Union Update October 14, 2022

Norse Cabin crew:

In this update we will discuss the following items:

1.     Zoom Update

2.     “Open Communication” meeting with people department

3.     CEO visit to FLL and JFK

4.     Bidding and Swapping programs for crew

1.     Zoom Update

Due to schedule conflicts, the Union Zoom Update that as supposed to be held today is being scheduled to tomorrow Saturday October 15th at 12PM Eastern. Please attend if you are able: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85288679032?pwd=MGJaNytMOGVldmZmZTRMejQ0RmR3UT09

Meeting ID: 852 8867 9032
Passcode: 199029
One tap mobile
+16469313860,,85288679032#,,,,*199029# US
+19292056099,,85288679032#,,,,*199029# US (New York)

2.     “Open Communication” meeting with people department

The People Department is holding its first “Open Communication” meeting today with the cabin crew. For those of you who are unfamiliar, the people department is the HR department and does not directly make decisions that affect the daily operation.

3.     CEO visit to FLL and JFK

Our CEO is visiting FLL on the 18th (4PM at the crew hotel). The JFK time and place has not yet been decided. Speaking directly with the CEO is a great opportunity to get things changed here at Norse. The CEO is not going to reveal anything new that you haven’t heard already. If you do attend the meeting with the CEO, please provide feedback on the following issues: 1) part-time schedules, 2) trip drops (which we negotiated in our contract), and 3) travel benefits with no fees for crew.

The Union has repeatedly asked the Operations department for Part-time schedules and trip drops but we are not getting a good response. We are in an overstaffed situation and there’s no reason why the company shouldn’t be able to provide this. If we do not get part-time schedules or trip drops, the average block hour value for the winter season (Nov-Mar) is going to be much lower than it is now. By securing part-time schedules and trip drops, we can take away the trips from the people who don’t want to fly them and give them to the people who do, which will allow many of us to obtain excess hours.

Lastly, please let the CEO know that you ARE NOT HAPPY WITH PAYING FEES TO TRAVEL ON YOUR OWN AIRLINE. Someone in Norse management made a bad decision to charge employees several fees to travel on our own airline. We were told that employee travel would be free, just like it is for employees at US airlines, but this isn’t the case. While some of you think the ID travel fee is low ($20-50), we still have to pay required government taxes which can push a one-way flight to over $100 in some cases. The bottom line is we should not have to pay any fee to travel on our own airline. Also, we should not have to pay to bring luggage on our own aircraft. Spirit Airlines, an ultra low cost airline, doesn’t charge a fee for their employees to travel and they let them bring on carry-on luggage and check in a bag at no charge. Again, no US airline charges their employees a fee to travel nor do they charge them for luggage. Charging employees a fee a travel on our own airline doesn’t fit in with Norse values.

4.     Bidding and Swapping programs for crew

The Union is currently evaluating bidding and swapping software programs for the crew. The swapping system is in its beta-testing stage and should be available soon. A bidding program would take longer to implement and won’t be available until sometime next year. We will provide more details in the Zoom meeting.

If you have any questions before then, please email us at [email protected]