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Association of Flight Attendants-CWA United Master Executive Council

MEC Committees

MEC CommitteesAll MEC Committee Members represent the MEC and support MEC positions when interacting with the Company and Flight Attendants.  

They carry out the responsibilities of their committee and support and adhere to the AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws, as well as the AFA-CWA United MEC Rules of Procedure and Policy.

Committees

Asian Affairs

Identifies and investigates legal and social problems that affect Flight Attendants based in Asian countries.

Central Schedule Committee

Schedules, staffing requirements, understaffing statistics and moved flying.

Contract Interpretation

Responsible for interpretation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.

European Affairs

Identifies and investigates legal and social problems that affect Flight Attendants based in European countries.

Grievance

Enforce the Contract and protect all Flight Attendants against arbitrary and unjust disciplinary action.

Membership Engagement

Works to achieve a vital connection of two-way communication between AFA-CWA Members and AFA-CWA Leadership.

Negotiations Support

This committee and the Flight Attendant Negotiations Network will build a structure that effectively utilizes our power in Solidarity.

Reserve Committee

Deals with issues affecting reserves.

Retirement Board

Resolves disputes of Flight Attendants and their beneficiaries over Retirement Benefits, and 401k hardship withdrawals.

System Board of Adjustment

Arbitrates any disputes or Grievances that may arise under the terms of the United Airlines Flight Attendant Contract.

Benefits

Insurance, retirement programs and in current contractually provided occupational benefits.

Communications

Responsible for MEC communications including the MEC Website, Elines, and all areas of MEC communication.

Employee Assistance / Professional Standards

Works with Members and their families needing assistance / Addresses issues with standards on the job.

Government Affairs

Ensures that legislators are aware of our views on important issues.

Hotels and Transportation

Represents AFA to secure Contractual requirements through work with UAL Corporate Travel.

Negotiations Committee

Works with our professional negotiators, attorneys and consultants throughout the contract negotiation process.

Retiree Medical Plan Board

Addresses issues including rates relative to the Flight Attendant Retiree Medical Plan, and other Flight Attendant welfare benefit plans.

Safety, Health & Security

Works with UAL, the Federal Aviation Administration, and AFA-CWA International Air Safety, Health & Security Department to maintain and improve Flight Attendant safety, health, and cabin safety standards.

Uniforms

Acts as a liaison for AFA-CWA with the company regarding uniform changeovers and reissue concerns.

Combination of Committees to Better Address Work Life Issues

Jan 22, 2008 - During the United Master Executive Council (MEC) first quarter regular meeting, the Members of the MEC reviewed our committee structure to maximize its efficiency and ensure the best use of our resources to effectively resolve Members’ issues and enforce our Contract.  The decision was made to combine the MEC Central Schedule and Reserve Committees to create the “MEC Central Schedule and Reserve Committee (CSRC)” and also to combine the Insurance & Retirement and Occupational Committees to create the “Benefits Committee (BC),” effective July 1, 2008.

The MEC agreed that we should be reviewing our best practices to do the work that Members expect in providing focused attention on Contract enforcement and the issues affecting their work lives.

There was a lively discussion about whether this was a good decision for the Membership and everyone had the opportunity to hear new information and new points of view about why these changes were being considered.  The leaders did not make these decisions lightly.  They drilled into a review of the structure currently in place to examine where it falls short and how it could be improved.  This examination seemed to clearly reveal that the change in MEC committee structure would enhance the effectiveness of handling schedule, reserve and benefit issues.  This change does not modify the Local Committee structure, but it will enable the MEC Committees to provide a superior level of support for the Local Committees that handle the day-to-day issues affecting Members.

Concern was expressed that deleting stand-alone committees with the heading of “Reserve” or “Occupational” could be perceived as a decreased focus on reserve and occupational issues.  After the discussion and review of the facts many leaders determined that the change would provide an opposite effect and provide greater resources to handle these issues important to Members.  The committees that currently handle many of the same issues can now more effectively coordinate efforts support Local committees to resolve issues in a timelier manner for Flight Attendants.

The MEC agreed that we should be reviewing our best practices to do the work that Members expect in providing focused attention on Contract enforcement and the issues affecting their work lives.  The leaders determined that better results for Members will cure any problems with perception because AFA Members’ experience will improve. 

All of the leaders agreed that even more resources could be provided at the MEC and LEC level through the budgeting process at the AFA-CWA Board of Directors. 

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