Vol Furloughs by F/A''s no U money involved--How?

[Res Head 1]

In PHL,Dave repeatedly stated that No U money used for approved F/A vol furlough when asked by fleet/ramp employee. He was very adament to the fact that it can be negoiated as a way to cut costs if-and-only-if, groups find a way that is No cost to U. He did not elaborate on the issue of does U pay unemployment costs in vol furlough cases (?) I got the feeling that Dave knows maybe, just maybe CWA and IAM were m-i-s-s-i-n-g the boat on this issue. My Local has my questions on this tool, so please contact yours. Let''s put it out there. Help...Let''s talk!

 

[airlineorphan]

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On 8/25/2002 4:43:48 PM

In PHL,Dave repeatedly stated that No U money used for approved F/A vol furlough when asked by fleet/ramp employee. ......[snip]

While I was too junior to benefit from the F/A voluntary furlough program (I got an Involuntary Furlough), I have paid close attention to it. It's not entirely accurate to describe it as a No Cost item, though it is a pretty Low Cost item. The F/A voluntary furlough has only two cost items (other than administrative costs of some unknown amount). F/A's on the voluntary furlough continue health bene's for up to 2 years (the Vol. Furloughs can be 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 or 36 months long and can be extended 90 days prior to end of a vol. furlough). The company also agreed not to challenge unemployment claims filed by F/A's on Vol. Furloughs.

The costs, however are probably balanced out by the number of higher seniority (higher pay scale) F?A's who took the Vol. Furloughs (though I don't have any stats on that).

Originally, 2118 F/A's did take Vol. Furloughs. Another 914 were Involuntarily Furloughed (including the probationary F/A's who were originally terminated and later reinstated on the Recall List). 50 Invol Furloughs have been called back to LGA, though the company had to go through 125 Invol Furloughees to get enough takers for the LGA recall. As for the Vol. Furloughs, the majority of the 1000+ who took the original 6 mo. VF extended. Does anyone know how many are coming back at the end of the 12 month? I suspect a fair number have extended at the end of this one as well.

I know this is more than you were asking about but thought the additional info might be interesting and useful.

Good luck, CWA and IAM members!

-Airlineorphan

 

[ExitPointer]

Res Head,

The issue of voluntary furloughs for the flight attendants is becoming a more complex one since the original Voluntary Furlough of 2001.

As the prior reply correctly stated, the 2001 Voluntary Furlough did offer medical for 2 years and unlimited passes. The apparent reason for the 2001 offer stemmed from the Flight Attendant Agreement which provided a No Furlough Clause. The value of the No Furlough Clause was immense, as indicated in the last Proxy Statement by U; the company was required to acknowledge that the furloughs of the pilots and flight attendants in 2001 could be considered a material liability of considerable cost should a decision making body rule against the company.

One of the key components of the 2002 amended Flight Attendant Contract was the dismissal of the "No Furlough" grievance filed by the flight attendants. In consideration for withdrawing the AFA grievance against the company, AFA received a new furlough protection provision which allows for a Voluntary Separation Package as well as a new Voluntary Furlough Offer which offers unlimted passes and a no-contest clause for claiming unemployment benefits.

What is the cost to U? Good question. It will cost U the unemployment compensation contribution for potentially 2 waves of furloughs; one voluntary and later, involuntary. What were the savings? Most likely staggering. Had the flight attendant and pilots won their grievances, the company would have to pay minimum monthly guarantees to 1070 pilots and 2,800 flight attendants. HUGE sums of money.

 

[Res Head 1]

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On 8/25/2002 4:43:48 PM

In PHL,Dave repeatedly stated that No U money used for approved F/A vol furlough when asked by

Thank you both for you insight, I will foward to my Local