Negotiations: Spirit WEAK!
Fellow Spirit Flight Attendants,
A few weeks ago, your negotiating committee met with the company in Fort Lauderdale, and we finally received the company’s Pay Proposal, which they called their “FINAL PROPOSAL,” but we are calling it:
SPIRIT WEAK!
This coming week is “Spirit Week”, and you will be hearing a lot from the company about how much you are valued as an employee at Spirit, however, we thought that we should publish the company’s compensation proposal so you can REALLY see for yourself how much you are valued by management.
These rates (mostly) come in just pennies above what our colleagues at Frontier are earning and still far below those of our possible future coworkers at JetBlue. You will also see that a HUGE amount of money is proposed for those flight attendants in their first 6 months of employment… But, just to be clear, no one who is currently working as a Spirit Flight Attendant will ever see these “1st Six Mos.” rates… By the time this CBA is finished and ratified, everyone here today will have been here longer than six months… So, the biggest raise (21%) is being given to people that don’t even work here yet!
Just in case you aren’t insulted enough by the Spirit Weak compensation offer, management also wants to ELIMINATE schedule integrity, so every day you show up for work, you will basically be treated like a reserve FA, who can be assigned to any flying at any time (up to 36 times per year)! SPIRIT WEAK!!
And if THAT isn’t enough, the company also wants to increase the benefits threshold from 432 block hours to 720 block hours! SPIRIT WEAK!! The company offered no indication that they would provide us with any increase to our trip and duty rigs and they went “back to book” and proposed we keep the commuter clause exactly as it is today. Clearly, we are quite far apart. SPIRIT WEAK!!
Just for context, the pilots recently approached the company about a “quick deal.” They would only like to make a few changes to their contract and conclude their contract negotiations ahead of the proposed merger. The company proposed a “quick deal” for us as well, but this is just SPIRIT WEAK!! compensation proposal is their version of a “quick deal.” But, just for comparison, in the pilot’s last contract, in exchange for schedule integrity, they were given a 44% increase to their wages.Compare that with the 7% increase the company is offering us: SPIRIT WEAK!! (And even then, the bulk of management’s proposed FA increase is in the first six months of employment… So, in all actuality, most FAs currently working here would only see a 5% increase.) And, not to pour even more salt in the wound, last year’s “cost-of-living” increased by more than 8%. The company’s proposal to us does not even meet the most recent cost-of-living increases… SPIRIT WEAK!!
Working conditions and pay must improve NOW!
We Don't Need SPIRIT WEAK!
We Don't Need SPIRIT WEAK!
While you’ll be getting company generated emails and flight attendant read files about “Spirit Week” and as the company tries to win us over with how valued we are as a Spirit Flight Attendants and pushing out phrases like: “You spoke, we listened,”please keep in mind that this is NOT the attitude we are seeing at the bargaining table, and the proposed SPIRIT WEAK compensation rates above should prove this to you.
Just like the constant IROPs that didn’t end until we took to the airports with picket signs to make the public aware of our plight, it seems like Spirit management just doesn’t want to do what is easy and right. They seem to hope that they will keep you choosing to work here with some balloons in the crew rooms for a week, despite their below industry standard wage proposal. SPIRIT WEAK!!
Before we return to the negotiating table on September 27th, we must let Spirit management know how we feel and that their current demands are unreasonable. They say they want a quick deal; they say you are a valued part of the Spirit team, but their actions do not match their words. It is up to ALL OF US to convince them that they need to do the right thing!
WE ARE CALLING ON EVERY SPIRIT FLIGHT ATTENDANT TO HELP SEND OUR MESSAGE TO MANAGEMENT!
Working conditions and pay must improve NOW!
Wear your AFA pin with a green ribbon behind it! This super simple and super important. Union reps will be at the airport during Spirit Weak, handing out ribbons and replacement pins. If EVERYONE is wearing their pins and ribbons, above their wings, the message of solidarity and power will make a difference in negotiations.
Literally send a message to management! Click on this google form and tell management how hard you work at Spirit to keep this company going every day – and how WEAK their proposal is. We will collect your responses and will forward them to the company. Although you may be upset, please be respectful and mindful that your message is going to be read by another human being.
PLEASE NOTE: You MUST use a valid email address to submit your responses. Your personal, identifying information will remain anonymous and will not be shared with the company other than your feedback regarding this negotiations update.
We return to collective bargaining right after #SpiritWeak is over, on September 27th. We will keep you posted on what comes next.
