We create value through (i) great customer service, (ii) great operations, (iii) a great brand, (iv) the best employee relations, and (v) great new ideas in all aspects of our business."

~ Rules of the Road, Basic Business Principles, Delta Air Lines

» CABIN FEVER II: THE HEAT IS ON!!!

"WARMLY welcome each customer as they make their way onboard and help them locate their seats if necessary."  ~ June 3 IFS Customer Satisfaction focus

Little did we know just how WARM that greeting would get until they pulled the plug on the APUs. Last week's Cabin Fever story examined the company's cost-cutting onboard heat wave and drew heated member response. It seems no one recognized this policy-driven perspiration problem had permeated the system so widely.

The disconnect is not just between you the air cart. There appears to be a fundamental kink in Delta's behind-the-scenes communication pipeline. Exactly who has a direct relationship with the air conditioning switch? The lag time that lapses before corrective action occurs seems stretched beyond the pale.  READ MORE HERE >>

» VIEW FROM THE JUMPSEAT: Dude, Where's Our Galley
The Continued Trend of Doing More with Less

More service, more products, more passengers, more enhancements.  All of that means more tools and workspace, right?  Think again.  In this installment of View from the Jumpseat, MEC Vice President Daniel Grey takes a look at the removal of the MD88 and MD90 aft galleys.  "We've sacrificed our money, our time, and our patience. On the heels of bankruptcy and a sour economy, we have nothing left to give but our workspace. READ MORE HERE >>

What's your perspective? Submit your own View from the Jumpseat to communications@nwaafa.org to be considered for publication in an upcoming edition.

» NWA-AFA PROPOSES JOINT SOLUTION TO SERVICE-RELATED INJURIES

Recent eNews "Harmony" reports and feedback (HERE, HERE, and HERE) have focused on the variety of challenges presented by our new onboard service, including physical difficulties and an increased potential for on-the-job injuries. Poorly designed cart set up, repetitive motion, and improper tools increase the risks for acute and chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Indeed, member feedback from our ONBOARD FEEDBACK FORM prompted additional scrutiny into workplace ergonomics by your NWA AFA MEC Air Safety, Health and Security Committee.

According to Dr. James McGlothlin, director of Purdue University's Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences graduate program and a 30-year Delta customer, these new service delivery options, while problematic, also present an opportunity to better design the cabins, service components and galley workplaces of the future.

NWA-AFA is recommending a partnership with the Delta flight attendant workforce, Delta management, and Dr. McGlothlin and his research staff at Purdue in order to identify opportunities for ergonomic enhancements and to evaluate and institute comprehensive solutions. Read MEC President Janette Rook's proposal to the company HERE.  We hope to establish a cooperative effort with all parties, and will follow up with the company later this week.

» UNITED WE BARGAIN, DIVIDED WE BEG

A Message of Unity from NWA-AFA MEC President Janette Rook

Whether pre-merger Northwest or Delta, we are all flight attendants. Together, we've formed the largest airline in the world. We share many of the same concerns. We have similar dreams for our future. And whether based in the north, south, east, or west, we go to our office in the sky and do our best to care for our passengers and one another.

It is no secret that past mergers became divisive at times, but we can do better. Let's choose to avoid management's divide and conquer tactics, recognize our individual strengths and join together as the unified team of professionals that we are. By focusing on our goals and sticking together, we can make our airline a great place to work for years to come.

Through this summer's hectic schedule, its catering issues, hot airplanes and tight staffing, keep taking care of each another, without yielding to divisive tactics. Let's give constructive feedback directly where it's needed: to our management team.  Beyond working hard to make our airline great and holding executives accountable for a safe and viable operation, we must focus on our collective goal of a world class contract.  Our pilots and others enjoy the security and respect a contract provides, and the equal business relationship that comes with it.  We can do the same, together.

We are Pro-Delta AND Pro-Contract.  DeltaAFA - Opportunity. Unity. Respect.

KEEP PETS SAFE IN SUMMER HEAT

Never leave your pet in the car when you travel or run errands. During warm weather, the greenhouse effect can cause the inside of your car to reach 120 degrees or more in a matter of minutes, even with windows cracked and parked in the shade. Pets left in hot cars, even briefly, can suffer from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, brain damage, or worse.

» SCHEDULING REMINDER - TIME AVAILABLE FOLLOWING NS OR UTC

In our most recent contract, we received a new Time Available (TA) option following a No Show or Unable to Commute, per Section 6.H.10 (page 6.53).  Before the current purple book, there was no option in either case, and Time Available was required following an Unable to Commute (UTC) or No Show (NS).  Now, you may choose either Time Available (according to contractual parameters otherwise required to qualify) or be paid for Hours Flown and Credited (Pay for Fly). If you accept Time Available for a NS or UTC, you retain your guarantee for all but the NS/UTC pattern.  Declining TA and selecting "pay for fly," however, causes the loss of your guarantee.

