The following text is
Your N.T.'s Opening Statement to Management.
“Values do not change from year to year; they remain constant and steadfast and continually give us direction as we move forward.”
Those words were taken from the Preamble to the Allegiant Flight Attendant Work Rules.
The preamble goes on to say that, “we must share and enthusiastically embrace common values. Our value system serves as the foundation for our decision making at all levels of the Company. Our service level has to be better than the norm - more personable, more caring and more affordable. To create this service level we need a quality work force - people do indeed make the difference!”
We are very proud to be Flight Attendants for Allegiant Air, a Company that has proven itself to be one of the most innovative in the industry. Seven of us are present today, and together we represent the family of nearly 500 Allegiant Air Flight Attendants system wide.
None of us present today were here when Allegiant was just beginning. Back then there was just one airplane and the base of operations was in Fresno.
Our Company has seen a lot of growth since then. Today Allegiant boasts a fleet of over 52 aircraft system wide serving 73 cities and has enjoyed several years of continuous profit, reaching into the hundreds of millions of dollars. Now, with the acquisition of the 757's, Allegiant has the opportunity to expand service into cities previously an impossibility. This expansion includes Hawaii, with plans to Mexico and even the Caribbean.
And with our point-to-point business model that has proven to be more successful than anyone could have imagined, the possibilities for the growth of our Company are endless.
We are the frontline. We have the responsibility of being all things to everyone.
We are trained to fight fires, administer first aid, be on constant watch for those that might want to cause our Customers and our Company harm, and we do it all with a smile as we help increase Company profitability through inflight sales.
We endure long days and seemingly endless delays. It is not uncommon for our workgroup to spend 16, 18 hrs or more in a single day, getting our Customers to their final destination while still smiling.
The Flight Attendants are the faces of Allegiant Air. We are a quality Workforce. We are the people that make the difference. As the face of Allegiant Air, it is vitally important that we have the respect and support of our Management.
In our commitment to negotiate a contract based on respect and fairness, we have surveyed our Members, studied the industry and put together a proposal that fairly addresses the issues that are most important to our workgroup.
First of all, we must establish fair procedures which allow the Flight Attendants the quality of life that we have earned.
Secondly, we must establish policies and work-rules that are fair to our Members and allow our Company to remain profitable. We need a mutual agreement that strictly defines expectations to eliminate confusion and misunderstanding.
Finally, we must agree on compensation that is fair and represents the hard work, contributions, and dedication of our Inflight Team.
Our Flight Attendants focus their attention on providing exemplary service to our Customers every day including the many who are flying as we meet today. In turn, we expect our Company to make finalizing this contract a priority. Your Flight Attendants deserve a fair contract and they also deserve that contract as soon as possible. It is our goal to reach an agreement by the end of this year and we know that through collaboration and cooperation we can achieve that goal.
In preparation, we have prepared and sent you Membership proposals for 27 Articles ahead of this first session to review. This is unprecedented in labor negotiations, but we kept our pledge to move this process along. The remainder of our full proposal will be forwarded very soon. We will continue to come to the table prepared to make maximum use of our time and reach a fair agreement quickly.
Today, we as Allegiant Air Flight Attendants come to the table to establish a respectful, collaborative, and mutually beneficial relationship. One that is based on the core values that our Company has effectively established and has already been laid out in the preamble to the Inflight Work Rules.
We invite you to be an example of the integrity on which this Company was built and to help us to establish a Contract that empowers each and every one of us to be successful. We share our Company vision. We want our Shareholders to be happy. We are excited to work for a Company that is innovative and constantly moving forward.
We represent Allegiant Air. We are a workgroup of which you can be proud and we deserve a Contract that reflects our commitment to excellence.
Now let’s get to work!