I believe we all deserve to be treated with respect and maintain dignity, especially in the workplace. Workers rights, civil rights, and human rights have been intrinsically intertwined for centuries. My initial goal for the CHRC is to educate and engage our Membership on these issues and encourage participation whether through our own Local or the various affiliated constituency groups.

I envision working with the Education, Shop Steward, Working Women’s, COPE, and Mobilizing/ Organizing Committees on future projects and events.

The Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team is a group of Flight Attendants that provides peer support to other Flight Attendants when they have experienced a personal traumatic event or work related accident or incident. These types of events can be, but are not limited to, a death in flight, an emergency landing, a decompression, performed CPR/AED used, physical assault while on duty, an attempted highjacking,or any event that can cause a Flight Attendant to experience Post Traumatic Stress.

The CISM Team is funded by the Transport Workers Union Local 556 and Southwest Airlines. Because of the unique nature of this team, all members, including its leaders, are Southwest Airlines Flight Attendants. There are currently 75 members distributed throughout the ten bases. There is also a Pilot Team that works in conjunction with the Flight Attendant Team when necessary.

When an event occurs, the CISM Team may be contacted by the Union, Management, NOC Manager on duty, Scheduling, or directly by the Flight Attendant involved. One team member is always available to answer your calls, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. All information discussed between the CISM Team and the affected Flight Attendant(s) is completely confidential.

CISM HOTLINE 214-640-4380

The TWU 556 Communications Committee is responsible for keeping our Membership informed via the quarterly printed Unity Magazine, and our bi-monthly electronic version of Unity Update.

Submitting letters and articles to the Editor:

Letters to the editor may not be considered if the length of the submission exceeds 200 words and/or depending upon space available in the issue. All letters must contain your name, base, employee number, and contact information.

Articles submitted to Unity will not be considered for publication if they exceed 500 words, are libelous, defamatory, not factual, in bad taste, or are contractually incorrect.

The TWU Local 556 Editorial Team reserves the right to edit any submissions that are received for the purpose of inclusion in Unity. Submissions are due by the first of the month prior to the month of publication, and are considered on a space-available basis only.

Requirements for use of Unity/Unity update articles:

Any article that is going to be reprinted/published by a TWU 556 Member must be used in its entirety (either retyped or as an extracted pdf of the pages) exactly as published. The reprint/posting should reference TWU 556’s Unity or Unity Update magazines, and the issue date. Non-Members wishing to use Unity/Unity Update content must contact the Editor for permission.

Feel free to contact the Communications Team with story ideas and feedback.  email: communications@twu556.org.

TWU Local 556 Committee on Political Education (COPE)

To engage and educate the Members of TWU Local 556 on the importance of why our Union is involved in the legislative and political process. The Committee’s goal is to promote legislation that advances the interests of TWU Members at the local, state, and national levels. TWU Local 556 COPE seeks to encourage Member activism in the political process through Member participation in TWU State Conferences, involvement in AFL-CIO State Federations, and local AFL-CIO Central Labor Councils. The Committee objectives include educating our Members on those who are in political positions that make decisions regarding the eleven (11) Inflight Bases on the local, city, and state government levels. Additionally, we will focus on educating our Members on the Federal level impact on our work lives – including those who are running Federal Agencies like the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Department of Transportation (DOT), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Labor (DOL), etc.

TWU Local 556 is a Member of the labor movement and through our participation, we help to influence and shape legislation that advances the interests of TWU Local 556 Members.

What COPE Does Not Do:

• Tell any of our Members how to vote.
• Force any of our Members to contribute to the International Political Action Committee (PAC) fund.
• Use any of our Members’ dues money in the form of contributions to endorsed candidates.

*If you would like to voluntarily contribute to the TWU PAC, email cope@twu556.org and we would be happy to get you a contribution card. You can see your current COPE contribution level on your 20th paycheck; under deductions listed as COPE.

The Education Committee works with the TWU Grievance Team and Officers to provide our Membership with the best possible service, and to develop and implement programs related to the Contract Education of Southwest’s Flight Attendants. Previously, the Committee focused primarily on in-house training, but recently decided to extend the program to reach the general Membership.

Some examples of the Committee’s work include Officer transition training following an election, ensuring we are adequately prepared to present Board of Adjustments and Arbitrations by sending select Officers and Staff to the National Labor College, and conducting team building classes. We are also working with the Negotiating Team and other Union Leaders to develop a more inclusive Q&A for our new Contract. We hope to rollout a Contract training class through TWUniversity in conjunction with the Quarterly Membership Meetings.

If you would like to become involved in the Education Committee, please contact Chairperson Amanda Gauger .

The Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP) help line is available 24-7, 365 days a year. The line is staffed by line flying Flight Attendants from all over the world ready to assist you. The person that answers the phone will reach out to us at 556. FADAP can be reached at: 855-333-2327 or 214-640-4307. Their Website is www.fadap.org.

Flight Attendant Assistance Program

We would like to ensure that our Members are aware of our Flight Attendant Assistance Program. If you or somebody you know is struggling with depression, or a drug or alcohol addiction, please contact us at FADAP@twu556.org. We will help you find the assistance you need. Your career, and your life, may depend on it.

