Issue 3

the official publication of the association of professional flight attendants

volume 5 issue 3

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reports

President’s Report

Vice President’s Report

Secretary’s Report

Treasurer’s Report

departments

From the Editor

Safety

Accidents and Incidents

Scheduling

Info Rep

Hotel

Hotel News and Reviews

Health

Skyword Editorial Policy •

Submissions to Skyword

are due by the first day of

each month for publication

on the following month. The

APFA reserves the right to

edit any submissions that

are received for the pur-

pose of publication in

Skyword. Submissions will

not be considered if they

are too long, libelous,

defamatory, not factual, in

bad taste or are contractu-

ally incorrect. Letters to the

Editor may not be consid-

ered if the length of the

submission exceeds 100

words. All letters must

include your name, signa-

ture, address, base,

employee number and tele-

phone number. Use the

Communique Card in the

tear-out section or submit

your letter to APFA

Communications

Department. Copyright

2001 by the APFA. All

rights reserved. No part of

this publication may be

reproduced in any form

without written permission

of the APFA. The views

expressed in Skyword do

not necessarily represent

those of the APFA. APFA

does not endorse any med-

ical procedure, medical

practice, product or service

that may be mentioned or

advertised in Skyword.

Skyword is published ten

times a year by APFA, 1004

West Euless Bvd., Euless,

Texas 76040. Postage paid

at Dallas, Texas.

Internet Address

www.apfa.org

E-Mail Address

[email protected]

John Ward President

Jeff Bott Vice President

Linda Lanning Secretary

Juan Johnson Treasurer

APFA Headquarters

1004 West Euless Boulevard

Euless, Texas 76040

Toll-Free (800) 395-APFA

Local Metro (817) 540-0108

Fax (817) 540-2077

Chicago Domestic Office

8410 Bryn Mawr Ave.,

Suite 400

Chicago, Illinois 60631

(773) 380-1202

Los Angeles Office

8639 Lincoln Blvd.,

Suite 200

Los Angeles, California 90045

(310) 649-2818

Dallas/Ft. Worth Office

222 W. Las Colinas Blvd.,

Suite 1650

Irving, Texas 75039

(972) 444-2500

contents

features

Retirement Outline

Furlough Update

Sayonara Seattle

by Lori Bassani

Base Field Reports

Dedication to Steve Sternig

Letter to the Editor

Leslie Mayo Editor

Skylar Turner Graphic Designer

volume 5 • issue 3

the official publication of the association of professional flight attendants

About the cover.

Shortly after September 11th,

American Airlines announced the

closure of the SEA Base effective

March 8, 2002. APFA would like

to thank the Seattle Flight

Attendants for their relentless

support of their Union. We wish

them the very best.

Cover Photo.

SEA Flight Attendants in the departure

lounge at Narita waiting to board the

plane home - January 2001.

Back row from left to right.

Ann Nicholas, Cindy Gulbranson, Kristin

Kim, Cathy Babcock, Hide Masaoka.

Front row from left to right.

Sam Garvin, Rachel Pemberton

and Jim Schneider.

From the Editor:

After reading Skyword Volume 5, Issue 2,

one might think we had it out for Miami

Vice Chair Barbara Rives. Not only did her

name inadvertently appear on the Ghost

Ride List (the last place it should be!), but

her name was incorrect in the Chair/Vice

Chair phone card located in the center

section. Our apologies, Barbara!

Tim Burns (IMA) also appeared on the

Ghost Ride List however, Tim does not

conduct Ghost Rides for AA. He is on the

Purser Advisory Board.

This issue of Skyword

is dedicated to Steve

Sternig, LGA Base

Chair. On April 10,

2002, following a

courageous battle with

pancreatic cancer,

Steve died at his

home with his partner

by his side. He was

47 years old.



by John Ward,

APFA President

he National Mediation Board

(NMB) recently determined

that American Airlines and TWA-

LLC are a single transportation

system for representation pur-

poses under the Railway Labor

Act. That determination has now

led to the APFA being certified by

the NMB as the bargaining repre-

sentative for the TWA-LLC Flight

Attendants, thereby replacing the

IAM. Simply put, APFA now rep-

resents the Flight Attendants at

TWA-LLC.

On behalf of the APFA Officers

and Representatives, I’d like to

take this opportunity to welcome

the TWA-LLC Flight Attendants to

APFA. With the addition of the

TWA-LLC Flight Attendants, APFA

now represents approximately

27,000 Flight Attendants at

American Airlines.

Consistent with the agreement

entered into between the APFA

and the company last December,

the terms and conditions of our

contract are now fully applicable

to the TWA-LLC Flight Attendants.

For the past several months, the

TWA-LLC Flight Attendants

understandably have struggled to

understand how things operate at

American, including how to bid,

determining which work rules

apply, and a host of other impor-

tant workplace issues. Now that

APFA has become their bargaining

representative, we will be able to

assist the TWA-LLC Flight

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

Attendants with the intricacies of

the American Airlines system. In

an effort to help the TWA-LLC

Flight Attendants better under-

stand our contract, the American

system, and APFA, a team of

APFA representatives headed to

St. Louis for a series of meetings

shortly after the NMB's announce-

ment that APFA had become the

bargaining representative.

TWA-LLC Flight Attendants at STL

(St. Louis Domestic) and ISL (St.

Louis International), in the near

future, will be afforded an oppor-

tunity to vote for APFA base rep-

resentatives. Until such time as an

election can take place, the APFA

Executive Committee, pursuant to

the APFA Constitution and reso-

lution of the APFA Board of

Directors, will appoint interim

Base Chairs for STL and ISL. We

urge all TWA-LLC Flight

Attendants to promptly become

members in good standing of

APFA so that they can partici-

pate in the elections and other

APFA affairs.

APFA is proud to represent the

TWA-LLC Flight Attendants and

looks forward to having them as

members.

Until next month,

ow that APFA has a new

Contract, it is my depart-

ment’s responsibility to ensure

that it is accurately interpreted

and protected from any misappli-

cation or misrepresentation by

the company.



If a dispute arises regarding the

interpretation of the Agreement

and the parties cannot resolve

the issue, APFA may file a

Presidential Grievance. A

Presidential Grievance is a writ-

ten protest on a Contract dispute

or any unjustified action of the

company that affects the mem-

bership system wide. A Notice

of Dispute (NOD) may be filed

on behalf of an individual Flight

Attendant, a group of Flight

Attendants or even a base.

In addition, if the action of the

company has the potential to

affect the system, then APFA

may choose to forego the NOD

process and resolve the dispute

through the System Board of

Adjustment. The intention is to

try to resolve the issue as quickly

as possible and, unlike most

NOD settlements that are often

settled in a no-precedence-to-

other-cases manner, the goal is to

end up with a decision or settle-

ment that resolves the issue once

and for all.

A Presidential Grievance must be

filed within 45 days of the

alleged action, or 45 days from

the time of the last discussion

between the parties regarding the

dispute. The company then has 20

days to respond. If the Union is

not satisfied with the company’s

response, it has 20 days to submit

the grievance. The next step is a

pre-arbitration hearing where there

should be a disclosure of docu-

ments, meaning a full exchange of

documents that are to be used to

support each party’s relative posi-

tion. The next step is to start the

process of appointing an arbitrator

and scheduling the hearing.

It all sounds pretty straightfor-

ward, right? Well, not exactly. It

can take years for a Presidential

Grievance to be arbitrated. First of

all, tremendous preparation and

resources are needed to present

such a grievance. After all, the

outcome is final and binding.

Once the arbitrator renders a deci-

sion, the parties must live with it.

Both parties usually spend a great

deal of time discussing a possible

settlement. Delays may occur if we

are in the midst of Contract nego-

tiations and the issue is being dis-

cussed at the table with a negotiat-

ed resolution to the grievance

pending. During the course of our

most recent negotiations, a num-

ber of Presidential Grievances

were addressed and resolved.

One of the biggest challenges my

department faces and a major con-

tributor to the delay of scheduling

of a Presidential Grievance is our

need to prioritize. We have to be

flexible and capable of changing

course as new and possibly more

serious problems arise. Although

there are a number of arbitrations

we were preparing to move forward

on, the furloughs that resulted from

the events of September 11th

forced us to re-evaluate our

Presidential Grievance priorities. It

was our belief that the company’s

interpretation of the language in

Article 16 and Appendix F of the

Agreement violated the intent of

the language, and we determined

that since this affected such a large

group of Flight Attendants, it had

to be resolved as soon as possible.

Therefore, it jumped to the top of

the list.

So, what’s next? The SBA

Department has spent a great deal

of time preparing for the

Presidential Grievance regarding

the implementation of new staffing

formulas on the 777. This case

will be a very important and chal-

lenging case for APFA. We have

by Jeff Bott,

APFA Vice President

Presidential

Grievances

VICE PRESIDENT’S REPORT



spent almost two years gathering

the necessary components to pre-

sent this case before an arbitrator.

We must prove an unreasonable

workload on the aircraft in order to

be successful.

How does one establish the criteria

to evaluate an unreasonable work-

load by standards that would per-

suade an arbitrator? This is the

question we have had to research

and one we have been charged to

answer. This is a clear example of

a very complex case requiring a

tremendous amount of preparation

time and resources in order to be

prepared for arbitration. It is not a

case that could be put together

and presented in a short period of

time. I am pleased to report that

the case is scheduled to be heard

May 7-9 in the DFW area. All

members in good standing are

welcome to attend.

Another arbitration at the top of

our priority list is the unilateral

changes to the Family Medical

Leave policy the company put

into place last October, which has

significant implications on the

Attendance Presidential Grievance.

We should have a date, and an

arbitrator for this Presidential

Grievance soon. I had written

about the arbitration we had done

on blanket medical certificates

over the holidays this summer,

and I’m pleased to report that the

language the Union attained in

that award helped ensure that the

problems usually associated with

the holidays and medical certifi-

cates did not occur over this holi-

day period for the first time in

several years at many bases. That

was an important first step in our

battle with attendance.

Remember, we only get one shot

at this; therefore, the arguments,

timing, preparation and the right

arbitrator must all line up. (Just

like the sun, moon and stars, or

at least it feels like that some-

times.) It sounds trivial, but it is

critically important.

