Jumpseat vs. Assigned Seat While Deadheading - Summer traffic loads are expected to be very heavy this season.  Please remember that your contract provides while deadheading, you are to be given an assigned seat.  If you are asked to take a jumpseat while deadheading, please politely deny the request and exercise your contractual rights by asking for your assigned seat.  For further information regarding deadhead travel, please refer to section 3.10.T. of your IAM/CAL agreement.

ExpressJet Corporate Charter Negotiations Update - As you were previously advised meetings resumed June 5, 2007 and continued through June 6, 2007.  Substantial progress was made on both the Corporate Charter operation as well as grievances filed relating to that operation.  Since those meetings some limited discussions have continued.  We are hopeful this matter will be resolved in the near future.  As always your patience and support is appreciated.

Continental Flight Attendants are reminded that transfer requests on-file will be removed July 1st, 2007, in accordance with the collective bargaining agreement.  Section 12.B.4, Base Transfers, states, “Transfer requests remain on file until granted, replaced or withdrawn, rescinded by the Company, or until July 1st, whichever comes first.  (All requests will automatically expire on July 1st each year.  Flight Attendants who continue to desire to transfer after July 1st must therefore resubmit such requests.)”  The Company offers additional information regarding the transfer request expiration in Inflight Bulletin # 07-34, stating “Those of you who currently have transfers on file who are still interested in transferring, may either submit a new request after July 1st (and prior to the July 5th deadline), or may indicate your wish for your request to remain on file after the July 1st expiration date by checking the box supplied for this purpose on the transfer page of the Inflight Forms System.  (This box was made available for your use on June 1).  Requests to transfer for the August bid month must be on file by 1000 hours local time on July 5th.”  Continental Micronesia Flight Attendants also have this provision in their agreement, Section 17.K.  If you have any further questions about this process contact your Base or Inflight Administration Department or your local IAM Union Representatives.

Pension Relief for Airlines Faulted by Some Legislators - A pension measure tucked into last month’s Iraq war spending bill is causing some leading members of Congress to complain that American Airlines got a break worth almost $2 billion without proper scrutiny.  But by giving special pension relief to some airlines, Congress has allowed a handful of companies to avoid the rigorous new rules enacted last year as part of a sweeping overhaul of the federal pension law.  Senator Max Baucus, the Montana Democrat who is chairman of the Finance Committee, one of the panels that has jurisdiction over pension legislation, said that he wanted to “review in the light of day exactly what deal” American and Continental had been given.  Senator Charles Grassley, the Iowa Republican who was chairman of the Finance Committee when the Pension Protection Act was passed and serves as the ranking minority member, said the committee had “spent many months working on a pension bill that took each airline’s status into account.”  “We also took into account the taxpayers who will have to bail out any under-funded airline pension plan.”  By rushing through the new relief without proper analysis, he said, their work had been “undermined.”  Senators Baucus and Grassley wrote American and Continental this month to demand information about how much their pension contributions would fall.  Some members of the committee are talking about ways to scale back or even repeal the measure.