Welcoming our new ISR
Deb, Toni and I are meeting this week to begin discussions about the role of the ISR and how we will work together going forward. We are happy that Toni has joined our ranks and are excited about her fresh perspective, approach and energy. Topics of discussion this week included the upcoming Mobilization Roundtable agenda scheduled for May 13, 2010 in SFO, our workshop at this year's Board of Directors meeting, preliminary discussions about the Newly Elected Leadership training scheduled for June 13 - 18 at the National Labor College. We also reviewed the proposed ISR budget and other housekeeping issues such as how to acces the blog.
We look forward to renewing our relationships with you the elected leaders as we begin our new assignments in the field.
ISRs - working for new, inovative advancements in learning
Our fascinating history
On June 15th, NWA #96 held their monthly union meeting in Seattle, along with Delta flight attendants. The guest speaker was former NWA union activist, Mary Pat Laffey Inman. She told her story, giving particular praise to the union attorneys, Gil Feldman, (at that time the union was a predecessor union of AFA) and trial lawyer, Michael Gottesman.
Even though I was flying during these years, benefited from the changes we fought for, and have seen the video Turbulent Romance many times, I found myself thrilled by the amazing story in which Mary Pat – and the union - played a starring role.
Suzanne S Kirkpatrick, ISR
America West Grievance Training
Ryan International flight attendants and pilots turned out in force to welcome International President Pat Friend to their first official AFA-CWA membership meeting and pizza party! After a lengthy battle against the company’s anti-union campaign, the Ryan International flight attendants voted overwhelmingly, by a margin of 111 out of 167, to join our union! Pat explained the democratic nature of AFA and the need for a majority membership and election of officers prior to appointing a negotiating committee and negotiating their first contract. Pat also gave short descriptions of the various committees that can be used by the MEC, stressing the priority of mobilizing in support of contract negotiations and their leadership.
It was truly inspiring to watch this newly organized group as they begin their journey and come to reap the benefits of union membership.
LYNX Council #77
Lynx Flight Attendants met in Denver for their first local council meeting. Cindy Castor, newly appointed Transitional Representative, conducted the meeting and answered questions about what comes next. She congratulated her members on their determination and solidarity. They accomplished their organizing drive in just 13 months. AFA leaders will officially welcome the LYNX flight attendants into our union at the annual board of director's meeting in MKE at the end of March.
Outsource Tim!
Midwest Flight Attendants and Pilots just finished two days of back to back picketing against the actions of their CEO Timothy Hoeksema in outsourcing their flying to Republic Airlines and ransoming the return of that flying with excessive concessions. On the first day of the outsourcing ALPA held a rally at headquarters. Hundreds of pilots, flight attendants and Teamsters showed up along with the giant inflatable rat. 
The following morning, over a hundred pilots and flight attendants lined the shores of Lake Michigan at 7 am to send a message to the business commity of Milwaukee that we will not stand by and take this treatment. Timothy Hoeksema was being honored by the Wisconsin Business community. Dressed in bright yellow "Outsource Tim" t-shirts we lined the entrance to the buidling as these business leaders entered. Once inside the building, they were sequestered in a room overlooking lake Michigan. We marched out onto the pier in the lake and continued our protest.
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Due to our chanting they were forced to close the drapes on their panoramic view. When they did so, a loud cheer erupted from everyone present. It was truly a great moment. We rallied round the rat once again before disbanding for the day. The Midwest AFA and ALPA MECs have vowed to keep up the pressure until their jobs have been returned without buying them back.
Midwest Flight Attendants Outraged by Outsourcing
An inspiring meeting
On July 17th George and I attended an AFA-CWA staff meeting in the international office to prepare to support the Northwest flight attendants as they gear up for the coming merger of their airline with Delta. For the ISRs it was the first meeting with some of the CWA staff with whom we do not ordinarily have the privilege of working.
The meeting started with an inspiring overview of the priorities of CWA. Larry Cohen spoke of the three major goals for the immediate future; supporting the NWA flight attendants’ retaining their contract is right up there with electing Barack Obama President and securing the Employee Free Choice Act. It was gratifying to know that our merger with the CWA has given us the resources to take on the 200 lawyers who are on the payroll of Delta and Northwest. Delta has stated its intentions to remain largely “union-free” once the merger is accomplished. We must prove them wrong.
To that end, we are in the process of planning a conference at our international office in Washington D.C. for all elected AFA officers of Northwest, along with key committee chairs. This conference will be held in two sessions the first two weeks of August. The objective is to arm the leadership with tools to empower and involve the Northwest membership and to give officers who never had the chance to be trained by AFA the assistance they need .