Although a number of our

Presidential Grievances were

resolved during negotiations,

there are still a number of out-

standing Presidential Grievances.

At the end of the bargaining

process, the parties agreed to

meet expeditiously to review and

resolve all of the outstanding

Presidential Grievances.

If, after the meeting(s), there were

any Presidential Grievances out-

standing, the parties would

attempt to schedule the arbitra-

tions for these Grievances in an

expeditious manner. Confident

that the Contract would ratify on

September 12th, 2001, APFA

Negotiator and Northeast

Division Representative Laura

Glading and I scheduled a meet-

ing with the company for

September 11th, 2001. Needless

to say, that meeting never took

place, but we did meet with the

company later and proffered

some possible resolutions. I will

update you on the progress in

an upcoming issue of Skyword.

Since the day I took office, it has

been my commitment to clean

up the backlog of Presidential

Grievances. Despite all of the

distractions in 2001, that still

remains my goal. My department

will intensify these efforts now

that our Contract is in place.

Grievances, cont.



by Linda Lanning,

APFA Secretary

his month, I would like to

offer an overview of the

Annual Board of Directors

Convention that took place in

February 2002 in Miami. A great

deal goes into the planning of

such an event. Executive

Committee Member and JFK-

based Flight Attendant Ted

Bedwell assisted me in the prepa-

ration of this Convention. Why

Miami? Every year, we attempt to

afford each base the opportunity

to host the Annual Convention.

Additionally, we had never held

the APFA Convention in Miami,

which is the home base of many

of our APFA members.

To offset our costs, each year we

send sponsorship requests to the

vendors we utilize throughout the

year. This year was no different.

To date, we have collected more

than $13,000. We have established

good relationships with our ven-

dors who help us year after year

and we sincerely appreciate all of

their support.

We completed the Annual

Convention well under budget. If

you are interested in reviewing

the expenditures, you are invited

to visit APFA Headquarters. Any

member in good standing is wel-

come to this information.

I am especially proud of your

Base Chairs and Vice Chairs along

with the Executive Committee

members, the Coordinators and

the Division Representatives. The

amount of time and energy these

people put into APFA year after

year is beyond comprehension. I

have watched in amazement as

each of them handled the events

of September 11th, and then

Flight 587. I witnessed them

putting their fears, pain and feel-

ings aside on a daily basis to help

this membership come to terms

with the events that unfolded

before us. We are blessed to have

each of them. I cannot imagine

what it would have been like to go

through these tragedies without

my fellow Union Reps. Thank

you, dear friends.

Our Annual Banquet, held the

week of the Convention is the

one night that the governing body

of APFA can come together to

celebrate award recipients, benefit

from a guest speaker and enjoy a

sit-down dinner. Each representa-

tive pays for their own meal. We

were fortunate in that Mark

Richards, one of our attorneys for

Negotiations, resides in the

Miami area. He, along with his

contacts, were able to secure for-

mer Attorney General Janet Reno

as our keynote speaker. It was a

pleasure to meet her. Plus, it

appeared that our Representatives

enjoyed her speech as well.

Here is a brief summary of the

Ninth Annual Board of Directors

Convention. Again, if you should

have any questions regarding the

Convention, please call me at

800.395.2732, ext. 8121.

APFA President John Ward called

the meeting to order and wel-

comed the Board of Directors to

the Annual Convention.

During the convention, the Board

nominates Ad Hoc Members for

the Executive Committee. The

Board of Directors put forth the

following names for consideration

for a vote:

• Mario St. Michel (JFK)

• Pete Callaway (IDF)

• Lenny Aurigemma (BOS-I)

• Robert McIntyre (IDF)

• Greg Gunter (BOS)

The Board elected Lenny

Aurigemma as Ad Hoc #1 and

Mario St. Michel as Ad Hoc #2.

APFA’s National Safety

Coordinator Kathy Lord Jones

and APFA’s Lobbyist Joan Wages

gave a safety briefing to the

Board of Directors followed by a

retirement update by Jill Frank,

APFA’s Retirement Specialist.

After we adjourned for the

evening, we attended the banquet

where we honored Becky Kroll as

the recipient of APFA’s highest

award, the Martha W. Griffiths

Award. We also honored Priscilla

Golas and Cheryl Walters with

APFA’s Distinguished Service

Award. In the next issue of

Skyword, I will have photos of

this event.

APFA Treasurer Juan Johnson

and the APFA Budget Committee

presented the Board of Directors

with the Annual Budget for the

fiscal year 2003.

Resolution #1a to amend the

agenda was voted on and passed.

Resolution #1 to approve the

agenda was voted on and passed.

Resolution #2 approving the fis-

cal budget for 2003 was voted on

and passed.

Resolution #3 approving

appointments to the Budget

Committee was voted on and

passed.

Resolution #4 approving

appointments to the National

Ballot Committee was voted on

and passed.

Resolution #5 approving a $6

dues increase for membership vote

was voted on and passed.

Resolution #6 was tabled.

Resolution #7 approving a sixth

Division Representative in accor-

dance with the Constitution was

voted on and passed.

Resolution #8 regarding APFA

per diem away from residence was

voted on and passed.

Resolution #9 allowing the

Division Reps to request salary or

paper bid for the purposes of pay

was voted on and passed.

On the final day of the

Convention, several members of

American Airlines’ management

traveled to Miami to address the

Board and a question-and-answer

session followed.

The motion to adjourn the

meeting came at 1341 on Friday,

February 22, 2002 with a show

of hands.

If you have any questions con-

cerning the resolutions or votes,

please feel free to call me anytime.

It looks like next year, we will be

holding our Tenth Annual Board

of Directors Convention in the

Dallas/ Fort Worth area. Hope to

see you there.

APFA’s

Ninth Annual

Board

Directors

Convention

SECRETARY’S REPORT

TREASURER’S REPORT



pril 1, 2002, marks my two-

year anniversary as the

APFA Treasurer. What an incred-

ible two years it has been. Our

Union has been through some

of the most trying times in its

history with seemingly non-stop

negotiations, the loss of our col-

leagues on September 11th and

November 12th, the furlough of

1,186 of our members and the

TWA acquisition. Never before

has one APFA administration or

any Union membership faced so

many issues in such a short peri-

od of time. Through it all, our

membership and our Union have

persevered.

With this month’s article, I want

to go over some of the actions

my department has taken to

identify areas of costs savings

and revenue increases for APFA.

All jobs come with a period of

adjustment and a learning curve

and my job as Treasurer is no

exception. With the assistance of

my dedicated staff, I was able to

learn the various aspects of my

department rather quickly.

In addition, the Dues Department

took a proactive stance with

regard to the Overage Leaves.

They sent out letters to those

members awarded Overage

Leaves outlining dues payment

options even before the com-

mencement of their leaves. Most

of those who were awarded the

leaves either made arrangements

for monthly payments or paid

their entire obligation in advance.

This allowed APFA an uninter-

rupted flow of dues income and,

at the same time, kept many

members from falling into a dues

arrears status. Because of the suc-

cess of this effort, we have per-

manently adopted this procedure

for all dues obligated leaves.

Many members are unaware that

dues are not our only source of

Having been an APFA Base

Chairperson in DCA and, there-

fore, familiar with the APFA

financials, helped tremendously.

Within a few weeks, I was able to

begin the process of identifying

areas we could reduce or eliminate

costs. Most of these involved

renegotiating contracts with our

vendors including insurance,

phone charges, leases, and in

some cases, changing vendors

altogether. This same process took

place in all departments through-

out APFA and, with the assistance

of the APFA Budget Committee,

yielded positive results.

I also began working diligently

with the Dues Department to

initiate an aggressive dues collec-

tion campaign. With approximate-

ly $750,000 in outstanding dues, I

felt this was an area that deserved

a great deal of attention. Today, as

a result of this campaign, we have

collected more than $70,000 in

active-status outstanding dues

since November 2001. Those

members currently delinquent in

their dues from an active status

can expect an ‘Article 31 Alert

Letter.’ They will then have 30

days to pay their dues in full or

face termination. We are pursuing

those Flight Attendants who have

fallen into dues arrears from an

inactive status, through a collec-

tion agency and small claims court.

Flight Attendants in dues arrears

due to an inactive status should

call the APFA Dues Department to

get on a payment plan and

become a member in good stand-

ing. At the March Board of

Directors meeting, it was the deci-

sion of the Board to place the

names of all Flight Attendants in

dues arrears, not current on their

payment plan, in Volume 5, Issue 4

of Skyword, on the APFA website

and on all base bulletin boards.

Today as a result of this campaign we have

collected more than  in activestatus

outstanding dues since November 

by Juan Johnson,

APFA Treasurer

The Last

Two Years



income. We have an agreement

with D.C. Enterprises, which pro-

vides APFA with a rebate from our

members’ usage of the APFA

Calling Card and one-plus home

long distance service. Over the

past ten years, these services have

generated more than $900,000 in

income for APFA. This is at no

additional cost to the membership.

The rates for both the calling card

and home long distance service

have recently become even more

attractive. In fact, the one-plus

home long distance service is now

at a low 4.9 cents per minute.

Applications for the services can

be found on the APFA website or

members may call D.C. Enterprises

directly at 800-944-2544.

APFA has also entered into an

agreement with MBNA Bank to

offer APFA members the opportu-

nity to apply for an Affinity VISA

Card. This card will proudly dis-

play the APFA insignia. As with

D.C. Enterprises, the APFA will

receive quarterly dividends from

MBNA based on members’ use of

the card. Watch future issues of

Representatives. It means a great

deal to each of us to know that

you are behind us as we face the

daily challenges of running our

great Union. Without your sup-

port, our jobs would not be as

fulfilling or rewarding as they

are. I look forward to the next

two years as your Treasurer.

Skyword, the APFA Bulletin

Boards and the website, and mon-

itor the APFA and InfoRep

HotLines for more information on

this exciting new membership ser-

vice. I am very encouraged by the

income potential of this new

program.

APFA has certainly incurred some

extraordinary costs over the past

three and a half years. Much of

this expense was related to nego-

tiations, enforcing our Contract in

many cases through costly arbitra-

tions and the TWA acquisition.

Although things have settled

down a bit, we must always be

prepared financially.

