Samuel Morales

Candidate for APFA Vice-President 2024

Vote
Samuel Morales
APFA Vice-President 2024

www.VoteSam.org

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Willingness to Serve Statement
APFA National President 2020

We can focus on the past or we can pave a new future. The choice is yours.

As you know, APFA is facing a fiscal crisis caused by the 22% pay raises union governance gave themselves using the imposed 2014 contract. APFA now owes American $1,154,565 for trip-removals, which the union can't afford to repay.

Gross overspending and sneaky pay raises for union governance have placed APFA on the brink of bankruptcy just as we enter negotiations. Ask yourself, how can APFA possibly negotiate with American when the union is grossly indebted to them?

APFA NEEDS A NEW PLAN

My plan is to do exactly what I said I would do in the last two elections: CLEAN HOUSE!

ROADMAP TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE

• Day one: fire Laura Glading's lawyers, consultants and advisors and bring in the new team.
• Amend the constitution to give members greater rights protections. No more election scandals.
• Open up transparency by making union meetings accessible online. No more secret meetings.
• Cut the budget by eliminating wasteful spending. If it doesn't help the membership, get rid of it.
• Reduce trip-removals for full-time reps from 110 hours back to 90. Why do they deserve a raise and we don't?
• Review which departments deliver results and which don't. Eliminate those that can't deliver.
• Survey the membership to see if they want line-bidding, PBS-bidding or improved PBS-bidding.
• Tackle the "Optimizer" head on. Time is money. We want a quality of work-life that represents our hard work and dedication to American.
• Address the pitiful 401k match. Why would any union offer to reduce 401k from 9.9% to 2.5% just before negotiations? That's insane!

There's more, but I'm limited to 250 words.

Take control of your union; take control of your future. The choice is yours.

In solidarity,

Samuel Morales
Candidate for APFA National President 2020

VOTE:

Morales - Salomon
LeBlanc - Johnson

The Power of a Unified Slate!

www.LetsCleanHouse.org

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Willingness to Serve Statement
DFW Base Vice-President 2019

Dear Colleagues –

I have been fighting the constant wrongdoings of APFA governance since 1998, and I have a solid history of NOT backing down to the questionable practices of union leadership.

As your elected negotiator (Team 2000), I was the only elected APFA rep to support the RPA Lawsuit challenging the union's imposed contract of 2003 – yes, the contract that stole 33% of our contractual compensation against our NO vote.

In order for members to move forward and accomplish true change, we as a membership must acknowledge and condemn our history of political corruption and correct it by rewriting our union constitution in order to give members undeniable rights by which to govern their union and thus their careers. In order to survive, APFA must become an honest, fair, equitable and democratic organization. Overturning NO votes and pampering management is not the key to a brighter future.

As DFW prepares for the onslaught of PBS and reels from the surge in Reserve delivered by ROTA, members need to make a tough decision: do we continue on the current path of apathy or do we try something different? 65% of the Base on Reserve is unacceptable. No one over 15 years seniority should serve reserve.

I have a proven tract record which can be traced back to 2000 at www.VoteSam.org. It's all there. As I stated back in 2007, "We need to rethink, reorganize and regroup" if we're to stand any chance of recouping our loses.

My message has always been clear: fight back or crawl back, the choice is ours.

With your support, DFW can become a leader in the fight for restoration. We’re the biggest and the best!

Vote
Samuel Morales
DFW Base President 2019

www.VoteSam.org

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Sam Morales' 15 Point Plan for the Next Two Years!

(1) Push for a 3-term limit (6 years) for APFA Board Members (Base Presidents) like the pilots. Twenty years of trip-removal is too much!

(2) Push for Open Door Board Meetings so that members can see exactly what is going on. No more secret dinner meetings.

(3) Push for a published list of eligible voters so that members can easily verify their eligibility prior to voting. Eliminate the guessing game.

(4)Push to revamp Balloting Committee. No more DOL lawsuits because the union refuses to adhere to the "observability" and secrecy" provisions of the Railway Labor Act (RLA) and Labor Management Reporting & Disclosure Act. (LMRDA).

(5) Demand that members be allowed to ratify rejected contracts. No more "imposed" contracts in an effort to help the company reap historical profits.

(6) Demand the elimination of side letter agreements that makes changes to rates of pay, benefits and work rules. Members need to ratify these changes.

(7) Demand that all Board Meeting Minutes be published. Members need to be informed.

(8) Change draconian Policy on terminating Flight Attendants for dues arrears. No more cherry-picking who gets fired and who doesn't.