There will be an element of “retreat” about this three days as well, giving the Northwest. leadership a space to evaluate their recent past struggles, and to build inner fortitude for the coming challenges.
On the subject of Northwest, I attended a meeting with the new LEC officers for Council #97 in San Francisco. Kate Day, LEC President, Steve Putnam, V.P., and Nora Chang, Sec., along with Tom Geiman, outgoing V.P. attended.
The meeting was to set goals for the immediate future, understand their roles and frankly look at the challenges for their base. PBS is soon to “go live” and the LEC talked about how to ease this transition for their membership. A communication protocol was agreed upon and a next meeting set. The officers’ goals include educating their membership to alleviate discontent. The conference in D.C. is designed to help our NWA officers do that. A local council meeting is scheduled for Sept 9th.
New Spirit MEC Leadership
Yesterday I met with newly elected MEC President John Tovey and MEC Vice President Wayne Scott in Fort Lauderdale. Since their election was not held until June, they were unable to attend our Basic Leadership Training in May. Previous MEC President Deborah Crowley chose to run for the MEC Secretary position this time around. We discussed the basic duties of MEC leadership, including budgeting, communications, meetings, committees and grievance handling and mobilizing the membership. John is committed to increasing the communication to the membership and within the MEC. He specifically wants to highlight all of the accomplishments of the union, no matter how small. I was able to help him explore his B&Es online and talked about general budgeting. I also pointed him towards the useful forms on the secure section of this website which contains many useful tools made available by Int'l Secretary/Treasurer Kevin Creighan. We also discussed the importance of delegation and using the very capable talents of Wayne and Deb.
The Spirit MEC is very excited to have a full complement of officers for the first time in many years. They have hit the ground running meeting with management to discuss the implementation of a sideletter which provides for early outs, and voluntary furloughs in lieu of displacement. Like so many other airlines Spirit has announced significant cuts in service and will need to reduce staffing accordingly. John, Wayne and Tara Swiderski LECP FLL & SJU were all in the FLL crew room this week to answer flight attendant's questions regarding their options under the side letter. The majority of the reductions will be occuring in FLL. John, Wayne and Deb will be overseeing the awarding of the sideletter with the Company next week. John has scheduled his first MEC meeting for the first week of August, 2008. With Deb's institutional knowledge as MEC Sec/Treasurer and the new infusion of excitement and committment from John and Wayne they are more than ready to face the challenges being presented by Spirit Management.
Guy Bosworth - ISR
Board of Directors rally around Midwest Flight Attendants
I had the pleasure of helping to organize a candlelight march and rally for the Midwest Flight Attendants during last weeks Board of Directors meeting. AFA has taken every opportunity available during our BOD meetings to rally in support of our members and other laborers. It was only appropriate that this year we seek to help our sisters and brothers at Midwest. There was a real air of excitement as Midwest flight attendants and their families along with ALPA members and other Milwaukee labor members gathered outside the BOD meeting room. I can clearly remember the feelings off solidarity that I experienced during my first labor rally. I can only hope that the combined forces of close to 200 marchers that night gave a needed boost to the spirits of our Midwest members. Many thanks to Sheila and Mike from the Milwaukee Central Labor Council for helping us to organize the event. It was a great success.
Guy
Horizon Quarterly Grievance Meeting
On May 20th the Horizon grievance committee met at a small conference room in the downtown Seattle Public Library. Ed Hawes, MEC Grievance chair, invited me to assist the committee with grievance strategy. The Council #16 committee members, Sequenna Blair, Cheryl Riggs, Heather Coleman, and Nina Litven were joined by Council #17 grievance committee and negotiating committee member, Kirk Hanson, and Council #16 LEC President, Ty Tufono.
Ready reserve/ regular reserve activation, failure to be paid for a flight due to the sudden closure of ATA, and other pending cases gave the committee a chance to review standard contract principles. The committee spent some time talking about how to handle a flight attendant who has a gripe but not a grievance in a way that meets AFA's objectives and gives the flight attendant the support she expects.
Committee members were asked about their case load and personal schedule so the grievance work load could be fairly distributed among the committee. It was a pleasure to observe the excellent work
Ed Hawes oversees, and spend the day with the Horizon leadership in a beautiful setting overlooking Elliot Bay and downtown Seattle.