Looking ahead, we will have to

begin preparing for 2004 Contract

negotiations. We must also deal

with issues that arise in the

course of the day-to-day opera-

tions of American Airlines, the

airline industry, or in Washington,

D.C. Rest assured that I, along

with my staff and the APFA

Budget Committee, will strive to

make certain that not only all

areas of cost savings are

explored, but also seek new ways

to generate income for the Union

in order to ensure that APFA

remains on solid financial

ground.

I want to take this opportunity to

thank each and every one of you

for supporting APFA and those

of us who serve as your

THE COST OF RETURNED MAIL

Many APFA members are unaware that American Airlines does not update

APFA’s membership files.

When the company receives a change of address, phone number, e-mail

address or even a last name change from a Flight Attendant, its files are

updated. In contrast, this information is not shared with APFA. It is up to each

Flight Attendant to ensure those changes are also communicated to APFA.

APFA members may make these changes in several ways:

• Mail the change of address card in the center of Skyword;

• Call the APFA Membership Department at APFA Headquarters,

extension 8153;

• E-mail the Membership Department at [email protected]; or

• Visit the website at www.apfa.org and click on “Update Your Address.”

The cost of returned mail is unnecessary, yet we deal with it on a daily basis.

Depending upon the type and size of the mailing, the cost of a piece of mail

may be as little as 60 cents or as much as several dollars. On the average,

APFA spends $900 on returned mail each time a membership mailing such

as Skyword, a national mailer or a ballot goes out. This expense can be

reduced or eliminated if you would update your information with the Union as

soon as a change occurs. If you are not receiving Union mail, it is more than

likely that APFA does not have your correct address. If you’ve never received

a call from the APFA Phone Tree during contract negotiations, it is possible

that we do not have your correct phone number. Please take the time to

update your information with the APFA Membership Department today.

to take some much needed time

off from Union work at the end of

her current term. After Jeff

lamented (endlessly!) over Laura’s

departure, he offered me the posi-

tion of Northeast Division

Representative. This was one job I

couldn’t pass up. I’ve got some

big shoes to fill, but since I wear a

size ten already, it’s a head start.

This new appointment will enable

me to work more closely with

Flight Attendants and to spend

more time at my home base –

New York.

With change comes anticipation

and even anxiety. It's easy to do

what you're comfortable doing -

it's routine. And whether it's good

or not, it's what you know. But

there comes a point when it's time

to do something different, if for

no other reason than for the sake

of growth. As I finalize this issue,

my last as editor of Skyword, I am

struggling with my own closing

paragraph. I'm rarely at a loss for

words, but it appears that this

time, I don't have an appropriate

anecdote or a quick quote to fin-

ish it up. It's been quite a journey

and I've only just begun.



From the

Editor

Leslie Mayo,

APFA National

Communications Coordinator

wo years have passed since I

was appointed National

Communications Coordinator by

APFA President John Ward, and

what a term this has been. At

the time, my tenure in Euless, TX

felt like an eternity – facing

seemingly never-ending Contract

Negotiations, dealing with the

purchase of TWA, and most

definitively the disasters that hit

us so hard on September 11th

and November 12th. The hurdles

APFA and its members have been

forced to face is almost unfath-

omable. But now that my term is

over, in retrospect, I can’t believe

how quickly the time has passed.

Upon arriving at APFA

Headquarters in May 2000, I had

several goals for this department.

At the top of my list was the act

of providing a secure website that

would afford you a place from

which you could obtain the most

up-to-date information, as well as

exchange ideas and interact with

your APFA Reps, and with each

other. This goal was realized in

June 2000, with the help of Flight

Attendants Michael Garza (DFW)

and Bill White and serves over

half of our APFA members system

wide. We’re ready and waiting for

the other half to join us – it’s avail-

able to all APFA members in good

standing. The website is dynamic

and ever changing. I am very

proud of our accomplishments in

this area and I am sure that under

the direction of the newly con-

firmed National Communications

Coordinator, George Price, it will

only get better. For those of you

who have not yet logged on,

please try it out at www.apfa.org.

Although initially I wasn’t nearly

as excited about working on

APFA’s newsletter as I was over

launching the website, Skyword

became my passion. For the past

two years, and 17 issues, it is

something to which I have

become very attached. With the

help and artistic talent of Skylar

Turner, APFA’s Graphic Designer

who came to work for APFA in

1998, Skyword is a force to be

reckoned with! It has won annual

awards for both content and

graphics consistently, since 1994.

Some of the greatest compliments

I have received were from con-

cerned members who assumed

that, with the horizontal format

and the eye-catching layout, the

cost of Skyword had increased. As

a matter of fact, the cost decreased

– from changing our mailing ser-

vice to limited color editions, we

reduced our spending dramatically.

You should be very proud of your

Union newsletter – or as I like to

call it “the magazine.” It is recog-

nized throughout the country as a

quality union publication and to

walk away from it will be bitter-

sweet. I won’t miss the incessant

proofreading, but I will miss just

about everything else.

This position is not a one-man

show. This was confirmed time

and again especially during the

disasters of September and

November 2001. I relied heavily

upon Bill White to publish infor-

mation for the website as soon as

it was received, especially during

critical moments. He is available

24-7, and his dedication has

proven invaluable to this member-

ship, and certainly to me! I am

also indebted to Skylar Turner

who, aside from handling the

day-to-day demands of this

department (as well as the

requirement that everything he

receives be done yesterday!) was

capable of turning the Skyword

text I handed him, along with a

few suggestions (some good,

some not-so-good), into a mini

monthly masterpiece.

Some of the Communications

Department’s other responsibili-

ties include writing and recording

the APFA HotLine, assisting with

national mailings and outside

vendors, and dealing with the

Press. The Press can be your best

friend or your worst nightmare.

For the most part, they treated us

fairly. With the help of Division

Representative Lori Bassani dur-

ing negotiations, the Press met

their match with the two of us.

They were relentless at times, but

so were we. In the end, we got

our point across and as a result,

AA heard us loud and clear.

My Friday nights will now be

filled with something other than

recording the HotLine upon land-

ing. What will I do with all this

free time? Actually, I had several

ideas, but nothing short of

returning to the line sounded

appealing – that is until one sug-

gestion made to me by APFA

Vice President Jeff Bott. Laura

Glading, the current Northeast

Division Representative and

APFA Negotiator, was preparing

COMMUNICATION’S DEPARTMENT



The chart below has been prepared to help you determine what age and length of service you

must have in order to participate in retirement benefits from American Airlines. There are many

details for each benefit; this will help you begin research if you are considering leaving American.

If you need more information, please call the Contract Desk at ext. 8171.

AGE

45 – 55

50 – 55 RULE

55 RETIREE

55 RETIREE &

PENSIONER

60 RETIREE &

PENSIONER

SERVICE

REQUIREMENTS

20 YEARS

COMPANY SENIORITY

10-16 YEARS

COMPANY SENIORITY

10 YEARS

COMPANY SENIORITY

15 YEARS CREDITED

SERVICE (ONE YEAR OF

CREDITED SERVICE FOR

EACH YEAR YOU FLY 734

HOURS AFTER INITIAL

QUALIFYING YEAR)

10 YEARS CREDITED

SERVICE (SEE ABOVE)

BENEFIT

ARTICLE 30

AGE 50 – 55 RULE

MEDICAL

COVERAGE

& TRAVEL

RETIREMENT

REFERENCE

LOCATION

CONTRACT

NAVIGATOR

SECTION 8-2,

APPENDIX A,

PAGE 1

NAVIGATOR

ARTICLE 36 -

CONTRACT

SUMMARY OF

PLAN WILL BE

AVAILABLE SHORTLY

ARTICLE 36 -

CONTRACT

SUMMARY OF PLAN

WILL BE AVAILABLE

SHORTLY

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

A. $25,000

B. LIMITED LIFE INSURANCE

C. $20,000 MEDICAL COVER-

AGE

D. TEN ANNUAL D-2 PASSES

FUTURE ELIGIBILITY TO

RECEIVE RETIREE MEDICAL

& TRAVEL BASED UPON

COMPANY SENIORITY

FULL RETIREE MEDICAL

COVERAGE & RETIREE

TRAVEL

A. GUARANTEED ANNUITY

B. RETIREE MEDICAL

C. RETIREE TRAVEL

D. RETIREE LIFE INSURANCE

A. GUARANTEED ANNUITY

B. RETIREE MEDICAL

C. RETIREE TRAVEL

D. RETIREE LIFE INSURANCE

EFFECT ON RETIREMENT

ELIGIBILITY TO BEGIN

YOUR PENSION IS BASED

UPON YEARS OF

CREDITED SERVICE.

ELIGIBILITY TO BEGIN

PENSION TIED TO YEARS

OF CREDITED SERVICE.

TRAVEL AND MEDICAL

BASED ON COMPANY

SENIORITY AND AGE

ELIGIBILITY TO BEGIN YOUR

PENSION BASED UPON YEARS

OF CREDITED SERVICE

A. (3% REDUCTION IN PENSION

PER YEAR UNDER AGE 60)

B. FORMULA:

1.667 X FAE X YCS

C. TRIP BOOK TRAVEL

D. HEALTH/LIFE BENEFITS GUIDE

FORMULA:

1.667 X FAE X YCS

SAFETY REPORT



looked at the calendar, and the

date hit me like a brick wall.

March 11, 2002. Had it really

been six months since 9/11?

September 11th seemed like just

yesterday, but at the same time, it

seems like so many years ago. It

has been non-stop since … but six

months? Wow! I continue to

reflect on how our lives, as Flight

Attendants, have changed, specifi-

cally in the safety arena. Now,

more than ever, we must remain

the safety professionals we have

vowed to be.

Change is difficult. Reviewing the

Flight Attendant Mission

Statement printed in our big black

Flight Attendant manual rein-

forces this thought. “Flight

Attendants will provide warm,

caring service and support to

each customer and colleague.”

While I had difficulties with this

mission statement prior to

September 11th, 2001, today, six

months later, it no longer reflects

the job of a Flight Attendant. It

must be changed. We cannot

go back.

