MEC GAC Chair - Mary Oswald

Email - oswaldmec@yahoo.com                                 GAC 2007 - Year In Review

Cell – 815-222-1908                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

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Urgent Action This Week for Equal Access to Family and Medical Leave

Congress will recess on August 1^st for their month-long summer break.  When they return all attention will be focused on the Presidential election and the issues with the economy.  If we don't get our Family and Medical Leave Act correction legislation to the floor of the Senate for a veto-proof vote before August 1^st then all of our hard work will be lost and we will have lost the opportunity to finally get equal access to FMLA under the law:

Senate Bill 2059, "Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act"

On May 16^th, 402 Representatives, or 98% of those present in House voted to pass the bill. We need to demand that same kind of support from the Senate. With the support of 67 Senators we can get this bill passed and make it veto proof against George Bush who has already declared that he will kill it given the chance because the Department of Labor argues that Flight Attendants on Reserves are “part-time flight attendants” who should not qualify for Family and Medical Leave.  In order to ensure our success it is critical that we add at least two more Republican Senators to our co-sponsor list – along with all of the Democrats – in order to avoid filibuster when the bill goes to a vote.

Call now!

Script for calls to your Senators – Not Yet Co-Sponsoring

Hi. My name is                                    . I am a voter in the Senator's state and a Flight Attendant.  I am asking that the Senator co-sponsor S. 2059, "The Airline Flight Crew Technical Corrections Act." This bill is a priority for me and my family since it gives all flight crewmembers the same access to the Family and Medical Leave Act as every other worker in this country. Over 400 Representatives recently voted for the companion legislation in the House and now my family is just waiting for the same action in the Senate. For more information or to sign on to the bill, you can contact Phil Spector in Senator Clinton’s office at 224-1695. Together with my fellow crewmembers I would really appreciate the Senator's support. Thank you.

Script for calls to Senate Majority and Minority Leaders

If you live in a state where both Senators are already co-sponsors or you are a non-US citizen, call the Senate leadership to press for action on this bill:

·         Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) at 202-224-3542

·         Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) at 202-224-2541

Hi. My name is                                    . I am an American Eagle Airlines Flight Attendant and I am calling to ask the (Majority Leader / Minority Leader) to exercise his leadership in the Senate to provide Family and Medical Leave Act fairness for crewmembers. The House has already taken a near unanimous vote on companion legislation that will clarify FMLA to include our unique schedules as crewmembers in order to allow us to qualify for the benefit like every other worker in this country. Now we need action in the Senate before the August break. Please provide my family with equal treatment under the law - take action on Senate Bill 2059. My family and my fellow crewmembers thank you for your support.

Senate Offices We Need to Target for Support

As of July 21, 2008 we have 37 co-sponsors in the Senate. We need 30 more co-sponsors to sign on over the next week – and at least 2 more Republican co-sponsors. It is not acceptable if your Senator says s/he supports the bill, will vote for it, but doesn’t believe in co-sponsoring legislation. A single Senator can block legislation from moving forward - the only way to signal their support to their Senate colleagues is to become a co-sponsor of the legislation.

Make your calls today and every day this week!

Get your friends and family to call too!

FMLA Letter to U.S. Representative FMLA Letter to Senator Download, Print, drop off in AFA Local Box or give to a GAC Rep. Find your Congress People - Here

Got Union?    

Legislate NOT Negotiate!

Let me tell you what your Government Affairs Committees has been up to, along with YOUR help:

The Omnibus Bill has been signed by the House and Senate this week. The benefit of this Bill to Flight Attendants:

            Fatigue Funding - The final bill includes approximately $1 million for researchers to do a comprehensive study of flight attendant fatigue. Several years ago, the FAA completed a small study of flight attendant fatigue and outlined several other areas that needed further evaluation. We were successful in getting Congress to provide funding for the FAA to make this a priority. Now, the FAA will not be able to claim that they do not have the funds available to carry out the detailed, comprehensive study that has been called for by researchers.

            Seniority Protections in Airline Mergers - After working very closely with Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) over this past year (Senator McCaskill was strongly supported by AFA and FlightPAC) to attempt to get these protections passed into law, we were finally successful in including this provision in the Omnibus appropriations bill. This provision requires that in the case of a merger between two or more airlines, that the workgroups must "fairly and equitably" integrate the seniority lists. If they cannot reach an agreement, then it must go to binding arbitration. This is a fundamental protection that will help avoid the same situation faced by the TWA flight attendants, when APFA and American stapled them to the bottom of the seniority list.  As merger and consolidation mania seems to sweep the industry, our members can now rest a bit easier knowing that their seniority is now a bit safer thanks to AFA and Senator Claire McCaskill.

MORE GOOD NEWS!!!

            As of this week, our Senate version of the FMLA for flight crews - S. 2059 - is a bipartisan bill.  Republican Senators Norm Coleman (MN) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) have officially cosponsored the legislation.  We believe that a few others - particularly Senator Arlen Specter (PA) - may also cosponsor before the end of the day.

            The House version now has 144 Co-Sponsors….Thanks to YOU!!!

This is a testament to the great work that our Government Affairs Committee Members have been doing to make sure that every single Eagle Flight Attendant calls their Senators and sign petitions. 

This gives us all a great reason to celebrate this Holiday season.

Thank you again everyone for making this happen.  We still have a lot more to get!  So let's keep up the work.

Don’t forget to sign FMLA petitions for your Senators. We must get this Bill to the Senate to be voted on and passed before November of 2008. Look for your Government Affairs Committee Members in your crew room or around the airports.

Want FMLA?  FMLA Letter to U.S. Representative FMLA Letter to Senator Download, Print, drop off in AFA Local Box or give to a GAC Rep. 

Find your Congress People - Here