SECTION 12
FILLING OF VACANCIES
A. Filling of Permanent and Temporary Vacancies
1. Determination of Flight Attendant Shortage or Excess
The Company shall determine whether there is a shortage or excess of Flight Attendants within the system and whether a specific base has vacancies (i.e., a shortage) or an excess of Flight Attendants.
2. Order of Filling Permanent and Temporary Vacancies
Permanent and temporary vacancies at a base shall be filled in the following order:
a. By voluntary recall of Flight Attendants on voluntary furlough from that base as provided in Section 14.D.1. of this Agreement.
b. By voluntary recall of Flight Attendants on involuntary furlough, regardless of base, and displaced Flight Attendants, originally from the base(s) with vacancies with a valid “Request to Return to Former Base” on file, in system seniority order, as provided in Section 14.D.2. of this Agreement.
c. By Letter of Preference, as provided in paragraph C., below.
d. By involuntary recall of all Flight Attendants on involuntary furlough, in reverse system seniority order regardless of base, as provided in Section 14.D.3. of this Agreement.
e. By involuntary recall of Flight Attendants on voluntary furlough from that base in reverse system seniority order, as provided in Section 14.D.4. of this Agreement.
f. At the Company’s option, by involuntary assignment of Flight Attendants not on furlough, as provided in paragraph D., below.
g. By hiring new Flight Attendants, as provided in paragraph E., below.
NOTE: Subparagraphs 2.d. and 2.e., above, shall not apply in the event the vacancy being filled is a temporary vacancy.
3. Base Balancing – System Excess
a. In the event there is an excess of Flight Attendants in the system, the Company may initiate a reduction in force via voluntary and involuntary furloughs as provided in Section 14.B. of this Agreement.
b. In order to correct base headcount imbalances that may result from such reduction in force, the Company may initiate the following steps, either in the month during which the furloughs shall be effective or the month immediately thereafter:
(1) By voluntary transfer of formerly displaced Flight Attendants who have a Right to Return to the base(s) which have vacancies.
(2) By Letter of Preference as provided in paragraph C., below.
(3) By involuntary assignment of Flight Attendants as provided in paragraph D., below.
NOTE: After an initial effort to balance bases following a reduction in force, the steps noted in (1) through (3), above, may not be used again until the Flight Attendant most recently involuntarily furloughed has been continuously so involuntarily furloughed for more than three hundred and sixty-five (365) days or there is another reduction in force.
4. Base Balancing – No System Excess
In the event there is an excess of Flight Attendants at a base, but not in the system, the Company may initiate a reduction in force via displacement of junior Flight Attendants at the base(s) with the excess as provided for in Section 14.C. of this Agreement.
B. Types of Vacancies
1. Permanent Vacancies
A permanent vacancy means a vacancy at a base station which results due to the need for another Flight Attendant which is expected to last for more than sixty (60) days.
2. Temporary Vacancies
A temporary vacancy means a vacancy at a base station the duration of which is expected to be greater than twelve (12) but no more than sixty (60) days.
NOTE: A Flight Attendant on furlough is not eligible to submit a Letter of Preference for temporary vacancies.
3. Temporary Assignments
Temporary assignments shall not be considered temporary vacancies and shall be filled by offering in seniority order and then forcing in reverse seniority order amongst Reserve Flight Attendants who are available for the duration of the temporary assignment. Temporary assignments shall be twelve (12) days or less in duration.
C. Letter of Preference
In the case of permanent or temporary vacancies at a base to be filled pursuant to subparagraph A.2.c., above, the following procedures shall apply:
1. A Flight Attendant who desires to transfer base stations may submit a Letter of Preference identifying the base station(s) to which he/she desires transfer, provided:
a. He/She is not on furlough and
b. He/She has not been awarded a Letter of Preference award (including matched Letters of Preference) within the last one hundred and fifty (150) days.
NOTE: A Flight Attendant on involuntary or voluntary furlough is eligible to submit a Letter of Preference for permanent vacancies at new or reestablished bases.
2. A Letter of Preference which has been submitted through CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system shall become effective at 0001 the day after the day of submission. A paper submission to the Vice President Inflight Services, or his/her designee, shall be required when the computer system is in a "down" or inoperative mode and shall be effective at 0001 the day after the day it is received.
3. A Letter of Preference on file remains effective until the Flight Attendant cancels or changes the Letter of Preference through CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system. A paper submission of cancellation or change sent to the Vice President Inflight Services, or his/her designee, shall be required when the computer system is in a "down" or inoperative mode and shall be effective at 0001 the day after the day it is received.
