In this Union newsletter we will discuss the following items:
1. New Union Officers fully in place
2. Year 2 for Norse Crew
3. Grievance Update
4. August rosters
5. Reciprocal Jump-seat Agreement with Spirit Airlines
6. FADAP Conference and EAP program for crew members
7. Excessive No shows and sick calls
8. Zoom Update
1. New Union Officers fully in place Ted, Ish and I want to take this opportunity to thank Valentin Lorien for 9 years of hard work fighting for Cabin Crew Members first at Norwegian Air Shuttle and for the past two years here at Norse. He dedicated everyday weather on Stby, Reserve, day off or vacations to fight for the crew. Very often writing proposals and letters of agreement in the middle of the night. We will forever be grateful for his determination, integrity and persistence. We learned a lot from him and now will do our best to follow his footsteps. We need your help and involvement, by sharing your experiences, your ideas and observations. Our success depends on our working together and sticking together through thick and thin.
Ted, Ish and I attended Leadership training in DC few weeks ago and will finish it August. Negotiating new contract is one thing, operate under the contract is a totally different and we are getting a lot of help from our resources at AFA HQ.
2. Year 2 for Norse Crew
We are now into the second year of operation, and it is time to focus on Norse Crew. We have been asked to survive very harsh winter that turned into harsh spring and summer. We were told to work minimum crew, we were forced to work in a split bases, under different AOC, we don’t have a promised bidding system or even an archaic in-house bidding. We can’t control our schedules; we lost breakfast but still asked to perform without proper tools and supplies. Things have to change for crew and the changes can’t come fast enough. Our goal this year is to convince the management to implement necessary changes that are long overdue! We believe that the way to success is a two-way street where both sides, management and workers are taking care of each other creating an environment where business can thrive!!! We will not, we cannot succeed without YOUR involvement. The strength of the Union is determined by the involvement of its members. We are asking for your help now!
We are going to send it to everyone in Norway, including Norse’s CEO, Bjørn T. Larsen. We must have majority if not all sign it to make an impact. We are very close but not there yet so PLEASE HELP US MAKE OUR VOICES LOUD by signing and by encouraging others to sign by next Friday, July 21st, 2023.
Link is attached to this newsletter!
3. Grievances
We have filed 7 MEC Grievances last month. They address variety of issues, from removal of breakfast, not implementing bidding and swapping systems, hotel issues in Oslo (lack of A/C, fridge, ironing board and iron etc.), to hotel selection and hiring of more GIs without Union’s involvement or consultation which breaks our CBA. Because of the great importance of filling our Grievances due to company’s false promises and not following our CBA, we have asked our AFA International President Sara Nelson to accompany us to our first Grievance Hearing with the Upper Management on July 27th and 28th in Arendal. We also asked for help from AFA legal department to assist us.
Sara Nelson will fly on Norse flight from JFK to OSL on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023. Please take good care of her and show her how great we all are!!!!
4. August Rosters
Our August rosters were released this week, and although we see the number of flight hours per cabin crew increased in comparison to last two months it is still far from the ideal number of hours we need to fly on a monthly basis to produce sufficient income. While the overall average is higher than it's ever been, some groups including LGW SCCMs are suffering from the lowest number of hours. A bidding system, with trips built by our Scheduling Committee, combined with an automated swapping system is the solution to this problem. Scheduling/Rostering is the main topic to be discussed in Arendal.
5. Reciprocal Spirit Jump-seat Agreement with Spirit Airlines
Agreement was negotiated by AFA (Valentin Lorien) with authorization from Norse. We have to make every effort to make the Agreement a success. This success of this agreement will influence and determine all future agreements with other airlines. How can we contribute to that success? By following the JUMP-SEAT PROTOCOL/ PROCEDURES outlined in a document sent to all crew by Joseph Gabriel on JULY 5th. The document is located here: Spirit Procedures Jumpseat .pdf
6. FADAP and EAP
We have EAP (Employee Assistance Program) Representatives trained and working to help all crew in news of support due to verity of problem, issues and challenges. Whether you experience personal or professional difficulties with coworkers and/or family members our dedicated colleagues are ready to help. The main EAP number is: 1-800-424-2406 or 202-434-0560. We also have US-based Norse EAP Reps. They are:
Vanessa Morales JFK 718-838-4482
Vanessa Harrigan JFK 646- 457-5609
Sylvie Wubbena FLL 754-232-0088
They work under strict rules of confidentiality and have access to recourses that can solve lots of issues. If you are in need call one of them, you are not alone!!! In August Flight Attendants Drug and Alcohol Program is hosting annual Conference in Baltimore. We are happy to announce that not only Norse’s EAP Reps will attend but our Management (Beate Jakobsen, Joseph Gabriel, and Rory Forbes from LGW) will join us to learn about program, tools and experiences from other airlines to help and support flight attendants on the way to recovery.
7. Excessive sick calls and no shows
Management told us that they have experienced a very high number of sick calls and no-shows in US in the last few days We have been informed by Crew Control that many crew on Reserve and Standby call out sick after they’re assigned a trip. As a result of this behavior, new and stricter sick calls and no-show policies may be implemented soon.
8. Zoom meeting
We will conduct a Zoom Meeting from Arendal right after the Hearing on Friday, July 28th at 1pm EST. to update everyone on the outcome of this Hearing. We will record the meeting for those of you who cannot attend. The link to the Zoom Meeting is here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84978935180?pwd=akNFZXRKbmI5RWd5bHJNdU1VaFBadz09
