Saturday, November 24, 2012

Many Have Asked About Another Crossover...




......And we thank you all so much for your email! The Company is not opposed to the
crossover, but the union (AFA UA MEC) we believe prefers not to erode their membership base which is why they refused the crossover the first time it was offered.

The dues monies would go to CAL MEC while the UA MEC loses dues from
furloughs and crossovers.  Finances would seem to have had more to do with the decision for UA MEC, rather than what is beneficial to their membership. Which is why instead of allowing us to vote on the "Continental like" contract in 2010 in order to enter into joint
negotiations, they chose instead to go into the s-UA "substandard" Section 6
in 2011 and here we are!

The only reason the crossover was offered the second time is because the Company
made it a condition of the Expedited Negotiation that became our ratified contract.

Now, the best avenue is the combined contract. If it delays significantly, there
is nothing that says a crossover cannot be considered again. Unfortunately, those of you
who do would temporarily be on the bottom of all current s-CO new hires and possibly the
2,000 that will be hired in 2013-2014.

In the meantime, stay informed, TELL YOUR LECP you want a combined contract
NOW! 
TELL YOUR LECP to stop wasting time and to drop the charges against the "UNITED 3",
all 3 are supporters of crossovers and the combined contract!


ALL F/A'S AT ALL AFA REPRESENTED CARRIERS: 
READ THE UNITED 3 CHARGES MADE BY YOUR UA-MEC PRESIDENT,
AND
THEN SIGN THE PETITION!
 
TELL YOUR LECP AND MEC PRESIDENT.......................     
 
Click to Sign


There will also be local election cycles beginning soon. Vote for a new direction in our Union.  Please stay involved and share the information! We will also do our best to keep you informed.
And please feel free to contact us at any time.

Fly Safe!
FACC

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

HAPPY THANKSGIVING


The FACC
Wishes You and Yours

A Very Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank You for All Your Continued Support!

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Saturday, November 17, 2012

AFA, The "UN"-Democratic Union



MECP to the Membership

At this point in time, the Furloughs (voluntary or involuntary) are a disgrace. The job of a union is to keep everyone employed with the best benefits available. Not to pay benefits to those who are not productive. The benefit that the UA MEC keeps touting (free medical etc.) is not free. The active employees pay for them, as with any "buy outs" that are negotiated at the table. The reliance on the good nature of flight attendants to want to prevent furloughs also prevents the membership from looking below the surface and evaluating what is wrong with the entire program. It was poor AFA leadership that got us here and poor AFA leadership that will keep the program going with no progress elsewhere at the negotiating table. Furloughs should be unacceptable to all of us when it is merely used as a tool for re-balancing the workforce. For your deja vu moment read this article published back on Aug 28, 2008 about 1550 flight attendant furloughs at United Airlines!!  http://www.eturbonews.com/4658/united-furlough-1550-flight-attendants 


The AFA leadership had several options and obligations as a "democratic" union. The first and most important was to truthfully educate the membership about the labor contracts, and then bring the first offer in May 2010 for a "Continental like contract" to the s-UA membership and let them vote on it. The second was another chance to do so immediately after the representation election instead of going into Section 6 negotiations soley at s-UA. If anything, it would have allowed a pay increase and we would have immediately gone into joint contract negotiations to resolve "metal protection" that keeps us separate, with hiring going on at the s-CO side and furloughs on the s-UA side.  In the meantime, what was done is done. Now the time has come and we need to CHANGE leadership! To get a Joint contract means to reform our leadership through new LEC elections as they arise - honestly, do we want Greg D. for everyone at the New United?




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Thursday, November 1, 2012

Ground Hog Day @USAir.....United AFA Too?!?

AFA's despicable track record concerning joint contract negotiations and seniority integration issues at merged airlines is on display again. You would think by now the lesson would be learned. But...........the next  JNC session at United is postponed until "sometime in December" while the persecution of the United 3 gets put on the front burner. Is United AFA on course to duplicate its years of failure at a JNC for USAir??
Consider this and judge for yourselves:


US AIR'S VOTE OF "NO CONFIDENCE"

US AIR Rejects Another Contract
On September 27, 2012, for the second time this year, flight attendants at US Airways (LCC) rejected a tentative contract agreement by just 48 votes.

The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) said Thursday that 51% of voters rejected the proposed contract as 5,527, or 85% of the bargaining unit, voted. The vote was 2,811 against and 2,761 in favor.  US Airways has approximately 6,700 total members.  The existing contract  offers salaries far below the levels available in the existing industry.

SEVEN years after the 2005 merger between US Airways and America West, flight attendants still work under DIFFERENT contracts. The tentative agreement would have resulted in a single contract with higher wages for both groups and would have extended strong job protections, which had been limited to the former US Airways flight attendants, to the entire group. Voters turned down the first tentative agreement in March 2012.  Mike Flores, the former AFA MEC President, who had strongly backed it, was ousted by the union's executive council (MEC). The version offered in the September voting differed little from the earlier version, but had unanimous backing of all the AFA leaders.


http://www.thestreet.com/story/11721056/1/us-airways-flight-attendants-again-reject-contract-offer.html

  ------------------------------------------------------------------

              UA MEC'S Kangaroo Court Moving Forward!

Next Show: United 3 "Expulsion Trial"
 According to the AFA Constitution & Bylaws, the charges against the United 3 where reviewed by the members of the Hearing Board and they have determined that there is "cause" to hear the charges at a formal hearing. No formal announcement of that hearing date has been made yet and who knows if this so called "hearing" will be open to the general membership or not. 
Tell your MEC President Greg Davidowitch that you demand all members in good standing, United and Continental, be allowed to attend this display of "afa democracy" in action. Email him at: mecpresident@unitedafa.org

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 FIGHTING FOR UNION DEMOCRACY!




"The organized labor movement is one of the great forces for democracy and social justice in America. If that was the whole story, it would hardly need repetition, for it has been the frequent theme of talented writers. But the anomaly persists: this great pillar of democracy is itself nibbled away by the mice of bureaucracy."


"In this, labor organizations resemble all the other great institutions of democracy, even democratic government itself. To paraphrase Emerson: "Bureaucracy is in the saddle and is riding mankind."  By battling for democracy inside their unions, union reformers strive to keep the labor movement on course, true to its own ideals. And, precisely because that labor movement is so indispensable a nutrient for the nation's democracy, the quest for democracy in unions is one facet of the broader striving for social justice in the nation."  
Rebels, Reformers, and Racketeers: How Insurgents Transformed the Labor Movement By Herman Benson

MEMBERSHIP FOR UNION DEMOCRACY !

 
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