Have heard from several sources now that Glading , and other officers from the APFA recently held a roadshow in London concerning the APFA's "Mobilize to Maximize" campaign. Allegedly, officers from the APFA recently bought hotel rooms the night before a trip to London in Downtown NYC. The next day these officers bumped 4 first-class passengers off of a morning flight to London where they rented a room for couple of days to promote the current campign against the company concerning current contract negotations. This was to inform flight attendant crews about what is going on. All of this with membership dollars. If anyone can confirm, or deny this I would greatly appreciate it. I really hope this isn't true and just another galley rumor. Thank you.
APFA M2M Roadshow in London
- Thread starter Flyboy4u
- Start date
- Thread Starter
- #3
Nancy...I am not sure if this trip even took place...I am just wanting to find out first if it ,in fact, did. Was hoping someone on this board knew the real facts?
Don't know about the NYC expenses but 2 of them spent $99 a night at the LHR hotel and only spoke to about 100 (according to them, I think the numbers were lower) FAs.
They are talking about CDG next. An even bigger joke than LHR because 400 people DO NOT lay over there a night.
APFA is comprised of 17,000 + members and they go to a place where only 400 go a day. 400 is the amount flying to LHR per day but not all of those crews layover downtown. Not only that, but to spend 99 bucks a night plus expenses to speak with 100 is insane.
APFA is actually acting like it was successful. Shows you that they're as disconnected from reality as AA management.
- Thread Starter
- #5
THank you Skymess...So it sounds like this actually took place..Talk about a misuse of Union dollars...We dont have any union F/A bases, to my knowledge, in foriegn countries...This is a shameful misuse of union dollars. Especially when you have members being thrown on the street without any back pay etc.. Sounds like the officers wanted a quick vacation. I mean if u talk to a few flight attendants along the way you can write it off as a Union business trip. Criminal!
Regarding the bumping of 4 F/C passengers, are you really serious? Do you work here at all? You honestly think AA would let the agents bump 4 F/C passengers for employees on union business? Seriously, lets all start to think about these so called "rumors". Union business is usually A-10 positive space in coach. Fully upgradeable to the highest cabin offered, if space is available. Every employee knows that when you are on the upgrade list, you are always below revenue passengers. This is how stupid rumors get small minded people bent out of shape. First of all, I shouldn't need to remind you, but A-10's go after A-1 and A-3 deadheads. Have you EVER been accomodated in F/C after the agent pulled a revenue passenger from the cabin? Nope, so it wouldn't happen for an A-10. APFA is not the best by far, but they shouldn't need to defend themsleves from baseless accusations. If all you wanted to know was if APFA went to London, just check www.apfa.org they didn't hide it at all. They promoted it on emails and hotlines. If attendance was close to 100 for the 2 sessions, that seems to me to be a success. Going to CDG might be a little much, but it attracts different people than LHR. Although CDG gets the second most AA Europe flights, LHR is by far the place with the most F/A's laying over. By the way IF a F/A was due "back pay" they would receive it from AA. If you are alluding to furlough pay, then we all know that is not a part of the contract anymore. People should remember, this isn't the first time APFA has held road shows in foreign cities and it probably won't be the last. I know, I know, the big bad APFA should be blasted for trying to help F/A's understand what is going on in negotiations and for trying to sit down with them to answer any questions they might have. Big problems we have with the union trying to educate the membership with facts and not rumors. APFA could have stayed in Useless and let the galley gossip get out of hand and let incorrect information reach the membership. Now , is that a better solution for all of us?
100 for 2 sessions is a success to you huh? Shows you how different we all are as a membership. 17,000 + and 100 is a success? Okay....................
I think they should have saved union money and visited ops at various times during one day where the total number of FAs at any given time greatly exceeds 100. This would have been more inclusive to all divisions. It also would have given them more varied feedback regarding what all of us wanted and not just what international FAs who fly LHR wanted. Even when I was international I did not fly LHR so what they want would probably be vastly different than what those who fly Airbus or the 767 wanted. Now that I'm domestic, and have been slugging away on the s-80, I have different needs than when I was flying 767 to europe and s. america.
