September 24, 1998 Hotline

  September 24, 1998

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PBS Side Letters Ratified
Ballots were counted in Herndon this morning in the ratification of the three PBS side
letters. The side letters passed by a solid margin, with 65% of ballots cast in favor of
the agreement. A total of 933 ballots were returned to Herndon, representing a turnout of
some 78% of eligible voters.
We will keep you informed of upcoming PBS activities and developments via a new
publication, titled PBS on the LINE. The first issue will be distributed
next week to all T-4 mailboxes. In addition, the latest issue of Fenix Flight
magazine has been printed and will be distributed shortly.
With PBS negotiations and ratification behind us it’s time to pause and remember that the
quality of a pilot’s schedule is driven by pairing construction, not line construction.
Further, it will be incumbent upon the company to implement and administer a satisfactory
preferential bidding program, as it will be incumbent on the union to enforce the
company’s contractual limitations, and the pilots’ contractual protection. You can be sure
this will be our top priority has we move forward on PBS.

AWA Mechanics Tentative Contract
We’d like to offer our congratulations go to America West and its mechanics, as
represented by the Teamsters, on achieving a tentative contract. The agreement includes an
average, immediate pay increase of 14% plus a $1.5 million signing bonus. The agreement
will be presented to the maintenance workforce in a series of roadshows, with a
ratification election scheduled in early October. We are especially encouraged by Mr.
Franke’s personal commitment to bring at least some heavy maintenance back in-house, and
to offer re-employment to those mechanics who lost their jobs in December of 1995.
We see these moves as continued evidence of a genuine, and positive, change in corporate
direction. These changes, coming from the highest levels, send signals of the best kind to
all America West employees.

LEC Ballots
With the ALPA Board of Directors having approved our council restructuring amendments to
the Constitution and By-Laws, we are now beginning a new election cycle for Council 62
representatives and officers. By now you should have received a nominating ballot in the
mail from ALPA Herndon. This ballot will be used to nominate candidates for captain rep,
first officer rep, and local council secretary-treasurer. The ballots will be counted at
the next Local Council Meeting on Wednesday, October 28th. Due to the restructuring you
will now vote for two captain and two first officer reps instead of one. So far the
following candidates have announced a willingness to serve if elected:
In the captain representative election: David Chambless, Mike Martin, Jack Ryan
In the first officer representative election: Gary Bakewell, Eric Durnal
In the secretary/treasurer election: Mike Calabrese
Note that Don Steinman and Darcy Pierce are not running for re-election as captain and
first officer representatives, and request that their names not be placed on the ballots.
This election will not effect Steinman’s, Pierce’s, and Calabrese’ terms as MEC officers,
which will continue through August of 1999.

EasyBid
Crew Resources has made an unexpected software change for pairing production. As a result,
EasyBid, which many AWA pilots use, may not work for Bid 146. If you use EasyBid, do not
wait until the last minute to bid, the program MAY NOT WORK, and you will have to bid
manually. ALPA is working with Crew Resources in investigating the possibility of
converting the output from the new Scheduling software to a format that is readable by
EasyBid. We will keep you informed of any new developments.

HIMS Conference
The annual national HIMS conference was held this week in DEN. HIMS Committee Chairman
Chris Behl was a guest speaker at the conference, with many of his committee members also
in attendance. Several members of the America West management team also attended,
including Vice President of Flight Operations Lee Steele, Chief Pilot Randy Olin, and Dave
Korry, head of the airline’s drug and alcohol testing program.

Capt. John Underwood Retirement
We’d like to extend a bittersweet Happy Birthday greeting to Captain John Underwood, who
will turn sixty on Sunday, September 27th. Captain Underwood’s last flight is scheduled
for September 26, arriving from SAN on flight 2897 at 16:09. All pilots are encouraged to
help welcome his flight and to wish him well on his retirement. Pilots are also asked to
volunteer in assisting Cindy in the chief pilot’s office with the decorations.

Jannice Zambo
As you all know, Jannice Zambo, MEC office secretary, has been out of the office for
several weeks now due to illness. Jannice underwent surgery earlier this week, and is
currently at the Norwest Memorial Hospital in Tucson.
On behalf of the entire MEC and ALPA staff, our best wishes go to Jannice for a speedy
recovery. If you would like to send a card or letter, please address it to:
Jannice Zambo c/o
Northwest Memorial Hospital
6200 N. La Cholla Blvd
Tucson, AZ 85741
If you would like to call her, the hospital room phone number is (520) 469-8427. Or call
the main switchboard at (520) 472-9000. Jannice is in room 427.

Union Solidarity Picnic
The Association of Flight Attendants, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Air Line
Pilots Association, and the Transport Workers Union will hold a Sun and Solidarity Picnic
on Sunday, September 27 from 3pm to 9pm at the Kiwanis Park, Cholla Corporate Ramada in
Tempe.
All AWA pilots are invited and encouraged to attend. Refreshments will be provided. You
may bring your own canned soft drinks or beer, however no glass or other alcoholic
beverages will be allowed. Participants are asked to bring a can of food for donation to
the St. Mary’s Food Bank.
The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children four to 12, and free for children three and
under. The profits will benefit the AFA Strike Relief Fund.

The next scheduled hotline will be Thursday, October 1. Fly safe; fly your contract; and
thanks for listening.

  MEC Hotline
Don Steinman for the MEC: