Frequently Asked Questions: Pt. One
Dear Spirit Flight Attendants,
We have had a great turnout and engagement from our members during the in-person roadshow sessions. As of today, we’ve held sessions in FLL/MIA, ACY, MCO, and ORD. We want to address and clarify the most frequently asked questions we have received during the roadshows and
Q: Will there be a Signing Bonus with the new contract?
A: There is no signing bonus paired with this Tentative Agreement. The reason is two-fold:
We elected to plow all the money into the rates, which will affect every credit hour of pay and compound over time with each percentage increase to the scale. If you look at the pay increases that happen in less than three years – most are in the 40% increases over that time. Please take the time to view the “Stepping Through the Pay Scale” video that explains that. You can see it here: Understanding the Sliding Pay Scale.
Secondly, a signing bonus is typically part of the package when contract negotiations have dragged on for years past the contract's amendable period. We are less than two years past our amendable period (lightning speed in the airline industry). Your pilots did not receive a signing bonus with their latest contract earlier this year.
The last Flight Attendant contract took nine years to negotiate and had 2 failed TAs. There was a significant signing bonus, but it did not come close to making flight attendants whole for what they lost over those nine years.
Q: How has the current contract negotiations timeline compared to the last contract?
Our first CBA became effective on 2/7/2003.
Our first CBA became amendable on 6/6/2007.
The complete timeline of our past CBAs and current TA is outlined below:
We did not get a TA (TA1) on a second CBA until 12/12/2013.
(Yes, the committee and the company, and eventually a federal mediator, negotiated for 6.5 years for TA1)
TA1 was voted down on 2/7/2014 (20% for, 80% against)
The committee returned to the negotiating table.
After six months of negotiating, TA2 was announced on 8/7/2014.
TA2 was voted down on 10/1/2014 (36% for, 64% against)
A new committee was then elected, and we received a new staff negotiator (Paula Mastrangelo), and the new committee returned to the table.
After another 1.5 years of negotiating, TA3 was announced on 3/18/2016.
TA3 was ratified by the membership on 5/5/2016 (79% for, 21% against).
To be clear, our current contract, all told, took nearly nine years to achieve.
Our current contract became amendable on 5/5/2021, but due to the continuing issues with the 2020 pandemic, we did not begin negotiations again until 9/27/2021.
We reached a tentative agreement with the company (the one available now) on 2/16/2023 (almost 1.5 years of negotiations)
Q: If the TA is voted down, will we go back in to get more improvements?
A: If we go back to the bargaining table, there is no guarantee that the current Tentative Agreement will be a “floor” and that only improvements will result from a second negotiation. Management will be free to re-introduce all the concessions we successfully fended off. If the membership does not ratify the Tentative Agreement, the negotiating committee will survey the membership to determine why and what would be needed for successful ratification. However, there is no way to predict the outcome, which takes time. Spirit has not been profitable since 2019 and has yet to recover from the pandemic.
During negotiations for our current contract, two TAs were voted down until “TA3” was ultimately ratified. The entire process took nine years, and during those nine years, there was no percentage increase to the pay scale, and those who were topped out did not even receive the step increases.
The current TA contains significant pay increases and scheduling and reserve improvements. It positions Spirit Flight Attendants for success if the merger happens or not. If the merger is approved, we would head into joint contract negotiations with JetBlue in an elevated position. If the merger falls through, we still secure improvements and return to the bargaining table in less than 2 ½ years. Either way, we get a “second bite at the apple.”
Q: Nothing was addressed about seniority if the merger goes through.
A: We have a written commitment from JetBlue that becomes effective post-merger and includes no-furlough protections, a commitment to seniority integration under the law that protects the seniority each Flight Attendant has accrued at their respective carries, no displacements, and a "second bite at the apple" through an expedited process for joint contract negotiations ensuring that Flight Attendants further improve wages and working conditions by sharing in the value created by the merger. That said, how each Flight Attendant’s seniority is integrated depends on the union that represents the combined Flight Attendant group at the combined carrier. AFA’s seniority integration policy is strictly Date of Hire. TWU’s seniority integration policy is undefined.
You can read more about our support for the merger here: AFA-CWA Adds Support to JetBlue-Spirit Airlines Merger Following TA.
Q: Why didn’t we get Profit Sharing?
A: The airline has not been profitable since 2019: Earnings Release 4Q22 (q4cdn.com). If this TA passes, it will become amendable in about two years, we can reevaluate profit sharing then, but I think we would all prefer a steadier income, not one based on the decisions of upper management.
Q: The pilots received a 44% raise with their last contract.
A: The pilots did not receive a 44% increase. They received an average increase of 18% and an additional average increase of 5% the following year, for a total average increase of 22% over two years. The only pilots that received a 38% increase (the highest, none of them received 40%) were first-year first officers (and this increase was spread over two years). Depending on where you are at on our pay scale, you will see even more significant increases than what the pilots received. Most of our Flight Attendants will receive 30-40+% increases in less than two years. I encourage you to watch this video to help better understand your pay increases on the scale: Negotiations: Tentative Agreement, Roadshow & Voting Information — Spirit AFA-CWA.
Q: Why is there nothing concerning retroactive pay? And shouldn't we have the same as pilots, no less favorable for 5 hours of credit per day? Didn't they already get that?
A: The company would only increase our duty rigs with us accepting a preferential bidding system (PBS), as the pilots did. That is when the pilots secured the 5-hour minimum day credit. We fought this issue in arbitration, but we did not prevail. You can read about this here: "No Less Favorable" Arbitration Update.
Q: Some lines have so much soft credit that even if you fly your whole line, you won’t have enough credits to keep your insurance. If they want to increase the hours, they should include soft credit. Some of the lengths of so much soft credit that you would have to work every day of the month to keep your insurance.
A: The 600 hours minimum for benefits threshold includes the following “soft credit” in addition to block:
Deadheading credit
Vacation credit
Reserve credit
Ready Reserve credit
Time available/Time recoverable credit
Training credit
Office work credit
AFA flight pay loss credit
Bereavement credit
Restored days off credit
Family Medical Leave credit
Jury duty credit
Medical leave of absence credit
Paid management time off credit
Voluntary leave credit
Military leave credit
Paid minimum day credit
Minimum Day Off Drop credit
Release credit
Workers’ compensation credit
To fly your line and not make the 600, you would need to have less than 50 hours block or over 22 hours of soft credit every month, which does not include any of the above. You would also have to take no vacations, no MDDs, and not attend recurrent. 86% of all flight attendants today easily “block” over 600 hours annually based on the additional credit applications above.
Q: Let’s say that I currently work 36 hours a month to meet my 432. If the TA is ratified, will I now have to work 50 hours/month for the rest of the period or 50 plus the 14 I’m down from only doing 36?
The 432 to 600 will take effect in the 2025 benefits year. The example below breaks down what will be required:
2024 medical insurance benefits:
Calculated from October 1, 2022 – September 30, 2023
432 hours required.
2025 medical insurance benefits:
Calculated from September 1, 2023 – August 30, 2024
600 hours required.
As you can see above, September 2023’s hours will count toward both years.
Q: Do we have any minimum to qualify for vacation benefits or sick benefits?
No
Q: Are we still Pay Protected for canceled trips?
Yes. Pay protection language in CBA section 3 remains unchanged.
Q: Can you explain the change to the maximum actual duty limitation?
Today, a Flight Attendant can be scheduled for up to 14 hours on duty. Actual on-duty cannot exceed 16 hours. Under the TA, the actual duty limit has been decreased to 15 hours. Additionally, if a Flight Attendant exceeds that limit, even by 1 minute, through tarmac delays, flight diversion, etc., or voluntarily, they automatically receive 2 hours of pay.
Q: Will the Contract use gender-neutral pronouns?
AFA's policy is to utilize gender-neutral pronouns in our contracts as we negotiate new agreements. The pronouns in the Spirit contract will be changed to reflect that. Negotiations concluded quickly, not allowing us time to edit the TA pronouns. If the TA ratifies, the pronouns will be changed to gender-neutral ones.
We will continue to provide more FAQ as we continue the scheduled roadshows. Click here to see upcoming scheduled locations, times and dates.
In Solidarity,
Your Negotiations Committee & MEC Officers