If you choose the Time Available option, you must do so from your base.  For example, after your UTC is approved from PHX, you need to call crew scheduling upon arrival at your base to sit Time Available for your UTC pattern.

NWA Summer Reserve S.O.S.

Don't forget the NWA Summer Reserve S.O.S. if you get into a sticky scheduling situation this summer. Contact your Local Council Officers first for all scheduling, discipline, contract, grievance and rumor control issues. The NWA Summer Reserve S.O.S. is your supplemental 24/7 scheduling support to help tackle this summer's unique challenges. Keep your contract close and an ally on speed-dial at 888.3.NWA.AFA, option 2 (888.369.2232) or summer@nwaafa.org.

NMB POSITION ON CARRIER NEUTRALITY DURING LABOR CAMPAIGNS

"No carrier, its officers, or agents shall deny or in any way question the right of its employees to join, organize, or assist in organizing the labor organization of their choice, and it shall be unlawful for any carrier to interfere in any way with the organization of its employees. . . or to influence or coerce employees in an effort to induce them to join or remain or not to join or remain members of any labor organization." ~ Railway Labor Act

Click HERE for examples of what illegal election interference could look like or to print an Interference Report.

» NWA-AFA FLIGHT ATTENDANT RESOURCE GUIDE

By now, most members should have received the latest copy of NWA-AFA Flight Attendant Resource Guide and an Aircraft Air Quality Info wallet card in the U.S. mail. (The return address is the Communications Workers of America.) The updated guide includes a list of NWA-AFA, AFA International, and Delta contact numbers and web resources and a Contract Quick Reference. Before you pack the guide in your tote bag to keep it handy, please note the following corrections:

• The SEA Inflight phone number has recently been changed to (206) 988-7345.
  
• The LAX Local 98 website moved to http://www.afa98.org/

» NextUP YOUTH SUMMIT ACTIVIST REPORT

More than 400 participants in the Next Up conference, the AFL-CIO's first-ever Young Workers Summit, developed a game plan for the future that focuses on making sure young union leaders and activists are taken seriously and their ideas are heard at all levels of the union movement. In reports to the conference's closing session, the breakout groups recommended and called for increased mentoring programs to help young union members grow into leadership roles and establishing a national youth mobilization effort as an AFL-CIO priority.

Will you be "NextUP" and serve beside us as the next generation of Flight Attendant union leaders?  Activists Neil Cabael (SFO) and Samuel Berry (DTW) share their summit experience and perspectives in a compilation report HERE.

» NEWS FOR YOUR INBOX

NWA-AFA eNews, along with most other AFA-CWA electronic publications, transitioned to a new electronic publishing software and group email provider earlier this month.  You may notice a few subtle differences as we tweak the display and coordinate visual components with our website. Some previous features, including the Facebook share and eNews archive, will need to be rebuilt. While we're always working to upgrade our communications, we expect a gradual and seamless transition.

Send your questions or concerns to communications@nwaafa.org.

» IN THE NEWS. . .

Flight cancellations soar after tough rules on tarmac delays, The Sacramento Bee, Friday, July 9, 2010

Flight cancellations spiked in the first month after the federal government got tough on airlines for parking planes on the tarmac for hours and stranding passengers. . .

Delta Air Lines saw its cancellations rise to 688 in May from 166 last year. But a spokesman said the big jump was attributable to Delta's recent acquisition of Northwest Airlines. He said weather was a factor, too. READ MORE HERE >>

BRING A COLLEAGUE. GET MOTIVATED. GET INVOLVED.

The NWA AFA MEC Calendar of Events is found on the front page of nwaafa.org.  Delta Flight Attendants are often invited to local union meetings throughout the country as well, and there are also information sessions and gatherings planned and posted at Delta AFA.

DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR UNION PIN - AT WORK & TO TRAINING!

Show your support for collective bargaining by wearing your union pin to work and all company events.  Together, we are AFA.  Click HERE or visit afanet.org for information about AFA-CWA union structure and the history of the AFA-CWA.  Dues & Member Information can be viewed HERE.

EXTRA!! EXTRA!! READ ALL ABOUT IT-FIRST!!

Do you like to be the first to hear the scoop, or prefer it filtered through eight layers of rumor mill before it reaches your ears? Flight attendants are arguably the world's most quick-paced and mobile workforce. As information about our campaign for representation develops at an equally fast pace, you can keep up with breaking news by using our new Delta AFA text messaging service.

Get involved.  Stay informed.  Be the first to know with Delta AFA text messaging.

Sign up to receive Delta AFA text message alerts by clicking HERE or text "goafa" to 69866.

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