12/17 CWA AFA UAL Day Of Action We deserve a fair contract now!

12/17 CWA AFA UAL Day Of Action We deserve a fair contract now!
December 17th Stand Together for Better
https://ourcontract.org/news/2015/12/10/december-17th-stand-together-for...
Date: 12/10/2015

We deserve a fair contract now. For over three years, management has used stall tactics to prevent us from reaching an agreement. No more delays – the time is now for a contract we can ratify.

Management Has Failed to Deliver on the Change We Were Promised
Senior executives at United Airlines promised Flight Attendants things would change and that three years of stall tactics would end. Although we have given them every opportunity, company officials are playing the same old delay tactics.

• We are seeing the same company officials at the bargaining table who are responsible for years of discord, division and delay.
• After months of time for preparation, Company bargainers simply reiterated the elements of their July framework, which was driven by eliminating tens of millions of dollars from the current scheduling provisions.
• Although Oscar Munoz and Brett Hart promised to prioritize Flight Attendant negotiations, lower level company officials Jeff Wall and Doug McKeen refused to meet with AFA in December preferring a two month hiatus to engaging in productive bargaining. Their refusal to meet will prolong negotiations and is a failure to acknowledge the change all of us are looking for at United Airlines, all of us who are integral to the success of the airline.
• The new Executive team has failed to replace top labor and inflight management even though United's company performance has lagged behind the industry competitors. The same group that couldn't even get the coffee right! The current labor and inflight team have mismanaged this carrier and failed to conclude the merger. It is long past time for accountability.
Company Demanding Concessionary Agreement
The United Airlines management has a vision of a new contract which, if implemented, would contain the worst scheduling system in the industry. Here are just some of the lowlights of the Company's proposal:

• The Company wants to eliminate or weaken scheduling provisions from all three pre-merger contracts that protect Flight Attendants in reassignments as well as in the order of assignment.
• Company negotiators view this as an opportunity to gain concessionary duty and rest rules. Management is proposing to eliminate provisions that protect Flight Attendants from company abuse. They don't want Flight Attendants to have the option to waive if they want to work beyond these protections; management wants the control in their hands. Management wants total discretion in scheduling, and no flexibility or control for Flight Attendants. That's just not the way it works today under current contracts and it's not the industry standard. It's just another delay tactic.
• Management is proposing to gut scope and job security provisions, leaving Flight Attendants vulnerable to outsourcing or furloughs.
• These provisions are combined with an overall economic framework which will not work for Flight Attendants, including concessions in areas such as health care and retiree medical, while offering grossly insufficient wage increases.
Industry comparison information. More Detail on Management Concessionary Proposals.

How We Can Get an Agreement We Can Ratify.
The contract we reach here will represent the foundational document for the rest of our flying careers. There are two visions in play here. Management's vision is clear, to strip the contract of the good our workgroups have built up over the years, picking the worst provisions or weakening the better ones. Rather than view this merger as an opportunity for improvements for Flight Attendants, they are seeing a chance to impose their vision of the world on Flight Attendants.

The power to change this is in your hands. Here's how you can get a joint contract you can be proud of.

• Join the day of action on December 17, 2015 in order to show United Management that Flight Attendants are unified about reaching an agreement.
• Inform yourself on the process under the Railway Labor Act and watch for more communication from AFA about next steps in the negotiations. Now that we have filed for mediation we have a defined process for reaching an agreement which may include mediation, strike votes, and requests for release.
• Wear your red AFA pin and pay close attention to negotiations updates as things will be heating up.
More information on your Day of Action.