SECTION XI

BENEFIT AND ASSESSMENT POLICY

PART I

Scope of Benefit Policy

 

A. The International President may ballot all active members for authority to levy an assessment and pay benefits to flight attendants deprived of airline income due to:

1. Being involved in processing a properly authorized strike, or

2. A lockout by management which is designed to prevent a legally processed strike by the flight attendant group and where no other class or craft on the property is directly involved in such flight attendant group dispute.

Approval of this authority shall require a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the ballots returned.

B. The International President may ballot all active members for authority to levy an assessment and pay benefits to flight attendants deprived of airline income due to reasons other than those outlined in A. above, such as:

1. The establishment of picket lines by other crafts or classes of airline employees who are on strike, and after the International President's Department of the Union shall have furnished the Master Executive Council of the airline involved sufficient facts to enable the Master Executive Council to make a decision whether or not they wish to honor said picket lines.

2. A condition which does or may exist and considered by the Master Executive Council of the petitioning airline to be of such vital importance to the welfare of the entire Union so as to warrant consideration of balloting of the active members by the International President and the International Secretary-Treasurer, jointly.

The decision to ballot the active members in the above circumstances will be made by the International President and the International Secretary-Treasurer, jointly, and only in such cases where there exist considerations of grave importance to the welfare of the entire Union of emergency nature affecting the welfare of members of the Union.

C. No benefits shall be paid during any work stoppage or shutdown which have not been approved under A. or B. above. Payments for services rendered, as provided in Part II.J., are not considered benefits.

　

PART II

Amount and Administration of Benefits

A. The active members shall be balloted for approval in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws before any monetary benefits are paid.

B. Approval of benefits for more than one (1) flight attendant group shall be voted upon as separate issues.

C. No right to benefits shall accrue until the thirty-first (31st) day of the work stoppage.

D. In no case shall a flight attendant member receive, in any calendar month, benefits in excess of the gross income that member would have received from the company had the work stoppage not occurred.

E. Benefits shall be paid at the minimum rate of fifty dollars ($50.00) per week.

Beginning with the one hundred twentieth (120th) day of any stoppage for which benefits have been authorized and are being paid, members shall receive an additional $1.50 per day over and above the weekly benefit rate set forth herein.

The weekly rate set forth above is a fixed amount not subject to rebate for any reason other than a mistake in payment and not subject to be set off against other earnings except for earnings from approved activity with the affected carrier during the shutdown. No flight attendant member may receive benefits unless that member's eligibility for same is certified by the Local Executive Council and which will be subject to that member:　

1. Being available for and performing duties as assigned by the Local Executive Council pertaining to support of the action to resolve the dispute.

2. Not engaging in any action or deed which might adversely affect the successful outcome of the dispute.

3. Not flying for another carrier engaged in a dispute with AFA-CWA.

4. Being in good standing before receiving benefits.

F. Apprentice members and non-members who cooperate in the effort may receive benefits, if and when certified by the Local Executive Council. Cooperation shall consist of the following, as a minimum:

1. Not flying for the company during a work stoppage.

2. Performing duties as assigned by the Local Executive Council pertaining to the support of the action to resolve the dispute.

3. Not engaging in any action or deed which might injure or adversely affect the successful outcome of the dispute.

G. Benefits shall be paid bi-weekly through the Local Executive Council beginning the forty-fifth (45th) day of the strike, provided that members in bad standing bring themselves into good standing before receiving benefits.

H. The decision to terminate benefits will normally be made by the Master Executive Council, with any Local Executive Council having the right to appeal such decision to the Executive Board.

I. The Executive Board may make the decision to terminate benefits, subject to the provisions of the Constitution and Bylaws, if at any time in the Executive Board's opinion benefits are no longer justified. In the event the Executive Board is not in session, the Officers shall make the decision.

J. During any work stoppage or shutdown when the affected flight attendants do not qualify for benefits under Part I or during the waiting period of a work stoppage under Part I.A. or B., members, notwithstanding, may receive compensation at the rate of fifty dollars ($50.00) per week for services performed in those circumstances where flight pay loss would normally be authorized.
 

PART III

Assessment Policy

A. Assessments will be levied for each major benefit program on a pay-as-you-go basis. Nothing in this policy should be construed to prevent adoption of an administrative procedure of consolidating several minimal assessment obligations and levying a resultant single assessment.

