Solution for No Contacts

As you all know, we are on call 24/6. That means no break at all, especially for us really junior reserves. When we are sitting in the "hot seat" we don't know when to eat, sleep, take a shower, when we can go to the supermarket, take out the trash, or do anything else necessary to maintain out existence except sit by the computer and watch the screen. I keep hearing about reserves who are getting no contacts while they are in the shower, taking a sh!t, or doing any other normal daily activities. So, I propose to all reserves that we call scheduling before we jump in the shower. I don't know about you but even if I carry my cell phone in the bathroom with me I still may not hear it while the water is running, especially when I am belting out some tunes. Then, call them again before you blow dry your hair. A hair dryer can be really loud. Or what about if I need to take out the trash. Usually when I take it out, my hands are full and I don't have room to carry my cell phone in my hands and it won't fit in my skin tight jean's pocket. Now usually it takes two minutes tops to take it out, but what if I fall down the stairs and get hurt and can't get up and walk. If they call me I will be prone to getting a no contact. Or whatever if a car hits me in the parking lot. Again, it is a double whammy! Not only am I injured but I am also reprimanded! Even if I did have my phone with me I doubt I would be able to answer the phone if I were unconscious. Sometimes if I think I am going to get an early morning phone I like to go to bed early to make sure I get a good night's sleep so I am ready, willing, and able to work at 5am with a 90 minute notice. Maybe if I called scheduling and asked them if it is OK for me to go to bed and to let them know, they would know that I am sleeping. I could go on with many more examples but you all get my point. In any case, I want to be a good little flight attendant and make sure that scheduling knows what I am doing so I don't accidentally get a no contact if I don't hear the telephone or if I can't answer it. We should all flood scheduling and ask permission and/or let them know what we are doing, no matter how mundane the activity is, just as a courtesy to let them know what is going on. If EACH and EVERY flight attendant who is on call did this, we would get our point across! The company MUST put an end to being on call for 24 hours once and for all! We can't have any quality of life sitting around the crash pad in front of the computer waiting for a trip that might not come all day, every day for six days only to get a call at midnight once we are tucked snuggly in our beds sleeping soundly.

Negotiation's Update

Below is an eline. As soon as I find out the date for the next town hall meeting in CLT I will post it. I encourage as many reserves as possible to attend. I will try my very best to be there. I have lots of questions and I demand answers.

NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE
The Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and the Company met in session December 18-20 in Phoenix. The Company and the JNC traded proposals in the following sections:
Sick
Vacation
OJI
No agreements were reached in the above sections. At this point in negotiations, the Company is still unwilling to return Sick pay to 100% pay/credit and continues to propose the inferior East vacation accrual chart. The JNC is continuing to insist that a single agreement that does include 100% pay/credit for Sick leave is unacceptable. The JNC is also not interested in the Company's proposal to erode the higher West vacation day award per year of service by replacing it with the concessionary East agreement vacation language.
The JNC also began discussions with the Company regarding the Reserve section. The committee made it very clear to the Company that the Reserve systems currently in place, both East and West, are woefully inadequate.
Both systems force Reserves to work under onerous conditions, making it impossible to earn a living or enjoy a decent quality of life. A Reserve system that meets these two criteria will be the only way for the JNC to address the concerns expressed by so many Reserves.
The current LTO system treats everyone the same-badly. Although not illegal, being on call 24 hours a day can push Reserves to the brink of exhaustion. Forced to work on their days off in order to earn a living, Reserves are either on call or flying almost every day of the month.
Currently, East Flight Attendants have two choices- work their days off to earn a living or take their days off to be with their families (and then not be able to pay their bills). That "choice" must be eliminated and a system put in place that recognizes the dedication of our Reserve members to their careers and this Company.
The list of Reserve concerns is almost endless and the JNC intends to make the Company aware of the problems associated with being on Reserve and negotiate meaningful solutions. To date, the Company has been very reluctant and not obligated to address the Reserve system in its totality outside of single agreement negotiations. The time has now come for the Company to get serious and address the Reserve system and its effect on our Reserve members.
The Company and the JNC will meet next on January 15-17 in Phoenix.