Suzanne Kirkpatrick, ISR
New Leader Training
31 newly elected leaders from across our Union met at the National Labor College, George Meany Campus from May 12 - 17 for Basic Leadership Training. The training is held in conjunction with each election cycle and highlights each of the 6 basics duties of being an elected leader; Mobilizing our members to build and strengthen our union, Budget and Membership oversight, Managing Committees, Advocating for our members through the grievance process, Communications and Conducting meetings. In addition to these subjects, the leaders heard about the assistance available from the various AFA International departments heads. Each of AFA's International Officers participated and International President, Pat Friend was able to attend for much of the week. The class also heard from William Scheuerman, President of the National Labor College and Larry Cohen President of the Communication Workers of America. Please welcome our newest leaders and help them to fulfill their positions within each of their councils.
Delta Get Out the Vote Up and Running – Call to Volunteer your time
In addition to calling Delta flight attendants to remind them to vote, we also handle the AFA-Delta hotline and answer questions from flight attendants around the country who have questions or concerns. Steve Schembs has the responsibility of routing all volunteers to the appropriate call center for scheduling in that location. We still need volunteers in every location. If you would like to be part of this exciting election, please email Steve at GOTV@DeltaAFA.org
Geroge M. Donahue
Welcoming our Brothers and Sisters at Delta
I've spent the last couple of days sitting side by side with fellow flight attendants from Delta, United, American Eagle and USAirways calling the Delta flight attendants to encourage them to become full members of our union! The Delta flight attendant activists have been working diligently over the past few years to get to this historic moment. They have faced the same ruthless and dastardly anti-union campaign that every employer seems to implement. Still, they are perservering and are determined to succeed! Their courage in the face of these attacks is truly inspiring. They still need our help. So, please reach out to our flying partners at Delta and encourage them to join AFA. It's been a real pleasure.
Guy
The end of Aloha
The last days of Aloha We all know the Greeks dance in both joyful and tragic times. Zorba taught us that. I now know that Hawaiians do hula to express the range of emotions and that included, on April 1st, 2008, the tragedy of closing down their beloved airline after 61 years in the air. The last flight from Maui was met by a huge contingent of Aloha employees, at 10:30 p.m., at gate #54, Honolulu International. The passengers disembarked, and then the flight attendants and pilots, bedecked with leis, to be interviewed by local press on how it felt to be on the last Aloha flight. As the crew members hugged each other and wept, two Aloha employees played guitar and bass; and sang; providing the music so loved by Hawaiians. Spontaneously, several ALOHA employees danced hula., a private expression of local spirit, and a public invitation to each other to celebrate what was best about the company and each other. It was a ceremony and important ritual that I only invited myself to because it needed to be witnessed and remembered by someone who could pay tribute. I have known the leadership at Aloha since the 70s when I served on the AFA Board of Directors along with Dorothy, Sandy Pelzer, Peggy Gordon, Gail Kim, Peggy again, and Gail Kim-Moe again, Karen Nakaoka, Grace Lee and Robyn Lee. And long time grievance chairwoman, Connie Young. These women have been exemplary trade-unionists, negotiators, protectors of the collective bargaining agreement, pioneers in bargaining, and models for the rest of AFA's board of directors on how to conduct the relationship between management and the union. In the end, the union could not save the company. But if it had been possible, the AFA officers serving their membership would have done it. All of AFA will miss this airline as part of our family. I particularly will miss them, because I have served as their ISR since 1989. It was my privilege to know these amazing women and I wish them well as they close this chapter in their lives. Aloha, fond memories, and much affection, from Suzanne Kirkpatrick
ATA Informational Meetings: Chicago Midway and Detroit
ATA Assistance
On Friday April 4 AFA sponsored a social get together for those ATA flight attendants who still reside in the Central Florida area following the company's announcement the day prior that they were ceasing operations. While ATA had faced financial difficulties and had recently announced termination of their scheduled service out of the MDW base, many still had hoped the company might survive. On Tuesday April 8 I held an informational meeting with representatives from the Heart of Florida United Way, Consumer Credit Counseling and Charles Schwab to provide our members with referrals and resources available to them during this trying time. Rhonda Hogard was available on Tuesday, via telephone. to explain the company's actions and the union's response. At both gatherings, the flight attendants were glad to be able to gather together to share their experience and remember the good times as ATA crew members.