4. Permanent and temporary vacancies shall be awarded in system seniority order, to Flight Attendants having valid and effective Letters of Preference on file as of 0001 on the tenth (10th) day of the calendar month. Such awards shall be processed between the tenth (10th) day and thirteenth (13th) day of the calendar month during which period Flight Attendants shall not be able to submit or change Letters of Preference.
NOTE: Letters of Preference may be processed in advance of the tenth (10th) day of the calendar month if such processing is being done in conjunction with an involuntary recall of Flight Attendants on involuntary furlough, an involuntary recall of Flight Attendants on voluntary furlough or an involuntary assignment of Flight Attendants pursuant to paragraph A., above. In the event Letters of Preference are to be processed in advance of the tenth (10th) day of the calendar month, all Flight Attendants must be given at least fifteen (15) days notice via CENTRY of the date they are to be processed.
5. In no case shall a vacancy be filled through a Letter of Preference award at a base where one (1) or more valid Requests to Return to Former Base are on file for that base.
6. A Flight Attendant shall be given notice of a Letter of Preference award via Company electronic mail. Letter of Preference awards shall be posted by the fourteenth (14th) day of the calendar month at all base stations and copies sent to the MEC President, or his/her designee.7. A Letter of Preference award shall be final and binding.
8. The effective date of a Letter of Preference award shall be the first (1st) day of the following bid month.
9. A Flight Attendant who is awarded a Letter of Preference award shall be deemed to have transferred voluntarily.
10.The Company may fill permanent and temporary vacancies through Letter of Preference awards when there are Flight Attendants on furlough (voluntary and involuntary) only under the following conditions:
a. The Company has offered voluntary furloughs in accordance with Section 14.B. of the Agreement and it is the month the voluntary or involuntary furloughs shall be effective or the month after the voluntary or involuntary furloughs will be effective, or
b. The Flight Attendant most recently involuntarily furloughed has been continuously so furloughed for more than three hundred and sixty-five (365) days and there are no valid Requests to Return to Former Base on file for that base.
11.The Company shall notify Flight Attendants through CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system of anticipated permanent and temporary vacancies before the eighth (8th) day of the month. If there is to be an increase in the population of a base of ten percent (10%) or greater, the Company shall notify Flight Attendants via CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system on or before the tenth (10th) day of the month. Such notices shall also be sent via electronic mail to the MEC President, or his/her designee.
D. Involuntary Assignment of Flight Attendants Not on Furlough
In the case of permanent vacancies to be filled through subparagraph A.2.f., above, the following procedures shall apply:
1. At least twenty (20) days prior to projected award date of a potential involuntary assignment, the Company shall post a bulletin at all base stations a bulletin advising of the potential for involuntary assignments. The bulletin shall contain an estimate of the most senior Flight Attendant at each base potentially subject to involuntary assignment. The bulletin shall list the effective date of involuntary assignment and the time and date the involuntary assignments shall be awarded. The bulletin shall also list the base(s) at which a shortage exists.
NOTE: Flight Attendants subject to potential involuntary assignment shall be selected in reverse seniority order from a base(s) determined by the Company to have an excess of Flight Attendants.
2. The group of Flight Attendants identified to actually be awarded a permanent vacancy via involuntary assignment shall be solely contained within the group of Flight Attendants the Company had originally identified as being subject to possible involuntary assignment in the posting noted in subparagraph D.1., above. In determining this final group, the Company shall take into account the excesses and shortages remaining at each base following “Return to Former Base” and Letter of Preference awards and any changes in base flying which may have occurred since the original posting.
NOTE: Flight Attendants on voluntary or involuntary furlough on the effective date of the involuntary assignment shall not be subject to involuntary assignment.
3. Involuntary assignment awards shall be processed in system seniority order (within the group of Flight Attendants identified to be awarded a permanent vacancy via involuntary assignment) in accordance with their base preferences as ranked on their Involuntary Assignment Request as described in subparagraph D.4., below.