My Christmas with US Airways

So, I came on duty and sat for three days. Then on the 23rd I was awarded a trip from future for the 24th that had a long overnight where I live. I was ecstatic! Well, for a second anyway. I knew that this was too good to be true. Nothing ever goes my way when it comes to these things. Sure enough, a couple hours later scheduling called me back and told me that they were assigning me a different trip with an early morning departure (check in was 4:30am). You can imagine how p!ssed off I was and I was literally screaming and crying I was so enraged. For those of you who know me, you know that I am NOT a morning person at all. If you don't know me, then I like to stay up all night and sleep all day. Trust me, you don't want to be around me early in the morning. I'm not exactly myself to put it nicely. Anyway, when I was reassigned, I'm surprised someone didn't call the cops for murder or assault at my crash pad because I was screaming in fury. When I went to the crew room to check in, I saw the other flight attendant who was on my trip. She was also pulled from her trip which also had a long overnight on Christmas where her family lives. She was just as angry as I was and we were pboth throwing a bitch fit all morning long (not to the pax though). Then we both went storming down to the airplane and I think the other f/a on the trip was afraid to talk to us because we were so angry. Ha! Ha! We did get over it though. By the second leg I was back to my normal self but was still irritated.

I ended up having a good trip after all, even if I didn't get to go home for Christmas. On Christmas day, I got a turkey dinner in PHL from the Boston Market and it was really good. I love Boston Market! Yum! Thank you PHL for the food! They also thanked me for working on Christmas. Uh, like I had a choice. But they were there serving food to us when they could have been home with their families too. I will give them credit for that.

I later came back to the crash pad and I opened presents all by myself. I had Christmas with my family before I came back on duty so that was nice and I brought some presents with me. I still have more at home waiting to be opened, so that is good. I am making the best of all of this. Otherwise I would go crazy. I don't even care about working on New Years...

Transfers

I just found out that I was awarded my transfer! Woo hoo! Merry Christmas to me! I am so excited! Everyone has been listening to me bitch for months about this and now it is for real! I get to transfer to CLT! Yeah! Go me! That's the best Christmas present ever! Everyone who wanted to transfer was awarded whatever transfer they wanted. I am so happy for everyone! BTW, even though you may not believe it as much as I like to complain, I really do love PHL and I love my colleagues who are based here. I will miss all of you for real! But it is time for me to leave this base and go back home. I will never be happy here if I continue to commute and I just can't see myself living here. I will miss everybody though!

Home LyricsArtist(Band):Daughtry

I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

Well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home.

The miles are getting longer, it seems,
The closer I get to you.
I've not always been the best man or friend for you.
But your love, remains true.
And I don't know why.
You always seem to give me another try.

So I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all,
And then some you don't want.
Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
You just might get it all, yeah.

Oh, well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old.
I said these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
I'm going home.

To Blockholders and other People I May Have Offended

Some people have written me and have said that I am being unprofessional by writing and expressing my feelings toward the union and the company and that my ranting is ruining my credibility. So let me take a moment to respond to this.

First of all, I use this blog and US Aviation as a place to vent my frustrations. I don't spend all my free time complaining. I don't hop on an airplane and complain to my fellow crewmembers the entire trip. And I especially don't kick and scream and throw temper tantrums like some may think. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I don't act like that. I am quiet and I actually don't get angry very easily. I get irritated but rarely do I get mad and lash out. I never meant to offend anyone by my complaining. I just needed to get my feelings out.

When I ask for improvements for reserves, I am not asking for blockholders to give up anything. They've put in their time and they shouldn't have to give up certain things. However, for those of us who would otherwise be reserves, for example, then why not have a system that is fair for us, such as a rotating reserve system. If you are a block holder part of the year and a reserve part of the year, would you rather sit reserve for 5 days out of the month or would you rather sit reserve for four-six months straight? If you are a reserve, would you rather sit reserve every month for the next 10-15 years or would you rather have a block every month but sit reserve for a week? I don't believe in robbing Peter to pay Paul. I just want something that is fair and that helps us to have a life again.