On a personal note, ATA was my carrier and I will truly miss the friends I made over my 15 years of active flying at ATA. We all think that our carriers are unique but ATA was truly one of a kind. Because of its odd mix of charter and scheduled service we were able to experience the best of both worlds, both literally and figuratively. We were very lucky to have been able to lay over in exotic destinations on virtually every continent. Almost every flight attendant got a taste of International flying whether the most senior or the newest reserve. Because of the exotic destinations we served we often had to fend for ourselves and turn straw into gold. That can-do attitude in the face of daunting obstacles created a bond between the employees that will last well beyond the closure of the airlines. ATA will be truly missed.
Sincerely, Guy D. Bosworth ATA Flight Attendant and ISR.
ATR Council 57 Plans for the Future!
On the heels of a very successful and well attended local council meeting, ATR MEC/LEC President Bill Green, MEC/LEC VP Alison Head and MEC/ LEC ST Patricia Krider and I had the opportunity to meet and discuss their vision for the local council administration at ATR Council 57.
It is great to see their enthusiasm and team work as they build their plan for the future. It is a daunting task as they realign various AFA committees, prepare to mobilize the membership and tackle contract negotiations! But I know this group has a lot of energy and there is also a wealth of talent within the committees and membership ranks to get the job done.
While in ATL, I also had the opportunity to conduct a short Introduction to the System Board for a new alternate member, Melissa Buddzina, as well as all of the ATR officers. Melissa is currently the MEC Grievance Co-Chair at Council 57 and has previously attended our AFA Basic Grievance Training sponsored by the ISRs. She is smart and dedicated and a welcome addition to the ATR team!
Deborah Wilk, ISR
ATR and ASA: Large Membership Turnout for Negotiations! Membership Meetings Huge Success
I had the pleasure of attending the ATR and ASA local council membership meetings following the Delta Webcast on March 12 in Atlanta. Congratulations to both the ATR and ASA leadership for an outstanding job on turnout as well as a very informative and fun meeting!
The AirTran Council 57 meeting was conducted at the Renaissance Hotel from 2:00pm till 3:30pm and was well attended. Approximately 30 members came to hear about preparations to mobilize the membership for contract negotiations and to discuss general council business. LEC 57 President Bill Green chaired the meeting along with fellow officers VP Alison Head and ST Patricia Krider. The agenda was rounded out with remarks by International President Pat Friend, International Vice President Veda Shook, Atlanta Labor Council President Charlie Fleming, as well as presentations by AFA MEC Grievance Co-Chair and Negotiating Committee member Liz Howayeck, AFA Legislative and Governmental Affairs Committee Chair LT Latham, and AFA Employee Assistance Program/Community Affairs Committee Chairperson Delores Jefferson. The Committee Chairs took full advantage of the conference room space and held their committee meeting after the close of the local council meeting!
The ASA Council #60 meeting followed from 5:00pm till 7:30pm. There was a continuous stream of members coming in throughout that time with standing room only! LEC 60 President Jeannie Babb chaired the meeting along with her fellow officers VP Keri Pritchett and ST Chris Tomko. The agenda included remarks on behalf of Pat Friend from Assistant to the International President Bill McGlashen, remarks and an overview of PBS from International Vice President Veda Shook and comments from AFA General Counsel David Borer. The agenda included presentations by AFA Negotiating Committee member Lindsay Gardner and AFA Staff Attorney and Negotiator Mark Stotik. This was an excellent opportunity for members to hear detailed information about PBS and have their many questions addressed. It was great to see so many AFA members taking the time to attend these important membership meetings, showing support for their AFA Negotiation Committees and finding out what THEY as members can do to mobilize and get a contract!
Basic Grievance Training
Basic Grievance Training was held in Chicago March 11-12th conducted by Guy Bosworth, Suzanne Kirkpatrick, and joined by Eric Wright, AFA staff attorney.
The following participants learned the basics of grievance handling, contract principles, the tests of just cause and the art of proving AFA's case: Alma Hernandez and Melissa Pineault, AMR, Carrie Lopez, ATA, Anastasia Brown, FRE, Brian Bartunek, Kirk Hansen, Sequenna Blair, HZN, Mercedes Fisk, MIA, Daniel Grey, John O'Donnell, NWA, Jason Meyers, Rey Oliva, SPR, John McCorkle, USA.
Completely new, fresh grievances were used for the first time - some of which came from the participants of the Advanced Grievance Training in Honolulu. Thanks to Kale Kalama, Jodi-Ann Cole, Les Luke, Scott Henton, Rachelle Krahmer, HAL, Raelynn Kawamura, Dave Tadlock, NWA, Connie Young and Craig Uemura for providing their current grievances. We remove the actual grievant names when we use them as mock grievances.
