The Association of Flight Attendants commented on Norwegian Airlines announcement of a “definitive end” to their United States based flying and the furlough of the flight attendants based in the U.S.
“We fought Norwegian on their outsourcing model and we won,” said AFA President Sara Nelson.
“We achieved a first contract for the U.S. based Flight Attendants directly with the airline, but COVID-19 hit and Flight Attendants were all let go the day they ratified the contract. They have recall rights. And we will work to stabilize the industry so they can meet us again in the skies. They will always be a part of AFA.”
“We achieved a first contract for the U.S. based Flight Attendants directly with the airline, but Over 500 flight attendants are based throughout the airline’s three cabin crew bases at JFK, FLL, and LAX with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The furloughed crews have recall rights until March 2022. Norwegian operates daily flights to Europe from the U.S.
The notification U.S. based crews received today from the union is below:
Dear Cabin Crew,
Earlier today, Norwegian announced on Workplace that they notified OSM Aviation they have “cancelled the crew provision agreements with them due to the extraordinary situation (force majeure). This means that we have notified these companies that we currently do not require crew in the countries which they operate, namely Spain, Finland, Sweden, US & UK.” For those of you who are unaware, Norwegian currently has contracts with the OSM subsidiary in each country where there are crew members: OSM ES, OSM FI, OSM SE, OSM US, and OSM UK. These contracts, also called a “provision for services” specifies the HR-related services OSM provides to the crew on behalf of Norwegian (e.g. HR support, payroll and benefits) and the amount of money OSM will receive from Norwegian for performing these services.
In Europe, Norwegian (through their contract with OSM) is still responsible for providing partial salaries and benefits to crew members on temporary furlough. By ending their contract with OSM, Norwegian no longer has the responsibility to paying wages and benefits to crew members in countries overseen by OSM (Spain, Finland, Sweden, US & UK).
In our Union Contract we define the Company as both “Norwegian and OSM Aviation.” In addition, we specify that “Norwegian Air Resources, Ltd., Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, and OSM Aviation, Inc. recognize to be bound by this Agreement.” This means that if one entity cannot fulfill their obligations in our Union Contract, then the other entities must do so. Getting a co-signer or guarantor for a loan works the same way: If one co-signer cannot pay or even goes bankrupt, then the other co-signer is still liable. The most important things for you to know: Despite Norwegian’s decision to sever its business relationship OSM Aviation, Norwegian must still fulfill its obligation to the US Cabin Crew members because they are still bound by our Union Contract.
These obligations are as follows:
- Norwegian cannot terminate US cabin crew members until our recall period expires, which is March 21, 2022.
- Norwegian cannot hire new Long-haul cabin crew members while there are still US-based Long-haul CCMs on furlough.
- While we are on furlough, the US Cabin Crew who use Company health insurance must still be provided health insurance and the Company must pay at last 70% of the cost.
Later this week, the Union will send Norwegian a letter reminding them of the obligations they agreed to in our Union Contract. At this time, it’s still too early to know whether or not Norwegian will bring back transatlantic flights on the 787. There are many unknown variables to determine the operational decisions Norwegian will make in the coming weeks and months. For now, take some comfort in knowing that our Union Contract remains in full effect and will continue to protect us until the end of the recall period.
We will continue to update you as we continue to receive information in the coming days and weeks.