Thanks for listening.

Union Meeting

Today we had a union meeting. There was a very low turn out, around eleven people showed up. Many reserves who wanted to go were off and were out of town, and others simply did not know about it. They sent it out in an eline, but I guess not everyone has a computer or they were busy flying so they didn't have a chance to find out about it. They also gave us a very short notice. Luckily I had today off so I was able to attend. One flight attendant made the motion to have our Scheduling chair CA to attend the next meeting. Not only is she the scheduling chair but she is also on the negotiating committee, yet none of us has ever seen her. It would be nice to meet with her and ask her questions. The Spring meeting will definitely be a meeting that you won't want to miss, trust me!

Reserves at the meeting also kept bringing up the rotating reserve idea. They basically shot it down with lots of eye rolling and condescending remarks saying "our membership will never go for that." Well, just because they don't like the idea doesn't mean that others won't like it. We finally pressed on and on and they finally reluctantly agreed to present the rotating reserve concept.

We learned that as far as negotiations are concerned, it should take another 6-10 months before negotiations are completed.

There are 133 people who took the buyout, therefore they will be recalling 133 furloughed flight attendants. That means no displacements!

Someone addessed the problem of blockholders overflying yet they are not being disciplined. It is true. The union says they are doing something about it by having the company put overflying letters in the offending flight attendants' mailboxes. They said the discipline part is up to the company. Yet, when someone asked the company what they are doing about all those people who overfly (by overfly I mean they are flying 130-150 hours a month), the company says they try to addess it yet the union stays on their case and takes up for the alleged overflyer and won't let them do anything. It is wrong to let them overfly like that because they are taking away trips that belong to us!

MF also brought up that if you go to a crew news session with the CEO of our company not to ask stupid questions such as "Why can't we get ice in BOS?" Here we are starving to death and unable to pay bills and we should be demanding answers and solutions from Doug yet people are complaining about ice which doesn't really affect us. Yes, it is inconvenient that we can't get ice in BOS sometimes but that isn't the most important thing going on in our lives. I wish it were but it is not. We have bigger problems to deal with. Enough said. I don't have a date for the next crew news session in CLT, but as soon as I find out I will post it.

As for the reserve system, they are looking for a seniority-based system again. I know for many of you that is great news. I know, the LTO sucks! However for us junior reserves, it isn't that great because we will be sitting a lot, especially the first half of the month. I still think we should go to a rotating reserve system, otherwise we will be sitting reserve for the rest of our careers. Ugh! They will also implement shifts. MF looked at different airlines and we looked at how they did shifts and he said that what we could do is bid on reserve lines with all am shifts built in or all pm shifts built in. That way, we would not be on duty for 24 hours like we are now. I really like that idea and it makes sense. We could also maybe have partial lines which I would be happy with. If we can have at least some control over our schedule and have an idea of what we are going to do, then it would definitely be an improvement. I highly doubt whatever we get will make everyone happy, but I am sure it will be much better than what we have now.

The problem is, in this company seniority is everything! It always has been. The union stated that if they insert something in the contract that violates someone's seniority, then people will not support it. Of course, this is interesting based on the last contract vote, when others voted away their seniority with the LTO. I'm not blaming anyone because active f/as voted with a gun to their head. I know that this time we won't have a gun to our head and we will only accept a competitive contract and many won't vote for a contract that takes away their seniority because for many that is all they have left since they have been stripped of their pension, pay and benefits. It is really sad.

Overall, I feel like we did accomplish some things at the meeting. I wish certain people who were running our union were more supportive of the reserves. There are some who are doing a good job and who are trying their hardest to help us, then there are others who only care about the top blockholders.

West AFA is our Friend and Only Hope!

