APA News Digest

Aug. 18, 2023

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In This Edition ...

There’s Still Time to Get Informed!

This is a new message from the APA Negotiating Committee.

Thanks to all of you who attended a road show, whether in-person or via Zoom. We developed the road shows for the express purpose of helping you make an informed vote, and we hope that the presentation provided you with decision-quality information and details on negotiated provisions.

We understand that not everyone was able to attend, so within the “Road Shows” area of Contract 2023, we’ve posted the recordings of the CLT and DFW presentations. Below the links to the recordings, you’ll also find the “Week 1 Road Show Consolidated Q&A,” which are questions generated by you and posted so that everyone might benefit from your questions.

That said, there’s simply no substitute for the source documents, and we encourage you to spend time reviewing the Executive Summary, recordings, and as much of the updated language in 2023 TA 2.0 as your time permits.

The vote remains open, and your vote is important – you must make your election before voting closes at 1200 Central on Monday, August 21.

Regardless of the outcome of the membership ratification vote on 2023 TA 2.0, it has been our distinct honor to represent you at the bargaining table during this round of bargaining.

In Unity,

APA Negotiating Committee

Ratification Voting Ends Monday

APA Secretary-Treasurer FO Pat Clark sent the following message to all members today.

As a reminder, ratification voting on Tentative Agreement 2.0, conducted electronically through the American Arbitration Association, ends at 1200 Central on Monday, Aug. 21. You may change your vote as many times as you want prior to the end of the voting period, but it requires contacting AAA first at 1-800-529-5218.

If you have any questions about the ratification process, please see the Ratification Voting Q&A I sent to all members on Aug. 8. You can also contact APA Election Coordinator Kathy Lazenby at 817-302-2175 after 0900 Central on Monday.

If you need a replacement PIN, please call AAA at 1-800-529-5218 between 0900 and 1700 Eastern today, Saturday, Sunday, or Monday. AAA will provide extended support until 2359 Eastern on Sunday.

The deadline to vote is 1200 Central on Monday.

APA Board of Directors to Convene Tuesday

A special APA Board of Directors meeting is scheduled to begin at 0900 Central on Tuesday, Aug. 22, at APA headquarters in Fort Worth. The meeting is scheduled to continue through midday on Thursday, Aug. 24. You may review the agenda here.  

CASS Outage Planned for Saturday

This is a new message from the APA Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee.

An upgrade and migration of CASS (jumpseat authorization system) will take place on Saturday, Aug. 19, from 0900 to 1800 Central. The system will be unavailable from approximately 1000 to 1400, with intermittent outages anticipated up to 1800.

We remind pilots that CASS verification is required for pilots to occupy a flight deck jumpseat. CASS verification is not required to occupy a cabin seat. Please plan accordingly.

Updates Regarding Skyview 6

This is a new message from the APA Hotel Committee.

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on Skyview 6, aka The Landing. Starting on Monday, Aug. 21, The Tavern will take food orders until 2200. Additionally, they will offer a takeout option.

Management also arranged a van service that will take Skyview 6 guests to restaurants across the highway, as well as nearby stores such as Target and Walmart. There are two vans that will operate between 0700 and 2300, seven days a week, and they will shuttle crews whenever available. Please speak with the front desk to coordinate.

For more information, see the QRH – Quick Reference Hotels document, which should answer 99 percent of all hotel and transportation questions while providing helpful solutions. Suggestion: Download this QRH document to your AA iPad for easy access in the future.

Sick Removal from a DOTC Application Award

This is the latest in a series of Q&As from the APA Contract Compliance Committee.

Q: I was awarded a pick-up sequence through the DOTC application. I am now sick and cannot report for that sequence. I have time available in my Sick Bank. Will I be paid for the sequence?

A: According to Q&A 15-28, if you advise the Company that you are sick and will be unable to fly prior to sign-in, you will not be charged sick and the sequence should be removed with a “15” (Miscellaneous Removal, no credit [PROJ] and no pay [PPROJ]). However, if you signed in for the pick-up sequence and – prior to departure of the first flight – advise the Company that you will be unable to fly, your Sick Bank (if available) will be charged for the value of the sequence. The sequence should be removed with SK (Sick, credited [PROJ] and “paid” [PPROJ]) or US (Unpaid SK, credited [PROJ] and unpaid [PPROJ]), as applicable.

In either scenario, you will be placed on the Sick List and will remain there until you utilize the contractual methods to clear. If your sequence was removed with 15, you may pick up or trade across that original Sequence Footprint after clearing the Sick List. If your sequence was removed with SK or US, the Sequence Footprint will be blocked with credit.

