Hi SFO,

Last week I attended Seattle's Local Base meeting as well as participated in the MEC meeting.This was the second of many 'MEC around the system meetings' taking place over the next months.

The purpose of holding these meetings (which are normally held quarterly) monthly is so members can put a face to our names, come and see for themselves how the MEC operates. I seriously encourage you to attend any of these that you can. If you value transparency you will take the time to attend the MEC and LEC portions of any of these meetings.The only way you can ascertain who is really working on your behalf is to come and participate. That is how representational democracy works.The next MEC meeting is November 12 and 13  in Los Angeles. Details can be found on www.nwaafa.orgThere will be no MEC meeting in December but instead MEC Voice-President Janette Rook, Boston President Bob Cannatelli and MEM President Shawn Fivecoat will be having a "meet and greet' in AMS at the crew hotel. In January the MEC meeting will be held in HNL.SFO will hold its base meeting on November 18 from 9am to 11 in the lobby of Terminal Two (the old International terminal) above the medical clinic. Please send in any agenda items to Nora Chang our secretary at nchang@nwaafa.org

The open merger committee position was filled by the MEC. Joan Prince Crandall removed her name from consideration after she gave a presentation to the MEC on our section one and our LPPS. Evidently there is some disagreement about these among AFA, legal, NWA and the MEC.

The open merger committee position was filled by the MEC.There were 11 candidates and Raymond Cox, DTW based Flight Attendant, was elected to the open position by your NWA MEC. Raymond will be working with MSP FA Barb Schlosser.We were advised that the hold back equity money, which amounts to approximately $11 per Flight Attendant, will be paid on your October 27th paycheck.The Pre-petition AND ATLAS claims, which amount to approximately $100 per Flight Attendant, will  most likely be paid out on your November 13th paycheck.

I apologize for an earlier email when I stated that these would be paid in September. The information I was given turned out to be incorrect.The Time Available Option following a No Show or Unable to Commute has been implemented by the company (Contract Section 6.H.10.)  Previously, there was no option in either case and it was necessary to sit time available following an unable to commute or no show.   With the new provision, you may choose a time available obligation, or to be paid for hours flown and credited (pay for fly.)  If you accept TA for a no show or unable to commute, you retain your guarantee for all but the NS/UTC pattern.  Declining TA and selecting "pay for fly," causes the loss of your guarantee.  If you choose the time available option, you must do so from your base (e.g. after your UTC is approved from PHX, you need to phone crew scheduling upon your arrival at MSP to tell them you would like to be time available for your UTC pattern.)  A resolution was passed by the MEC directing MEC President Kevin Griffin to meet with the company and renegotiate another side letter of agreement. This LOA would nullify the terms of LOA 19...lead position bidding. This new LOA would then be sent to the members for a vote as this would be a change in the ratified agreement.

When we meet in LAX we will be given more information on the progress of this.If you receive a card in the mail from the FAA asking if you are an active Flight Attendant and who you work for, please do not throw it away. It isn't a hoax. It is part of the Flight Attendant fatigue study being conducted nationwide. There are approximately 100,000 Flight Attendants from all airlines in the United States and the FAA is surveying one-third, or around 30,000 Flight Attendants. In closing, I would like to thank some people who are doing a great job and helping Local 97 continue to help all of us.

Donald Williams SFO Hotel Committee Chair

Naomi Menda Purser Committee ChairBrett Clark our new SFO Scheduling Chair

Jason Spain  Safety Health and Security Chair

Rosemary Miller our MEC EAP Committee Chair who also pulls double duty as our local Chair

Rita Lunceford, Neal Cabal and the PBS team.

Steve Putnam who is a doing a great job with organizing, campaigning and that bulletin board is fantastic!

Nora Chang and Pamela Lopez Lewis who work tirelessly for all of us and of course

to Tom Geiman who is always on our side.

I am very proud to be a SFO flight attendant, always have been.Continue to take care of each other and thank you for allowing me the opportunity to represent you these past few years. 

fly safe,Kate Day                                                                   
President
AFA/CWA Local 97/SFO
kday@nwaafa.org
707-364-5538
www.sfo97.org  
     
Act as if what you do makes a difference.
.......It does.

AFA BOD Opposes California Proposition 09JUL08

The AFA Board of Directors passed a Resolution opposing a California proposition that seeks to define only marriage between a man and  a woman as valid in the state. According to LEC 97 President, Kate Day, who sponsored the resolution, ". . . I am proud that we are fighting discrimination for all women and men in California and across the nation. The benefits that my husband and I share through marriage should not be denied to anyone." Link HERE for press release

MEC Meeting Update 07JUL08

Hi SFO,

 I'm in MSP for the quarterly MEC meeting and tomorrow I go to the BOD in MKE.

