Association of Professional Flight Attendants · Section 3
Representation Model: Bases and Member Services
Base duties, BCR positions and paid release describe different parts of member representation.
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Base offices and duties
APFA’s internal Base Council includes a Base President, Base Vice President and Base Council Representatives (BCRs). The Constitution also provides an OAL Operation Advisory Panel Representative (APR) when a base contains an American Airlines operation and the specified Other Airlines operation.
| Role | Constitutional duties and governing connection |
|---|---|
| Base President | Represents the base at Board meetings and conventions, supervises base activities, communicates with members and investigates grievances. The President holds the base’s Voting Board seat. |
| Base Vice President | Assists the President and other base representatives, and performs the President’s duties in the circumstances specified by the Constitution. |
| Base Council Representative (BCR) | Assists the base officers; coordinates grievance investigation and filing with the President; develops relevant expertise and works with APFA departments. |
| Advisory Panel Representative (APR) | Assists with representation specific to the OAL operation and represents that operation on the OAL Operation Advisory Panel, where applicable. |
A BCR position does not itself carry a general Board seat or vote. The Constitution separately defines which elected Base Presidents or Vice Presidents may act as convention delegates when electing or removing Ad Hoc members.
Sources: Constitution, Art. III §7.A–K and §8 (printed pp. 24–26; PDF pp. 34–36); Art. III §3.B(3), I–J (printed pp. 10–12; PDF pp. 20–22).
Authorized BCR seats and selection
Each base is entitled to one BCR for every 100 members or fraction thereof. This is a formula for authorized positions. It does not establish how many positions are filled or how many representatives receive paid release.
Base members elect their representatives under the applicable rules, and candidates may be elected unopposed. If too few timely Willingness-to-Serve filings are received from eligible BCR candidates, or a BCR vacancy occurs, the Policy Manual directs the Base President to fill the vacancy by appointment and notify the National Ballot Committee and National Secretary within 30 days.
Sources: Constitution, Art. III §7.C–G (printed p. 24; PDF p. 34); Policy Manual, §1.A.4 (printed p. 1.1; PDF p. 13); §14.W.1 (printed p. 14.29; PDF p. 205).
Paid release is a separate measure
The March 2026 Policy Manual authorizes a minimum of one full-month representative trip removal for every 1,150 Flight Attendants. Amounts above that level are prorated. A base below the threshold receives one full-month removal, subject to annual Board review. Furloughed Flight Attendants are excluded from the stated headcount calculation.
| Revision | Headcount per full-month trip removal |
|---|---|
| Fall 2024 Board Resolution 7 | 1,100, changed from 900. |
| Fall 2025 Board Resolution 4 | 1,130; the revision also added the one-removal provision for smaller bases, subject to annual review. |
| 2026 Convention Resolution 11 | 1,150, as stated in the current manual. |
Sources: Policy Manual, §5.C.8.a(2) (printed p. 5.6; PDF p. 64); Section 5 revision history (printed p. 5.32; PDF p. 90).
Two different measures: one BCR per 100 members describes authorized representation positions. One full-month trip removal per 1,150 Flight Attendants describes paid release under the current policy. Neither figure is a count of full-time BCR employees.
What can be concluded about member service
Base officers, BCRs, Regional Representatives and national departments provide different forms of support. Assessing that support requires the actual officeholder roster, paid-release records and information about work performed, availability and results.
A constitutional seat ratio or an organization-wide LM-2 spending category does not measure the service delivered at a particular base. The financial section explains the union’s funding and reporting; the committee and contract section explains grievance decisions and appeal rights.
Sources: Constitution, Art. III §7 and Art. IX (PDF pp. 34–36 and 59–61); Policy Manual, §§5 and 11 (sections begin at PDF pp. 59 and 135).