Retro Pay?

NOVEMBER 20, 2011

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FOR A COMBINED CONTRACT

Visit our blog: http://flightattendantcoalition.blogspot.com/

RETRO? CWA-afa Backpedals According to CWA-afa, Retroactive “Retro” Pay, is on the negotiating table. However, there is NO contract language for Retro Pay in the Agreement. The contracts that have been negotiated for United flight attendants in the last twenty-five years (including the 1996 – 2006 agreement) didn’t even bother with retro pay – rather we were told lump sum payments distributed annually over the first five years of the ten year agreement would take the place of retro pay and the hourly wage rate increases.  CWA-afa stated that retro pay will be included in "future pay raises".  Both LECP's in LAX and JFK (in the minutes and notes from both local council meetings held in October and November, respectively), has confirmed CWA-afa's retro pay information.  Transport Workers Union (TWU), the union representing Southwest Airlines, understands the importance of retroactive pay so well, it is in Southwest's Contract.   Southwest TWU SEC.21 “All Flight Attendants employed by the Company as of the Date of Ratification of this Agreement shall receive 100% retro pay at the foregoing pay rates for all credited TFP from June 1, 2002, through the Date of Ratification based on all applicable years of Service and rates of pay.” Perhaps CWA-afa and their LEC's need to be educated on the definition of retroactive pay.  Retro is back pay.  Pay raises are future pay.  Mixing the two up is "fuzzy" math.  The IAD LECP, in Council 21's newsletter, dated November 16th, responded to the "retro pay in future raises" controversy.  There was vague reassurance that the Union knows about the importance of retroactive pay.  With no clarification, there was suggestion that the information at the JFK LEC meeting was misunderstood by the membership.  He went on to state that "if something really sounds like crap, it probably is".   We agree.  CWA-afa's backpedaling and attempt to redefine retroactive pay sounds like crap. The CWA-afa longevity schedule.....DID YOU KNOW that it is a CWA-afa Proposed 20 year pay scale? Final Thoughts 20 years to Reach Top Pay Scale? One of the 12 Expedited Mediation Items on the table is the Hourly Rates of Pay (Section 5.A.1 Increase pay effective January 07, 2010, with single pay scale and additional longevity step increases).  UA and CAL flight attendants should take particular heed to the language "additional longevity step increases".  It is 20 years!!!!  If your heart skipped a beat, it should.  Some of us could be dead before we reach the top of the pay scale.  A union "worth their dues" would NEVER lengthen longevity steps, rather, would try to shorten them.  You get your raises quicker, which means more money sooner. TWU and IAM, unions successful at negotiating contracts with industry leading wages and benefits, do not have 20 year pay scales.  Say "NO" to a 20 year pay scale! Election Wins at CLE, EWR, and IAH! A huge victory for the United EX-CONS and the Continental flight attendants! The IAH LEC victory on November 17th followed EWR's EX CON wins on November 15th.  The wins were a mighty one-two punch against CWA-afa's effort to select their own slate of candidates to pursue agendas regressive to the current IAM contract enjoyed by the CO flight attendants.  These contractual provisions include NO CAPS, WORK FLEXIBILITY, PAY AND BENEFITS! http://unitedexcon.com We are not just 15,000 United flight attendants or 9,500 Continental flight attendants anymore; we are 24,500 strong members! Demand a.............. COMBINED CONTRACT NOW! JOIN THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT COALITION FOR CHANGE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! http://flightattendantcoalition.blogspot.com/

Do You Trust Expedited Negotiations?

November 15, 2011 Flight Attendant Coalition for Change Visit our blog: http://flightattendantcoalition.blogspot.com/

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS FOR A COMBINED CONTRACT As we rapidly approach the issuance of our Single Operating Certificate (SOC) from the FAA and are faced with the changes that will be ushered in as a result, it is vital that we, as a work group, remain informed and focused on what is important to us as flight attendants – a COMBINED CONTRACT for a COMBINED AIRLINE! "SEPARATE" EXPEDITED NEGOTIATIONS? The UA flight attendant group alone seems to be on the path to nowhere.  The prospect of the renewal of Section 6 negotiations is imminent on January 6, 2012, if a tentative is not reached. “Elected” and appointed CWA-afa representatives and local officers are telling us that a joint collective bargaining agreement after a tentative is three to five years away!  Whatever happened to their elaborate comparison charts with our $64.00 an hour pay raise?  What color ribbon should we wear to remind CWA-afa of the promises made to the flight attendants during the representation election?? Consider the structure of our “merger” with Continental; the bulk of the surviving managerial and administrative infrastructure is from Continental. At Delta/Northwest, the larger acquiring carrier set the tone for contract terms to achieve the necessary economic synergy with the purchase of the smaller, less efficiently managed Northwest operation. Likewise, the better managed America West, though smaller, purchased US Airways. The more efficient Continental now runs the old United Airlines. The morass that will continue to engulf America West / US Airways for the foreseeable future is the result of separate contractual “must haves” for pilots and flight attendants taking precedent over the business needs of a combined work force. FINAL THOUGHTS  Flight Attendants have no Job Protection at UAL There is NO job protection for United flight attendants facing furloughs next quarter. The training center in Houston is up and running and the cross-over staffing offered in May by United Airlines was rejected by the CWA-afa.  However, ALPA agreed to the cross-over for the UA pilots to save jobs. New hires at Continental are protected by an IAM negotiated "no-furlough" clause that cannot be changed without a joint collective bargaining agreement that changes it – and who at Continental will vote for a joint agreement that diminishes what they already have? Incidentally, when it comes time to dust off resumes for future furloughed United flight attendants seeking jobs, make sure to put down under compensation proposal on your job application, “more pay for less work”.  That was a central theme propagated by the CWA-afa on its election web sites and a selling point to UA flight attendants. Also, even if we can find jobs, we may not want to let our new employers and co-workers know we declined a MINIMUM $13,000 a year raise to come to work for them at Starbucks or Sam’s Club. Or we can choose to hold CWA-afa accountable for their empty promises and join the Flight Attendant Coalition for Change (FACC) to fight for a combined contract for all flight attendants!!  We are not just 15,000 United flight attendants or 9,500 Continental flight attendants anymore; we are 24,500 strong members who want a..............................                                   COMBINED CONTRACT NOW! JOIN THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT COALITION FOR CHANGE AND MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! Negotiation Updates Pilots Mechanics Passenger Service Agents Ramp Agents Dispatchers Engineers   CONTINENTAL FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR YOU TO VOTE IN YOUR LOCAL CWA/afa ELECTIONS! VOTING FOR IAH ENDS ON NOV. 17TH. VOTE FOR CHANGE http://unitedexcon.com http://flightattendantcoalition.blogspot.com/

Ribbon Colors They Forgot To Mention........by E.H.