(9) Fight to abolish the Life-Time Positive-Space First-Class A-5 Pleasure Passes for retired union officers and their family members. What's Good for the Goose is Good for the Gander.

(10) Demand monthly reports from all base presidents. There needs to be more union/member communication as well as base/base communication.

(11) Push to establish a legitimate dues forgiveness process. Dues forgiveness should be about necessity, not politics and political favortism.

(12) Push for quarterly base meetings at all bases. This will help with future mobilization.

(13) Push for the training and utilization of ALL Base Council Reps and make their contact information available for the base members to call and utilize.

(14) Push for monthly trip-removal reports. Members need to know how their money is spent.

(15) Push for the establishment of a 24-hour scheduling desk to answer member questions in real time rather than afterward during a grievance process.

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Dear Colleagues,

Following is my nineteen year track-record of consistency backed up by the Willingness to Serve Statements I presented to the membership. As you can see, I have not wavered once in my convictions. Any questions about my candidacy, please email me: info@VoteSam.org

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Many have asked about the Department of Labor's (DOL) lawsuit against APFA over the issues of "secrecy" and "observability." CLICK to view the DOL Complaint and also the APFA's Answer to the Complaint.

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Willingness to Serve Statement
DFW Base President 2017

Nine months into the Ross Administration and nothing but stagnation as Delta, Southwest and United flight attendants get noteworthy pay raises and work-rule enhancements. One can only ask: What will it take to motivate this union?

Make no mistake, the assertions made by Parker and Glading that things would get better in a post-bankruptcy environment was a blatant lie. Clearly, things have gotten worse — a lot worse.

Sadly, it's our most junior flight attendants who bear the brunt of this corporate abuse because the work rules they work under were forced upon them against their NO vote. Why the Ross Administration continues to protect Laura Glading's contract with the company — the contract she negotiated in secret with her own cousin — is truly mindboggling?

Now APFA wants members to sit idle while execs reap the benefits caused by intentional PBS Failures, Integration Setbacks, Pay Discrepancies, Hotel Downgrades and Reserve Abuse.

I mean, who's being represented here, executives or flight attendants???

DFW flight attendants deserve to be represented. Having served Reserve 15 years myself, I know what it's like to be at the company's beck-and-call; I know what it's like to work days on end with little rest and no time to eat, only to face reassignment at Base because Scheduling views us as movable pawns rather then human beings.

If members want to change the system then they need to change the APFA Board Members (Base Presidents). As a candidate for DFW Base President, I promise you that you'll see resolutions presented that address real issues — issues that affect YOU!

YOU Deserve Better Hotels!

YOU Deserve Better Working Conditions!

YOU Deserve Better Layovers!

YOU Deserve Better Reserve Rules!

YOU Deserve to be Represented!

Vote Samuel Morales for DFW Base President

www.VoteSam.org

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Willingness to Serve Statement
APFA Vice-President 2016

The idea that flight attendants work under an agreement that was negotiated in secret with the CEO of another airline (a non-employer) at a meeting hosted by our union president’s cousin who just so happened to be a treasurer with that said non-employer is unacceptable. Why should flight attendants continue to suffer the economic indignity which clearly resulted from collusion and nepotism? We shouldn't and we won’t.

The last three APFA administrations allowed the company to systematically gut thirty years of collective bargaining knowing that the company was lying about the airline’s true financial condition — the final straw being the forfeiture of profit-sharing that was awarded in bankruptcy. APFA traded our pension contributions, retiree health benefits, duty-rigs, work-rules, wages, profit sharing, rest and quality of work-life in exchange for absolutely nothing — zilch! — and did so without the slightest fight.

Is there a better way of doing business? Absolutely!

As we prepare to file a formal complaint with the Department of Justice (DOJ), our slate is prepared to assume the leadership of APFA with the intent of attacking the validity of the 2014 Agreement. This process is already set in motion with the backing of 2,400 members, and now we want to expound that effort with the strength of a membership 24,000 strong.

With your support, our slate and fresh team of skilled professionals are ready to harness the power of 24,000 members; thirteen years of complacency and apathy are going to come to a crashing halt. Your union is going to become a real union — one that’s recognized as such by the labor community.

We have but one last chance to get it right. The choice is now yours.

The Power of a Unified Voice!

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Willingness to Serve Statement
DFW/IDF Combined Base President 2015

I believe that Laura Glading's cousin, Tom Weir, a former treasurer at US Airways, created a conflict of interest when he hosted a secret dinner meeting which led to the CLA which placed "fixed" labor costs on American's flight attendants by denying them the opportunity to negotiate a fair and equitable contract based on (1) American's performance, and (2) competition in the open marketplace.

