June 27, 2014

The Association of Flight Attendants - CWA and United Airlines met in Denver this week.  We were joined by Michael Kelliher and Andrew Nordgren, from the National Mediation Board (NMB), who helped facilitate the week’s discussions.  As previously announced we are changing the negotiations process.  We are using the NMB’s expertise and assistance to help both AFA and management learn and use “facilitated problem solving” as a means of reaching agreement on a new Contract for all Flight Attendants. 

Our time in Denver was spent developing a protocol agreement to guide the parties through this process.  Protocol agreements typically address issues like where negotiations will take place, what the schedule will be like, and who will be involved.  The parties spent the first three days of the week identifying their interests with respect to the protocol, and translating those interests into an agreement which we could all work with.  With the NMB’s assistance, we crafted and signed a protocol agreement.  

Highlights of the protocol agreement are:

• AFA and United Airlines will utilize a facilitated problem solving negotiations process.
• Everyone who participates will be trained by the NMB in the facilitated problem solving negotiations process.
• This new process will involve a structure of subcommittees who will help develop solutions for the numerous subjects and sections we are negotiating over.
• AFA and United may designate subject matter experts, consultants, attorneys and financial analysts to participate in the subcommittees.
• The parties agree that, beginning in August; negotiations will include regular bargaining sessions of two consecutive weeks.  The parties have already reserved the dates for these sessions through the end of the year.
• Negotiations will take place in Denver through September, and will be in Chicago for the balance of the year. 

This new facilitated problem solving negotiations process will involve a lot of work on everyone’s part.  It will also require both parties to approach negotiations with an open mind and no preconceived notions of what a Contract should, or shouldn’t, look like.  We are not saying this will be easy – in fact we’re telling you now; this is going to be hard.  However, as demonstrated this week, it can be done.

Recognizing the difficulties inherent in this new process, AFA and United Airlines will use their best efforts to reach a tentative agreement for a new Contract by the target date of July 23, 2015.

We would like to thank the NMB for its assistance and prodding this week. We are hopeful the process they are helping us utilize will lead us to a successful conclusion.