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Greetings,
AFA and Management Agree to Lift Restrictions on TTOT
The week of
January 21, the CIC Team (Contract Interpretation Committee) for
AFA and Management came together in Dallas to discuss various
issues. At this session AFA requested a progress report on
automation of TTOT.
Management has provided us with
informal updates periodically, however, the setbacks in getting
this system automated were becoming one of those never-ending
creeping delays. AFA told Management, "We need some definitive
answers and a deadline."
AFA was
originally told that automation would happen for the American
Eagle Pilots first, and then the system would be cloned for the
American Eagle Flight Attendants, since we ratified our
agreement after the Pilots. The Pilots went live with automation
on January 16, 2007 and we expected to have automation very soon
after that date.
However, since
the implementation of automation has begun for the Pilots, there
have been some glitches that were not timely or an easy fix to
resolve. This is due to the systems antiquated technology they
were working with. Further, we learned that the Eagle Pilots
automated system was inherited from the AA Pilot's system. The
AA Pilot's system was designed in the early 1990's and
Management has advised that since that time, technology has been
very progressive. Additionally, there are not many programmers
that know how to program these older systems and new programmers
are not even taught how to work on them. Once they were able to
find IT people qualified to work on the older systems - they had
a backlog of work. It took months to even get them on our
project. Management said in retrospect they should have
redesigned a more robust system from the onset. That is what
they are now doing for the Flight Attendants, which has caused a
very lengthy delay.
Where are we today, and how much
longer before we go live for the Flight Attendants? AFA was
given a timeline of the project's inception to completion.
Currently, we are in the construction phase. Starting in
February, monthly meetings will be ongoing between AFA and
Management. Our AFA MEC Scheduling Chair, Eric Brahm will be the
primary point person. Our MEC Grievance Chair, Deb Sutor will
also play a key role in ensuring all contractual provisions are
met along with myself, Veronica Tenerelli AFA MEC President.
There is 6-7 IT staff members dedicated to designing our
automated system. They are on 40 hour plus workweeks to get the
project done. Flight Attendant automation will go live no latter
than November 2008.
We know what you are all thinking... November 2008! We
agree. We told Management that while we are pleased to know we
will have a "robust" system, unlike the Pilots, automation was
to be complete within 6 months of ratifying the contract in late
2005. While they have provided valid reasons for the delay, we
will be in our 3rd year of a 4-year contract.
Further, AFA would have never agreed to the restrictions in the
manual trade process had we known this. AFA asked management to
grant unlimited trip trades and to lift the 60/30 time
restrictions. Currently, and until automation was completed, per
the contract Flight Attendants are restricted to only 3 trades a
month and cannot reduce a full time line below 60 hours or a
part time line below 30 hours, due to a trade. Those
restrictions have been lifted effectively February 1, 2008.
In closing, while we are disappointed to report it will
take another 10 months until we have automation for our Flight
Attendants, we are please to announce that unlimited trades
and the 60/30 restriction language has been deleted per the
attached letter of agreement between AFA and Management.
In Solidarity,
The AFA Master Executive Council |
