First, LTD buy up.
Metlife has sent out some medical history forms in error. The only pilots who need to
complete a medical history form are those veteran pilots who had not previously enrolled
and elected to sign up for the first time during open enrollment last year.
Second, ALPA has filed
a group grievance on the company’s handling of flexible spending accounts.
Third, of all the
retired disabled pilots affected by the Age 60 Retest Arbitration, all are being paid
except Ed Sherman himself. We think this one should be resolved shortly, but I strongly
encourage top management to delay no longer. Listen to the R&I message for more
details.
Interference with
Flight Crews
ALPA-PAC
Flight Time Duty
Time
PBS
Recent Labor
Settlements
US West has voluntarily
proposed an immediate contract extension a year early and is willing to discuss immediate
improvements to pay, pension and health care benefits.
Midwest Express pilots
are receiving a 23.8% increase, with a captain top rate of $148.22. Junior assign pay is
1.5 times. Training pay is trips missed. Day rig is 1 for 2, night rig is 1 for 1-2/3,
with night being any duty from 2400 to 0430. Maximum scheduled night duty is 12 hours.
Pilot vacation is trips missed. All reserves are used before JA. There are four retirement
plans, including Direct Contribution, Defined Benefit, 401K, and severance. Retiree health
care is guaranteed.
Employers are realizing
that the labor train is leaving the station. Who’s that left standing on the
platform? Read about it in Friday’s newspaper.
That’s it for this
week. The next hotline will be Thursday, March 30. Thanks for listening. And remember,
wear your ALPA pin and green badge.
Retirement & Insurance Update
Interference with Flight Crews
ALPA-PAC
Flight Time Duty Time
PBS
Recent Labor Settlements
MEC Hotline
Good evening, this is MEC Chairman Roger Cox
with the MEC Hotline update for Thursday, March 23. Tonight’s topics are:
My thanks to R&I Vice Chairman John McIlvenna for his tenacious work on retirement and
insurance. John will be updating the R&I message on this KIT system today in detail,
but there are just a few points I want to highlight.
The recently passed FAA Reauthorization Bill included an ALPA-sponsored increase in the
fine for interference to $25,000. America West may become one of the “poster
children” on this issue since one of our unruly passengers is in jail in Albuquerque
for striking a pilot and a flight attendant this week. Alaska had one this week too, as
you probably know from news reports. ALPA has been on the forefront of action to change
laws and enforcement on this. You can learn more by logging onto the ALPA website at www.alpa.org.
U.S. ALPA pilots contributed nearly $770,000 to our political action committee in 1999.
That was up $220,000 from the previous year. The PAC was established in 1975 by the
Executive Council to strengthen the voice of pilots on Capitol Hill. It accepts voluntary
contributions from U.S. ALPA members to provide campaign assistance to pro-pilot
candidates running for the US Senate or House of Representatives. You can find out more at [email protected] or by calling your local government affairs committee.
For the last five years, America West pilots have had to deal with extreme duty
conditions. Those will, of course, be addressed in our contract negotiations. Butmany
of you also feel that the FARs need to be changed. Did you know that ALPA has already
proposed changes to the regulations? ALPA wants to see 250 hours in 13 weeks and 90 hours
in 28 days added to the current 1000 hr, 30 in 7, and 8 hour rules. ALPA also proposes a
scheduled maximum duty day of 12 hours with 6 landings, reduced to 10 hours for duty in
the WOCL (window of circadian low). You can find all these proposed changes on the ALPA
website.
PBS parallel bidding is on. Your T4 mailboxes have been stuffed with new publications and
there is current information on the KIT PBS hotline. Read, listen and do.
Continental Flight Attendants settled their contract in less than three months. They will
receive a 14% first-year raise and 26% end-rate increase. They got improvements in
retirement, vacation, work rules and flexibility.