4. A Flight Attendant may submit through CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system an Involuntary Assignment Request which lists in rank order his/her preferences of the bases having vacancies. Such Involuntary Assignment Request shall become effective at 0001 on the day after the day of submission. In the event a Flight Attendant's seniority at his/her base is such that he/she is identified as one who is to be awarded a vacancy via involuntary assignment, he/she shall be awarded a vacancy at the highest ranked base, from the list of bases the Company has designated as having vacancies, on his/her request that his/her system seniority will allow him/her to hold. An Involuntary Assignment Request may be changed or cancelled at any time prior to involuntary assignment. A paper submission of cancellation or change sent to the Vice President Inflight Services, or his/her designee, shall be required when the computer system is in a "down" or inoperative mode and shall be effective at 0001 the day after the day it is received.
5. A Flight Attendant who does not actually have an Involuntary Assignment Request in CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system in accordance with subparagraph D.4., above, shall be deemed to have such a request in CENTRY or other Company designated electronic system that ranks his/her present base as his/her first (1st) preference, the base at which the greatest number of vacancies require filling as his/her second (2nd) choice, the base at which the next greatest number of vacancies require filling as his/her third (3rd) choice, and so on until all bases at which vacancies require filling are assigned a preference.
6. A Flight Attendant who is subject to involuntary assignment may only fill a vacancy at a base that has been designated by the Company as having a shortage of Flight Attendants. He/She may not displace a junior Flight Attendant at a base that does not have a shortage of Flight Attendants or take a base furlough.
7. After a Flight Attendant has been involuntarily assigned to another base the Company shall automatically assume that he/she has filed a “Request to Return to Former Base” unless he/she specifically indicates that he/she does not wish to return to his/her former base or otherwise causes such automatic filing to be withdrawn, in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 14.D.2.e. of this Agreement.
8. A Flight Attendant who has been involuntarily assigned to another base but who fails to report to the new base as specified in the Notice of Involuntary Assignment shall be deemed to have voluntarily resigned and shall forfeit all seniority.
9. A Flight Attendant assigned to a permanent or temporary vacancy under this paragraph D. shall be considered to have involuntarily transferred for purposes of responsibility for transfer expenses under Section 13 of this Agreement.
E. New Hires
In the case of permanent or temporary vacancies to be filled in accordance with subparagraph A.2.g., above, the Company may fill such vacancies with new hires.
F. Temporary Assignments
Temporary assignments as defined in subparagraph B.3., above, shall be assigned to Reserve Flight Attendants in accordance with the following criteria:
1. The Company shall identify base stations from which the Flight Attendants for temporary assignment will be selected.
2. Temporary assignments shall first (1st) be offered by telephone to Reserve Flight Attendants at such base stations who are identified as being available during the time frame of such temporary assignments, in seniority order by base; then, if necessary, forced in reverse seniority order. "Being available" means no planned absences are scheduled during the temporary assignment.
3. When offering a temporary assignment, the Company shall be required to make only two (2) attempts to contact a Reserve Flight Attendant within a twelve hour (12:00) period at either his/her primary contact number or at a layover hotel, whichever is appropriate, with the stipulation that such calls must be a minimum of four hours (4:00) apart on a taped line. If the Flight Attendant is not available, he/she may be bypassed and the assignment offered to the next most junior Reserve Flight Attendant at the base.
4. A Reserve Flight Attendant shall not be assigned to a temporary assignment which exceeds twelve (12) consecutive days, inclusive of travel to and from his/her base of temporary assignment.
5. A Reserve Flight Attendant shall be considered on duty and shall receive pay and credit for flights when traveling to and from the base of temporary assignment. He/She may be required to work as a Flight Attendant on such flights. The period of temporary assignment shall commence at the report time for travel to the base of temporary assignment and shall end at the release time of such travel to his/her base.
6. A Reserve Flight Attendant on temporary assignment shall be provided with day(s) off within the temporary assignment as follows:
a. Guaranteed days off within the temporary assignment shall be provided if the Flight Attendant had already requested and been awarded guaranteed day(s) off during the period of temporary assignment.
b. Day(s) off within the temporary assignment shall be provided if there is not sufficient time in the month remaining after the period of temporary assignment to provide the required number of days off in accordance with Section 7.H. of this Agreement.
c. All other Reserve Flight Attendants on temporary assignment shall not receive any days off during the period of such temporary assignment. Upon return to base, such Flight Attendants shall receive at least one (1) guaranteed day off for every three (3) days of temporary assignment.
7. Reserve Flight Attendants on temporary assignment shall receive the lodging and per diem benefits as specified in Section 4.A. and 4.D. of this Agreement.
