The War Over the FAA Reauthorization in Minnesota – Call Your MN Senators
 
We are at a critical point in our legislative efforts to secure OSHA workplace safety and health protections for flight attendants. In addition to our AFA e-activist campaign, we need all flight attendants in Minnesota to call both of your Minnesota Senators, especially Amy Klobuchar who sits on the Senate Commerce Committee, today to urge them to help ensure that OSHA workplace safety and health protections are included in the upcoming FAA Reauthorization bill. The Senate is expected to draft their version of FAA Reauthorization next week. Please make these phone calls as soon as possible. Senate offices must receive phone calls from their constituents.
  
Senator Klobucar’s phone number for her district office is 612-727-5220 and her DC office is 202-224-3244.
Senator Coleman’s district office number is 651-645-0323 and his DC number is 202-224-564.
 
For other respective Senators (if you live out of state) get contact information for your Senators at www.senate.gov/ </exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.senate.gov/>  Below is a sample script for your use:
 
Hello.  My name is ______, I live in town, state,
and I am a member of the Association of Flight
Attendants-CWA.    

I am calling to urge Senator ________ to help
ensure that OSHA workplace safety and health
protections are included in the upcoming FAA
Reauthorization bill. Flight attendants have
waited for over 30 years for just basic
protections such as onboard sanitation standards.  

The lack of these protections not only jeopardizes flight
attendants but also the passengers we are charged with
protecting.  (NOTE:  we are trying to make the
connection that lack of these standards are impact
the traveling public)  

Can you please make sure that the Senator gets this message.

Thank you.

 

 

Dear advocates:
 
The MEC Chairs had a conference call today where Shane updated us on where we are with our issues on Capitol Hill. I have copied his update below so that you can go over it. If you go to our page on the MEC website www.nwaafa.org <http://www.nwaafa.org>  you will also see an update.
 
For the next couple of months our focus will be to garner as much support for the FMLA bill introduced by Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) as possible.To date we have 40 co-sponsors. We would like to double or triple that number.
 
What can we do?
 
Diana and I are doing base visits to talk to our members about our issues. If we are at your base we welcome you to stop by and help us out or just say hello. We were in MSP on June 20-21 where we collected over 100 letters. Diana and I in the meantime has been asking every flight attendant that we come in contact with to also sign the letter. So far we have over 300 signed letters, our goal is 1,000 by July 31. On Monday, July 16 and 17, Diana and I will be at the DTW In-flight lobby.  We are hoping to secure permission to do the same in MEM for August.
 
I have attached a copy of a letter in support of the FMLA bill that you can can download and make copies. Please carry these letters with you and ask your flying partners to print their names, address with complete zip code and signature. There are 2 letters one that flight attendants sign and another that pilots can sign. Remember this legislation also applies to them. When you fly, ask the flight-deck crew to also sign their letters and return them to you. You can forward the completed letters to me here at the MEC office 8011 34th Avenue South, Suite 220, Bloomington MN 55425. You can also drop them off with your local office and they will forward them to me. --Although sending them to me would be the easiest and quickest. I will reimburse you for any postage costs you may incur.

Download here Flight Attendant FLMA Document

Download here Pilot FLMA Document
 
FlightPAC
 
We have spoken to the company and they have agreed to offer FlightPAC check-off for our members. I am in contact with the Director of Payroll finalizing the details. We should have it soon. Once we do have FlightPAC, we will need to educate our members on what FlightPAC is and why it is so important. I would ask that all of us involved in Government Affairs set the example and sign up for FlightPAC contributions.
 
I would like to welcome our newest advocates -- Kat Hoff of SFO and Brenda McAden of MEM. Welcome ladies!
 
Shane's update:

FAA REAUTHORIZATION

This week, the House of Representatives introduced it's version of the FAA Reauthorization.  The bill has been expected and anticipated for almost two weeks, but was held up over efforts to reach an agreement between NATCA and the FAA over the air traffic controllers contract dispute (more on this issue below).  The bill was finally introduced late Wednesday evening and was considered by the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday.  This was an unusual move as normally the bill is introduced for several days before consideration and is almost always considered by the subcommittee before moving to the full Committee.  However, in a rush to complete their work before leaving for the week long 4th of July recess they rushed it through full Committee.
 
Included in the base bill were three provisions containing AFA priorities, which are similar to the provisions in the Senate version of the legislation.  Those three provisions are:  1)  Expansion of the HIMS alcohol and drug rehabilitation program to cover flight attendants and pilots;  2) A mandate that the FAA carry-out the recommendations for further study of flight attendant fatigue;  and 3) a requirement that the FAA complete work begun under the 2000 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the FAA and OSHA to implement OSHA workplace safety and health protections for flight attendants.  Missing from the bill were two provisions that were included in the Senate version of the bill - an English language proficiency standard for certification and merger protections for airline employees.
 
As I mentioned above, the bill's introduction was held up over an attempt to reach an agreement between the FAA and NATCA on the air traffic controllers contract.  I'm sure you remember that last year, the FAA and NATCA failed to reach an agreement on a contract.  As a result, the FAA used their authority to impose a contract on the air traffic controllers.  Since then, Congress has been trying to find a way to address this imposition of the contract.  The leadership of the Transportation Committee and Aviation Subcommittee have been working diligently to try and mediate the dispute and find a resolution that is acceptable to both sides without having to legislate a solution.  However, the two remain at a stand-off and in the end, in order to keep the bill moving an amendment was offered and accepted to the legislation that would give the FAA and NATCA 45 days to reach an agreement and if they cannot reach an agreement, the negotiations would go to binding arbitration.
 