Advanced Grievance Training in Honolulu
On March 11th and 12th, ISRs, Guy Bosworth and Suzanne Kirkpatrick, joined by AFA staff attorney, Jay Trumble, presented an advanced grievance training for grievance reps from Hawaiian, Aloha and Northwest. This was a trial training rolled out for a small group to ascertain whether it would be successful for our grievance committees throughout the union. Each representative was asked to supply a case they had been working on, complete with the issue, arguments, evidence and remedy requested. After the basics of grievance processing were reviewed, each grievance rep was asked to provide the facts of their case; and the instructors and training participants provided suggestions and input for succesful resolution to the cases. The ISRs and Jay felt it was a successful roll-out and will be planning a similar advanced grievance training sometime in the future.
Mobilizing Trainings and Council #16 meeting
Mobilizing trainings were held for America West V.O.I.C.E committee members, and Hawaiian Negotiations Support Committee this week. The trainings include an overview of the three essential components of mobilizng: structure, education and communication, and collective action. The volunteers are taught about AFA's resources and accomplishments, both locally and industry-wide. They are armed with information permitting them to be effective advocates for our union to the flight attendant membership at large. The training can take from two to five hours, depending on where the carrier is in the negotiating process. Because America West's situation is quite complex with the ongoing merger with USAirways, there are many more questions than at Hawaiian. The ISRs have found that the best intentions in mobilizing are not enough without strong commited leadership at the MEC and negotiating committee level. Mobilizers have to feel they are "in the know" and on the inside track for information coming out of negotiatins. Because our process is lengthy and there are stretches of time where not much is happening, it can be frustrating to the mobilizers. It is essential that they be reconnected to the committee frequently, whether it is in special e-lines, conference calls, or in-person meetings. When flight attendants ask "what's happening?", we want to do everything we can to avoid having our mobilizers answer, "I don't know". Horizon Council #16 held their first union meeting on March 7th. The LEC, Ty Tufono, LEC President, Ed Hawes, V.P., and Heather Coleman, Sec., met in the morning to write a mission statement for their council and to prepare for the meeting. They were joined by newly elected MEC V.P., Leslie Miller. The meeting, which was held in a new conference room section of Sea-Tac airport, was especially successful in how local members felt free to participate and ask questions. It didn't hurt that food was provided!
Mobilizing Trainings
Alaska Officer Meetings
On February 20 I had the pleasure to meet with Alaska Airlines LECP for Council 18 LAX, Rene Celestin. Rene is a seasoned leader who is always open to new ideas and approaches for representing her members. We discussed how Rene is mentoring her new LECVP, Sec and Council Rep. who had little AFA leadership experience prior to being elected. We also discussed the challenges of scheduling around the upcoming CWA convention in June and the rescheduled AFA BOD meeting in July. I'm sure Rene is not alone in finding this a challenge.
The next day, I was able to meet with newly elected Alaska Airlines LECP for Council 30 ANC, Stephen Couckuyt. This meeting was a follow up from the leadership training class held in January at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, Maryland. I was able to help Stephen identify some goals for his local administration. Goal planning is integral to being able to prioritize your time and work more effectively. With everything that comes at us every day, without an understanding of what is going to advance our agenda, we end up wasting time on less important matters. Like many of our leaders, Stephen is looking for new and engaging ways to communicate with and mobilize the membership. We were also able to review his council's past Budget and Expense reports. Knowing how the budget has been spent in the past will give him a base point for planning his future budget. I really appreciated Stephen traveling from ANC to LAX to meet with me. I look forward to attending a future new hire orientation in ANC!
Thanks to Rene and Stephen for the great Alaska Airlines welcome.
Guy
Northwest Master Executive Council Holds Merger Strategy Session in MSP
New Leader Training Takes Place
We are completing our New Leader Training this week at the National Labor College, George Meany Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. This training is to prep new leaders who were elected to three year terms that began January 1, 2008. Our ISRs Guy, George and Suzanne facilitated the training and were joined throughout the week by the International Officers, Bill McGlashen and many department heads.
The theme for our training was Preparing for Our Future: Visible Leadership and Engaged Membership - so a large part of our focus was to discuss how an engaged membership will better prepare us for upcoming negotiations at many of our carriers. We also learned the "Basics" such as budgets, membership data, conducting local meetings, etc.
It was a highly productive meeting with vibrant discussions throughout the week. Welcome New Leaders!