Once again, our East union DOES NOT support a rotating reserve system. They want the same thing we have only with a few so-called "improvements" such as seniority-based system (which I do not support) and shifts. It will still be the same basic system only with a few minor changes. So, what does this all mean? Well, for you westies, it means losing a line. If you are currently a reserve, it means never having a line. You will be cursed to the reserve status for the rest of your career. You will be sitting around month after month waiting for a trip you will never get. You see, with our system, we don't fly! I have 8 years' seniority and if we change to a seniority-driven system I will fly even less. We sit for days on end and only collect a 73 hour guarantee. Things aren't going to change unless we make it happen! Do you want sit around and not fly? Can you survive on minimum guarantee? We need to all email the East and the West union. Without our friends out West, we truly have to hope for a better system! Here is the link to the West AFA. Call them and write them today! Tell them how horrid our reserve system is and what we endure day in and day out! Don't hold back!

http://afa66.org/contactafa66.htm

Here is the AFA 66 reserve website.
http://www.unionvoice.org/amer_west/reserve66.html

NO ETB for December and March!

Dear reserves, please do not do any ETB trips this month. If it is too late and you already have ETB trips lined up, then please, please, please do not pick up any for March. I mean it! Don't do it! JUST SAY NO! I know things are tight financially, but you will have two months to save money and plan for your expenses. It isn't right for us to have to work ETB trips to make a living and we need to let the company and the block holders know that as well. It is time for them to actually fly their blocks. Whenever they want to get rid of a trip, they say "Oh, put it on ETB. Some sucker (aka reserve) will pick it up." Actually, to tell you the truth, I have heard block holders who couldn't make their commute or didn't feel like flying their trip say "Oh, don't worry about it. Just call and say you can't make it. They give it to a reserve anyway." Anyway, let's make things more difficult for them, OK? Also, if you need money that bad, then can I make a recommendation? Go get a part time job elsewhere. Don't succumb to the company's tactics to get out cheap and screw us over. Go work for someone else or start a home-based business and be someone else's leverage, not the airline's.

Reserves Please Take Notice! Union does NOT support rotating reserve system!

So, the union does NOT support a rotating reserve system. Instead, they support a seniority-based system. I for one am against a seniority-based system. I tried that when I was hired and I didn't fly very often. When I did it was the worst trips ever! I hated it. Here is why you should be in favor of a rotating reserve system:

1. Instead of sitting reserve all month, every month for the next 10-15 years, you will only sit reserve for 3-6 days a month and hold a block for the rest of the block. If you are a block holder who sits reserve in the winter, you should also support this. You will hold a block year round except for three days a month. Can you all handle three days a month? I'm sure you can. I would rather sit reserve for only 3-6 days a month rather than the next 15 years.
2. It is a fair system. Other airlines adopt a rotating reserve system. Even though the union claims it is NOT fair, I disagree. What is not fair is having people sit reserve for 15+ years and being a prisoner to the company and not breaking guarantee all so the blockholders can drop, swap, TWOP, ETB, and all that other fun stuff so they can have whatever schedule they desire. We are basically a cushion so BHs can have those luxuries. As reserves, we have no luxuries whatsoever. The whole system is unfair and it needs to be fixed, NOW!

It is your choice but as for me, I won't be voting yes to any contract that does not contain a rotating reserve system. Spending the next 15 years as a reserve, even if we do have shifts, does not make it right.

Also, if you are an America West flight attendant and you are a block holder you better take notice! We have A LOT of senior people back East and many want to transfer to Phoenix. You have a high attrition rate and let's face it, our people just won't leave. With that being said, if we adopt a contract that has a system similar to the East reserve and block holder system, just know that you will also be doomed. You too, my friends, will be losing your line and sitting reserve at the expense of blockholders. If you are currently a reserve and you think the new reserve system is an improvement, then just know that at other airlines, major carriers, do not use this nonsense. They don't have a caste system like we do. We have got to stop this once and for all!

