TAKE ACTION, Unemployment Q & A, more
April 3, 2020 - Keep taking action tonight and over the weekend. Don’t let Secretary Mnuchin mess with the work we did to secure our jobs and paychecks! No warrants on payroll grants. We're the ones the CARES Act is supposed to protect. You can own a plane, you can’t take a piece of a Flight Attendant!
Tell President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin not to dismantle the bipartisan agreement to keep us in our jobs, connected to our paychecks and healthcare.
AFA in the News
WATCH: AFA on MSNBC's Ali Velshi: Flight Attendants Warn of 'Poison Pill' in Relief Bill
WATCH: AFA on The Hill TV: Coronavirus Relief Implementation
FORBES: Flight Attendant Leaders, Newly Unified, Say Mnuchin Could Scuttle Plan To Pay Airline Workers
YAHOO: Payroll Grants are Grants
LA TIMES: Flying During Coronavirus is Scary Flight Attendants Want You to Stop
Op-Ed In These Times: Mnuchin Is Now Trying to Destroy Airline Workers’ Job Protections
AFA Urges FAA to Order Airline Compliance with CDC Guidance on Test Positive Notification
Yesterday, AFA sent a letter to the FAA raising concerns about airlines not adhering to the guidelines set by the CDC to prevent the spread of COVID-19, specifically "airlines are failing to adhere to CDC recommendations to notify crewmembers of possible exposures to individuals who have tested positive for coronavirus infection." The letter reads in part:
"Our members have observed an uneven, often less than satisfactory response to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic by some airlines. We are therefore writing to support the attached letter dated March 31, 2020, sent by Captain Joe DePete, President of ALPA, to Federal Aviation Administrator Steve Dickson, with the subject Request for Immediately Effective Order, Directive or Regulatory, Requirement Ordering Air Carrier Compliance with CDC Guidance. We concur fully with Captain DePete’s observation that an “urgent FAA order, directive or regulatory requirement is needed because ‘guidance’ from the … CDC is not mandatory and is not being consistently followed.” Read the full letter to the FAA >
Unemployment Insurance Questions and Answers
As part of the COVID-19 Relief Act enacted last week, Congress increased by $600 the amount of weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) payments that laid off and furloughed workers can receive through July 31, 2020. The CARES Act also extends the number of weeks of eligibility for long term unemployed people from 26 weeks to 39 weeks, temporarily eliminates work-search requirements and minimum work history (under normal rules, only those who have been employed for a year are eligible), and expands the categories of eligible workers to include self-employed and gig workers, in addition to traditional employees. Generally, if you take a leave or a reduction in hours as a result of the downturn, you will be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits. However, the scale and scope of these benefits will vary depending on your state of residence.