Today, each time we go through

security, we are reminded that the

rules have been altered. Each time

we report for a flight, and our

name is checked against the NS,

we know the score. Each time,

during the boarding process, we

give passengers a double take, we

watch for anything that may look

suspicious. The priority of com-

pleting that pre-departure bever-

age service has diminished as we

continue to scan the cabin and

brief the passengers at the win-

dow exits. During each takeoff

and landing, we sit in our

jumpseats and review our emer-

gency procedures, just in case.

Our emergency equipment is

golden, and our Crewmembers

are our lifeline.

In reality, we are not providing

warm caring customer service as

much as we are doing our job as

safety professionals. We are

trained to handle medical emer-

gencies and we are confident in

our training. We can fight and

extinguish an in-flight fire, either

in the lav, started by the nervous

passenger taking a quick drag on

their cigarette, or a fire that is

smoldering in the ceiling compart-

ment of the aircraft due to a light-

ning strike. We can evacuate an

aircraft in windy conditions or

while it is on fire. If we can’t get

the emergency exit open, we can,

and will find a way for our pas-

sengers and ourselves to get out.

We are usually the first to be

injured in turbulence, as it is our

job to ensure that everyone else

is strapped in, first. And we are

the first onboard to come across

that not-so-happy passenger who

wants us to make it all better after

verbally abusing one of our fellow

Flight Attendants.

As we are well aware, three of

our aircraft, crewed by our col-

leagues and friends, were

destroyed in the last six months.

Two were due to terrorism and

the third, seemingly, from a

Kathy Lord-Jones,

APFA National Safety Coordinator

Now More Than Ever

So now more than ever we must maintain

the best of the past and the present

mechanical or structural failure of

the airplane. We must continue to

adhere to all of the safety

responsibilities bestowed upon

us prior to September 11th. We

must also strictly adhere to the

new security procedures derived

after September 11th. And we

must continue to work together

as a Crew, both Flight Attendants

and pilots. We cannot forget

where we came from and where

we have been; and we can never

go back.

Still today, we continue to show

up for work and fly. We continue

to greet our passengers and help

transport them safely across the

world. We attend to their needs

in any situation. Maybe that is

customer service; or maybe it’s

the heart and soul of a Flight

Attendant - the professional in

us all.

Fly safely!



ous indications that all left main

landing gear tires had blown on

takeoff. Rubber was found on the

runway in ORD. The flight divert-

ed to DFW due to weather condi-

tions in ORD and longer runways

in DFW. The aircraft did a fly-by

at DFW, and all tires were seen to

be down and inflated. The aircraft

landed without incident.

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

LAX/JFK – 767 – Flight experi-

enced severe turbulence while

descending to 1,000 feet. The

Flight Crew elected to perform a

go around. The flight landed with-

out incident. No injuries were

reported.

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

JFK/LAX – 767 – In flight, a pas-

senger had several beverages. The

passenger was cut off from receiv-

ing further alcohol. Minis were

found in the passenger’s pockets

and were taken away from the

passenger. The passenger report-

edly verbally abused several Flight

Attendants. Authorities were

requested to meet the aircraft

upon arrival.

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

BOS/ORD – 737 – Upon arriv-

ing at the aircraft, the outbound

Flight Attendants found a Cabin

Service employee unconscious,

on the ground. The AED was

used, and one shock was deliv-

ered. Paramedics arrived shortly

after and removed the employee

who was pronounced dead upon

arrival to the hospital.

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

FLL/DFW – 727 – Flight was

ground-interrupted and returned

to the gate due to a fuel boost

pump circuit breaker that had

popped. Upon gate arrival, the

Flight Engineer started the APU.

The APU came on line and then

quit. The cabin started to fill with

smoke and the Captain initiated

an evacuation. The passengers

were evacuated from the aircraft

via the aft emergency exit slides.

No injuries were reported.

American Airlines

International Flight

ORD/NRT diverted to

DFW – 777 – En route to Narita,

the Flight Crew received numer-

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

MEM/DFW diverted to SHV –

F-100 – En route the Captain

called dispatch to advise that he

had pulled the No. 1 engine back

to idle due to picking up ice,

which caused engine vibrations.

Shortly thereafter, the No. 2

engine experienced similar vibra-

tions. The flight diverted to SHV

and landed without incident.

Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting

(ARFF) met the aircraft on the

runway and escorted the aircraft

to the gate.

American Airlines

Domestic Flight

ORD/IAH – MD80 – Shortly

before landing, the Captain

declared an emergency priority

landing due to an incapacitated

First Officer (F/O). The F/O was

violently ill and unable to perform

her duties. The Captain assigned

the No. 1 Flight Attendant to the

right seat in the cockpit to assist

with landing. The flight landed

without incident, and the F/O was

transported to the hospital.

American Airlines

International Flight

MIA/GRU – 777 – En route to

GRU, a passenger became intoxi-

cated. The passenger was refused

further alcohol and became

unruly and threatened other pas-

sengers and crew. The passenger

kicked another passenger in the

ribs. He was restrained with flex-

cuffs and continued to verbally

abuse the Crew until being

removed by authorities.

by Kathy Lord-Jones,

APFA National Safety Coordinator

Accidents and

Incidents



ver the past few months,

APFA has conducted fur-

lough and recall meetings

throughout the system.

Attendance at these meetings has

been impressive; however, many

of those on furlough could not

attend for various reasons. The

following overview is provided to

ensure that those on furlough

have access to the information

shared in these meetings.

In September of last year, APFA

was focused on the ratification of

our new Contract. On September

11th, many of those who negoti-

ated the Contract or worked on

the Contract campaign were head-

ed for DFW for the ballot count

to be held the following day. By 9

a.m., the world changed forever,

and the Contract ratification

seemed unimportant. In the blink

of an eye, APFA turned its atten-

tion to the tragedy unfolding, and

created a plan of action to help

our members in the field. No one

could know then just how far-

reaching the events of that day

would be.

Within days of September 11th,

APFA received notice from

American Airlines that they

would furlough all probationary

Flight Attendants effective

October 1, 2001. This was a huge

blow to everyone.

APFA compiled a Furlough

Packet, which was sent to each

person on the furlough list. Once

this was done, APFA strength-

ened communication with the

furloughees by including them in

all national mailings, including

Skyword. In addition, furloughees

have been given access to the

members-only section of the

APFA secured website which

includes a section specifically for

the furloughees. Several bases

also held furlough meetings and

appointed Furlough Reps to their

council. In addition, APFA includ-

ed up-to-date furlough and recall

information on the APFA

HotLine.

All of this was tangible.

However, there was a lot of work

going on behind the scenes as

well. For instance, the Vice

President’s Office worked tireless-

ly to reach a settlement prior to

the arbitration for the Presidential

Grievance filed for Articles 15

and 16 and Appendix F. Others

were working to resolve problems

with PeopleLink and CompLink,

insurance coverage and lost recall

packets. Their efforts will contin-

ue until everyone on the fur-

lough list has been offered

re-employment.

RECALL FACTORS:

• AA deferred 36 of 45 aircraft

deliveries for 2002. They will

receive three 777s and six 757s

this year. At the same time, they

will retire all of the remaining 727s

(April 2002). In 2003, AA is sched-

uled to receive 15 airplanes.

• AA under-utilized existing air-

planes in order to reduce schedule.

This will change when the sched-

ule increases in April.

• American reduced the level of,

or eliminated completely, our in-

flight meal services in several mar-

kets. This also eliminated the need

for most VM positions. If and

when services are returned or

increased, the need for Flight

Attendants will increase.

• AA reduced the staffing on the

777 and as of April 1, 2002, the

company began further reductions.

This negatively impacts the need

for Flight Attendants. As a result,

APFA filed a Presidential Grievance

that will be heard in May.

• Each year a group of Flight

Attendants earns additional vaca-

tion accrual. This increase in vaca-

tion time will ultimately require

additional Flight Attendants in

order to cover vacation relief lines.

• More Flight Attendants will

become eligible for retirement each

year. This will ultimately create a

vacancy that must be filled.

As you can see, it is not just how

many Overage Leaves are offered

to create vacancies. Many other

factors come into play. Many of

these are related to corporate

decisions over which APFA has

little control.

I will conclude this article as I

have each meeting by encourag-

ing every member on furlough to

access the informational

resources available. Call the

APFA HotLine at 800-399-2732

each week. Visit the APFA web-

site at www.apfa.org. The

Furlough Page is packed with

useful information that is consis-

tently updated. If you have ques-

tions regarding furlough that are

not answered on any of these

sources, you can contact your

APFA Base Chair or the APFA

Contract Desk for assistance.

American has also set up a web-

site where you can direct your

questions. The address is jet-

news.aa.com. Also, remember to

update your personal information

with APFA at 800-395-2732, Ext.

8153, or by visiting the website at

www.apfa.org.

We welcome back all of those in

this first recall. For those who

remain on furlough, we will con-

tinue to work until each one of

you is back on the line.

by George Price,

InfoRep Coordinator

Furlough

Recall

Update

LaGuardia furlough meeting



he Great Northwest. The Emerald City. The Space Needle. Boeing.

Microsoft. Grunge. Copper River Salmon. Ferries. Fog. Rain.

Starbucks. Tulips. Hendrix. Nirvana. The Mariners. Apollo Ono. Seattle is

all of this, plus about 125 American Airlines Flight Attendants.

It occurred to me while preparing the outline for the emcee portion of our

Sayonara Base-Closing Party that it would not be possible in the time

frame allotted to acknowledge all of my co-workers. In addition, it would

be difficult to reminisce about all of the good times we shared through-

out more than a decade of being based together at one of the most

unique bases in the system. At any rate, I will attempt to hit the highlights

in this article.

I’m a former Seattle-based Flight Attendant, and I was the junior, non-

Japanese-speaking Flight Attendant (at five years seniority) to hold the ini-

tial proffer into Seattle in October 1991. In fact, I was No.100. The num-

ber of Flight Attendants based in Seattle fluctuated between 125 and 130.

At base closing, top seniority was 9. The most junior speaker was 18,389.

October 1991 - March 2002

by Lori Bassani, Western Division Representative

Sayonara

Seattle

Rachel Pemberton Kim Johnson and Nancy Howard model

retrouniforms honoring Tom Howard’s retirement

Uniforms owned by Nancy

During the existence of the base,

there were proffers for less than

25 Flight Attendants into Seattle.

Primarily a one-destination base

(Narita), we also had Anchorage

turns for a very short while.