What Tom Weir did was guarantee Doug Parker the lowest flight attendant labor costs amongst American's peers and in doing so, would witness the expansion of his own career as treasurer at American Airlines Group (AAG).

The APFA Constitution mandates that the union's representational bargaining authority is between American Airlines flight attendants and their employer. Laura Glading made an agreement (CLA) with Doug Parker, the CEO of U.S. Airways, a non-employer, and therefore had no constitutional authority to do so.

The CLA further violated the APFA Constitution because it (1) made changes to rates of pay, benefits and work rules, which required membership ratification, and (2) denied members the right to vote on said changes which would take effect under the T/A reached through binding arbitration.

This is the second time in ten years that American's flight attendants have been denied the right to ratify their own collective bargaining agreement.

Tom Horton, Doug Parker, Scott Kirby, Tom Weir and Laura Glading created a form of price-fixing by setting fixed labor costs, with no profit-sharing, on American's flight attendants by means other than traditional negotiations, and did so by deceiving flight attendants by telling them repeatedly that they had no real choice in the matter other than to support Tom Horton's reorganization offer for fear of a worse consequence if they didn't.

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Willingness to Serve Statement
IDF Base President 2013

With so many mechanisms in place to protect unionized employees, how is it that the flight attendants at American are facing yet another decade of stymied wages while the pilots sit at the negotiating table staring at 18%-26% wage increases? I mean, are we not reporting historical profits?

Think about this: Flight Attendants have the Railway Labor Act, the Labor Management and Disclosure Act, the APFA Constitution, the APFA Constitution Committee, the APFA Executive Committee, and the APFA Board of Directors all in place to protect them. With all these layers of protection, how is it that our bargaining rights have been trampled repeatedly?

Is APFA totally impotent?

Once it was discovered that the Conditional Labor Agreement (CLA) was in fact the result of a clandestine meeting between Doug Parker and Laura Glading, one hosted by Ms. Glading's cousin, Tom Weir, a treasurer at U.S. Airways and now American Airlines Group, that agreement should have been deemed invalid — null and void — because it was reached by means of collusion.

The fact that APFA agreed to "binding arbitration" with a predetermined concessionary outcome, one decided between Doug Parker and Laura Glading over dinner at Oceana Restaurant in Manhattan is literally unbelievable. We shouldn't be looking at a concessionary contract right now; we should be looking at a Department of Justice investigation!

When flight attendants ask me how this happened, I tell them that the APFA Board of Directors turned a blind eye. In the case of IDF, it was our Incumbent.

This Incumbent hasn't stood up to Laura Glading in 6 long years. It's time IDF elects someone who will.

That would be me.

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Willingness to Serve Statement
Domestic Negotiator 2013

We haven't even seen the final LBFO language, yet we're putting together a new negotiating team in an effort to clean up the mess created when the company reneged on it's promised "me too" clause with the pilots. Remember, the company and union BOTH stated that if we voted in favor of the LBFO that we'd get everything they got proportionately.

And what about this "Bridge Agreement." As the Memo of Understanding clearly states:

"If the CLA becomes effective, and is subsequently deemed to be unenforceable or invalid for any reason, APFA agrees that the terms and conditions of employment for American's Flight Attendant(s) will be those of the New CBA."

Simply put, if the Bridge Agreement is found to be "unenforceable" flight attendants will continue to work under the LBFO for as long as it takes to negotiate a single-carrier contract.

Truthfully, we cannot afford another round of concessionary bargaining. 33% in 2003 plus 20% in 2012 equates to a 46% reduction in 2002 pay and benefits. Bear in mind that this doesn't include 24% inflation or the ZERO credit given to the forfeiture of the Defined Benefit Plan or Retiree Benefits. These items were given away for absolutely free.

As you're next Permanent Domestic Negotiator, I want to see real contract improvements, not money taken from my back pocket and placed in my front pocket. I want to see better pay, realistic per diem, reserve improvements, more sick accrual, more vacation accrual, the elimination of employment thresholds, and larger 401k contributions. I also want the contract written in plain English so we don't have to grieve for our money whenever the company opts to abuse us under the banner of "operational necessity."

Lastly, if the hotel costs comes out of our pockets, then we should have a say in where we stay. The idea that we pay for hotel but have no voice is unacceptable.

NO MORE GIVEBACKS!

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Willingness to Serve Statement
APFA Treasurer 2010

Anyone can crunch numbers. That's why APFA retains an accounting firm. What really matters is how I voted on critical issues.