Do You Back the PAC?

This is an updated message from the APA Government Affairs Committee.

Members of Congress have offered amendments to the FAA reauthorization bills that would raise the mandatory retirement age for pilots and lower the number of flight hours needed to obtain an Airline Transport Pilot transport certificate. Your Government Affairs Committee is working hard to convince lawmakers that these measures are unnecessary, unwise, and dangerous. We are able to have direct access to members of Congress thanks to your voluntary contributions to the APA Poltical Action Committee.

Last month, 5,558 pilots contributed to the APA PAC. That number represented 36.3 percent of APA’s active members. Click the image below for a closer look at each domicile’s PAC contribution rates in May, June, and July.

Our Political Action Committee would be extremely well-funded if every APA member contributed as if his or her career depended on it – because it does.

Click here to back the PAC.

Pigs of the Week

APA commends American Airlines’ hardworking aircraft maintenance technicians for their outstanding work. We believe they are the best in the business. When repetitive problems do arise, they’re often due to managerial decisions that fail to properly prioritize tasks and to management’s decision to outsource a significant portion of the airline’s maintenance to offshore, third-party repair stations.

  • Since Aug. 6., B737 aircraft 3AA has been written up and out of service four times for all lavatories inop. It returned to service on Aug. 16 after the lavatory flush logic control module was replaced.
  • In the last two weeks, the left engine bleed air on A319 aircraft 837 has been written up 10 times. The first three times, it was signed off as “performed reset/BITE test” or “ops checks good.” It has been out of service seven times, and most recently returned to service on Aug. 17. At the time of this writing, it was restricted to AA maintenance stations.
  • Since May 26, the left engine bleed air on A321 aircraft 170 has been written up 18 times and been on MEL six times. It has been out of service four times in August. This has been signed off nine times as “performed reset/BITE test” or “ops checks good.” The most recent signoff on Aug. 16 mentioned a repaired leak, a replaced heat blanket, and a shorted interconnect cable. At the time of this writing, the aircraft was restricted to AA maintenance stations.

APA Welcomes New Pilots

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

The APA Membership Committee welcomed the following pilots during a casual dinner on Aug. 15: Justice Ali, Travis Atchley, Oded Barchichet, Jesse Barger, Dylan Barreras, Samuel Bortkton, Michael Brannam, David Braun, Kevin Burgess, Nicholas Burt, Joan Castillo, Steven Cavoretto, Ryan Collins, Johnathan Cox, Tyler Curlee, Shawn Davis, Matthew DeFoore, Sabastian Drakes, Ashley Dunn, Rogelio Espinoza Jr., Spencer Gates, Manvir Gill, Adam Goldenberg, Curtis Hall, Lee Hamons, Brian Heiney, Brandon Hendrickson, Darek Holz, David Hunt, Ryan James, Kevin Kennedy, Curtis Langstraat, Kevin Laughary, Jin Lee, Max Levine, Robert Love, Douglas Luallin, Simon Mamic, Jalal Mansour, Justin Meeks, Tewodros Mekuria, Harrison Miller, Solomon Nader, Lukas Nelson, Mateo Pillot, Tyler Powell, Craig Robinson, Hunter Rogue, Axel Seixas, Nicholas Smith, David Stanton, Gabriel Thompson, Cody Timmons, Clinton Warbington, Andrew Wells, Mark Welty, Shawn Wynn, and Masanori Yamazaki.

APA Welcomes Captains’ Leadership Class

This is a new message from the APA Membership Committee.

Click the image for a closer look.

On Aug. 16, the APA Membership Committee hosted a casual dinner for the following pilots who were in Fort Worth for American Airlines’ Professionalism, Leadership, and Mentoring class: Ruben Alconero, Clifford Austin, Christopher Benaiges, Timothy Bowden, Anthony Ciaravella, Chad Craig, Christopher Daniels, Matthew Donoghue, Delphin Gantt Jr., Chadwick Greer, Todd Gruber, Todd Homan, Michael Kirkpatrick, Chad Lampe, Bradley Locey, Keith Malkani, Daniel Moss, Jacques Rogers, Scott Shideler, Walter Sorenson Jr., Tanner Stapp, and John Twitchell.

Domicile Events

Get more details about these upcoming events at AlliedPilots.org/Calendar:

  • CLT: Runway 5K on Oct. 21
  • DCA: Flying Circus Aerodrome on Sept. 17; Memorial Golf Tournament on Sept. 28
  • LAX: Reno Air Races on Sept. 13-17; Fleet Week lunch aboard the San Francisco Belle Sun on Oct. 8; San Diego Yacht Club party on Nov. 2; Dave & Buster’s event at LAS on Dec. 5
  • LGA: New York Mets game on Sept. 2

Domicile Elections

Resumes for the following candidates were mailed to PHL and PHX pilots on Aug. 9, when they were also posted on the APA Elections webpage.