Seattle was solely International,

and there was a

pilot base that

closed a few

years ago. The

aircraft flown

were the MD-

11 & 777 (to

Tokyo) and the

MD-80 (to

Anchorage).

About 125 of

us descended

upon the

Emerald City in

1991, and we

knew how

lucky we were.

All we had to

do was breathe

the fresh brisk

air, take a ferry

ride across

Peuget Sound

or watch the

Space Needle

erupt with fire-

works on New

Year’s Eve to the sounds of Jimi

Hendrix’s Purple Haze, to realize

that this must be what the good

life was all about.

During those 10 years, we experi-

enced milestones in our personal

lives, our profession and our

nation: marriages, children, the

Strike of ’93, two Contracts, the

Millennium and September 11th.

On top of that, we also knew

how to throw great parties, and

we developed several traditions.

The former Seattle APFA Base

Chairs were: Jennifer Person,

Cathy Klug, Lori Bassani, Pete

Callaway and Robert McIntire.

APFA Vice Chairs were: Pete

Terlaak, Marsha George, Lori

Bassani, Robert McIntire and

Pete Callaway. APFA Division

Reps were David Chambers and

Lori Bassani.

The Seattle base had one of the

highest percentages of participa-

tion in Union elections, referen-

dums and activities. It was also

the birthplace of many creative

bag tags centered around Union

issues, including: “It’s a Matter of

RESpecT” regarding crew rest,

Austin Powers “No Deal, Baby”

and the Chihuahua “Yo Quiero

Profit Sharing” tags after the

rejection of the 1999 Tentative

Agreement. We never had to

send a grievance to APFA’s

System Board of Adjustments

because we were able to resolve

our issues at the local level with

management.

The Strike of 1993 was the first

real milestone. Our Base Chair at

the time was Cathy Klug. I was

the Strike organizer and Strike

Headquarters originated in my

studio apartment on Queen

Anne Hill. The first Flight

Attendants on the picket line

(pre-strike) were Betsy Fagan, Jim

Higgins and Lynn Leftwich.

Almost the entire base pitched in

and worked together during the

Strike. One of our Crews was

stuck in Narita for the entire

work stoppage, and two of our

Flight Attendants were terminat-

Karaoke Night at

The Cage

Scott Hibbard

Lori Bassani

Loredana Piarulli

Maggie Lissak

bar patron

Laura Fike

Laura Clampitt and

Lori Perez

Assault on Capitol Hill

From l to r

Laura Clampitt and Lori Bassani

SEA Flight Attendants in the lobby of Hotel in Narita

Sayonara Seattle Party February  

Welcoming stranded F/As home after Strike in 



our trips and our layovers. There

were so many memorable occasions.

My initial memories are of gracious

Japanese passengers; shy, giggling

Japanese girls; northern lights

viewed through the cockpit window;

breathtaking red sunsets; and ven-

dors on “Green Street” offering

teriyaki crickets, (and trying one-

never wanting to offend). There was

also restaurant fronts boasting work-

ers slicing up live fresh eels; drop-

ping yen into vending machines for

a hot can of milk, tea or a cold

beer; enjoying a picnic on the tem-

ple grounds; and walking in the

early morning through the rice pad-

dies on narrow, bamboo-lined

ed and reinstated. Like all of you,

we have priceless memories

about that time in our history.

The aftermath of those trying

times called for celebration. The

first base party was entitled

“Glitteratti 1994,” a holiday party

held on a large yacht that cruised

around Lake Union. We wel-

comed the opportunity to get out

of our flannel shirts and dress up

for the occasion. The hostesses

were Lori Perez, Laura Clampitt,

Laura Fike and myself, and the

affair was attended by nearly the

entire base.

The summer Luaus were held at

Cindy Gulbranson’s house. Elisa

Wong’s husband, Allen, would

actually roast a pig Hawaiian

style, buried in coals in the

ground. Luckily, Cindy’s proper-

ty accommodated almost the

entire base – we naturally bid

around events such as these.

We found no shortage of excus-

es for a party in Seattle. There

was the 1957-Babies-Turning-40

birthday party that we celebrated

as a group at Kim Johnson’s;

Mary Claire Westerman’s 50th

birthday ‘Baja Queen’ party held

at a local mansion; the Halloween

Gala at Rachel Pemberton’s farm

house; and the impromptu “Non-

PFA” awards dinner organized by

Deann Meyers at Dick’s Drive-In.

Then there was the time we

showed up dressed in black-

mourning attire at the Seattle

Pilots’ base closing party.

Many of our Flight Attendants

were married and had all of their

children during the time they

were based in Seattle.

Now that I have recounted what

happened in Seattle, there is a

whole other world we experi-

enced while on layovers in

Narita, Japan. One question I

was asked repeatedly by out-of-

base Flight Attendants was,

“Don’t you ever get tired of

going to Japan every layover?”

No, in fact, we looked forward to

Back row from l to r

Diane Grant Lynn McMichael Robert McIntyre

Arnetta Corprew Jimmie Sue May Barbara

Beckett Mary Claire Westerman Loredana

Piarulli Nancy Howard and Eugene Shibayama

Front row from l to r

Eddie Rodriguez and John Miller

From l to r Rachel Pemberton Christy Henderson Lynn Leftwich

LaMonte Evans and Megumi Chiba

SEA Pilots’ base closing party

‘s party in Toyko

Back row from l to r

Lori Perez Keiko Shirikata

Hide Masaoka Mark Gouveia

Steve Kroska and Pete Terlaak

Front row from l to r

Lori Bassani Loredana Piarulli

and Mary Claire Westerman

much’s” that

you will expe-

rience at the

check out

stand. On

January 2nd

of this year, I

was in the hotel lobby with a

fellow Crewmember, and she

approached, knowing it would

be the last trip to Narita for

most of us. With tears in her

eyes, she said, “I pray for your

safe return.” In fact it is impor-

tant to note how thoughtful the

Narita Hotel Tokyu personnel

and Narita’s American Airlines

employees were to our Crews

on their final trips. In stark con-

trast, there was no one in

Seattle to meet and wish our

Crews well either at the final

departure to Narita or on the

final Crew’s arrival home.

Of course, one of the mile-

stones in our history was one

that changed all of our lives for-

ever - the tragic events of

September 11th. That event

preceded the announcement of

the Seattle Base closing, and

sadly, four days after the

announcement of the base clos-

ing, Flight 587 went down in

New York. These unthinkable

paths. We watched the transfor-

mation of this Narita in 1991 to a

much more modern Narita in

2002 complete with restaurants,

bars and shops that now cater to

airline crews.

Bored? Well, not if you were lucky

enough to fly with Elisa Wong

(our resident Hostess with the

Mostest). This would be a guar-

anteed potluck party complete

with lava lamp and group board

games in the crew room. And,

fittingly, Elisa organized the base

closing Sayonara party.

If you flew with Loredana Piarulli,

you just might be a part of a

theme party layover. First, there

was the ‘70s party, then the

Beach Blanket Bingo party, the B-

52s Big Hair Night - I’m sure I’ve

missed some. I remember, I was

on reserve for the ‘70s party, and

I really wanted to go. My bag was

packed with my outfit for the

party, and I waited and hoped

someone would call in

sick. Crew schedule

called about two hours

before departure, and I

was ecstatic. The sched-

uler mentioned how

great it was to work the

Seattle desk because we



actually wanted to go to work.

You’ll notice in the pictures

included in this article that all of

us participated.

If you flew with any combination

of Lori Perez or Lori Bassani,

Laura Fike or Laura Clampitt,

Loredana Piarulli, Rachel

Pemberton, Alicia Bert, Kristin

Kim, Maggie Lissak or Cathy

Babcock, you were sure to end

up at The Cage for karaoke and

dancing, and most likely The

Truck for more karaoke and danc-

ing into the wee hours. Or, you

could go for Tonkatsu with Barb

Chiado and Diane Grant, hot

spicy noodles with Eddie

Rodriguez and Robert McIntyre,

groceries with Hide Masaoka or

Megumi Chiba, or the 100 Yen

Shop with anyone. You could

rollerblade with Mary Wargo,

take a 5 a.m. walk with Terry

Foss or go to Tokyo in Nick

Valter’s car. There was never a

dull moment in Narita.

If you ever get a chance to fly

Narita, I hope you will meet the

“nicest girl in the world” as Alicia

Bert dubbed her. She works in

the crew restaurant in the Hotel

Tokyu, and you will know her by

the volley of “thank you very

events affected each of us in a

deeply personal way. The good

times that we shared were great,

and we will never forget them. On

the other hand, it was the difficult

times that reminded us of how

grateful we are for the friendships

and the family we formed during

our years as Seattlites.

Chief Purser Kathie Rulon

TheStrikeisOver celebration

Back row from l to r

Takako YajimaStults Michiko Smalley

and Karen Bauer

Middle row from l to r

Megumi Chiba Keiko Shirikata and Mizue

Tsukamaki

Bottom row

Hide Masaoka

Elisa Wong Lisa Archer Carrie Bandyk

unknown and Susan Underwood shopping on

“Green Street”

Kim Johnson Maggie Lissak Mark

Gouveia Elisa Wong and Betsy Fagan

on their way to NRT

Jena Hopkins,

APFA National Scheduling

Coordinator



Editor’s note: This article is

reprinted from the January 2000

Skyword and updated to reflect

the applicable changes in our new

Agreement. This issue generates

scores of calls to the scheduling desk.

Do I Have To Call the Tape?

There are three basic scenarios

that determine whether you have

to call AVRS for your next

reserve assignment when you

arrive home form a trip:

1. Your duty period ends before

the call-in window and the desig-

nated call-in window is entirely

within your legal rest period.

2. Your duty period ends during

the call-in window.

3. Your duty period ends after the

call-in window.

The call-in window referred to

above is 1900-2200 effective

April 1, 2002.

