One hundred fifty-seven of our flying partners at s-United have elected to avail themselves of the opportunity to participate in the cross over flying program. That number may change slightly once the ten day grace period has ended, though it won’t be by much.
The seniority range extends from 1/19/1976 through 3/18/2008, the majority falling between 1997 – 2008. Those at the top of the pay scale at s-United, in addition to the ten percent bump thanks to the recently ratified 2010-2016 agreement; will receive another $9.10 an hour for domestic fliers and $6.08 internationally. They will receive a $2,500 cash payment for incidental expenses related to the move to their new base, and higher per diem rates than those currently paid to s-United attendants.
As reserves, they are guaranteed eighty-three hours per month, and will spend far less time sitting idly at home as the Continental subsidiary continues to take delivery of new aircraft and aggressively expands flying opportunities.
s-United cross over attendants are now at the bottom of the Continental seniority list for bidding purposes behind several classes of new hires that have filtered through the Continental training center since October 2011. Not only would they have been senior to these same new hires had they been permitted to exercise their freedom of choice last year when the company first offered the crossover, but the rate of hiring that has gone on since last October may very well have lifted them off reserve status by now – an eventuality that may still happen later this year depending on the base and the shifting allocations of flying, but that was unnecessarily delayed and sacrificed for the CWA’s own political ends.
The point that cannot be stressed enough – this CHOICE was denied to s-United flight attendants nearly a year ago in the midst of the representation campaign as a political tool for “union” management at the expense of the welfare of a small number of flight attendants who may have opted to participate.
It is with our best wishes for the future and good luck that we bid goodbye, for now, to the s-United cross over participants. Given the ongoing meltdown at US Airways and the fact that the THREE different MECs at United have agreed to continue to work on SEPARATE contracts for the foreseeable future, (with the international officers’ blessing), it will be a long while before we see them again. In the meantime, we will all learn firsthand from our crossover friends of the benefits of the IAM negotiated contract, to which improvements are already being planned by the Continental MEC.
