Attention Fellow Flight Attendants:

Recently American Eagle has implemented a policy which forbids any flight attendant to travel by pass on those days during which she/he is taking a Personal Other (“PO”) leave unless the flight attendant has obtained permission to travel.  AFA’s analysis of this situation has satisfied us that this prohibition has never been the practice before.  In our view, the prior practice that a flight attendant could always travel on a pass while on a PO was so consistent that an “enforceable” past practice had developed.  This means that if the company sought to implement any new restriction, they should have negotiated with the union.  But, they did not.

 Consequently, a grievance has been filed over the matter.  We seek to have this new policy found unenforceable and return to the prior practice that a flight attendant would be free to travel by pass while on a PO without having to obtain prior permission.  The reasons for this are many, but one glaring reason is that in the past people would take POs when it became clear they could not return to work because flights were full.  Thus, they would take the PO and continue attempts to return to domicile until successful.  While receiving an attendance occurrence for the PO was not the best of all possible worlds, it was preferable to a Missed Assignment.

 Now, we come to you.  To prevail in this grievance, we must present evidence that flight attendants (1) traveled by pass, (2) on a PO day, without having received prior permission.  We need you to submit copies (not the originals) of the following records to Grievance Chair Debora Sutor to document and support our argument.

1.                  Copy of HI10M

2.                  Copy of corresponding Travel History (found in JetNet)

3.                  If unable to obtain Travel History, then copy of boarding pass or some other document that shows travel

4.                  Write up from you describing how and when you traveled on the PO

These records can be sent to Deb Sutor at the following address:

            Debora Sutor, Chair

            Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO

            American Eagle Master Executive Council

            One O’Hare Centre

            6250 N. River Road, Suite 4020

            Rosemont, Illinois  60018