You could say, it's only a start, but I disagree. I see it as a huge waste of money on par with their ridiculous bag tag and id card expenditures. If they want to visit a hotel and speak with 50 people I suggest they go to the local JFK or DFW airport hotel where they'd reach far more than 50 a day. I don't think it's glamorous enough for them though.
eolesen
Veteran
- Jul 23, 2003
- 15,988
- 9,428
Not entirely true. Glading and other union executive officers travel A-5, which is reserved space in any cabin.
So, if they really did reserve F, then they did indeed displace revenue customers as well as EXP's using their almost-impossible-to-use EVIP int'l upgrades.
Skymess,
They were in ops. You are the one that said it was likely that no more than 400 are in LHR at any given time. So if 25% showed up on a layover, that sounds like a good turn out to me knowing our work group. Would anyone like to go to www.apfa.org and check out the roadshow schedule? Apparantly you missed your local show, if it has happened yet. Reps were in ORD last month. Not sure of the turnout. Like I said, APFA screws up a lot. Problem is that what you are complaining about not happening, is happening. Once again, there are going to be/has been roadshows to/at all bases.
They were in ops. You are the one that said it was likely that no more than 400 are in LHR at any given time. So if 25% showed up on a layover, that sounds like a good turn out to me knowing our work group. Would anyone like to go to www.apfa.org and check out the roadshow schedule? Apparantly you missed your local show, if it has happened yet. Reps were in ORD last month. Not sure of the turnout. Like I said, APFA screws up a lot. Problem is that what you are complaining about not happening, is happening. Once again, there are going to be/has been roadshows to/at all bases.
I can't get the pdf file to copy, but reps were in ALL ops on March 20th and will be AGAIN April 20th. So by going to LHR after the March roadshows was extra and a good chance for extra people to attend. I only know of 2 people in LHR, although there could have been 4. The 2 I know that went were both negotiators. I am not sure that either one of them get to travel A-5. They might, but I wouldn't consider them to be Executive officers. Who knows, but I apologize for not knowing about the A-5 classification. But if AA lets them book the travel in F/C, then that is AA's problem. At the same time, I find it hard to believe that AA lets them book the travel in that class if the space is not available at the time of booking. I find it hard to believe that they could displace people. Maybe they can, I just don't believe it. I don't consider not being able to use an upgrade being displaced. Being denied a paid F/C seat is being displaced. If they truely did a Carty to Cabo, then they should suffer the ridicule and consequences from the actions.
I am glad they did the ops meetings and have more scheduled. I just objected to their flying in for a get together in such a partisan and expensive place as LHR.
I see. I got it. Nontheless, I think they were just trying to reach a few more people in the place with the most to reach. They could really do better next time.
Let me clarify my position. I'm not complaining about it not happening in ops. I am well aware that they were in ops. I am an info rep and receive all the info by email. I was simply stating they should SOLELY stick to having meetings in operations and that they should show up in ops at different time periods throughout the day in order to speak with a broader range of people doing both domestic and international flying. Right now they schedule themselves during odd periods that do not have the highest amount of traffic. I also suggested that if they want to do hotels they should stick to ones within the USA.
There were not 400 people at our LHR hotel on the day the negotiators went. A few of the crews stay at the airport hotels. I do not think that 100 people for 2 days was a good turnout. It's not about the percentage of those who were there. The number of people for the negotiators to potentially speak with, IMO, was too low to warrant the expense of the trip. The 100 people reached was their numbers. From the crews I have spoken with they were lucky if 1 crewmember per 2-3 crews showed up.
Bottom line for me is that they shouldn't have gone to LHR. It was a waste of money.
I would be more concerned about the voting record of the AA f/a. (or lack of voting)