B. In no case shall a member's obligation in fulfillment of this requirement exceed a monthly amount equal to twice her/his adjusted quarterly dues for the previous year.

1. Members who are receiving benefits under the Union benefit policy shall not be assessed to pay their own benefits.

2. In the event of simultaneous work stoppage of two (2) or more airlines, members receiving benefits for their own work stoppage shall be assessed to pay benefits for another flight attendant group or groups similarly affected.

3. In the event of a work stoppage, whether partial or complete, those members who continue to receive airline income for approved activity or employment with the affected company shall pay the regular benefit assessment levied on all Union members.

4. Members of a company whose flight attendants are involved in a work stoppage, shall, if engaged in military airlift operations or other special assignments, be required to pay the regular assessment levied on all other Union members to support those engaged in the work stoppage.　

5. All members who have, irrespective of policy, been deprived of income as a result of any work stoppage or furlough, may defer payment of any assessment until they have been returned to flight status.

　

　

PART IV

Strike Policy--General

　

A. Dues Obligations of Members on Strike

No dues payment shall he required of, or assessments levied against any member during the period that member is on strike, provided such strike exceeds fourteen (14) days in any calendar month. Further, eligible members who have received benefits under the benefit policy of the Union shall not be required to report or include such benefits in income to be verified for dues purposes.

B. Military Flight During a Strike

1. In the event it becomes necessary to withdraw the services of flight attendants from an airline company in accordance with the provisions of the Railway Labor Act, essential military services of flights conducted in the interests of national defense may be permitted to operate, provided, however, that this policy shall only pertain to those flights that are solely military in nature and whose cargo is entirely composed of military commodities or personnel.

2. Further, the International President of the Union is empowered to authorize a specific flight or flights to implement this policy in the event of a Union work stoppage on any airline or airlines.

3. Section XI. Part IV.B. of AFA-CWA Policy above (Military Flights During a Strike) shall be rescinded pending satisfactory resolution of this matter, except where the International President of the Association and affected Master Executive Councils agree that such operations are absolutely necessary because of war or declared genuine national emergency.

C. Picket Lines in the Event of a Strike

The Union will not make known its position as to respecting picket lines of other crafts until such time as an actual strike takes place. The issue whether to honor the picket lines of other crafts shall be considered at Special Local Council Meetings called within 72 hours before and up to the eve of the strike deadline in accordance with Article III.C. of the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws. In the event the strike date is not known 72 hours before the strike deadline, the requirement for Special Local Council Meetings may be waived by the Master Executive Council. The Master Executive Council and the International President shall confer following such Local Executive Council Meetings to determine membership support for withdrawal of services and to make the decision whether to honor picket lines. The Master Executive Council will notify the membership of such decision within twenty-four (24) hours in the most expedient manner. In the event of a strike by Union members, all Union members shall respect the picket lines of such striking Union members if efforts at strikebreaking are being made by the companies and if, after membership meetings, at the discretion of the International President and the Master Executive Council of the carriers involved, such observance of picket lines is necessary to the most effective prosecution of the strike effort.

D. Strike Vote Majority

A majority of the valid ballots returned, with no specific minimum required, shall be required for strike action.

E. International Strike Fund

1. A Strike Fund shall be established when both the Union Reserves and Reserve Benefit Fund are at a level specified in Article XI.G. and H. of the Constitution and Bylaws.

2. Upon establishment of a Strike Fund in accordance with Paragraph E.1. above, the Officers shall place the matter of funding the Strike Fund before the Board of Directors for its consideration.

3. The Strike Fund shall not be drawn upon until it totals $100,000, except in a situation where the Executive Board (by mail ballot or in session) approves prior withdrawal before such amount is reached and the Board of Directors, if in session, may also approve such action.

F. Strike Manual

1. The International Office shall maintain a current AFA-CWA Strike Manual. This manual shall delineate policies from the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws, as well as procedures, guidelines and resources necessary for conducting successful job actions.

2. Each Master Executive Council shall be provided a current copy of the strike manual along with any periodic updates. Each Master Executive Council may choose to adapt or modify the strike manual according to their needs and circumstances.

3. After each campaign of job actions, the International President shall convene a meeting of appropriate participants for the purpose of debriefing. Any recommendations for changes to the strike manual, which arise during the debriefing, shall be referred to the Negotiations Policy Committee.