In this Union Update, we will cover the following issues:
1) Delay in flying
2) Scheduling
3) CrewConnex and Payroll
4) Employee Parking
5) Unionization Status
6) Onboard service
7) Crew Hotels
8) Terms and Conditions Sheet
9) Zoom Update
1. Delay in flying
Due to the lack of uniforms and background checks taking a while, some cabin crew who graduated training aren’t able to fly yet. We stated in previous union updates that the Norwegian background checks can take up to three (3) months. Rather than remove people from training classes, Norse made the decision to have everyone to attend their originally scheduled training class regardless of background check status. We know that some of you who are “grounded” are unhappy, but at least everyone got to attend their scheduled training class and is being paid their monthly guarantee.
2. Scheduling
a) The US number for OCC is (954) 676-7079. The US number on back of our Crew ID cards is wrong, but the Norway number is correct.
b) For those of you with scheduled flying, you may have noticed some things that are similar and some things that are different than what we are “used to.” One of the things you may have noticed is the minimum amount of rest that is built into some trips where you land in the morning, rest for 10-12 hours, then fly out later that evening. We have flagged this with the Safety Department as a fatigue risk. There are other trips that have similar minimum rest periods and we will be addressing it with the company at our next fatigue meeting. Until then, please do not report for duty unless you have properly rested.
c) Management is trying to follow the Tentative Agreement (CBA) as best as possible but there are some things that are not being followed yet. Some Tentative Agreement items are seniority based and have not yet been instituted because seniority numbers have not been entered into CrewConnex. We expect this to happen sometime next month. After seniority numbers are entered, we will be able to bid for days off in seniority order (one block of 4 days) and the most senior SCCMs will be assigned the Purser position on flights. In the meantime, you are still able to request days off, certain layovers, etc. through CrewConnex but keep in mind these are only requests. Trip Swaps, Trip Drops and other scheduling flexibilities are coming later this year/early next. We will keep you updated on the progress.
d) Notification times for Reserve (RSV) is 10 hours and Standby (SBY) is 3 hours. It was a HUGE win for us to negotiate a 3-hour callout and in order to get it, we agreed to a 4-hour sick-call notification. If you call in sick with less than 4 hours prior to report, it will be considered a no-show. If you are on Standby, you must call out sick before your Standby assignment begins. If OCC contacts you during your Standby period and you report sick, you will be assigned a no-show. Please see the examples below. The first example is of a scheduled flight, where the CCM must call out sick 4 hours prior to check-in to avoid a no-show. The second example is of a standby assignment, where the CCM must call out sick before the start of the standby period to avoid a no-show.
3. CrewConnex and Payroll
CrewConnex is the portal we currently use to view our schedules. We also use CrewConnex for roster requests and to view information on hotels and transportation for each station we fly to. It is important to make sure your personal information is correct in CrewConnex. Under “Personal Details,” please check that your address, phone, email, and passport information is correct. If the information is not correct, you can send a message to Crew Control with the correct information.
CrewConnex displays a value called “Fdp” time. This time is NOT the same as block hours because it includes the 90 minutes report time before the flight departs. To get an accurate estimate of your pay for the month, you must:
a) Calculate your block hours manually by measuring the time from the scheduled departure in Zulu time STD(Z) to the scheduled arrival time in Zulu time STA(Z) for each flight worked OR positioned (FLTPOS).
b) Calculate your time positioning on the ground (GT) in the same manner as above.
c) Multiply each unworked/unflown Standby (SBY) day by 3 hours.
d) Multiply each training day by 3 hours.
e) Add all of the numbers above and this is your block hour pay for the month.
It’s important to note that not everything is coded properly just yet. When the information in CrewConnex is transferred over to Gine, there has to be a manual audit of everyone’s roster. Please be patient with Gine until the activities are properly coded for the payroll system. In the meantime, please do your own personal audit using the information provided above to ensure you are being credited the proper number of block hours for pay purposes.
4. Employee Parking
Employee parking in FLL is now available. The employee parking form must be picked up from the Norse office in Fort Lauderdale and then brought to the FLL airport parking office.
Employee parking in JFK is not yet available. Public Transportation is temporarily being reimbursed. Ubers and Taxis are not reimbursed. If you have to park, please use the most economical and safe means possible. For most of you, JFK Long-Term parking located at Lefferts Boulevard will be the best option. Book your parking online in advance to guarantee a spot.
5. Unionization Status
As stated in the training classes, we will submit our union authorization cards to the National Mediation Board (NMB) in Washington, D.C. after all training classes have the opportunity to sign cards. The final training classes start training on July 5th and July 6th. We plan on submitting the cards to the NMB sometime mid-July. As a reminder, we will not have to pay Union dues until AFTER we have voted on our Tentative Agreement (CBA), which comes after our union is certified by the NMB.
6. Onboard Service
Despite all of the hard work and energy put into designing the Service Concept, our Norse onboard service will need several more tweaks and revisions before we discover the perfect system for our passengers. While some of the procedures may be frustrating and not make sense (OBT devices for example), please try to follow the service concept as best as possible. If we follow the concept as written and find it doesn’t work, we can tell the Commercial Team, “Hey, we tried it, and it’s not working.” If you have any suggestions on the service concept or onboard sales in general, please write to [email protected] and Diego ([email protected]).
7. Crew Hotels
Our crew hotels were jointly chosen by the Union and the Company within a very short period of time. With only 2 days to spare in each city, hotels were chosen for OSL, JFK, FLL, MCO, and LAX within a 2-week period. For those of you who already spend time in a crew hotel, we need to hear from you—the good and the bad. Please email Daniel Leblanc [email protected] and [email protected] to let us know how you like/dislike our crew hotels. The good thing we have going for us right now is that we negotiated short-term hotel contracts, so if anything needs to change, we can do it sooner rather than later. Hotels still need to be chosen for LGW, BER, and CDG.
Many of you have expressed interest in choosing crew hotels and we thank you for the interest; however, we do not need any assistance at this time. After our Union is established and fully functional, we will establish a hotel committee to monitor complaints and do site inspections.
8. Terms and Conditions Sheet
Many of you still have questions about how much we get paid at Norse. To make things easier for everyone, we put together a short “summary” of our terms and conditions at Norse. Now that Norse is making its mark in the US aviation market you will hear some airline employees allege that Norse has hired non-union employees who have to work long hours with low wages. Feel free to share the T&C sheet with them as it’s now public information and the AFA is very proud of the agreement we have reached with Norse. You can find the T&C Summary here:
9. Zoom Update
If any of you may have questions about the above items or other topics, there will be a Zoom Update for Norse Cabin Crew today (Saturday) at 1200 and tomorrow (Sunday) at 1200.
Topic: Norse Cabin Crew Update
Time: Jun 25 and Jun 26 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
