Negotiations Update for Week Ending May 18, 2012

This week we concluded the AFA Town Hall Meetings with a great turn out in Phoenix. The meetings have been tremendously helpful as new members of our Joint Negotiating Committee (JNC) and each of the Local Council Presidents from PHX, CLT, DCA and PHL could hear directly from you. Together with our AFA Collective Bargaining and Legal departments we were able to provide a status update with the latest information about our negotiations and what we can do to keep the focus on Our Contract First. These meetings also highlighted the fact that your issues and achieving a contract with improvements and protections are the top priority of our union. We are speaking with one voice and we have the full participation, support and assistance from our AFA International Officers.

It was very helpful to receive your feedback on the failed Tentative Agreement – both in what you want to fix and the items that you thought were good improvements. Immediately following the membership meetings, the JNC and members of each MEC met in PHX for three days to begin the process of reviewing the early survey results and feedback from Town Hall Meetings in order to prepare a new proposal. We are working to get improvements and protections in place along with our own bridge agreement that would take effect in the event the merger comes to fruition.

Next week, the JNC and MEC Officers will travel to DC to review the final survey results in order to complete our contract proposal, including terms for a bridge agreement. On Tuesday, we are scheduled to meet with APFA to discuss the details of the bridge term sheet between APFA and US Airways. We are working together to best position Flight Attendants in this potential merger.

The National Mediation Board (NMB) has requested a meeting with the joint MECs, which will take place on Thursday, May 24th.

We have a lot to accomplish in a short period of time, but we are totally focused on achieving results that provide immediate improvements and protections now along with providing a stronger foundation for additional improvements in a merger.

Webcast - Friday, May 25th at 1100 Eastern

Our week will close with a system-wide member meeting – our Town Hall Webcast. We will be able to deliver the most up to date information about our negotiations and potential merger – answering as many questions as possible during an hour and a half webcast. Make plans now to join us.

It has been incredibly helpful to speak directly with you during the Town Hall meetings and we want to extend the opportunity for us to talk using all forms of technology. We have scheduled a webcast for Friday, May 25, 2012 at 1100 Eastern Time. Details about how to watch the webcast, submit questions in advance or live will be posted on ourafa.org  by Tuesday, May 22nd. We also encourage you to visit ourafa.org before the webcast begins in order to test your computer and ensure you have everything in place to join the virtual meeting. If you miss the webcast you can still view it in archived form after the webcast is concluded.

Questions and Answers

We encourage you to check ourafa.org for the latest news and announcements. In addition, we continue to post answers to questions posed by our flying partners. We encourage you to check the Q and A page – someone may have already asked the question you have. If not, you may submit your own question directly from the web page.

We will continue to keep you closely informed as we move forward. All of our efforts are focused on you and our future together.