I voted:

— NO to the Restructuring Agreement
— NO to the Dues Increase
— NO to Eliminating Military Voting Rights
— NO to Eliminating Elected Negotiators
— NO to Electronic Voting

I also:

— Walked the Picket Line in 1993
— Votes YES to Strike in 2000

The Treasurer has the authority to authorize Resolutions, which can ultimately set policy.

If elected, I plan to put forth resolutions addressing:

— Ballooning Legal Costs
— Rising National Officer Salaries
— Our Lacking Strike Fund
— Active Military Voting Rights

For me, the idea that an APFA member would risk their life in defense of our country, but not be able to vote on important union issues while on active duty is wrong. This needs to be addressed immediately. It's an absolute embarrassment. And it's the Treasurer's responsibility to address it.

Where is the accountability? How was our previous treasurer able to benefit from sixteen months of free housing without having to account
for it? And why wasn't there any investigation? WE NEED MORE ACCOUNTABILITY.

We work under 1995 wages and yet APFA spends MILLIONS defending the company in court. Without APFA, the company has virtually no defense. Why isn't APFA using the lawsuit as a bargaining chip AGAINST the company in an effort to recoup our losses? This has to change, and as Treasurer, I can address this issue.

This Treasurer's position is about credibility, not ones ability to count. We have an accounting firm to handle that.

The future starts with today. Vote Samuel Morales for APFA Treasurer

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Willingness to Serve Statement
Domestic Negotiator 2007

As part of the 2000 APFA Negotiating Committee — the team that brought you the 1998 Contract in 2001 — I find it unbelievable that decades of collective bargaining have been given away needlessly. In the company's own words, the $340M asked of us annually had nothing to do with bankruptcy at all but rather aligning us with low-cost carriers such as Southwest.

My willingness to serve the flight attendants at American goes without question. As the ONLY union witness for the plaintiffs in their pursuit to overturn the 2003 Restructuring Agreement, an agreement legal experts say was forced upon us illegally, my commitment to the APFA membership is based on ACTION not words.

In 2003, I was barred from participating in talks with American even though I was YOUR elected negotiator — elected by YOU. John Ward knew that I would insist the company prove its need for employee concessions long before considering any sort of give-in to company demands. Mr. Ward knew that I would have demanded contingencies as well as "snap-back" provisions, but Mr. Ward didn't want that.

We are now working under a 1998 Contract, one reduced by 33% in 2003 and subsequently reduced by an additional 30% through ten years of inflation. While we're working in the 1980s AMR execs have rewarded themselves with almost $300M in bonuses, money taken from employees. We get a 60% pay cut and the execs get hundreds of millions. It's thoroughly disgusting!

I want my:

— Money back
— Vacation back
— Layovers back
— Benefits improved
— Reserve lessened
— Furloughs recalled

I'm not negotiating from an illegal contract and a 60% pay cut. I'm negotiating from the one I helped negotiate in 2001.

The days of flight attendants "turning around" are over.

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Willingness to Serve Statement
DFW Base Chair 2007

TIMES CHANGE, AND WE NEED TO ALSO.

We need to rethink, reorganize and regroup.

We need leadership not friendship

We need aggressive not passive.

Since the last Base Election two years ago, what has changed???

Has:

— Pay/benefits increased???
— Work-rules/reserve improved???
— Company attendance harassment eased???

How about 4 years???

Why not???

Come April, management will share $191,000,000 in bonuses with Arpey getting $8,000,000 himself!!!

Talk about gross inequity!!!

What about APFA?

Leadership tells us that APFA may go bankrupt and have to liquidate as a result of the union's gross mishandling of the company's restructuring, yet we know little about it.

Why is no one held accountable??? Why no investigation??? Why are the very lawyers who did this to us still on the APFA pay role???

When we look at the APFA legal team:

— One firm was sued for cash swapping!!!
— One firm was responsible for the demise of another flight attendant union.
— One firm was sued for embezzlement!!!

Together, these three law firms were paid approximately $493,000 to clean up the very problems they helped to create.

Talk about rewarding bad behavior!!!

In 2006, APFA:

— Spent $216,226 justifying our 2003 losses and ZERO investigating them.
— Spent $16,345 on landscaping/janitorial and ZERO on a Strike Fund.
— Took $8,000,000 from us and raised our dues without our vote.

Now the company tells us Retiree Benefits aren't contractual!!!

Guess what — they're not!!!

Who negotiated that deal???

IT'S TIME FOR CHRIS O'KELLEY
TO STARTS ANSWERING QUESTIONS.

