United has announced a system-wide bid for Special Leaves of Absence for the two-month period of April and May 2008.  Before bidding for these leaves it's important to carefully review the company's Special Leave of Absence information, particularly as it pertains to insurance, pass travel, vacation and sick leave accrual.  Special leave status will impact each of these benefits and could also impact seniority accrual if on special leave status for more than 180 days in a 12 month period, per Section 23.B. of the Contract.  

Flight Attendants who were awarded the special leaves in the past 12 months, will not accrue seniority for each of the days in excess of 180 days on special leave status inclusive of this new May/April period.

Bidding for the Special Leave of Absence

After carefully reviewing all of the information about a Special Leave of Absence, bidding for the April/May leave may be accomplished through your LOAREQ screen starting today, March 7th, through Thursday, March 13th at 0830 Central Time.  A special leave TYPE in the bid screen is indicated by the abbreviation “SP” and the dates of the leave should be listed as scheduled month dates, which include 04/1/08 – 05/31/08.  Awards will be posted by 1730 Chicago Time on the 13th of March. 

Whether you intend to bid or not, every Flight Attendant should check the LOAREQ screen to ensure there is not a request on file that is no longer wanted.  This is especially important since your benefits could be affected with the award of a Special Leave of Absence.

ANP and 30-day ANP Will Not Affect Benefits If Carefully Used

While it may be beneficial for some Members to have no flying obligation during these two months, regular awards of ANP and 30-day ANP will also continue during this time without interference to your benefits.  The only exception to this is the award of 30-day ANP directly touching another 30-day ANP or single day of ANP without at least one day off in between.  This circumstance would trigger change of status to a Personal Leave of Absence, which would also affect benefits.  When requesting any time off, we encourage you to fully review all available information and ask questions about anything that is unclear.