Q. My dues are payroll deducted. Why am I getting a bill?
A. If you have payroll deduction and you do not receive a paycheck then obviously dues cannot be deducted. Contrary to popular belief, AFA does not deduct your dues, your company deducts them. Please review the Leave of Absence policy to determine what your dues obligation is while on a leave of absence.
Q: I am on a medical leave of absence. Do I owe dues?
A: In accordance with the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws, every member owes dues for the first 3 months of their leave AFTER their compensation from the carrier ends (except Military leave and Involuntary furlough). Article XI A.6."Payment of dues shall be required of all members that are on active status during a month or any portion thereof. After the first ninety (90) days of removal from service and no longer receiving compensation through a carrier for disability leave, payment of dues shall not be required."
Q. Can you deduct the past due amount from my paycheck?
A. The simple answer is no. Keep in mind that AFA does not deduct your dues, your company deducts the dues. They then send the money and dues information to AFA for processing. Each of the contracts state that only the current month's dues will be deducted.
Q. I am on a voluntary furlough, do I owe the dues?
Yes. In accordance with the AFA-CWA Constitution & Bylaws every flight attendant on a leave of absence owes dues for the first 3 months of their leave of absence AFTER their compensation from their airline ends. Those flight attendants on a military leave or involuntary furlough do not owe this amount.
"Article XI A.6. Payment of dues shall be required of all members that are on active status during a month or any portion thereof. After the first ninety (90) days of removal from service and no longer receiving compensation through a carrier for disability leave, payment of dues shall not be required."
The Constitution and Bylaws is written by the AFA Board of Directors which consists of all LEC Presidents, including yours.
Your voluntary furlough begins on November 1. You would owe dues for November, December and January. If dues are payroll deducted for any of these months, it will be applied to this 90-day leave obligation.
The AFA Membership Services Department receives this information from the AFA leaders at your airline. The AFA-CWA database is coded so you are only billed for these 3 months and then the billing stops.