PHL Chair
FO Michael Drost
CA Francis Heid
CA Brian Sweep

PHL Vice Chair
FO Jordan Glasner
CA Brian Sweep

PHX Chair
CA Herschel Beard IV
CA Michael Saracino
FO Jim Varden

PHX Vice Chair
FO Jeremy Ryder
FO Jim Varden

Election Round ballots will be mailed on Sept. 7 and tallied on Sept. 28.

If necessary, Runoff Round ballots would be mailed on Oct. 10 and tallied on Oct. 31.

If you have any questions, call 817-302-2175.

Week in Review

The following messages were sent since last week’s News Digest was published.

Are You Willing to Serve?

Each of these national committees or subcommittees has the indicated number of vacancies:

  • Aeromedical Committee (1)
    • Critical Incident Response Program (1)
    • Disabled Pilot Awareness Subcommittee (3)
    • Human Intervention Motivation Study Subcommittee (3)
    • Pilot Occupational Health Subcommittee (2)
    • Project Wingman Subcommittee (3)
  • Captain’s Authority Committee (4)
  • Communications Committee (0)
    • National Communications Network (6)
  • Compass Project (5)
  • Grey Eagles Liaison Committee (1)
  • Jumpseat/Non-Rev Committee (2)
  • Professional Standards Committee (1)
  • Retirement & Benefits Committee (2)
  • Safety Committee (0)
    • Environmental Sustainability in Aviation Subcommittee (2)
  • Scheduling Committee (7)
  • Training Committee (3)
    • Checkmate (1 on 777 and 1 on 320)

If you would like to serve on one or more of these committees, visit the Member Engagement Portal.

Professional Standards FAQs

What is the process for handling issues that occur repeatedly?
As human beings, it is expected that behavior changes slowly and, as such, some pilots will always behave as their personality dictates. The Professional Standards process should not be expected to “change” a personality, but more thought of as an opportunity to share how a certain behavior affects peers and colleagues. There will also be the possibility of an employee exhibiting the same behavior because they have yet to be informed there is a different expectation. If an issue has been referred to a committee member, and an employee exhibits the same issue, please be patient and give the committee the opportunity to re-address the issue. As a submitter, if you are concerned, you have the option of updating the committee volunteer on observed progress. If at any time you are concerned with the time needed to process any submission, contact any National Deputy or your elected Domicile Officer for resolution.

To read all of the FAQs, click here.

Professional Standards’ 24/7 hotline: 817-402-2181

9/11 Museum Offers Free Admission

Active and retired flight crewmembers are invited to visit the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum in New York for free through Aug. 20. Click here to reserve free tickets.

Honoring and Supporting Veterans

100 Vets Who Give A Damn DFW is a group of like-minded veterans who want to make an impact on military charities. Technically, the group does not exist; it has no directors, officers, or treasurers. Its core group of organizers are simply volunteers generously donating their time to try and make a difference.

Three organizations are randomly chosen from a list of member-nominated charities. Representatives for those organizations are asked to make five-minute presentations about why they deserve the group’s support. After the presentations, the charity that receives the most votes from the vets in the room will be the suggested recipient. Each veteran then writes a check to the suggested charity and/or the ones that moved them the most.

The next meeting at the C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth is scheduled for Sept. 21, when the vets will hear from Brother’s Keeper, Hero Lab, and Project Sanctuary. Click here for more information.

World War II Veteran Honored by Dream Flights

Last February, the APA Board of Directors approved a $20,000 donation to Dream Flights, an organization that honors military veterans and seniors with flights in a Boeing Stearman biplane. This week, KOBI-TV – the NBC affiliate in Medford, Ore. – covered the Dream Flight of a World War II veteran who received a surprise gift in advance of his 99th birthday. Click here to watch.

If You’re 50, Join The Grey Eagles

Are you a pilot for American Airlines, at least age 50, active or retired? Please join The Grey Eagles for food, fun, and fellowship. We offer cruises, conventions, monthly luncheons, retirement dinners, professional mentoring, and assistance to surviving spouses – all for a one-time lifetime fee.

Pilot Job Fairs and Future Pilot Seminars

Future & Active Pilot Advisors’ next Pilot Job Fair and Future Pilot Seminar are scheduled for Aug. 19 at IAD. Click here for more information.

Industry News

For more about what’s happening in the industry, be sure to visit the Industry News page on AlliedPilots.org.

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