AFA is a member-driven union and AFA’s highest governing body, the Board of Directors, is meeting April 28-30, 2014 in Orlando. That’s why it’s important for all members in good standing
to know where you stand on the issues, and give voice to your positions. Take the time to read the advance agenda items for the AFA-CWA Board of Directors (BOD) Meeting, attend your Local Council meeting, and weigh in with your Local Executive Council (LEC) President on your views about the issues.
The advance agenda items are posted at www.afa-bod.org as currently proposed. During the course of the BOD meeting they will be thoroughly vetted and discussed. The agenda items could be adopted, not adopted or adopted as amended. Some issues may be of interest in concept but require revision to incorporate all legal, administrative and membership impact issues.
The Local Council meeting provides the opportunity for leaders to discuss the agenda items, answer questions and solicit feedback. Your elected leader will represent members’ interests based on this meeting feedback and other forms of collecting member input such as face-to-face conversations, phone calls and emails.
During the Board of Directors meeting your representative may gain new information, including perspectives from representatives of Flight Attendants at other airlines on how the proposed agenda item could affect those members or have impact on other provisions of the Constitution. There may be legal, financial or logistical issues that are brought to light. Any of this information could cause your representative to change position on an agenda item, seek a substitute motion or work to compromise to meet the needs of all members – while always keeping your feedback and expressed interests at the forefront.
The AFA Constitution and Bylaws requires all Local Councils to hold membership meetings prior to the BOD to discuss agenda items with Local Council members.
Local Council Presidents at all AFA-represented airlines are the voting members of the AFA BOD, and all Master Executive Council (MEC) Officers are ex-officio (non-voting) members.
There’s no better time to get involved in your union. Let your voice be heard!
The following is a summary of advance agenda items. We encourage members to attend a meeting to fully discuss these items and visit www.afa-bod.org for the complete text of the agenda items and other meeting information.
Agenda Item Summary:
Agenda Item #1: Proposed budget would mirror the allocations from last year’s budget, using a dues figure of $48 and applying the constitutional formulas with a 6% reduction in MEC and LEC budget allocations and a 7% reduction in the International budget allocation. System Board and Negotiations budgets were allocated by the finance committee based on surveys submitted by each MEC. The budget will most likely be amended during the meeting.
Agenda Item #2: Proposes extending the window of time during which the BOD may be held from February 1 - April 30 to February 1 - May 31 to allow for more options when finding economical and logistically sound hotels.
Agenda Item #3: Proposes to increase the child care reimbursement for AFA volunteers/activists from $7.50 to $10 per hour due to inflation.
Agenda Item #4: Proposes eliminating funding of the CWA National Programs II. AFA’s BOD voted in 2012 to pay for services under the CWA National Programs (currently at $3 per member per month).
Agenda Item #5: Proposes adding a provision to the Ethical Practices Code that would prohibit any AFA-CWA Officer or representative from entering into an agreement with management without the express knowledge and consent of the applicable MEC President.
Agenda Item #6: Proposes electing International Officers through a direct election by the membership. The process used would mirror the election of Local Council Officers with a separate nomination and election process with additional time built in for International bases. In addition, the Local Council President would cast the remaining votes not cast directly by members of her/his council. Example: Council X has 100 members. 15 members cast votes for candidate A, 20 members cast votes for candidate B. The Local Council President will cast the remaining 65 votes for the candidate of her/his choice.
Agenda Item #7: Proposes electing MEC Officers through a direct election by the membership. The process used would mirror the election of Local Council Officers with a separate nomination and election process with additional time built in for International bases. In addition, the Local Council President would cast the remaining votes not cast directly by members of her/his council. Example: Council X has 100 members. 15 members cast votes for candidate A, 20 members cast votes for candidate B. The Local Council President will cast the remaining 65 votes for the candidate of her/his choice.
Agenda Item #8: Proposes that a member on maternity/paternity leave for a full month or longer, who is no longer receiving compensation through the carrier would not be required to continue dues payment while on leave.
Agenda Item #9: Proposes adding an Electronic Communications, Website and Social Media Policy to the Constitution and Bylaws. This policy would establish guidelines for use of electronic tools that bear the Union’s name and/or logo. Violations of the policy would be subject to Article X: Hearing and Appeal Procedure.
Agenda Item #10: Proposes reducing the financial support for outgoing International Officers who were not recalled from up to 4 months to up to 2 months or until they receive compensation from any employer. It would also reduce the support for recalled officers from 30 days to ½ month.
Agenda Item #11: Proposes to eliminate the dues requirement for involuntarily furloughed Flight Attendants who are not receiving pay for flight assignments and specifically exempts furlough or severance pay as compensations for purposes of collecting dues.
Agenda Item #12: Proposes to treat involuntarily furloughed Flight Attendants who elect to continue to pay their dues as active members for a period not to exceed 6 years or when the member no longer has contractual recall rights, whichever comes sooner.
Agenda Item #13: Proposes to change the constitutional process for when the merger of MECs for two or more AFA-represented carriers would occur. Would change from within 30 days of the merger close to within 30 days of the effective date of ratification of a joint collective bargaining agreement. It would also change the process for merging of Local Councils where a duplication exists until the signing of a merged agreement to thirty days after the election of officers for the merged MEC. Finally, it would eliminate minimum requirements for the negotiating committee and grievance committee following a merger of the MEC.
Agenda Item #14: Proposes that the International budget cover a max of 10 hours of Flight Pay Loss (no expenses) for one delegate from each local to participate in CWA District meetings in a year when the CWA Convention is not occurring, provided they actually attend.
Agenda Item #15: Proposes that AFA’s objectives be changed to eliminate the goal of securing Flight Attendant certification which has already been achieved and insert “ensuring that the ‘seniority date’ of a Flight Attendant shall be the date from which each Flight Attendant accrues competitive (bidding) seniority as a Flight Attendant.” In addition, it proposes adding achieving seniority protections as a goal into AFA-CWA’s mission statement.
Agenda Item #16: Proposes that the International budget cover the expense of an annual floral arrangement to be placed at the Fight 93 Chapel in Shanksville, PA in honor of our heroes lost on September 11, 2001.
Visit our AFA Board of Directors Meeting website for full information on the 42nd Annual AFA BOD meeting: www.afa-bod.org