Letter From BH Regarding Reserves

Subject: Out of Base Reserves Flying Offline......
Date: Tue, 4 Dec 2007 20:22:08 -0500

Dear Mike, John and Omar,

I am writing this note to you, to make you aware of the fact that I have first hand knowledge of reserves being out of base and flying offline (another airline) to avoid being caught on our own company's manifest. This is unacceptable under the best of circumstances. One openly admitted to me, without prompting, that she HAD to get to the PHL base because she had been on duty 24 hours before and that her "number" was coming up!!! I could not believe what I was hearing but bit my tongue. Things can go awry within one hour in PHL; when there is ATC or bad weather!Furthermore, they are flying standby on SWA and taking seats that indeed they are entitled to......on a first come, first s erved basis. Seniority is not the issue. They will arrive at the airport 3 hours in advance just to stake their claim. But...it is a direct violation of the contract and company work and conduct rules when they are out of base.... wrongly presuming that there are seats for them or assuming that their "number" is not coming up for a day or so. They are paid to be in base when they are "on duty". Needless to say, they are not thinking wisely.Do you have any idea the position that this puts on any blockholder, senior or otherwise; that have been commuting for years from Florida, California and otherwise? Again, this would cause some serious issues if unresolved.I trust that you will do your very best to resolve this issue before the winter is upon us.Thank you for your consideration.

With Very Best Wishes,
Cyndy Kawakami Atkins


Can you all believe this lady actually wrote this? I can't! What a snitch. She's just mad because other airlines don't have a caste system like ours. Other airlines actually treat their employees with respect and are fair. This lady is mad because someone junior got her seat. Well Cyndy, next time you should arrive earlier so you can get a seat too. You should have planned better. It's not our fault you didn't plan correctly! Do you even know what it is like to be a reserve? No, I didn't think so. BTW, in case you didn't know, we are people too believe it or not! That's right! We aren't just some subhuman species. We are actually human beings with lives and families and feelings. Imagine that!

So you see people, this is a perfect example of the disrespect we are shown here. This is a prime example of how we are treated when we step onto the airplane. Many BHs are so condescending and patronizing and treat us like we are morons. Now do you see why we are angry? And you see, neither our union nor the company will do anything about the low morale. Of course, that is exactly what the company wants! They want to divide and conquer!

Whether you are a BH or a reserve, please take note: We are all flight attendants! We are all human! Let's please treat each other with the respect that we deserve. We should be supporting each other, not fighting! Like it or not, we're all in this together. Until we can all learn to get along and realize that one group is not better than the other, this place will be that much worse.

If it weren't for us, you would not be able to:
Not show up for a trip without being in trouble
Spend holidays with your family
Create your own schedule
Fly enough hours so that you can earn a living and pay your bills

You see, if we are caught out of base we are fired. If we don't show up for a trip we are reprimanded. Sometimes we are quick called for a trip or given one from OPR after boarding up the airplane only to have it taken from us because YOU arrived before we closed the aircraft door. While you are enjoying Thanksgiving with your family, Christmas with the kids, New Years partying, Easter at church, Mother's Day with your mother, Father's Day with your father, 4th of July at the lake watching fireworks, Labor Day at the beach, and Halloween trick or treating with your kids, we are away from OUR families working YOUR trips. We get only 11 days off, in which many reserves spend doing ETB because they don't fly when they are actually on duty. Often times scheduling takes our days off away from us after sitting on duty for several days because they are all of a sudden short. It doesn't matter that we have an important wedding to attend, it doesn't matter that we've had a doctor's appointment for three months, it doesn't matter that it is our child's birthday. Scheduling is short and they need to fill the trip and that's the end of the story. Being a reserve = You're screwed! Try getting a personal day from a rude scheduler, especially when they are short. So what do you do, call in sick? Oh wait, I can't afford to do that! You see, we can barely afford to pay our bills! Could you afford to pay your bills on $1300 a month? Of course not! Some of us don't have rich husbands to depend on. Some of us have to make do with what we've got! You see, we sacrifice our lives so you can have a quality of life that we will probably never see unless with quit working at this crappy place, which is what I am planning on doing!

Whatever, I am just a reserve so what do I know.