Know Your Rights

Do I have the right to union representation during a disciplinary meeting?

Yes, under the Protocol Agreement you have a right to a witness. The Protocol Agreement states:

Prior to the ratification of the first collective bargaining agreement, any Flight Attendant who is subject to discipline will be informed if a mandatory meeting may result in such discipline. After such notification, the Flight Attendant may request that a witness be present for the meeting. The witness may be a Union officer or another Flight Attendant, but not an attorney. The witness will not actively participate in the meeting but instead will be present as an observer. Approval for such a request will not be unreasonably withheld and the Company will make good-faith efforts to schedule such a meeting to allow the witness to be present. However, the request for a witness will not be used to inhibit or delay an investigation.  

In practice, if you are called by HR or Inflight, you can ask: “Is this a mandatory meeting that may result in discipline?” If they answer “yes”, then you can ask for the meeting to be scheduled in order to arrange for a union representative per the negotiations protocol agreement. Management should then schedule the meeting. As soon as you know it’s a mandatory meeting that may result in discipline, you should arrange for a union representative or another Flight Attendant to attend the meeting. If you have any issues, please respectfully remind management they need to “make a good-faith effort to schedule the meeting to allow the witness to be present.” You can immediately contact your union officers, Nadra and Tonya, or email [email protected]. Please comply with the instructions given by management but also notify AFA of any issues.

Do I have the right to wear an AFA pin?

Absolutely. The negotiations protocol agreement allows for Flight Attendants to wear the AFA pin. Additionally, it is well-established that employees may wear a discrete union insignia (union pin) while on duty. Union activists are also assured the right to advocate for the union without fear of retaliation of any kind. 45 U.S.C. § 152 (Third), (Fourth); 29 C.F.R. § 1205.2.