DFW DESERVES TOUGH LEADERSHIP!!!
Vote...
Samuel "Relentless" Morales!!!

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Willingness to Serve Statement
DFW Base Chair 2005

These next two years will be challenging to say the least. Long workdays without food and proper rest are just the beginning of the domino effect created by our union's unwillingness to negotiate during our company's restructuring. And that unwillingness has lead to financially crippling litigation brought against our union by its very own members. Money that should be spent helping us is now spent defending us.

But it doesn't have to be this way. It can be better. But the healing process can only begin if we are willing to replace those who did this to us. Concessions were understood. But watching the Company's upper management stuff millions in their pockets while at that same time watching the company rifle millions from our pockets is totally unacceptable. And to reelect the very people who did this to us will be a total shame.

The DFW incumbent's voting record speaks for volumes. The incumbent voted;

YES to ignore our vote of NO April 15, 2003;
YES to a promise of a revote April 22, 2003 because our vote was "tainted.";
YES to reneging on that promise of a revote April 25, 2003;
YES to accepting the RPA without membership ratification may 29, 2003;
YES to giving the four National Officers a pay-raise July 28, 2003

The incumbent doesn't know how to say NO

Well I do. And I say it stops now. Let's save our union. Lets take it back

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Willingness to Serve Statement
APFA Vice President 2004

My wife and I are flight-attendants and share the despair many of you feel about the Restructuring Agreement....Whether you voted Yes or No, this has gone far beyond temporary concessions, our very careers and work lives are threatened!!!

This Union leadership has deprived us of a duly elected negotiating committee, our constitutional Balloting Procedure, our right to vote and in doing so, has systematically lowered the industry standard and the quality of work life for all Flight Attendant workgroups.

How? By bringing forth a resolution that extended the 30day written vote to a 15day telephonic vote resulting in 1450 Yes votes....an unethical if not illegal proceeding which the courts will decide.

What has gone wrong? APFA has turned into an exclusive "members only" club engaging in "back-room" politicking and you end up with no accountability and check and balance!! These "recycled" individuals seldom fly and yet make decisions severely impacting your work life.

What solutions? I will propose Term limits, major financial restructuring of APFA by cutting the waste, and engage in a collaborative effort with other labor unions to stop the hemorrhaging of the flight-attendant Career....Unlike the other candidates, we are a "fresh" slate, with distinctively "new ideas" and with no political ties to current APFA insiders.

SOLUTIONS -restore Accountability by:

— Electing an "Independent" National Officer slate
— Opening-up Board Meetings
— Reducing Dues
— Handle Dues Arrears Professionally
— Allow Dissention and Better Communication
— Demand Cost-of-Living Increases
— Pursue Unlimited Recall Rights
— Aggressively Defend Grievance Cases
— Support Legal efforts to overturn the RPA

Please support me with our cause!

One by one, YOU make the change possible

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Willingness to Serve Statement
APFA Negotiator 1998

After attending the DFW Roadshow and witnessing the debacle in Dallas, I like many felt the dissent from F/A's who openly and eloquently expressed their concerns about the failed T/A. This event left an indelible impression in my mind and inspired me to get involved to address issues that were "remarkably" left out.

It is well known that F/A morale has been at an all time low after the 1993 strike. My wife and I who are both AA F/A's have found ourselves on reserve, like so many of us, with no end in sight. Our quality of work and pay has suffered tremendously. Everywhere I turned there were no solutions from the Company or Union and I heard it all. i.e. "quit if you don't like it", "you should have thought about having children before you accepted this job" and "transfer to New York" .

I believe my 13 years as a line F/A and my educational background qualifies me for the position of domestic negotiator. I have seen, heard, and experienced the many injustices of reserve and scheduling. Moreover, I am not a union insider and bring a fresh approach to "the real issues" that are representative and substantive.

ISSUES of importance our T/A failed to address:

— Reserve as it stands MUST BE CHANGED!
— Good for the last 5 days of the month on availability will NOT work!
— 5:00 hr. average, LIKE THE PILOTS!
— Appendix-T should be IMPROVED, not tossed!
— Profit Sharing MUST stay!
— Full pay and credit for VMC!
— Pro-rated vacation, LIKE THE PILOTS!
— Full pay for standby duty!
— Real pay raise!
— Better retirement!
— Livable work rules & contract language!
— TEST initiatives MUST go!

In summation, we have many issues that need to be resolved and I am confident if elected, we can achieve these "GOALS".

Remember, it is WE, YOU, and I working TOGETHER, that form this Union!

I THANK YOU for your TIME, CONSIDERATION, and RESPECTFULLY ask for your VOTE!