Deal Allows Hiring Of 30 New FAs Who Speak Mandarin Chinese

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA) said late last week that America Airlines has agreed to recall some 200 flight attendants who had been idled by the recession. The agreement allows AA to hire 30 new flight attendants who speak Mandarin Chinese. Those new hires will work AA's China routes.

In the recall statement, APFA said:

Two hundred American Airlines Flight Attendants are headed back to work, over and above the 368 announced last week. The new deal brings back 100 Flight Attendants currently on furlough by July 15, 2011. A second group of 100 will be back by October 15, 2011. In addition, the 228 furloughed Flight Attendants remaining on the recall list will get unlimited recall rights. Many in this group were expected to fall off the furlough list on November 1, 2011.

 The agreement will allow American to hire up to 30 new Flight Attendants who speak Chinese Mandarin (CM), with some restrictions. These flight attendants, to be based in the LAX-I, will staff routes to Shanghai China (PVG).

The APFA Board of Directors convened in DFW this week and overwhelmingly approved a resolution that states in part, "WHEREAS, obtaining the guaranteed recall of 200 additional Flight Attendants and unlimited recall rights in exchange for agreeing that the Company can hire up to 30 speakers as described above is in the overall best interest of APFA and our membership;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors, on a non-precedential basis, agrees to allow the Company to hire up to 30 Mandarin speakers for LAX-I, with the restrictions described to the Board, in exchange for the recall of an additional 200 furloughed Flight Attendants and the granting of unlimited recall rights to those who will still be in furlough status."

The restrictions of the new-hire CM speakers will include:

• Occupational seniority will be junior to any Flight Attendant currently employed or currently on furlough status
• Will not cause a long-term Reduction in Force (RIF) or involuntary monthly Fall-off from LAX-I
• Will not be permitted to transfer out of LAX-I until all Flight Attendants currently on the furlough list have been recalled
• If the LAX-PVG route is discontinued while there are any furloughed Flight Attendants remaining on the recall list, the new-hire CM speakers will be furloughed

"This is tremendous news," said APFA President Laura Glading. "This is what we do as a union - protect jobs. I am extremely happy that even more people will be back to work. People who've been struggling for a long time will be given a chance to better support their families. I look forward to welcoming everyone on the recall list back to work, and this agreement will permit that to happen.

"This is a good step for us," Glading continued. "It clearly addresses stagnation and seniority movement among our members. Hopefully this can be a springboard to finally complete a new collective bargaining agreement."

The APFA thanks Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO) for the support he provided both parties in reaching this agreement.

FMI: www.apfa.org