Mission Statement

The goal of the TWU Local 556 Flight Attendant Drug and Alcohol Program (FADAP) is to provide an additional, confidential resource, to Flight Attendants and their families, to pursue and combat a treatable disease, assisting the re-entry of our valuable asset to the Southwest Airlines work environment.

The TWU Local 556 Grievance Team works to ensure that Members right’s are protected. Each month, the Grievance Team assists Members by handling more than 6,000 phone calls. They work through Contractual and disciplinary issues and file grievances to protect our Members.

The Grievance Team, working with the Shop Steward Committee, schedules Fact-Finding Meetings in each domicile. They also represent Flight Attendants in Step-Two Meetings at Southwest Airlines Headquarters. They assist Members through the grievance process, presenting cases to the Union’s Executive Board, and even fighting for a Member’s rights in arbitrations.

The TWU Local 556 Mobilization and Organizing Committee is tasked with strengthening the Unity at TWU Local 556 and helping other prospective Unions join Transport Workers Union (TWU).

To assist the Mobilization and Organizing Committee, please contact moborg@twu556.org.

The New Hire Committee is responsible for facilitating the New Hire orientation during initial training. The Committee meets with each New Hire class to discuss the services TWU Local 556 provides our Members, including New Hires. In addition to meeting with the class at the training facility, the New Hire Committee welcomes each class to the Union Office for an informal dinner and conversation.

TWU Local 556’s Safety Committee is quite active in all aspects of Flight Attendant safety and security. The Chairperson serves on several Southwest Committees including ASAP Event Review, Go Team, Uniform design, Strategic Planning, and more.

Please contact the Safety Committee with any safety concerns you may have.

The Scheduling Committee is comprised of active Flight Attendants with a variety of seniority levels. The committee’s objective is to write the best quality lines for each base within the parameters given by the Company. Each base is unique and presents a variety of challenges (e.g., -800 aircraft, commuters, mid-day pairings, etc.).

We invite you to contact us with your specific requests and we will do our best to accommodate those whenever possible. Please feel free to email your questions to us directly at schedulingcommittee@twu556.org. We will make every effort to promptly respond.

The TWU Local 556 Scholarship Committee conducts several scholarships each year, including the Madeleine Howard, and Paul Gaynor Scholarship. In addition to conducting the Local’s scholarship, the TWU Local 556 Scholarship Committee keeps Members abreast of scholarships and other financial aide available to Union Members and their dependents.

Our Shop Stewards are the elected Union Members who work alongside and interact with our Members most frequently. Our Shop Stewards are elected by their peers to aid them in enforcing the Contact and to protect their rights as Members of TWU Local 556. The Shop Steward is not alone in the Local. They are part of a Committee and that gives us strength and helps put the Union on an equal level with Management.

The Shop Steward acts as a liaison between the Executive Board and the Membership. It is our job to ensure the Union and the Local know how the Members you represent feel on any subject. We ensure the Union is strong, represented and help to protect the Members’ rights.

We are the “face of the Union.”

The Technical Services Committee is charged with research, deployment and maintenance of the various technologies our Union uses on a daily basis. It also assists other Committees with developing and implementing these technologies for their specific needs.

While Technical Services rarely interfaces directly with Members of TWU Local 556, it works hard behind the scenes to support those who support our Membership.

The TWU Local 556 Uniform Committee Chairperson is a Member of Southwest Airline’s Uniform Committee. As a Member of that Committee, the Chairperson brings Member’s insight, concerns and desires to current and future uniforms as well as Appearance Guidelines.

TWU Local 556’s Veteran’s Committee is truly Veterans helping Veterans. They assist Veterans across the country. During recent events the TWU Local 556 Veteran’s Committee, in conjunction with TWU International’s Veteran’s Committee, provided free shoes through “Operation Free PX” and assisted with the building of a home for a wounded Veteran in San Antonio, Texas.

If you currently serve, or previously served, in the US Armed Forces and would like to help other Veterans, please contact the TWU Local 556 Veterans Committee at veterans@twu556.org and visit us at veterans.twu.org.

The mission of the TWU Local 556 Working Women’s Committee is to support programs and policies that ensure economic equality and equal rights for women.

We use our voices to strongly support the following:

• Equal pay for women
• Equal access to health care for not only the women in TWU Local 556, but for women around the world
• Encourage and foster leadership for women in our Local, our International Union, and in our communities
• Ending Violence against all women, no matter race, age, or socio-economic class

Likewise, we also use our voices to strongly oppose the following:

• Racism of any kind
• Discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity
• Discrimination based on religion
• Sexual harassment inside and outside of the workplace

We commit to taking the following actions within our Local Union and in our communities:

• Identify the ISSUES most important to women’s equality, both economic and in society
• Perform SERVICE in our Local Union and in our Communities to advance women’s equality
• Empower the women in our Local Union through EDUCATION on these issues and service opportunities

We will work with the TWU International Working Women’s Committee and other organizations to make our voices heard and to achieve these goals within our workplace, within our Unions, in our communities, and around the world.