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AFA-CWA BOD Newsletter	November 28, 2007

Dear AFA-CWA Leader,

Legislation currently before Congress would protect seniority for flight attendants in the event of airline mergers lending clarity to the often muddled and contentious issue of seniority integration and a last resort-type protection preventing the stapling of one flight attendant group to the bottom of a merged seniority list. Amid increasing talk of airline mergers, the bill has the attention of a number of foes, as well as vocal advocates like AFA-CWA and our allies in Congress.

While our AFA-CWA merger policy of date of hire seniority integration ensures protection of full seniority for our members, this legislation provides safeguards for our members should their airline merge with a non-AFA-CWA carrier.

While the bill in the House would simply require an even hand in integrating employee seniority lists, the Air Transport Association (ATA), the airline management lobbying group, has spoken out strongly against such a law. You see, airline management wants to maintain unilateral control over decisions concerning labor so that they may play it to their advantage in merger negotiations. In discussing a possible merger with United, Delta management has asserted it prefers to negotiate seniority integration on a case-by-case basis.

What they fail to appreciate, however, is that a law protecting the seniority rights of workers would level their own playing field, simultaneously putting the fears of employees regarding mergers to rest. And, their promises of a ‘fair and equitable’ company policy for seniority integration in a merger scenario ring hollow as they refuse to recognize date of hire as the only logical way to determine and protect full seniority.

AFA-CWA is and has long been at the forefront of a proactive fight to protect the seniority rights of our members. By laying the groundwork now and educating the members of Congress about the real life issues that are facing their constituencies, revealing the actual forces behind the decline of the American middle class, we will be poised to make deep and lasting progress toward fairness in our industry. To do any less than strive for justice in this dawning era of airline consolidation would be to neglect our responsibility to our members.

Among our Congressional allies in pursuit of seniority protections are Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) who saw what happened when TWA flight attendants were stapled to the bottom of the seniority list in the merger with American Airlines. Like AFA-CWA, they are determined to make sure this never happens again. They have each sponsored seniority protection legislation in the Senate and House, respectively.

"There have been so many examples we have seen in corporate America where the decisions have not been as accommodating to the people at the middle and the bottom, as they have been to the people at the very top, " McCaskill said. "Mediocre CEOs are getting hundreds of millions of dollars while somebody who has spent forty years of their lives working as hard as they know how is out of a job."

As Wall Street rallies for increased mergers and the long-anticipated era of airline consolidation becomes a reality, AFA-CWA is working on a number of fronts to protect our seniority. In addition to lobbying heavily on Capitol Hill, we continue to pursue specific contractual language to protect our members in the event of a merger. And, by extending the reach of AFA-CWA contracts in our industry to new members, we simultaneously expand the contractual security of our existing members in the event of a merger.

While flight attendants brace for the impact of airline consolidation, we will not leave our members with nothing more than empty management promises. On the contrary, we are fighting to defend a system of equitable seniority integration with legally binding contracts and protections under law.

In Solidarity,

Pat Friend

BREAKING NEWS: AMR to Divest American Eagle

With today’s announcement by AMR Corporation that it plans to divest American Eagle, AFA-CWA International affirms our support for American Eagle flight attendants. With all of the resources of the International union, we stand in solidarity with our flying partners at American Eagle in defense of their contractually protected rights and to assist them in any way we can.

PRESIDENT'S CALENDAR
Since the last issue of President's Exchange, I have participated in the following activities:

- Meetings with the International Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer;
- Meeting of AFA-CWA International department managers;
- Conference calls with APFA and TWU regarding planning of the January 2008 bargaining summit;
- CWA Executive Board conference call;
- America by Air Exhibition with representatives from Northwest MEC;
- The first Union Plus Future Union Leaders Scholarship Mentoring Workshop (I attended as a mentor); and
- Following the Thanksgiving holiday, I took vacation through November 29.

As you may know, the next AFA-CWA Board of Directors meeting will be held July 8-10, 2008, in Milwaukee. It is scheduled to follow the CWA 70th Annual Convention in Las Vegas, June 23-25, 2008.

AROUND OUR UNION
Register for Member Mobilization Workshop by January 7
A Member Mobilization Workshop will be coupled with Negotiations Training at CWA headquarters this February. Negotiating committee members, MEC presidents and other officers from carriers with amendable contracts, and various other union representatives interested in mobilization activities are invited to attend. The Member Mobilization Workshop will be held February 13 & 14, 2008, immediately following the Negotiations Training, February 12 & 13.

The adjunct Mobilization workshop will focus on ways union leaders can build a mobilization structure within their unions, and how to use that structure to mobilize members around various issues, including contract negotiations. It will be conducted by AFA-CWA International Vice President Veda Shook, AFA-CWA International Staff Representatives (ISRs) and AFA-CWA Member Organizer Danny Campbell.

When members are actively engaged in supporting their representatives at the bargaining table, the message to management is "we are in this together," increasing the credibility and leverage of our AFA-CWA negotiating committees, and the chances of securing the best possible contract for all members. When the members who form the grassroots of their unions contribute directly to strengthen their collective bargaining agreements, the end result will be better and stronger contracts.

If you are attending the Negotiations Training and will be extending to attend the Mobilization Workshop, or if you have additional attendees in mind, please contact Kim Lyles, AFA-CWA Legal, at 202-434-0570 or klyles@cwa-union.org, no later than January 7, 2008, so that hotel rooms can be obtained.

Airline Flight Crew FMLA: A Call to Arms
While AFA-CWA's FMLA legislation has reached important milestones in recent weeks, like 120 cosponsors in the House and 7,000 letters of support from our members to their Representatives, Congress still needs to hear from many more of our 55,000 members. In the latest phase of our campaign to promote this important legislation, your support is critical. We are sending letters to AFA-CWA members in key Congressional districts and states asking that they place phone calls to their representatives in the House and Senate. The letters include contact information for House and Senate offices in Washington, DC, and in their districts, along with a script to assist them when calling. Please let the members in your Local Council know that the most influential communications to these offices are the phone calls received from their constituents—our members.

Left to right, US Airways Flight Attendants Alin Boswell, Stephen Schembs and Lori Vitto sort FMLA support letters from AFA-CWA members.

AROUND WASHINGTON
Members Vote Against Early Presidential Endorsement
CWA members decided against making an early endorsement of a presidential candidate in an on-line CWA membership poll. "Voters made clear that they preferred no endorsement by the national union at this time," said CWA President Larry Cohen. "Therefore, our union's executive board is refraining from making an early endorsement but voted to release locals and CWA councils to make their own endorsements."

A slight majority of the more than 30,000 members who voted in the electronic poll called for the union to refrain from making an early endorsement. CWA members favored candidates Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama by very close margins (the difference between the top two candidates was 206 votes). While the votes were split primarily among three top Democratic candidates, some 20 percent were cast for a Republican contender. For information about the candidates and the issues, visit www.cwavotes.org.

Support FlightPAC!
FlightPAC helps AFA-CWA support elected federal officials with jurisdiction over the many areas affecting flight attendant safety and working conditions. Please support this and the other important legislative work that AFA-CWA does on behalf of flight attendants by contributing to FlightPAC. For more information, click here.