Republican leadership and the White House were strongly opposed to the amendment and want the status quo to remain in effect.  In the end, the amendment was approved in the Committee.  
 
I had been working very closely with two offices on amendments that were to be offered in the committee mark-up.  However, late in the evening on Wednesday, it was announced that in order to end the stalemate and to get the bill approved in a quick manner, the leadership would restrict the number of amendments to be offered to only 2.  Those two were controversial issues which the Republican leadership would not agree to.  The first was the NATCA-FAA dispute issue.  The other was a long sought priority of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) that would prevent FedEx from taking advantage of loophole that allows them to classify their truck drivers as employees under the Railway Labor Act (RLA).  Changing this provision would make it easier to organize the FedEx employees on a local basis rather than a nationwide, company wide organizing drive as is required under the Railway Labor Act.  UPS supported this provision as they have not been covered under the RLA as has FedEx.  In the end, both of these amendments were approved by the Committee and a victory for our brothers and sisters in NATCA and the IAM.
 
The two amendments I was working to have introduced was one by Representative Russ Carnahan (D-MO) to provide merger protections for airline employees.  Specifically, the provision would mandate a procedure for the integration of two merging airlines seniority lists.  It would mandate that both workgroups attempt to reach a "fair and equitable" resolution to the merging of those seniority lists and if an agreement could not be reached, it would go to mediation/arbitration.  Currently, there is no process in place for seniority integration and the result can be what happened to the former TWA flight attendants when they found themselves stapled to the bottom of the American seniority list when purchased by AMR.  
 
The second amendment was to be offered by Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) on cabin environment issues.  Included in the amendment were provisions that would have mandated the temperature onboard the aircraft to not exceed 80 degrees, protections for crewmembers - especially pregnant women - for cosmic radiation exposure, a study of available technology to provide filters for cabin air and protections for crewmembers exposed to dangerous pesticides.
 
While it was a set back to have not have these amendments offered, we hope to resolve these issues before the legislation reaches the floor of the House or to have these amendments offered on the House floor.
 
Where things stand now is that both the House and the Senate would like to have completed consideration of the legislation on the floor of both chambers before the month long August recess.  Needless to say, that means July will be a busy month.
 
FMLA
Our momentum continues to grow with 38 cosponsors currently on the legislation, HR 2744.  Rep. Tim Bishop and 37 others have cosponsored.  It's important that we grow this number exponentially and quickly in order to keep the momentum up.  If the bills supporters - especially Rep. Lynn Woolsey and Rep. George Miller, the chairs of the appropriate subcommittee and the Education and Labor Committee see overwhelming and bipartisan support for the bill, they will be inclined to take quick action on the legislation.
 
It is urgent that you keep letters pouring into Representatives.  Several councils and MECs have engaged in crew room sits providing blank letters for individuals to sign that can in turn be mailed to their Representatives.  This week alone, we sent from the International over 100 letters.  If you need copies of the letters please let me know.  Also, if you'd like, send them to us and we can look up the individuals Representative and mail them for you.  Regardless, I can't stress enough the importance of making sure that our grassroots activities on this continue so that our voice is heard.
 
I met again this week with key Senate offices and we hope to have a bill introduced shortly.  They were impressed with the number of cosponsors so soon after introduction of the legislation and indicated that if our numbers grew quickly, that they would be under intense pressure to introduce the legislation very quickly.
 
Lobby Days

Obviously, there is a lot the folks can be doing to assist in our legislative efforts.  I would encourage anyone that has the ability or the budget to come to DC this month and we will put you to work lobbying on these issues.  You should take the initiative and let me know if you plan on attending or if any of your local chairs can come to Washington even if just for a day or two.  There are a lot of offices to reach out to that have not even yet been contacted and your help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Also, please don't forgot to keep following up with those offices that you already have relationships with.  I've attached a copy of the recent letter that Pat sent to the Hill urging cosponsorship.  Send this letter to the offices you have relationships with as an FYI and a note urging them to cosponsor HR 2744.
 
My schedule

I will be out of the office the week of the 4th of July holiday.  I will be checking emails and voice mails, etc. but I may not get back to you immediately.  Please be patient with my replies.
 
Thanks again and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
 
Good and Welfare

I want to announce that American Eagle has a new MEC chair.  Many of you already know Mary Oswald.  She was recently chosen by the Eagle MEC to be the new MEC chair for American Eagle.  I'm excited to have Mary onboard as our newest MEC chair!  As you all know, Mary is a hard worker for our causes.  John Carlos Metidieri has chosen to step down as chair to be able to focus more time on his studies.  I know you'll all join me in wishing John Carlos the best and that we'll miss his energy, enthusiasm and commitment!!
 
Shane


Albert Garcia
Vice President &
Government Affairs Committee Chair
Northwest Airlines Master Executive Council
Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO

mecgov@nwaafa.org -or- agarcia@nwaafa.org
952 241-4102 Cell - 415 290-5140