Protest Decisions

June 12, 1996

VIA FAX & UPS OVERNIGHT

Scott Woll, Slate Representative

Flight Attendants for Ron Carey

1207 Browns Point Blvd., N.E.

Tacoma, WA 98422

Fax:  206-927-6753

Mollie Reiley, Secretary-Treasurer

IBT Local Union 2000

2850 Metro Drive, Suite 225

Bloomington, MN 55425

Fax:  612-854-3165

Re:  Election Office Case No. P-799-LU2000-EOH

Gentlepersons:

A pre-election protest was filed pursuant to Article XIV, Section 2(b) of the Rules for the 1995-1996 IBT International Union Delegate and Officer Election (“Rules”) by

Danny Campbell, Billie Davenport, Irene Kochendorfer, H. Ann McNeely, Guy Meek, Lovey Offerle, Anne Toombs, David Wilson, Connie Mason-Harper, and Scott Woll, members of Local Union 2000.[1]  The protesters are certified delegates on the “Flight Attendants for Ron Carey” slate who will represent Local Union 2000 at the IBT Convention in Philadelphia in July 1996.  The protesters challenge the lost-wages policy that Local Union 2000 intends to follow whereby delegates who are flight attendants will be reimbursed for a maximum of 18 hours and

12 minutes (“18:12”) of flight time for the seven-day period the delegates spend at the Convention. 

Scott Woll

June 12, 1996

Page 1

The protesters claim that the policy adopted by the local union may result in severe financial burden for the delegate-flight attendants.  They argue that a flight attendant’s schedule may have accumulated flight time in excess of 18:12.  Therefore, they argue, the flight attendant would have to drop the excess accumulation in order to attend the Convention and thus lose wages to attend the Convention.  Further, the protesters contend that it is unlikely a flight attendant would be able to make up the time dropped in excess of 18:12 during the month of July, after the Convention.  The protesters request that the Election Officer obligate Local

Union 2000 to reimburse delegate-flight attendants at a flat rate for all flight time dropped during July 14-20, 1996.  Alternatively, the protesters request the Election Officer to order Local

Union 2000 to reimburse delegate-flight attendants for a maximum of 29 hours and 45 minutes (“29:45”).  This maximum is based on a daily minimum guarantee of four hours and 15 minutes flight time that flight attendants receive for trips, even if the hours actually flown are less than four hours and 15 minutes.

The protest was investigated by Election Office Staff Members Jonathan O’Neill and Kathryn Naylor.

These flight attendants are employed by Northwest Airlines.  Flight attendants are paid on the basis of flight hours and individual flight attendants have different schedules.  The flight attendants represented by Local Union 2000 can fly up to a maximum of 80 hours in a month, and up to a maximum of 30 hours in a week.  If Northwest designates a certain month as a “flex-up” month, certain flight attendants are required to fly up to a maximum of 85 hours in the month.  Since a flight attendant cannot exceed the 80- (or 85-) hour monthly maximum, a flight attendant cannot fly 30 hours during each week of the month. 

The flight attendants bid monthly for trips and flight times.  The ability of a flight attendant to receive his or her most desired first or second bid is affected by the flight attendant’s seniority at the base from which he or she operates.

Local Union 2000 was chartered in 1992 and is the result of the merger of six predecessor local unions.  For the 1991 Convention, Local Union 2747, the largest of the predecessor local unions, adopted the same lost wages policy for delegate-flight attendants who attended the Convention as has been adopted by Local Union 2000 for the 1996 Convention.  Mr. Woll was a delegate at the 1991 Convention.  Pursuant to this policy, he received compensation for 18 hours and 12 minutes.   None of the delegates who were flight attendants at the 1991 Convention filed a protest over the lost-wages-reimbursement policy. 

