Continental Flight Attendant Leadership on Day 1

Who do you know who always makes your day on the job better and a little brighter? 

Our AFA-CWA Constitution and Bylaws ensure that our Union remains in the hands of Flight Attendants. A single AFA Member has the power to bring forward ideas to change the course of our Union, to elect the leaders of our Union and to hold any position within our leadership.

If AFA wins the representation election, on the day of the ballot count Continental Flight Attendants will have the full benefits of Membership in AFA – including representation from your flying partners in CLE, EWR, GUM and IAH.  Immediately following the election you will begin the process of electing your peer representatives (read more about the election process) which will take approximately 2-3 months to complete.  In the meantime AFA International President Veda Shook will appoint your temporary Local Officers until the democratic election process is complete.  We won’t decide this without your input.  We want to be sure to appoint people you respect as leaders in your location.

Review the officer positions and tell us who you think would be a great temporary representative.  Submit your ideas for each position.  Flight Attendants know who gets the work done and it isn’t always just the people who attend a lot of union meetings.  Maybe it’s someone who helped you out when you needed a hand – maybe it’s someone who has all the latest information – maybe it’s someone who isn’t afraid to speak up when something’s just not right.

Name of leader:
Officer position:	Select... President Vice President Secretary Council Representative
Committee:	Select... Benefits (Retirement, Insurance, Occupational) Communication AFA Employee Assistance Program / Professional Standards Government Affairs Grievance Hotel & Transportation Membership Engagement Reserve Safety, Health & Security Scheduling System Board of Adjustment (Arbitration Board) Uniform
Tell us why you are suggesting this person as a leader at your base.
Your name:
Your base location?	Select... CLE EWR GUM IAH

AFA Structure

Local Executive Council (LEC)

If AFA is elected to represent Continental and United Flight Attendants, Continental Flight Attendants immediately will have a Local Council President, Vice President, Secretary and Council Representative(s) from your base to represent you.  The LEC leadership is comprised of the Members’ Flight Attendant peers from the same base location.  These are the people a Member goes to with questions, when needing assistance or when the Member has suggestions or ideas for change.

Master Executive Council (MEC)

Your Local President is part of the Master Executive Council (MEC), which is the governing body of the union at each airline and is made up of the Local Council Presidents from each base.  There probably are unique Issues in your location, specific to your base, and these are the first focus of your Local elected officers in working with the MEC. This will ensure attention to specific contractual and daily life issues for Continental and Continental Micronesia Flight Attendants from the Flight Attendants who know those issues best.

There are three Officers of the MEC who work at the direction of the collective Local Council Presidents to coordinate representation of all of the Flight Attendants at one airline.

AFA Board of Directors

Local Council Presidents also are members of the AFA Board of Directors, the highest governing body of our Union.  This ensures that every Member can directly elect and hold accountable the highest governing body of our Union.

Local Council Officer Positions

Article III.C.3. - Jurisdiction and Duties

Local Council President Duties

The Local Council President has specific duties according to our Constitution and Bylaws which include:

• Holding membership meetings;
• serving as a member of the Master Executive Council and Board of Directors;
• “responsible for the expeditious processing of complaints and grievances of that Council's members and promoting their interests locally in whatever way possible;”
• “responsible for implementing, administering and explaining the policies of the Local Executive Council and Master Executive Council, the Board of Directors, and Executive Board as they pertain to that Local Council;”
• informing Local Council Officers and committees and safeguarding all files, correspondence, documents and other materials – and promptly transfer them to her/his successor promptly; and
• “consult with and take into account the opinions and thoughts of the other Local Council Officers. It is expected that a Local Council President will exercise her/his judgment in the best interests of her/his members.”

Local Council Vice President

The Vice President performs all of the President’s duties in her/his absence and assists the President with representing Flight Attendants in the Local Council.

Local Council Secretary

The Secretary of the Local Council assists the President in administering Local Council funds, maintaining Council records, and assist with the representation of Flight Attendants in the Local Council.

Local Council Representative

The work of the Local Council increases according to the size of the membership.  Our Constitution and Bylaws provides for Council Representative(s) to be elected as additional officers in order to assist in representing members in the Local Council.  Article III.C.1.c. provides the ability for a Local Council to decide whether to have 1 or 2 Council Representatives.  In addition, for Local Councils over 2000 in membership there may be an additional Council Representative for every 1000 members.

AFA Builds Strength and Keeps Our Union in Flight Attendant Hands

When AFA signed the merger agreement with the Communications Workers of America in 2004, Flight Attendants gained the support, power and solidarity of 700,000 union sisters and brothers while maintaining full autonomy and ownership of our union, the Association of Flight Attendants.  Our merger agreement, a legally binding contract with CWA, states:

“The affiliation with CWA is based upon the maintenance of AFA’s full autonomy as an independent labor organization with full control over its funds, assets and policies. (Section 2.a.1)

AFA governance (including officers, terms and elections, LECs, MECs, Executive Board, Board of Directors, and International Officers) shall be determined in accordance with the AFA Constitution and Bylaws.  (Section 5.a)

Committees

The passionate work of volunteers has enabled our Union to be the strong and effective voice for Flight Attendants. Flight Attendants who demanded better for our work lives and focused advocacy on critical issues have made real gains for our profession. Elected offices are not the only important positions within our Union.  We need volunteers who become experts in each of the areas that affect our jobs.  For this reason, each AFA MEC and LEC forms committees to address specific job issues with the assistance of our professional AFA staff.  Consider who might be a particularly good advocate in one of the following areas – or let us know that you have an interest in this work. Continental Flight Attendants will have access to all of the resources of AFA from Day One, including advocacy from your flying partners who are experts on specific areas affecting our jobs and our union.  Let us know if you’d like to learn more about the work of these committees:

• Asian Affairs
• Benefits (Retirement, Insurance, Occupational)
• Central Schedule (Scheduling Committee)
• Communication
• AFA Employee Assistance Program / Professional Standards
• European Affairs Coordinator
• Government Affairs
• Grievance
• Hotel & Transportation
• Membership Engagement
• Reserve
• Safety, Health & Security
• Uniform
• System Board of Adjustment;