8. Notice of temporary assignment shall be provided to the Reserve Flight Attendant as soon as reasonably practical but in no event later than twenty-four hours (24:00) prior to the required reporting time of the temporary assignment. The Flight Attendant shall be released for such twenty-four hour (24:00) period unless the Flight Attendant requests not to be released.
G. Mutual Transfers (Matched Letter of Preference Awards)
1. Upon request of the MEC President, or his/her designee, to the Vice President Inflight Services, or his/her designee, a joint review of all valid and effective Letter of Preference Bids on file shall be made.
2. The joint review shall be made by the MEC President and the Vice President Inflight Services, or by their designated representatives. It shall be made between the tenth (10th) and the thirteenth (13th) day of the month and shall include all valid and effective Letter of Preference Bids on file on the review date.
3. If there are Requests to Return to Former Base or Letters of Preference on file when no permanent vacancies exist or when additional Letters of Preference remain after all permanent vacancies are filled, then such Requests to Return to Former Base and Letters of Preference shall be matched against each other by base in the following seniority order and permanent exchanges of base stations among such bidders shall be allowed in seniority order to the extent that there are matched Letters of Preference on file:
a. Those with a valid Request to Return to Former Base under the terms of Section 14.D.2.e., in seniority order, subject to the terms of subparagraph G.7., below;
b. Those with a valid Letter of Preference, in seniority order, subject to the terms of subparagraph G.7., below.
4. Such matched Letter of Preference awards shall be made between the tenth (10th) and the thirteenth (13th) day of the calendar month after Letter of Preference awards. Flight Attendants shall be given notice of their mutual transfer awards via CENTRY or any other Company designated electronic system. Matched Letter of Preference awards shall be posted by the fourteenth (14th) day of the calendar month at all base stations and copies sent to the MEC President, or his/her designee.
5. A Matched Letter of Preference award shall be final and binding, and shall be considered a voluntary transfer for the purpose of determining responsibility for transfer expenses.
6. Matched Letter of Preference awards shall be effective on the first (1st) day of the following flying month.
7. Matched Letter of Preference awards shall be processed while Flight Attendants are on involuntary furlough however, mutual transfers involving Flight Attendants junior to any Flight Attendant on involuntary furlough or subject to involuntary furlough or involuntary assignment, in the bases involved shall not be awarded.
H. Hardship Transfers
Upon mutual agreement of the Vice President Inflight Services and the MEC President, or their designees, the transfer of a Flight Attendant from one base to another may be granted upon a showing of undue hardship or emergency.
Hardship transfers may be requested in one (1) month increments up to a maximum of nine (9) months. No single hardship transfer shall exceed nine (9) months in duration for a single circumstance. Procedures for the granting of such transfers may be amended only by mutual agreement between the Company and the MEC President.
I. New or Reestablished Bases
1. In the event that a new base is established, or a previously existing base is reestablished, permanent and temporary vacancies at such base shall be filled in accordance with the provisions set forth below.
2. At least thirty (30) days prior to the date Letters of Preference would be reviewed for the filling of vacancies at a new or reestablished base, the Company shall issue a bulletin of its intent to create vacancies at such new or reestablished base as follows:
a. The bulletin shall be posted in the Inflight Services office at each base.
b. The bulletin shall be placed in the mailbox of each Flight Attendant.
c. The bulletin shall be entered in the automated bulletin system.
d. The bulletin shall be sent by regular mail to each Flight Attendant on unpaid leave, on vacation in excess of twenty-five (25) days, or on furlough at the last address on file in the Inflight Services office at his/her base.3. All Flight Attendants, including Flight Attendants on furlough, are eligible to bid for vacancies at a new or reestablished base by submitting a Letter of Preference through CENTRY or any other Company designated electronic system no later than the deadline referenced in the bulletin.
4. Vacancies at new or reestablished bases shall be filled in seniority order. A list shall be posted with the awards at each base station. Such awards are final and binding.
5. Following the initial staffing of the new or reestablished base, subsequent vacancies shall be filled in accordance with subparagraphs A.2.b., A.2.c., A.2.d., A.2.f. or A.2.g., above.
6. Base stations shall be considered new or reestablished for six (6) months after Flight Attendants covered by this Agreement are first based there unless otherwise stipulated by mutual agreement between the Company and the Union. (See Section 13.C. of this Agreement regarding transfer expenses when a transfer to a new or reestablished base is involved.)
J. Foreign National Positions
This Section 12 shall have no application to positions which the Company has the right to fill with foreign national employees as set forth in Letter of Agreement 6 of this Agreement.