 Today the MEC appointed the Seniority Integration Committee members.

That is the two person committee which is in charge of verifying the seniority list , working with their Delta counterparts to come to some sort of agreement regarding the seniority list and if THAT can't be accomplished, meeting with a mutually agreeable arbitrator.

The two flight attendants named to the committee are Barb Schlosser (MSP) and Ann Marie Mastalerz (BOS). Barb was on the committee for the Republic East flight attendants who proposed and won rank ratio in the Hughes Republic merger which ended up costing the former Hughes flight attendants years and years of date of hire seniority. Past performance does not bode well for our future, in my opinion. If one of our committee members previously thought rank ratio was "fair and equitable" in a previous seniority integration, when she represented the 'larger' of the merger partners, how will she ever argue that rank ratio is not fair and equitable simply because she now represents the 'smaller' of the merger partners?

 Ann Marie has prior experience as a union Line Steward and, according to BOS LEC President Bob Cannatelli and staff negotiator Bruce Retrum, she is "well respected". She also was the negotiator responsible for the mandatory disability insurance that we pay for every month. 

 It is difficult for me to contain my frustration that a decision as important to our futures as this committee was borne out of political convenience rather than an objective measure of the depth and breadth of experience of the candidates for the position.

 My nominee, Joan Prince-Crandall (DTW), received only one other vote from the MEC, despite having decades of union experience, working previously on a seniority integration committee, and being largely responsible for negotiating and protecting the strongest scope and LPP language in the industry. How ironic that some of the people who twice before gave away that language are likely behind the decision to keep Joan off the committee.

 It was obvious to me that this was a 'pre-done deal' with the best interests of the members once again subjugated to the political convenience of a few members of the MEC.

AFA Board of Director Agenda Items 10JUN08

AFA will hold its 35th annual Board of Directors meeting on July 8-10 in Milwaukee. This PDF file contains the agenda and advance agenda items. Late agenda items are typically added at the meeting. Please review the agenda items and let me know your thoughts and questions on them - Kate   email: kday@nwaafa.org  

To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right. ~ Confucius

Kate's Letter to SFO 27MAR08

Hi SFO,

Last week I discussed with you my concerns about the priorities and lack of direction of the Master Executive Council. The philosophy behind the structure at AFA is that the LEC Presidents come together to represent the members at their base and to bring their voice to the Master Executive Council table.

I am disheartened by the message that the MEC is sending to you, because it speaks volumes about the misaligned priorities of this leadership. The top story on the MEC website concerns the representation election at Delta. At the same time, we have failed to post our own contract on the MEC website for almost two months, and we have yet to see any type of cohesive strategy to win improvements in our own agreement. I have heard from many of you thatcounting the days since the Quality of Life Discussions has, as a campaign, failed miserably.

Kevin Griffin and Albert Garcia both ran for office on a platform of communication and transparency, and while they had many criticisms when they ran, we have seen regression, rather than improvement in the process. In the first 100 days of their administration, they put out fewer hotline messages than the previous administration sent out in a 30 day period and it took almost a year to get you a printed newsletter. When one finally came out, it focused on the Delta campaign.

 It is unfathomable to me that flight attendants at any Northwest base are more interested in the campaign at Delta than in winning improvements to our own contract so that they can pay the mortgage, feed their families and provide their children healthcare. The only conclusion left then, is that some LEC Presidents are failing in their duty to represent the members at their base and make decisions, not as the result of members' input, but rather, based on their own politics, prejudices and personal beliefs. Sadly, there is no effective system of checks and balances inherent in the AFA Constitution to safeguard the interests of the members, or to tie responsibility to authority.

It has been several weeks since the resignations of key individuals of the MEC, including a principal officer, and the MEC has yet to inform the members of the resignations and pending appointments. Meanwhile,MEC officers and some LEC Presidents have found time to travel to Atlanta and Washington(on your dime) in the interest of winning votes at Delta.

As always, it is your opinion, your direction, that matters. Tell me how you want your dues money spent. Tell me the priorities you want your union to set. To the extent that I am able, I will carry your voice to the MEC.

Kate's Letter to SFO 18MAR08
I have spoken with many of you regarding whether I would run again for the position of LEC President during the recent nomination period in San Francisco. During that time, I was considering my sense of purpose in serving as your LEC President and whether that sense of purpose aligns with that of the other local presidents who comprise the NWA MEC.