Examples:

1) Domestic:

Block in at 1630 + 0:15 debrief =

1645 end of duty period

2) International:

Block in at 1730 + 0:30 debrief =

1800 end of duty period

In the two examples above, both

duty periods end before the start

of the call-in window, and the des-

ignated call-in window is entirely

within the legal rest period. The

Flight Attendants have the option

to either call the tape for an

assignment during the designated

window, or they may call crew

schedule before the end of their

debriefs and inform that they will

not call the tape. With this second

option the Flight Attendant is

obligated to call crew schedule

immediately at the conclusion of

her/his rest and must be available

for sign-in at the airport no earlier

than one hour later. See Article

10.V.1.b.(1) and Appendix I,

Article 10.V.1.b.(1).

It is understood between both par-

ties that when you make contact

with crew schedule and inform

them that you will not be calling

the tape, they will not give you an

assignment at that time. Also,

many Flight Attendants think this

call will keep crew schedule from

attempting to contact them but it

does not. Crew schedule may try

to call you, but you are not

required to be available while on

your legal rest.

Examples:

1) Domestic:

Block in at 2100 + 0:15 debrief =

2115 end of duty period

2) International:

Block in at 2040 + 0:30 debrief =

2110 end of duty period

In both of the examples above,

where the duty periods end dur-

ing the call-in window, the Flight

Attendants must call the tape for

their next assignment.

Examples:

1) Domestic:

Block in at 0005 + 0:15 debrief =

0020 end of duty period

2) International:

Block in at 2315 + 0:30 debrief =

2345 end of duty period

In both of these examples the

duty periods end after the desig-

nated call-in period. The two

Flight Attendants, therefore, have

no obligation to make contact

with crew schedule or to call the

tape. They would need to be

available at their contact numbers

after their legal rest periods end.

You are never obligated to answer

your phone during your legal rest.

Crew schedule may attempt to con-

tact you – the Contract does not

prohibit them from attempting to

call – but you do not have to

respond. There have been

instances where crew schedule will

leave a message for the Flight

Attendant threatening a missed

trip if the call is not returned. If

this ever happens to you, please

make a note of the crew sched-

uler’s name and call the APFA

Scheduling Department at APFA

Headquarters, extension 8161.

So, in short: Do I have to call

the tape?

1. Duty ends before the call-in

window and the designated call-in

window is entirely within the legal

rest period: Call the tape or call

crew schedule to inform them that

you will not call the tape and you

will make contact immediately after

you rest ends.

2. Duty ends during the call-in

window: Call the tape.

3. Duty ends after the call-in win-

dow: There is no obligation to call

the tape or make any contact with

crew schedule. You must be avail-

able and answer your phone after

the completion of your legal rest.

SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT



Tidbits from

the

Sceduling

Desk

SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT

Optional Exchange (OE) on

Reserve

An OE on reserve will apply

toward the monthly guarantee

until a Flight Attendant reaches

her/his guarantee. Simply said, an

OE will not be paid on top of

her/his guarantee if s/he does not

fly 75 hours on reserve. This con-

tractual provision has not

changed.

Sick for a Makeup Trip?

You must fly a makeup trip in

order to be paid for it. In other

words, if you call in sick, you will

not be paid for the trip.

New SABRE Entries

N4D/BASE//DATE (Domestic)

and N4I/BASE//DATE

(International) are new entries that

contain more information about

open sequences than N3D and

N3I provide. Co-terminals, layover

info, number of legs per day and

service qualifications will appear

in this new entry for open time.

For the next day only, you will

also be able to see which trips

will open when the sick trips are

cleared at 1600.

N4T/SEQUENCE-TO-BE-TRAD-

ED/DATE and

N4TL/SEQUENCE-TO-BE-

TRADED/DATE are the new

trip-trade-with-open-time finders.

These entries will check the

lights and match you with a trip

with which you can trade. The

first entry will find all open

sequences and the second will

search for trades for which you

are legal.

Personal Vacation Days (PVD)

Did you know that you can be

denied a PVD if you possess a

specific qualification on your

trip such as purser or language?

Moving Available (AVBL) days

Crew schedule has specific

blackout periods throughout the

month when manning is tight

and the moving of AVBL days is

not allowed. If you are denied a

move during the blackout peri-

od, call APFA Headquarters,

extension 8161.

As always fly safely and carry

your Contract. See you next

month.

n April 1, at least 400 of our

furloughed APFA members

rejoined us on the line. This was

made possible through a Letter of

Agreement between APFA and

American Airlines in January 2002.

It has been a very tough few

months for each of them and it is

now incumbent upon each of us to

help make their transition back to

the line as easy as possible.

A lot has changed since the first

American Airlines Flight Attendant

was furloughed late last year. We

have many new safety and securi-

ty procedures in place. The level

of service has been severely

reduced in some markets. The

adjustment to our new Contract is

by no means a small chore. Those

recalled will, in many cases, return

to new rates of pay and new

Reserve and other work-rule provi-

sions to which they may not be

accustomed.

InfoReps are a great source of

information for the recalled Flight

Attendants as well as every mem-

ber on the line. As an InfoRep, be

prepared to listen and to provide

answers. If you don’t have an

answer, contact your Base Chair,

your InfoRep Captain or APFA

Headquarters for assistance. The

APFA website is a great resource

for information.

One of the advantages we had in

their absence was the ability to

deal with the losses of September

11th and the crash of Flight 587

as a family. We have flown

together, counseled each other,

supported one another, and in

many cases, cried collectively.

Those that have been out on fur-

lough have, in many cases, had to

deal with these tragedies outside

of their airline family. They may

need to express remorse, anger or

apprehension. Take the time to

listen. Help them now as we have

helped each other over the past

several months.

Remember, as InfoReps you do

not have to know everything.

You are not expected to be

Contract or Scheduling gurus.

That is not your purpose. You are

here to disseminate information.

From time to time, you may wear

a couple of different hats, but

communication is your main job.

On behalf of the InfoReps

throughout the system, I want to

welcome each and every one of

those on the first recall back to

the line. For those of you still on

furlough, we are anxiously await-

ing your return!

by George Price,

InfoRep Coordinator

The InfoRep

Welcome Wagon

HOTEL DEPARTMENT



by Patty Bias,

APFA National Hotel Coordinator

Who, What, When and Where?

ow do I make a suggestion,

ment on hotel accommodations

or transportation while on a lay-

over or at company training?”

(Yes, APFA has new language in

Article 21 that covers transporta-

tion and accommodations provid-

ed during training assignments.)

First of all, we must give the mer-

chant involved an opportunity to

make the situation right. Whether

it is the limo driver or the hotel

staff, let them know what your

concern is. Tell them the facts as

you see them, and request a fair

resolution. If you are not satisfied

then please report it to the APFA

Hotel Department.

The fastest and most efficient

way to report an issue is via the

APFA website. Once you have

logged into the secure side of the

site, you can click on the Hotel

Department and complete the

debrief form. While you can

reach us at our regular e-mail

address – hotel-dept@apfa.org,

we are usually able to resolve

issues that are sent via the form

more efficiently for one very big

reason. The form prompts you to

tell us who, what, when and

where. It assists you in providing

us with the information we will

need to get results.

This procedure saves us lots of

time. When we contact the com-

pany, their first questions are:

“Who, what, when and where?”

Many of the employees who

work at the hotels and transporta-

tion companies are also Union

members. If a complaint surfaces,

“Who, what, when and where”

are the first questions their man-

agement and union representa-

tives must have answers to in

order to attempt to resolve the

problem from their end. Without

that critical information, the

complaint will very often go

fully unresolved. It is possible to

get partial satisfaction, but rest

assured the problem will arise

again.

Remember; try to resolve the

problem on the spot. It could be

just a miscommunication. Just

like on the airplane, hotel opera-

tions don't always operate as

planned. But when you do have

a problem you can't resolve, or

if you experience a series of

small problems over and over

again while riding in the same

van or staying at the same hotel,

gather the facts and go to

www.apfa.org. For those of you

who are not computer savvy,

there are pink hotel debrief

forms located near every APFA

bulletin board. Just complete it

and drop it in any APFA lock

box. If you complete a company

debrief form, do not assume

APFA gets a copy. Leave us a

copy as well.

We are here to help. Our goal is

to assure safe, clean, comfortable

and restful layovers on every trip

you take and every training class

you attend.

“H



the street is the original St.

Augustine’s Catholic Church.

Built in 1854 – it is still in oper-

ation today.

The Marriott provides a free

locked storage facility for Crews

to store luggage, surfboards,

bicycles, etc.

I am confident that our Flight

Attendants will be more than

pleased with the new hotel in

Honolulu – The Waikiki Beach

Marriott Resort.

Kauai, Hawaii

(Review conducted by Patty Bias)

Los Angeles is scheduled to

begin service, non-stop to

Kauai. Currently, only the pilots

will layover. The company had

scheduled a Kauai review in

conjunction with the Honolulu

review. So, since the APA rep

and the company rep were

going to Kauai, I went as well, in

case, at some future date, the

Flight Attendants layover there.

Kauai is a peaceful and beauti-

ful island. They boast that their

best kept secret is the excellent,

block from the now famous

“Sunset on the Beach” weekend

event. The city has installed an

enormous movie screen on the

beach. Free movies are shown

each weekend after sunset.

Some of the best restaurants in

Waikiki have booths set up to

sell food during the movies at

reduced prices. Along with pizza,

hotdogs and ice cream, beer and

wine are available for purchase.

Tables and umbrellas are set up

on the Pier, or people can bring

beach towels and blankets and

sit on the beach to enjoy the

movie and the food. This is a

very popular event, and our

Crews are sure to enjoy it.

Across the street is a Burger

King as well as a Denny’s on the

corner. One-half block away is a

fun and appetizing restaurant

called Cheeseburgers in Paradise.

The Pacific Beach Hotel is one

and one-half blocks down from

the Marriott and houses a fabu-

lous three-story, 280,000-gallon

indoor Oceanarium Restaurant –

a must see for everyone. Across

Hotel News and Reviews

Honolulu, Hawaii

(Review conducted by Patty Bias)

We finally made the move from

the Ala Moana to The Waikiki

Beach Marriott Resort due to the

black mold in and around the air

conditioning units. Complaints

escalated during the past year and

we are pleased with the new hotel.

Marriott purchased the Waikiki

Beach Resort and subsequently

invested more than $60 million

dollars for a complete renovation.

