American Eagle MEC Nominates the Local 51 EAP Committee Lead By Jeffery Miles, MEC EAP Chair Nomination Letter:

AMR Eagle EAP Lead by Jeffery Miles – Lifetime Commitment to the Human Spirit

Written by Carl Gautreaux, MEC Vice President

The EAP Committee at American Eagle works like a well-oiled machine that brings to our Members the vast knowledge and experience in everything that they do. The EAP Committee at American Eagle has been changed from a Committee that Eagle Flight Attendants did not know what the letters “EAP” stood for, to knowing that, no matter what the crisis in their lives, they had a place to turn to for help. The EAP Committee at Eagle has restored faith to our Flight Attendants that we are here to help and assist them in the most stressful times, when it seems nothing can fix what they are going through. They know that “Members Helping Members” is real and that they can always call on any EAP Committee Member and know that they will be treated with compassion and a sense of being confident that their issues will be handled confidentially and with the utmost of human respect. 

The Members of the American Eagle EAP Committee are lead by an outstanding individual named Jeffery Miles. This is the story of how one dedicated AFA-CWA Union Activist began an outstanding, dedicated, compassionate, effective EAP Committee at American Eagle Airlines. 

When anyone meets Jeffery Miles you instantly feel his positive energy. It will take over whatever room you are in. He can instinctly zone in on negativity, and in his own special way begin to address it, sometimes without anyone knowing. By the end of the meeting, the negativity is gone and the healing begins. We have seen it happen time and time again. The American Eagle EAP heals on every level of our work lives weather it be a confidential one-on-one session or a meeting group; always leaving you with inspiration, hope, and genuine caring.  

Jeffery has even worked his magic on our company recently. We had a combined workshop with all of upper and lower management to work on a better relationship with the AFA. It was facilitated by a neutral party. From the beginning of the session, Jeffery put both sides at ease and made everyone in the room feel they had a purpose for being there and allowed relations that have been strained to open up and begin to heal. I truly believe had he not been there, the Workshop would have been in vane. 

The current EAP Committee’s attitude towards always being there for our Flight Attendants may stem from Jeffery’s beginnings in life. In talking to him one will find that before he started at American Eagle, one begins to understand what it takes to be so strong yet so humble at the same time. Without going into personal detail, Jeffery began at a very early age having to depend on himself in order to live his life true to himself. He had to struggle along the way, but never giving up what he believes and most importantly, his self-respect. This self-respect, I believe is the core of what Jeffery teaches us all. If you have an EAP issue such as drug abuse, fear, major life changes, bereavement, etc, Jeffery teaches you that you are a human being and you are worthy of everything good this Earth has to offer, but you have to start with yourself to address the issues and begin to heal. He has managed to instill this in every one of our EAP Committee Members. 

At out last MEC Meeting Jeffery brought it home. The entire MEC was blown away by the HUGE case loads our EAP deals with day in and day out, 24/7. The statistical numbers speak for themselves.

I have observed him at his EAP meetings, and to watch him work through, coordinate and lead his fellow EAP members is inspirational in it self.  

Jeffery is the type of leader who has brought the AFA-CWA American Eagle EAP program to the point where they are recognized as a leader in EAP and we thank the entire AFA-CWA American Eagle EAP Committee Members for their strong and undying commitment to EAP at AFA-CWA.

Karen Skaar (ORD)

David Berry (ORD)

Gloria Bangs (BOS)

Dee Lovely (BOS)

Chrissy Wood (MIA)

Maria Ito (LAX)

Leslie Martinez (SJU)

Steve Harris (LGA)

Betty Bellamy (DFW)

Pat Shannon (DFW)

Jan Wyatt (DFW)

Benny Dominguez (DFW)