In a letter dated February 16, 1996, Local Union 2000 sought approval from the Election Officer of the following system for reimbursing delegates who are flight attendants for the week of the Convention:

Local Union 2000 will pay the assigned value for one week

Scott Woll

June 12, 1996

Page 1

(7 days) as established under the [collective bargaining agreement]’s vacation provisions of 18 hours and 12 minutes, (or 19 hours and 36 minutes for flight attendants required to fly up to 85 hours if July is designated a flex up month), at the flight attendant’s hourly rate:  (1) if the flight attendant is on scheduled days off; (2) if the flight attendant had assigned flying on their schedule that operated during the Convention week -- such flight time would be covered by the Local Union for up to 18 hours and 12 minutes of the dropped flight time; (3) if the flight attendant had assigned flying on his/her schedule that had to be covered which was less than 18 hours and 12 minutes, the Local Union will make up the difference, up to 18 hours and 12 minutes.

In a letter dated May 30, 1996, the Election Officer stated that this “policy appears to be consistent with the provisions of the Rules and Advisory [Regarding Convention Expenses (“Advisory”)] based on the nature of a flight attendant’s work week.” 

The Advisory issued by the Election Officer on May 2, 1996, provides that “delegates and alternate delegates who are paid on an hourly basis shall receive their straight-time hourly wages, excluding overtime, mileage or other premiums for forty (40) hours, which shall be deemed to cover the period of time spent at the Convention.”  This language of the Advisory is not applicable to these delegate-flight attendants because it would represent 50 percent of the monthly maximum of 80 hours of credited flight time allotted flight attendants.[2]  Given these monthly maximum hour limitations, Local Union 2000 would not be obligated to pay 40 hours of wages to flight attendants serving as delegates because they would be receiving lost wages for two weeks, instead of the one-week period spent at the Convention. 

As articulated in the Advisory, attendance at the 1996 Convention is official union business.  By attending, the delegates are providing a service to the local union, and therefore, the  local union is required to pay the delegates’ wages equivalent to a week’s pay for the week spent at the Convention.  However, it is not an opportunity for any IBT member to earn additional compensation, even if he or she could have earned overtime if the delegate had worked at his or her regular job during that week.  

The vacation provisions in the collective bargaining agreement between Northwest and Local Union 2000 establish 18:12 as the value for seven days or one week of vacation.  The Election Officer finds that this reflects the most fair and equitable system for determining the value of one week’s worth of work for flight attendants and thus is the appropriate standard for their wage compensation during the Convention.

Scott Woll

June 12, 1996

Page 1

The Election Officer finds that the protesters’ request that Local Union 2000 pay flight attendants for any lost trips they would drop to attend the Convention, even in excess of 18:12, is inconsistent with the Advisory because the delegates would earn compensation in excess of one week’s worth of work.  Under the protesters’ proposal, a delegate-flight attendant could bid for 30 hours during the Convention week and thus receive 37.5 percent of their monthly wage compensation.  Faced with this prospect, the Election Officer finds that the most equitable way to compensate flight attendants for the week of the Convention is the 18:12 formula that they would receive for a vacation week.  The Election Officer also rejects the protesters’ request based upon a daily minimum of 4 hours and 15 minutes.  Such a rate would equal a weekly wage compensation of 29:45, placing the delegates far in excess of the 80-hour monthly maximum.

              The Election Officer therefore concludes that the wage compensation policy adopted by Local Union 2000 is consistent with the Rules and her Advisory.

Accordingly, the protest is DENIED.

Any interested party not satisfied with this determination may request a hearing before the Election Appeals Master within one day of receipt of this letter.  The parties are reminded that, absent extraordinary circumstances, no party may rely upon evidence that was not presented to the Office of the Election Officer in any such appeal.  Requests for a hearing shall be made in writing and shall be served on:

Kenneth Conboy, Esq.

Latham & Watkins

885 Third Avenue, Suite 1000

New York, NY 10022

Fax (212) 751-4864

Copies of the request for hearing must be served on the parties listed above as well as upon the Election Officer, 400 N. Capitol Street, Suite 855, Washington, DC 20001, Facsimile

(202) 624-3525.  A copy of the protest must accompany the request for a hearing.

Sincerely,

Barbara Zack Quindel

Election Officer

cc:               Kenneth Conboy, Election Appeals Master