The hotel is located on the main

street in Waikiki on Kalakaua

Avenue. Nothing is in front of the

Marriott but the beach! It is a fab-

ulous property.

The rooms are very tropical and

pretty. Each room has all of the

amenities of a resort, plus refriger-

ators and free in-room safes. In

addition, there are coffee makers

and 25-inch televisions in each

room. Ninety percent of the hotel

has an ocean view.

The Marriott has a large, well-

equipped exercise room and two

large pools. Within one block is a

large golf course and within two

blocks – several tennis courts.

There are also numerous restau-

rants and shops. Our Crews will

be given a ten percent discount

in the restaurants and when

ordering room service. Another

added attraction is Seattle’s Best

Coffee, which is scheduled to

open in the hotel’s shopping

arcade.

The hotel is located within walk-

ing distance of the world famous

International Market Place. Also

across the street from the

International Market Place is the

three-story Royal Hawaiian

Shopping Center.

Additionally, the Hyatt Waikiki, a

few blocks from the Marriott, has

a shopping arcade with very nice

stores. Next to the International

Market Place is the Liberty

House Department store, now a

Macy’s. Along Kalakaua Avenue

are numerous shops – from

Tiffany’s to tourist shops. There

is plenty of shopping in every

direction.

The hotel is one block from the

Honolulu Zoo. It is also one



Cancun is inexpensive. The

Marriott is famous for its

Champions Sports Bars. At this

hotel, Champions has 25 large

individual televisions and one

giant screen to watch a favorite

sports team or event.

The hotel has its own tennis

courts that we may use. The

Marriott has a free exercise room

with indoor whirlpool and sauna.

The JW Marriott spa is new and

fabulous! It is the largest spa in

Latin America - three floors of

whirlpools; an indoor lap pool;

large exercise rooms, massage

and treatment rooms; beauty

salon; and saunas. Crews will be

given a discount if they chose to

use these facilities.

Each room at the Marriott has a

ceiling fan, air conditioning, a

refrigerator, an in-room safe, a

private patio and an ocean view.

As Crewmembers, we will

receive free local calls and no

access fee for credit card calls.

Security in the hotel is outstand-

ing. The Melia, our current lay-

over hotel, did not have a chain

or a bar latch as opposed to the

Marriott, which has a bar latch,

a double-bolt lock, a peephole

and an electronic key entry.

Tulsa, Short Layover Update

(Review conducted by Tim Weston)

As of March 31, 2002, we

moved from the Holiday Inn

Tulsa East Airport to the

Holiday Inn Select.

The hotel’s location is nice as it

is within walking distance to a

mall and several restaurants. The

rooms are clean and adequately

furnished. The hotel also has a

fitness facility. It should prove to

be an excellent short layover

property. We hope you will

enjoy this hotel.

The hotel will provide free shut-

tle service to the Anchor Cove

Shopping Center.

Cancun, Mexico

(Review conducted by Patty Bias)

At the request of the company,

we conducted a review of

Cancun. We reviewed several

properties in Cancun, and as a

result of the economic state of

travel and empty hotel rooms

the decision was made to house

our Crews at the Marriott Casa

Magna Resort.

The hotel has its own private

beach on Cancun’s beautiful

Hotel Row. The ocean in

Cancun is a glorious clear blue.

The Marriott Casa Magna

Resort is next door to the mag-

nificent new J.W. Marriott Hotel.

Our Crews will have access to

eight restaurants in both hotels

along with a 20 percent discount

at the restaurants and when

ordering room service. The

Marriott next door has a 24-hour

deli with an ice cream parlor,

hot soup and freshly made deli

sandwiches. Our Flight

Attendants can easily afford to

eat here, as most food in

and in a few cases, very inexpen-

sive golf. I’m told that the hiking

is unbelievable along the Na Pali

coastline, and snorkeling is great

at Tunnels. In addition, if time

permits, there is a helicopter tour

available to view the beauty of

this magnificent and quiet island.

The Radisson Kauai Beach

Resort was chosen as our layover

hotel. The hotel rests on its own

private beach and is large and

beautiful. It has a pool and

numerous small lakes throughout

the lush grounds.

The rooms are great – very large

– and each room has a patio.

Every room has the standard

resort amenities, plus in-room

safes and refrigerators. The hotel

offers complimentary Mai Tais,

house beer or wine each evening

at the beach-side pool from 5 to 6

p.m. This party is followed by a

torch lighting ceremony.

The hotel has food available at the

pool restaurant, as well as a beau-

tiful full-service restaurant called

Naupaka Terrace. There is also a

deli serving fresh made-to-order

sandwiches, salads and ice cream.



n the mid-1980s, HIV was an

emerging epidemic. No one

could have envisioned the mag-

nitude of the disease in those

early days. Certainly no one

could have foreseen the evolu-

tion of the disease and the

unique way in which the virus

would mutate. That mutation

created challenges not only for

researchers and physicians, but

also for patients.

HIV was first officially identified

in the early ‘80s. How long the

virus had been around before

that time is still a subject of great

speculation. The first victims

were predominately gay men and

IV drug users. Although HIV

remains most prevalent within

these groups, infection rates

among heterosexuals – especially

women – is increasing at an

alarming rate.

According to the Center for

Disease Control (CDC) statistics

for the year 2000, there were

774,467 reported cases of

HIV/AIDS. Of those, 635,451

were men and 130,104 were

women. This number also

included 8,908 children.

A total of 448,060 people have

died of AIDS in the United

States. The majority of these

deaths were among people ages

30 to 39. By far, Caucasians have

been the most affected. However,

African Americans and Hispanics

are not far behind, and the infec-

tion rates within these groups are

increasing as well. The states

with the greatest infection and

death rates are New York,

California, Florida and Texas.

The cities most affected are New

York City, Los Angeles, San

Francisco, and Miami. Since

HIV/AIDS was first identified,

21.2 million people worldwide

have died. This includes 9 million

women. Today, 16.4 million or 47

percent of all people living with

HIV/AIDS worldwide are women.

Over time there has been less

and less coverage about HIV and

AIDS. Researchers and other

medical professionals on the

frontlines of the HIV epidemic

can only hypothesize about

whether this has played a part in

the growing infection rates or

the disconcerting return to risky

behavior. Nonetheless, the infec-

tion rates are once again on the

rise in all sectors of our society.

The group that seems to be

most affected in the new round

of infections is the under-25

group. These people were very

young when HIV and AIDS hit

its pinnacle. They are familiar

with the disease, but they are

also familiar with the various

drugs available for those who

are infected. This may lead to a

by George Price, IDF

HEALTH DEPARTMENT



false sense of security. The drugs,

coupled with the fact that medical

professionals have referred to HIV

moreso as a manageable disease

and less a death sentence may also

play a role in the increased behav-

iors leading to infection.

As disconcerting as it may seem,

there are some who see HIV

infection simply as an inconve-

nience. It is much more than that.

It remains a deadly disease with

no cure. Those who were infected

in the late ‘70s and ‘80s had little

hope due to the lack of drugs

designed to treat HIV. In the ‘90s,

those infected were given the

hope of a longer life with a man-

ageable disease through the cre-

ation of new and powerful drugs.

These drugs were used in combi-

nation therapies in many cases.

Despite the hope of a longer,

healthier life these drugs provided,

they have now created yet another

dilemma in the HIV saga that

makes the need for a cure and a

vaccine that much more urgent.

HIV is a very intriguing virus. It

has the ability to reproduce and

mutate quickly. As each new drug

is introduced into a patient’s

regime, the virus begins the

process of mutating around it.

Some drugs may, however, be

quite effective for a longer peri-

od of time before the virus

becomes resistant to it. That is

the good news.

The bad news is that over time

the virus can become resistant to

most, if not all, drugs currently

used for the treatment of HIV.

This leaves those infected with

limited treatment options. What’s

more, it creates a strain of HIV

that may be resistant to one or

all of the existing drugs passed

from one person to another.

Those that have had the oppor-

tunity to live an extended life

due to the effectiveness of these

powerful drugs may pass on

their now-resistant strain of HIV

to someone who will face limited

treatment options and possibly a

reduced lifespan.

The long term use of the various

drugs designed to fight HIV has

not only helped to create new

resistant forms of HIV, it has

accentuated the need for new

research, and drugs that will

affect resistant forms of HIV and

tests that can identify exactly

which drugs an individual’s strain

of HIV is resistant to. A recent

study conducted by Dr. Douglas

Richman and his colleagues at

the Veteran’s Administration San

Diego Healthcare System showed

that of the 209,000 people who

were tested as part of the study,

78 percent had a strain of HIV

resistant to at least one drug.

Overall, 49 percent of the partici-

pants were totally drug resistant.

Drug resistance testing is becom-

ing a more standard part of cur-

rent HIV therapy. Many doctors

are relying on these tests begin-

ning at the point of a patient’s

initial positive test. They submit

the patient to resistance tests in

order to determine what drugs

their particular strain of HIV

defies so that the most effective

drug therapy can be prescribed.

This same approach is being

used on those who have been

infected for a period of time in

order to identify effective drugs

without relying on the trial-and-

error method of treatment which

can be less effective and very

costly.

If you are HIV positive, you

should always play an active role

in your own therapy. Learn what

you can and discuss treatment

options with your doctor. In your

next visit, you may want to dis-

cuss drug resistance testing. It

may identify therapies that are the

most effective for you and save

you precious time and money.

We all know what it takes to

become infected with HIV. It is

actually a very difficult virus to

contract. Please do whatever you

can to avoid infection. Remember,

there is still no cure.



tell you that JFK is doing better

by means of recovering lost fly-

ing after September 11th than

any of the other International

bases. Hopefully, this will mean

even more flying and growth for

us at JFK. I can tell you that it is

not economically feasible for the

company to keep transferring fly-

ing out – it is definitely a financial

burden.

This does not, however, alleviate

our frustration, and believe me

when I tell you that I share in that

frustration. I have been attempt-

ing to come up with solutions

and alternatives for the return of

Flights 44 and 45 out of JFK.

Nothing was acceptable to the

company because of the reasons

I stated above. I wish I could

assure you that Flights 44 and 45

will return to the JFK bid sheet in

May, but I cannot. The truth is, I

don’t know when, and the com-

pany says they don’t either. I can

assure you, though, that it is not

from a lack of trying.

