer is the two company's are operating separately and there is no legal way for that to happen until the airlines are operating with one operating certificate. This is no different than any of our previous mergers, and just as in our other mergers - there will be no post operational integration fence prohibiting transfers to any base per our contract once the two carriers are under one certificate and operational flight attendant integration occurs.
Certainly the decision to go to America West is a difficult one and one that needs to be made in a very short time. Our goal was to get as many of our furloughed members back to work and I believe we have negotiated that opportunity. The USA MEC after careful consideration and in full knowledge of the complete negotiating process and strategy ratified the Transition Agreement unanimously.
On a personal note, rumors or Internet chat speculating about my personal beliefs or motives during these negotiations are both false and unfounded.
I urge you to contact me directly with your concerns or questions.
Thank you,
Mike Flores, President
[email protected]
The US Airways Master Executive Council