I don’t expect that this will

pacify our frustrations, but I do

hope that it helps explain the

events that have transpired with

regard to this issue and the

efforts I have made to resolve

them.

Kat and I appreciate your

continued support.

Michelle Nasca

JFK Chair

Kat Clements

JFK Vice Chair

I would like to address the issue

of transferred flying at JFK. As you

are all aware, we have not had the

Paris trip (Flights 44 and 45) since

January 1, 2002, and I want to give

you some background as to what I

have been able to find out regard-

ing this issue.

Kat Clements and I were first

made aware of the transfer of the

Paris trip via rumor – line Flight

Attendants informed us of the

change prior to the bidsheet even

being published. Unfortunately the

company did not make us aware

of this development. I immediately

contacted Base Manager Verna

Miller who told me that she had

also just been advised by

American Airlines crew planning.

Verna informed me that what was

driving the transfer of this trip out

of base was the fact that JFK was

operating under a shortage, and,

therefore, we could not accommo-

date the trip with our headcount

for January.

In addition, IDF and IOR were

both operating with a combined

overage of about 400 Flight

Attendants. I proffered to Verna

why we couldn’t give up one of

our four LHR trips instead of one

of our two Paris trips? Verna

advised me that IDF flew into

LGW only – not LHR. I inquired

about the possibility of giving

one of our LHRs to IOR. This

would not work either as ORD

needed the overage Flight

Attendants that would become

available to Domestic in order to

cover their shortage. The IDF

Flight Attendants were not need-

ed at DFW on the Domestic side

in the same why that ORD need-

ed extra Flight Attendants from

IOR. Therefore, the trip had to

go to IDF. In addition, since IDF

does not fly into LHR, and they

use a 777 on their DFW-CDG

trip, the combination worked out

well for purposes of manning.

During this debate, I was told at

that time that this would hopeful-

ly be the situation only during

January 2002.

In January, I spoke with Verna

again and inquired as to whether

or not we would have Flights 44

and 45 on the February bid

sheet. I was told we would not,

nor would we (more than likely)

have it in March. I inquired

about a proffer for the contractu-

al month of March 2002. I was

advised that planning would not

post a proffer to cover the Paris

trip because the majority of the

Flight Attendants would come

from LGA, and LGA did not

have the manpower to lose addi-

tional Flight Attendants, either.

Verna also advised me at this

time that we would be starting

up Tokyo on April 19th and

also, on April 1st we were get-

ting back one of the LHR trips

we lost after September 11th.

She did not, however, know

when we would be seeing

Flights 44 and 45, but she was

hopeful that we might see it in

the Spring.

I contacted APFA Headquarters

and inquired as to the validity

behind the “manning issue” as it

had been presented to me, and

it was verified that IOR and IDF

were in an overage situation

and that ORD was using the

overage from IOR. Also, it was

confirmed that JFK is operating

in a shortage. The fact that we

do not, unfortunately, have trip-

ownership rights was reiterated.

In other words, one base does

not own the right to fly a

specific trip.

So where does that leave us? I

have recently been advised that

Flight 44 and 45 will most likely

be flown by IDF through May,

and that one of our LHR trips

will be flown by IOR in April.

On May 1st we will realize the

return of the Flight Attendants

that were awarded the six-month

Overage Leave last November

1, 2001. This will most assured-

ly help our manning issues. The

company expects to have the

operation almost back to 100

percent by July. However, I am

not certain if this is just at JFK

or system wide.

On a more positive note, I can

BaseField Reports

JFK



By the time this goes to print our

first wave of returning furloughs

will have arrived. Welcome back!

We have missed you!

Thanks to APFA Vice President Jeff

Bott, InfoRep Coordinator George

Price and our Furlough Reps

Linsey Knowles and Bill

McManamon for all of the work

they have done and are continuing

to do for our furloughed Flight

Attendants. We are still maintain-

ing a furlough e-mail group in

ORD. If you have friends out there

who are still on furlough, have

them send their e-mail addresses

to apfachord@earthlink.net.

If you are a returning furloughee

(off probation) and you ended up

at a base other than the one you

wanted, get your name on the

transfer list right away. There is no

lock in at your current base.

Transfers must be processed to

available bases before more fur-

loughed Flight Attendants can

return and be assigned to a base.

If you are a returning furloughee

still on probation, you will be eligi-

ble to transfer as soon as you are

off probation. Keep in mind; the

base you want may not be open.

The same rules apply as before.

The only difference is there will

be no lock in at the base where

you have returned from furlough.

There have been many changes

since you were furloughed. You

have received pay increases and

reserve/availability has changed.

Remember, you have many

resources to help you through

your transition. You can call the

APFA HotLine at 800-399-2732,

contact APFA Headquarters from

0830-1830 Monday through

Friday at 800-395-2732, or call the

Chicago local office at 773-380-

1202. Remember, the APFA

Officer on Duty is available from

1830-2300 Central Time, Monday

through Friday; and 0830-2300,

Saturday, Sunday and Holidays.

The APFA website has become a

valuable source of information.

You will also be able to access

the new Contract in its entirety.

You should be able to print it

article by article in order to carry

the vitals with you.

Please make sure to update all of

your information with both APFA

and the company. We have

learned many sad, yet valuable

lessons from this last year. In any

circumstance, being able to con-

tact people quickly and properly

could save unnecessary anxiety –

whether at home or at work.

We’re expecting some new flying

this summer. We continue to try

to work with crew planning. As

most of you know, if the airplane

is co-paired, we cannot do our

over-eight-hour turnarounds.

There is always a plus and a

minus to every change! The 767

and 757 will remain un-copaired.

Hopefully, we can pick up extra

flying there.

ORD APFA needs Flight Attendants

who might be interested in being

the new Retirement Specialist at

base. At our last Board of

Directors meeting, it was deter-

mined that each base will need

Flight Attendants who specialize in

all aspects of retirement. It will be

an incredible education for

whomever volunteers. You will also

become the smartest retiree

around! Please contact us at the

ORD APFA office at 773-380-1202.

We have several new Professional

Standards Representatives in

ORD. Soon, we’ll be getting a new

roster out to the base. With all of

the changes at American Airlines

in the last year, it has been diffi-

cult to keep up a current roster.

Please remember, there are certain

guidelines Professional Standards

Reps need to follow. If you ever

receive a call from one of our

Professional Standards

Representatives, please remember

that these are your fellow Flight

Attendants who have volunteered

to take on this responsibility.

Mutual respect is key to the suc-

cess of this program. For now, you

can call 1-800-395-APFA, ext.

8615, and leave a message. One

of our Reps will get back to you

shortly.

That’s it for now. Remember,

don’t sit there frustrated because

you think the company is not

following the Contract … call

someone!! If one resource is not

available, call another. If you call

us at the ORD office and don’t

hear back that same day, call

again! We strive to answer all

calls on the same day, however;

the operation sometimes func-

tions beyond our control. Don’t

give up. Get Contract savvy,

and gain control over your work

life. After all, you’ve earned it!

In Unity,

Liz Mallon

ORD Base Chairperson

Steve Wilson

ORD Vice Chairperson

ORD



D.C. Fly-In, 2001: Clockwise - Steve, Suzanne

Edwards - LGA Chair, Randi Le Grice - LGA

and Gil Callahan - DCA

APFA Banquet, 1996: Steve, left with Michelle

Nasca - JFK Chair, and Jeff Bott - Vice President

Steve Sternig

June 3, 1954 - April 10, 2002

Condolences may be sent to:

Michael Kelley and the Sternig Family

38 Poppy Court

Brick, NJ 08723

teve Sternig and I

worked together for

seven years - representing

the Flight Attendants at LGA.

Steve was a truly devoted

union advocate who spent

more than 11 years of his life

protecting and fighting for

the rights of our members.

There were many times when

Steve would be up literally all

night helping a Flight

Attendant in need. His dedi-

cation to protecting others

also extended to his friends

and colleagues. Steve’s alle-

giance to APFA was second

only to the loyalty he shared

with his dearest friend and

companion Michael Kelly, his

partner of 25 years. I would

like to say, “Thank you

The Strike is Over, November 22, 2002 -

Steve at EWR Strike Headquarters with

fellow Flight Attendants

Michael, for your willingness to

share Steve with all of us.”

Steve meant many things, to

many people. To me, Steve

was a mentor. But in the

process he became one of my

closest friends. He was a large

part of my daily life. We talked

on the phone most every day,

and often, several times during

the day. In the beginning of my

experience as a union rep my

questions seemed endless in

an attempt to learn from his

experience. He was always

very patient, reminding me that

there are no silly questions if

you don’t know the answer. He

would tell me that I had good

instincts and that I should fol-

low those instincts. His encour-

agement meant a lot to me.

Though we had very different

personalities and diverse

styles, we were very much in-

sync. He would start a sentence

and I would finish it - and in

that same spirit I will proudly

pick up Steve’s torch and carry

it forward to continue serving

the LGA Flight Attendants.

Suzanne Edwards



Random Drug Testing …

Is It or Isn’t It?

Although the Random Drug

Testing Program is mandated by

the FAA, it is administered by

American Airlines. Many of us

have been tested excessively or

after unusual circumstances such

as vacations, that the “random-

ness” of the program is, in my

opinion, questionable.

If, in fact, we are being targeted,

for whatever reason, it is not

only unethical, it is illegal. It

violates our right to privacy and

negates the purpose of the

program.

Because of numerous complaints

and letters, the FAA has initiated

an investigation. To support this

effort, it is of vital importance to

assess how prevalent and wide-

spread this excessive testing

under the auspices of “random”

has been.

Please print a survey for the

Flight Attendant corps so it can

be statistically analyzed in order

to seek possible sanctions

against this practice.

Sincerely,

Anne Elizabeth Wutkowski

aesyncrete@yahoo.com

029706 – IOR

Letter to

the Editor

Editor’s Note:

The following Letter to the

Editor was received by Anne

Elizabeth Wutkowski, IOR,

with regard to Random

Drug Testing.

Please see the center section

of this edition of Skyword

for a Random Drug Test

Survey. Remember, letters to

the editor are not necessarily

the opinion of APFA.

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